Comprehension For SBI PO Set

Comprehension For SBI PO Set – 29

PASSAGE 1

Off the coast near Jeddah about six years ago I slipped a pair of flippers onto my feet, put on a face mask and gingerly poked my head beneath the placid surface of the Red Sea. I am not sure, now, exactly what I saw in that first glimpse: shafts of sunlight, probably, slanting off through clear blue water; a coral reef of fantastic beauty; and , no doubt, many fish. But I do recall that by the time I surfaced I had already world below. So I did. Indeed, it would not be much of an exaggeration to say that except for such periods as were necessary to earn a living, I have rarely been anywhere else. Diving became a passion and then a way of life—one , as you will gather, I totally endorse.

For the first year after that initial experience I amused myself by haunting fish with a spear gun. It was not at all difficult. Fish are so abundant there that divers do not need to use tanks to get down to where the fish are; they find them near the surface. Furthermore, the water of the Red Sea, like the Caribbean, the South Seas and parts of the Indian Ocean, is so transparent that you can see up to 150 feet away. Thus, all you really need is a mask, a snorkel tube to breathe trough, flippers and a spear gun.

Hunting, however, began to pall on me. I began to wonder if it wouldn’t be more interesting and more sporting to photograph some of these magnificent creatures rather than kill them. It was certainly an ideal place for underwater photography. In addition to hundreds of species of fish, the Red Sea coast offers thousands of moles of what they call “fringing reefs” — great barriers of coral 10 to 200 miles wide that wind along the African shore from Egypt to Djibouti and down the Asian shore from Aqaba to the Bab-al-Mandab at the gate of the Indian Ocean. Although no more than the accumulation of billions of coral polyps—minute creatures that produce a calcareous deposit—the reefs have grown to fantastic sizes, the largest being the 1,200 mile-long Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

1. What does the sentence “So I did” convey? The author

(a) wore a face mask

(b) slipped a pair of flippers onto his feet

(d) exaggerated the lovely world below water

(e) None of these

2. What did the author do at the coast near Jeddah?

(a) Fell down in a minor accident

(b) Drowned into the Red Sea

(d) Walked on the sandy coast

(e) None of these

3. The author does not consider it an exaggeration to state that

(a) he had dedicated his leisure time to watch people diving in the Red Sea.

(b) he had devoted his spare time to diving activity to watch the world below water.

(d) diving is a passion to most of the people in the world.

(e) None of these

4. What made the author revisit the underwater reef?

(a) Placid surface of the Red Seas

(b) Glimpses of the sunlight

(d) Scenic beauty of the underwater world

(e) none of these

5. Through the passage, the author gives an account of

(a) his underwater journey by a submarine

(b) how he was fascinated by the underwater world

(d) his expertise in the art of photography

(e) None of these

6. In what way is the Red Sea SIMILAR to the Caribbean Sea, the South Seas, etc?

(A) Variety of fish

(B) Fantastic reefs

(a) A only

(b) B only

(d) All the three

(e) None of these

7. Which of the following changes occurred in the author after the initial period of a year or so?

(A) He got fed up with haunting.

(B) He was struck with the idea of shooting the fish with a camera rather than by spear gun.

(a) Only A

(b) Only B

(d) A and B only

(e) All the three

8. Fishing in the Red Sea off the coast near Jeddah was

(a) difficult because the water was transparent.

(b) risky because tanks are needed to spot the fish.

(d) cumbersome because of the tools like mask, snorkel tube, flippers, etc.

(e) more difficult than at the Caribbean Sea, the South Sea and the Indian Ocean.

9. What are “fringing reefs”?

(a) Calcareous deposit formation

(b) Collection of fish

(d) Collection of minute creatures other than fish

(e) None of these

Directions (Q. 10-12): Which of the following is most nearly the SAME in meaning as the word given in bold as used in the passage?

10. GINGERLY

(a) Cautiously

(b) Recklessly

(d) Purposely

(e) Clearly

11. MAGNIFICENT

(a) Delicate

(b) fragile

(d) powerful

(e) Splendid

12. TRANSPARENT

(a) Opaque

(b) Glowing

(d) Visible

(e) Dark

Directions (Q. 13-15): Which of the following is most OPPOSITE in meaning of the word given in bold as used in the passage?

13. RECALL

(a) Call up

(b) Recollect

(d) Invite

(e) Send back

14. MINUTE

(a) enormous

(b) Tiny

(d) Heavy

(e) Delay

15. FANTASTIC

(a) Incredible

(b) Plausible

(d) Imaginary

(e) Realistic

Answer key:

1. (e) 2. (c) 3. (b) 4. (d) 5. (b) 6. (c) 7. (d) 8. (c) 9. (a) 10. (a) 11. (e) 12. (d) 13. (c) 14. (a) 15. (e)

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Comprehension For SBI PO Set – 29