Passage – 2 I was beginning to tire a little now. I had been cutting steps continuously for two hours, and Tenzing, too, was moving very slowly. As I chipped steps around still another corner, I wondered rather dully just how long we could keep it up. Our original zest had now quite gone and it was turning more into a grim struggle. I then realised that the ridge ahead, instead of still monotonously rising, now dropped sharply away, and far below I could see the North Col and Rongbuk glacier. I looked upwards to see a narrow ridge running up to a snowy summit. A few more whacks of the ice-axe in the firm snow and we stood on top. ‘It was turning more into a grim struggle’ would mean
- (a)that after the long exertion he was feeling so weak that any further climbing meant a hard struggle with the forces of nature
- (b)that Tenzing was making the task more difficult
- (c)that strong cold wind was pushing him down from above and that he had to struggle with the forces of nature
- (d)that he was in a mood to give up ultimately
Correct — A, that after the long exertion he was feeling so weak that any further climbing meant a hard struggle with the forces of nature. The sentences on either side supply the sense — he 'was beginning to tire a little now', Tenzing too was moving very slowly, and 'our original zest had now quite gone', so the climb had become an effort of endurance rather than of enthusiasm.
- (b)that Tenzing was making the task more difficult — Tenzing is described as tiring in the same way, as a fellow climber sharing the labour, and the passage never presents him as an obstacle.
- (c)that strong cold wind was pushing him down from above and that he had to struggle with the forces of nature — No wind is mentioned anywhere in the passage; the struggle described is against his own fatigue and the slow work of cutting steps.
- (d)that he was in a mood to give up ultimately — He only wonders how long they could keep it up, and a few sentences later they stand on the top, so the passage shows persistence rather than any thought of quitting.
A comprehension item asking for the meaning of a quoted sentence in the light of the lines around it.
The tempting option is the one about wind, because it sounds like what a mountain struggle should involve. Comprehension answers must come from the passage, and this passage names tiredness and lost zest, not weather.
- Importing a detail that fits the scene in general but is absent from the text.
Asked as a meaning-in-context item where the surrounding sentences, not outside knowledge, decide the answer.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Read the lines and answer. 'The last mile was a battle of the will. My legs had stopped answering, and the finish line seemed to move further away.' The phrase 'a battle of the will' means that the runner
- (a)was quarrelling with another runner
- (b)was continuing on determination alone as his body failed
- (c)had decided to stop running
- (d)was running faster than before
Answer(b) was continuing on determination alone as his body failed — the next sentence explains the phrase.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Read the lines and answer. 'By the fourth night the watch had become a dull duty. The excitement of the first evening was long gone.' The phrase 'a dull duty' shows that the speaker
- (a)had lost his earlier eagerness
- (b)had been given a new task
- (c)was enjoying the work more
- (d)had left the watch to someone else
Answer(a) had lost his earlier eagerness — the following sentence contrasts it with the first evening.