Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.
Read the passage and answer. "Meera had practised the speech for a week, yet when her name was called she walked to the stage with her palms pressed flat against her skirt, as if to keep them from shaking. Halfway through, she saw her grandfather in the back row, nodding slowly, and the paper in her hand stopped trembling. She finished without once looking down. The applause surprised her; she had been listening only for his voice." According to the passage, the paper in Meera's hand stopped trembling because
- she had practised the speech carefully for a whole week.
- the audience had stopped paying attention to her.
- she saw her grandfather nodding in the back row.
- she had reached the closing lines of the speech.
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Answer: C — she saw her grandfather nodding in the back row.
The passage places the change right after she sees her grandfather nodding: 'she saw her grandfather... and the paper in her hand stopped trembling.' The week of practice is stated, but it was already behind her when her hands shook at the start, so it cannot explain why the trembling stopped midway. Nothing says the audience looked away or that the end was near.
Read the passage and answer. "Old Tarun, the tailor, folded the finished shirt, smoothed it twice and tied it with a thread rather than a pin. The customer, a young man in a hurry, snatched the parcel from the counter and left without a word. Tarun watched the door for a moment, then turned the sign to 'Closed' and sat down at his machine, though there was nothing left to stitch." Tarun's behaviour at the end of the passage most strongly suggests that he
- was furious and meant to complain about the customer.
- felt hurt that his careful work went unacknowledged.
- was tired and wanted to rest before opening again.
- was anxious about the money he had earned that day.
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Answer: B — felt hurt that his careful work went unacknowledged.
Tarun's slow, careful wrapping is set against the customer's snatch and silence, and then he lingers at a machine with nothing to stitch: the pattern points to hurt at being unacknowledged. Fury is the tempting distractor, but he says and does nothing aimed at the customer; his stillness is quiet, not angry. Tiredness and money worries have no detail behind them.
Read the passage and answer. "When the teacher asked the new boy to introduce himself, Anil gave his name and sat down. At lunch he ate alone, and in the evening he walked home by himself, answering the other children's greetings with a small nod. He was not unfriendly; he simply seemed reserved, and it took a month of patient invitations before he joined their game." As used in the passage, the word "reserved" most nearly means
- kept aside for the use of one particular person.
- booked in advance for a journey, a table or a meal.
- held back as a store to be used at a later time.
- quiet and slow to share his thoughts with others.
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Answer: D — quiet and slow to share his thoughts with others.
The sentence describes a boy who gives only his name, eats alone and nods instead of speaking, and calls him 'not unfriendly': reserved here means quiet and slow to open up. The other three are genuine meanings of the word (set aside, booked, kept in stock) but each describes a thing, not a person's manner, so none fits a boy who 'took a month' to join a game.
Read the passage and answer. "Kamla counted the coins on the counter twice, though the total did not change. The shopkeeper waited, drumming his fingers. 'Keep the rice,' she said at last, pushing the bag back, 'I will manage with lentils.' She walked out with her head high, and only the shopkeeper, who noticed how gently she drew the door shut behind her, understood that she did not want anyone to hear her leave." Kamla's attitude as she leaves the shop is best described as
- composed dignity masking her embarrassment at lacking money.
- open anger at the shopkeeper because of his obvious impatience.
- cheerful unconcern about having too little money to spend.
- proud contempt for the shopkeeper and for the goods he sells.
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Answer: A — composed dignity masking her embarrassment at lacking money.
The double count and the switch to lentils show she is short of money; the raised head and the gently closed door show she is hiding her embarrassment with composure. Proud contempt is the close alternative, since her head is high, but a person who despised the shopkeeper would not take such care to leave unheard. Anger and cheerfulness are contradicted by the same quiet details.
Read the passage and answer. "Captain Devraj never raised his voice on deck. When the storm struck the fishing boat, he gave his orders in the same even tone he used to ask for tea, and the crew, who had been close to panic, found their hands moving before they had decided to obey. Only afterwards, in the cabin, did the youngest sailor notice that the captain's cup rattled against its saucer." Which of the following is NOT supported by the passage?
