PREPARATORY QUESTIONS

READING COMPREHENSION

PREPARATORY PAPER-70

Direction (Qs.1 to 8): Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.

At 9 : 32 a.m., EDT on July 16, with the world watching, Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (1930) aboard. Armstrong, a 38-year-old civilian research pilot, was the commander of the mission. After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19. The next day, at 1 : 46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by Armstrong and Aldrin, separated from the command module, where Collins remained. Two hours later, the Eagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4 : 17 p.m. the craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston, Texas, a now-famous message: “The Eagle has landed.”

At 10 : 39 p.m., five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module. As he made his way down the module's ladder, a television camera attached to the craft recorded his progress and beamed the signal back to Earth, where hundreds of millions watched in great anticipation.

At 10 : 56 p.m., as Armstrong stepped off the ladder and planted his foot on the moon’s powdery surface, he spoke his famous quote, which he later contended was slightly garbled by his microphone and meant to be “that's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Aldrin joined him on the moon's surface 19 minutes later, and together they took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple scientific tests and spoke with President Richard Nixon (1913-94) via Houston.

By 1 : 11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module and the hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon, and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module. Among the items left on the surface of the moon was a plaque that read: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon—July 1969 A.D.—We came in peace for all mankind.”

At 5 : 35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Collins, and at 12 : 56 a.m. on July 22. Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 12 : 50 p.m. on July 24.

Question No : 1

What is the synonym of the word ascent as used in the passage?

(1) Levitation 

(2) Descent     

(3) Pitch          

(4) Slump       

(5) All of these

Question No : 2

What is the synonym of the word splashing as used in the passage?

(1) Harrowing

(2) Palliate      

(3) Spattering 

(4) Triumph   

(5) All of these

Question No : 3

Which of the following is not true with respect to the given passage?

(1) At 10 : 39 p.m., five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module

(2) At 10 : 58 p.m., as Armstrong stepped off the ladder and planted his foot on the moon’s powdery surface.

(3) Apollo 11, safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24

(4) All are true

(5) All of these

Question No : 4

Which of the following can be inferred from the given passage?

(1) Aldrin set his foot on the Moon 19 minutes after Armstrong landed

(2) Armstrong radioed to Mission Control in Houston, a message: “The Eagle has landed”

(3) Neil Armstrong was 38 years old when he went on the Moon landing mission

(4) None of the above is true

(5) All of these

Question No : 5

What is the most appropriate title to the given passage?

(1) The deadline of the landing

(2) Tight schedule of the moon landers

(3) Journey to the moon

(4) Timeline of the moon landing

(5) All of these

Question No : 6

What is the antonym of the word separated as used in the passage?

(1) Detached  

(2) Disconnected        

(3) Disannul   

(4) Attached   

(5) None of these

Question No : 7

What is the antonym of the word descent as used in the passage?

(1) Plunge      

(2) Upgrade    

(3) Slide          

(4) Declivity   

(5) All of these

Question No : 8

What is the synonym of the word garbled as used in the passage?

(1) Organize   

(2) Decipher   

(3) Muddle     

(4) Purify        

(5) All of these