"Now, ladies and gentlemen," said the conjuror, "having shown you that the cloth is absolutely empty, I will proceed to take from it a bowl of goldfish. Presto !" All around the hall people were saying, "Oh, how wonderful ! How does he do it?" But the Quick Man on the front seat said in a big whisper to the people near him, "He-had-it-up-his-sleeve." Then the people nodded brightly at the Quick Man and said, "Oh, of course"; and everybody whispered round the hall, "He-had-it-up-his-sleeve." "My next trick," said the conjuror, "is the famous Hindostanee rings. You will notice that the rings are apparently separate; at a blow they all join (clang, clang, clang)—Presto !" There was a general buzz of stupefaction till the Quick Man was heard to whisper, "He-must-have-had-another-lot-up-his-sleeve." Again everybody nodded and whispered, "The-rings-were-up-his-sleeve." The brow of the conjuror was clouded with a gathering frown. "I will now," he continued, "show you a most amusing trick by which I am enabled to take any number of eggs from a hat. Will some gentleman kindly lend me his hat? Ah, thank you—Presto !" He extracted seventeen eggs, and for thirty-five seconds the audience began to think that he was wonderful. Then the Quick Man whispered along the front bench, "He-has-a-hen-up-his-sleeve," and all the people whispered it on. "He-has-a-lot-of-hens-up-his-sleeve." The egg trick was ruined. It went on like that all through. It transpired from the whispers of the Quick Man that the conjuror must have concealed up his sleeve, in addition to the rings, hens, and fish, several packs of cards, a loaf of bread, a doll's cradle, a live guinea pig, a fifty-cent piece, and a rocking chair. "The egg trick was ruined." This means that
- (a)eggs were all broken
- (b)people were unconvinced
- (c)conjuror was disappointed
- (d)the trick could not be performed
Correct — B, 'people were unconvinced'. The trick itself came off — seventeen eggs came out of a borrowed hat, and 'for thirty-five seconds the audience began to think that he was wonderful'. What ended it was the Quick Man's whisper along the front bench, 'He-has-a-hen-up-his-sleeve', which the whole hall then passed on. The wonder was destroyed, and that is what the word 'ruined' points at.
- (a)eggs were all broken — The passage never mentions a broken egg; the eggs are produced, not damaged.
- (c)conjuror was disappointed — He may well have been, but this sentence reports what became of the trick; his feelings are described at another point, in the line about the gathering frown.
- (d)the trick could not be performed — It was performed in full — seventeen eggs came out of a hat lent by a gentleman in the audience.
In this sketch a trick lives on the audience's wonder, so it can be spoilt even after it has been carried out perfectly.
The sentence sums up the paragraph above it, so the reason has to be found there and not in the sentence itself. Thirty-five seconds of admiration, then one whisper, then the whisper repeated round the hall — that is the whole account of how the trick was lost. The item rewards a reader who traces 'ruined' back to its cause rather than taking the word at its face value.
- By the writer's own count the admiration lasted thirty-five seconds.
- Every trick in the sketch is undone by the Quick Man's explanation, never by the performance.
- The same pattern has already played out twice, with the goldfish and with the rings.
- Taking 'ruined' in its physical sense and looking for broken eggs.
- Choosing the conjuror's disappointment, which this sentence does not report.
Asked as a comprehension item on what a short sentence in the passage means.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
For how long did the audience think the conjuror was wonderful?
- (a)thirty-five minutes
- (b)thirty-five seconds
- (c)seventeen seconds
- (d)the whole evening
Answer(b) thirty-five seconds — the passage gives the figure exactly.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In the passage, each trick is spoilt by
- (a)the conjuror's mistakes
- (b)the Quick Man's whisper
- (c)poor equipment
- (d)the lighting in the hall
Answer(b) the Quick Man's whisper — it is repeated round the hall each time.