- The crew were close to panic when the storm began.
- The captain's even tone helped the crew to act.
- The captain raised his voice to be heard in the storm.
- The captain was not wholly free of nervousness himself.
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Answer: C — The captain raised his voice to be heard in the storm.
The opening sentence says the captain never raised his voice on deck, and the storm orders were given 'in the same even tone', so the loud-orders statement is contradicted. The other three each have a line behind them: 'close to panic', hands moving before they decided to obey, and the rattling cup that betrays his nerves.
Read the passage and answer. "The clock in Lata's shop had stopped years ago at ten past four, and customers sometimes teased her for not mending it. She only smiled. It had been her husband's last repair, left unfinished on the evening he fell ill, and she had found that the one hour it showed was easier to live beside than any hour that moved." The phrase "easier to live beside than any hour that moved" suggests that Lata
- finds comfort in a fixed reminder of her husband.
- has completely recovered from the loss of her husband.
- expects one of her customers to repair the clock soon.
- dislikes working in a shop where the hours pass slowly.
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Answer: A — finds comfort in a fixed reminder of her husband.
The unmended clock is her husband's unfinished repair, and the stopped hour is 'easier' to live with than moving time: she draws comfort from keeping that reminder. 'Completely recovered' is the close alternative but overstates it; 'easier' is a comparison, not a cure, and a person who had fully moved on would simply mend the clock. The other two are not hinted at.
Read the passage and answer. "Many people treat a long queue as proof that a restaurant is good. But a queue only shows that people have joined it, and people join queues because others already have. The first few diners may have had sound reasons; the rest simply followed. A short queue at a quiet stall may hide better food than a long one outside a famous door. Popularity tells us what is popular, and nothing more." The main point of the passage is that
- the length of a queue is weak evidence of quality.
- restaurants that have long queues usually serve poor food to diners.
- the diners who join a queue at the start are always mistaken in doing so.
- quiet stalls should be preferred to famous restaurants on every occasion.
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Answer: A — the length of a queue is weak evidence of quality.
The last sentence is the thesis: popularity shows only popularity, so a long queue is weak evidence of quality. The passage says a short queue 'may' hide better food and that early diners 'may' have had sound reasons, so 'usually serve poor food', 'always mistaken' and 'on every occasion' harden careful claims into extremes the author never makes.
Read the passage and answer. "Critics of the plan call it radical, as if that settled the matter. But a proposal is not wrong merely because it departs sharply from custom. The old system was itself once new, and it too was resisted. A habit is not a virtue simply because it is old, and a change is not a vice simply because it is unfamiliar. Judge each plan by what it would do." In the passage, "radical" most nearly means
- relating to the root of a plant.
- marked by a sharp break from established practice.
- excellent or very pleasing, in casual speech.
- describing a group of atoms in a chemical reaction.
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Answer: B — marked by a sharp break from established practice.
The author says the plan 'departs sharply from custom', which defines radical here as a sharp break from established practice. The other options are real senses of the word (of a root, slang for excellent, a chemical group) but none can describe a plan that critics are using as a reproach.
Read the passage and answer. "Some declare that handwriting is obsolete, as though the pen were a relic like the quill. This is too hasty. A keyboard records words quickly, but speed is not always a virtue: the slow act of forming letters gives the mind time to choose what is worth keeping. Schools that drop the pen in the name of progress should at least ask what else they may be dropping." The tone of the author is best described as
- alarmed and despairing about the future of schools.
- mocking and dismissive of everyone who uses a keyboard.
- neutral and purely descriptive of how people write.
- questioning and cautionary about a hasty change.
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Answer: D — questioning and cautionary about a hasty change.
