Question

Read the extract and answer the questions by selecting the correct options.

I contrived to keep out of her sight as much as I could, but I never lost track of her. The last station she got off at was away down in Virginia, about six in the evening. There were about fifty houses. The rest was mud, mules, and speckled hounds. A tall old man, with a smooth face and white hair, looking as proud as Julius Caesar was there to meet her. His clothes were frazzled but I didn’t notice that till later. He took her little satchel, and they started over the plank walks and went up a road along the hill. I kept along a piece behind ‘em, trying to look like I was hunting a garnet ring in the sand that my sister had lost at a picnic the previous Saturday.

(i) The extract tells us that Virginia was a ______ populated town.

1. densely
2. highly
3. sparsely
4. hardly

(ii) Choose the option that uses the word ‘frazzled’ in the same way as the extract.

1. I feel pretty frazzled most weeks these days.
2. The cuffs of his brown shirt looked frazzled.
3. Father finally arrived home, tired and frazzled.
4. Mother was frazzled looking after all the guests had left.

(iii) Read the statements (1) & (2) given below, and choose the option that correctly evaluates the statements.

(1): The speaker pretended that he was searching for a lost ring.

(2): The speaker wanted to hide the fact that he had been following her.

1. [1] is true but [2] is false.
2. [2] is contradictory to [1].
3. [1] is the reason for [2].
4. [2] is the result of [1].

(iv) Select the option that displays the characteristics of the speaker.

1. discreet
2. vain
3. ambitious
4. observant
5. finicky
6. cautious
   1. 1, 4 and 6
   2. 2, 3 and 5
   3. 1, 3 and 6
   4. 2, 4 and 5

Answer 1

(i) The extract tells us that Virginia was a sparsely populated town.

Explanation:

Virginia was a sparsely populated town because there were only about fifty houses.

(ii) The cuffs of his brown shirt looked frazzled.

Explanation:

Here, “frazzled” means worn out or frayed, which is how it is used to describe the old man’s clothes.

(iii) [1] is the reason for [2].

Explanation:

Pescud pretended to search for a lost ring so that he could hide the fact that he was following Jessie.

(iv) 1, 4 and 6

Explanation:

The speaker is discreet, observant and cautious. He carefully followed Jessie without being noticed and observed details about her journey and surroundings.