Question

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.

(1)	On an ice-crusted ridge, 3000 feet above the sea level, Emma Nicholson takes a deep breath behind her respirator. She checks her climbing harness, and steps inside the gaping mouth of an active volcano.
(2)	It is a little after 4 p.m. on the wind-whipped summit rim of Mount Michael. Located in the uninhabited South Sandwich archipelago, the island is one of the most isolated placesa person can travel to on Earth. It is roughly 500 miles from the closest permanent station on South Georgia and more than a thousand miles from the nearest shipping traffic.
(3)	After years of planning and enduring a torturous 1,400 miles voyage through turbulence in iceberg-infested seas, the thirty-three year old volcanologist is on the verge of becoming the first scientist to lead an exploration inside Mount Michael’s crater, where she hopes to collect new clues about active volcanoes and to find the lava lake.
(4)	But Mount Michael is not a volcano that easily reveals its secrets.
(5)	The weather being unpredictable, Emma’s team estimates that they have only sixteen days to unearth its mysteries.
(6)	At first glance, the inner part ofthe volcano seems harmless, giving way to a gentle snow slope. Emma cautiously descends using the rope which is her only connection to the outside world. She understands that somewhere below, she can encounter danger. The seemingly harmless terrain might end in an unstable ice cliff overhanging the inner rim of the volcano.
(7)	As she inches her way down, carrying a computer and a heat-sensing camera, conditions improve - the wind subsides and patches of blue sky appear overhead. Beyond her face shield, Emma can see a circle of vertical walls of ash covered rock and ice.
(8)	As she goes deeper into the mountain crater, she looks around, slightly wide-eyed. She understands she is standing inside the Earth’s chimney- a place that bears the scars of one of nature's greatest displays of power.
(9)	It dawns on her, “I am the first person to peer down the insides of the Earth.”
(10)	A reassuring tug pulls against her harness. The rope, Emma knows, is connected to a most trustworthy anchor, Carla, the mountain guide. Without a line of sight to Emma, Carla knows that an overhanging cliff could fall without warning, sweeping her friend down the throat of the volcano. Carla calls out, “Emma, are you alright?” Her voice echoes in the hollow crater acting as a reminder to Emma not to forget herself and go too far. She had to get back up.
(11)	As she is pulled up, she realises that only one thing eludes her, the thing that brought her to this remote place - where is the lava lake?
(12)	Sixteen futile days pass looking for the lava lake. On the last day, during repacking, the photographer lets out an unexpected cry, “Will you have a look at that?” she says, pointing upwards.
(13)	Everyone drops what they are doing and stare. A shimmering cloud appears in the night sky above Mount Michael. At first, their eyes register deep reds and violets against the starry black night. It resembles the last light from the sun, except that the sun had set two hours ago. Emma slowly realises that the light is coming from inside the volcano. As they stare at the cloud, the colours seem to gently shift, the red becoming scarlet then orange, the deep violet softening to purple.
(14)	She shivers from the excitement. The display they witness, projected onto the underside ofthe cloud, is the first real sign of what Emma has journeyed halfway around the world for - the lava lake!

(i)

1. Find a single word from the passage that will exactly replace the underlined word or words in the following sentences.     [3]
   1. The aircraft was designed to overcome sudden and violent changes in weather conditions.
   2. The doctor has advised the patient to continue taking the medicines till the fever comes down.
   3. The thief escapes the police every time.
2. For each of the words given below, choose the correct sentence that uses the same word unchanged in spelling, but with a different meaning from that which it carries in the passage.     [3]
   1. steps (line 2)
      1. What steps have you taken to rectify the situation?
      2. One should tackle every problem step by step.
      3. The math teacher steps into the classroom with authority.
      4. She stepped forward to help without being asked.
   2. light (line 44)
      1. She could see very well by the light of the candle.
      2. My mother asked me to switch the lights on.
      3. Although the bag was full, it felt light and easy to carry.
      4. The light was burning in the room late into the night.
   3. set (line 45)
      1. A complete set of her novels was displayed in the library.
      2. We should reach home before the sun sets.
      3. The glorious sunset was a sight to behold.
      4. He sets the pace for future discoveries.

(ii) Answer the following questions as briefly as possible in your own words.

1. Why was the expedition important to Emma?     [2]
2. With reference to the role of the mountain guide in the passage, explain how trust plays an important role in Emma’s safety.     [2]
3. Why is Mount Michael considered a remote place?     [2]

(iii) Summarise Emma’s search for the lava lake and her joy at witnessing it finally (paragraphs 8 to 14). You are required to write the summary in the form of a connected passage in about 100 words.     [8]

Answer 1

(i)
a.

1. turbulence
2. descends
3. eludes

b. 

1. (A) What steps have you taken to rectify the situation?
2. (C) Although the bag was full, it felt light and easy to carry.
3. (A) A complete set of her novels was displayed in the library.

(ii)

1. To raise awareness of how important it is to protect nature, Emma was about to become the first scientist to lead a tour inside Mount Michael, so the trip was very important to her. She would feel great about herself, and the world of science would learn a lot from it.
2. As the tour guide held on to the expeditor’s line, trust was very important. If she fell into the deep hole, she would die, but the tug on the rope made her feel better because it showed that the guide cared about her friend’s safety and would save her if something bad happened.
3. People think of Mount Michael as being far away because it is in the South Sandwich Archipelago, which is not inhabited. Five hundred miles away is the closest gas station, and one thousand miles away is the railroad stop.

(iii)

Emma went all the way around the world to see Mount Michael, an active volcano, and its lava lake. She got to the crater after years of planning and a hard 14,000-mile trip through rough waves and icebergs. The tour guide held the long rope that she used to go down. It was her only way to contact the outside world. After sixteen days of searching in vain, a bright cloud came out of nowhere on top of the mount. It went from red to purple over and over again. Emma was thrilled when she realized it was the light coming from the fire. I think it was the lava lake.