'Too hasty' and 'should at least ask' show a questioning, cautionary author who warns without predicting disaster. Alarmed and despairing is the close alternative, but nothing in the passage forecasts harm, and the author even concedes the keyboard's speed. Mocking fails for the same reason, and neutral fails because the author plainly takes a side.
Read the passage and answer. "Some argue that free public parks are a luxury a growing town cannot afford. Yet a park does quiet work: it gives children a place to play without a fee, lets older residents meet without needing a reason, and keeps a little of the town unbuilt. The cost of a park is easy to count; the cost of its absence is not, because it is spread thinly over everyone and never appears on a bill." The author's main purpose in the passage is to
- show that parks cost less to maintain than most people in a growing town assume.
- answer the claim that parks are unaffordable by citing benefits hard to count.
- argue that a growing town should stop putting up new buildings of any kind.
- describe the games that children play in public parks of a growing town.
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Answer: B — answer the claim that parks are unaffordable by citing benefits hard to count.
The passage opens with a counter-view ('cannot afford') and, after 'Yet', answers it with benefits and a point about uncounted cost: the purpose is to rebut. Low maintenance cost is never claimed, the 'unbuilt' remark is a benefit and not a call to stop building, and play is only one of the listed benefits.
Read the passage and answer. "A deadline is often blamed for poor work, but the blame is misplaced. Without a deadline, work expands to fill the time available, and the first draft is polished endlessly while the main task waits. A deadline does not lower the standard; it forces a decision about what the standard should be. The real danger is a deadline set so close that no such decision can be made." Which of the following is NOT supported by the passage?
- Work without a deadline may expand to fill the time available.
- A deadline can push a worker to decide on the standard required.
- Any deadline, however short, improves the quality of work.
- A deadline set too close can make careful decisions impossible.
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Answer: C — Any deadline, however short, improves the quality of work.
The passage warns that a deadline 'set so close' can prevent the needed decision, so the claim that any deadline, however short, improves quality is contradicted. The other three each follow from a line: work expands to fill the time, a deadline forces a decision about the standard, and an over-tight one blocks it.
Read the passage and answer. "We praise people for being 'busy' as if busyness were an achievement. But a calendar crowded with meetings may mean only that nobody has decided what is important. The person who clears an afternoon for one hard problem is often doing more than the person who attends six meetings, though the second looks far more industrious. What can be seen is not always what counts." Which inference does the passage best support?
- Meetings are always a waste of time.
- Hard problems should be tackled only in the afternoon.
- People who are busy have no ability to set priorities.
- Looking industrious is not the same as achieving much.
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Answer: D — Looking industrious is not the same as achieving much.
The closing line and the comparison of the two people support one inference: appearing industrious is not the same as achieving. The passage says a crowded calendar 'may' reflect undecided priorities, so 'no ability to set priorities' is an extreme version, and 'always a waste' similarly turns 'often' into 'always'. The afternoon detail is a lifted word, not a rule.
Read the passage and answer. "A district library board reviewed its three branches last year. The central branch lent 4,800 books, the east branch 2,100 and the river branch 1,500. The board noted that the river branch, though the smallest, had the highest share of children among its borrowers, and recommended extending its children's section. It also asked all branches to record the ages of borrowers." According to the report, how many books did the three branches lend altogether last year?
- 6,900
- 8,400
- 8,900
- 9,400
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Answer: B — 8,400
The total is 4,800 + 2,100 + 1,500 = 8,400. The figure 6,900 is the tempting slip: it adds the central and east branches only and leaves out the river branch, which the passage names as the smallest but still a branch of the three. The other two numbers are not obtained from any addition of the figures given.
Read the passage and answer. "A municipal water audit found that 30 per cent of the water leaving the treatment plant never reached a customer. Most of the loss, the audit said, came from old pipes that leaked, while a smaller part was due to unmetered taps in public places. The audit recommended replacing the oldest pipes first, since repairing the unmetered taps would recover little." The audit recommends replacing old pipes before dealing with unmetered taps because
- the pipes caused most of the loss, so fixing them saves more.
