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
Answer
Why
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.
Why the others are wrong
- (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.
Concept
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.
Study next
Common traps
- 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.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.
Practice
- 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.