- the unmetered taps are not a source of lost water at all in the town.
- the taps in public places are more costly to repair than old pipes.
- customers had complained mainly about the bursting of old pipes.
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Answer: A — the pipes caused most of the loss, so fixing them saves more.
The audit gives its own reason: most of the loss came from leaking pipes, while mending the taps 'would recover little'. The tempting distractor says the taps lose no water at all, but the passage calls them a smaller part of the loss, not no part. Repair cost and customer complaints are never mentioned.
Read the passage and answer. "A transport survey commissioned by a hill council counted passengers on its bus routes over one week. The new service will cover eighteen villages, up from eleven, and every village will have at least two buses a day. The council expects to recover the cost within five years through fares, and it will publish the survey's tables in the council office." As used in the passage, the word "cover" most nearly means
- to put something over a thing in order to protect it.
- to report on an event for a daily newspaper.
- to be enough to pay for something.
- to reach and serve a number of places.
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Answer: D — to reach and serve a number of places.
The service will cover 'eighteen villages, up from eleven': it reaches and serves places. 'Be enough to pay for' is the tempting meaning because the next sentence speaks of recovering cost, but the object of cover here is villages, not an expense. Protecting and reporting on are real meanings that do not fit a bus service.
Read the passage and answer. "A town's waste report compared two years. In the first year, 1,200 tonnes of waste were collected and 240 tonnes were recycled. In the second year, collection rose to 1,500 tonnes and recycling to 330 tonnes. The report credited the rise in recycling to the new separate bins for dry and wet waste, though it admitted that the second year also had a longer collection season." Which of the following is NOT supported by the passage?
- The share of waste that was recycled rose slightly in the second year.
- More waste was collected in the second year than in the first year.
- The separate bins alone account for the whole rise in recycling.
- The report allowed that something besides the bins may have mattered.
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Answer: C — The separate bins alone account for the whole rise in recycling.
The report admitted a longer collection season in the second year, so it does not claim that the bins alone explain the whole rise. The tempting reading is that crediting the bins means only the bins; the admission contradicts it. The share rose from 240 of 1,200 (20 per cent) to 330 of 1,500 (22 per cent), and 1,500 is more than 1,200, so those options are supported.
Read the passage and answer. "A neighbourhood clinic's annual report records that visits for seasonal fever doubled between July and September, from 150 to 300 a month, while visits for injuries stayed near 40 a month. The clinic attributes the rise to rainwater standing in the lane behind it and asks residents to empty containers that collect water. It plans to review the figures again in December." Which title best fits the passage?
- Rising Fever Visits and the Cause a Clinic Suspects
- Injuries Increase Sharply During the Rainy Months
- How a Neighbourhood Clinic Treats Seasonal Fever
- Residents Refuse to Clear Standing Water in the Lane
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Answer: A — Rising Fever Visits and the Cause a Clinic Suspects
The passage reports a doubling of fever visits and the clinic's suspected cause, which the first title covers whole. The injuries title reverses a fact, since injury visits 'stayed near 40'. The treatment title is off focus because treatment is never described, and the refusal title invents behaviour by residents.
Read the passage and answer. "A cooperative dairy's quarterly report shows that daily milk collection fell from 9,000 litres in April to 7,200 litres in June. The report links the fall to a heat spell that cut the supply of green fodder, and notes that the cooperative raised its price per litre by 5 per cent in May to keep farmers supplying milk. It expects collection to recover once the rains return." By what percentage did daily collection fall between April and June?
- 5 per cent
- 18 per cent
- 20 per cent
- 25 per cent
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Answer: C — 20 per cent
The fall is 9,000 - 7,200 = 1,800 litres, and 1,800 is one-fifth of the April figure of 9,000, so 20 per cent. The 25 per cent answer comes from taking the percentage on the new figure of 7,200 instead of the starting figure. The 5 per cent option is the price rise, which belongs to a different quantity.