SSC SI & ASI (Delhi Police, CAPF, CISF) Exam paper – 2013

Passage- III
(Q. 181-185):
Looking back to those days, I see myself as a kind of centaur, half boy, half bike, forever wheeling down suburban streets under the poincianas, on my way to football practice or the library or to a meeting of the little group of us, girls and boys, that came together on someone’s verandah in the evenings after tea.
I might come across the Professor on his after-dinner stroll; and as often as not, he would be accompanied by my father, who would stop me and demand (partly, I thought, to impress the Professor) where I was off to or where I had been; insisting, with more than his usual force, that I come home right away, with no argument. I spent long hours cycling back and forth between our house and Ross McDowell or Jimmy Larwood’s, my friends from school, and the Professor’s house was always on the route. I was always aboard and waiting for something significant to occur, for life somehow to declare itself and catch me up. I rode my bike in slow circles or figures-of-eight, took it for sprints across the gravel of the park, or simply hung motionless in the saddle, balanced and waiting.
181. The boy’s father was trying to gain the Professor’s approval, hence
A. he followed the Professor on his evening walks.
B. he pretended to be interested in observing the stars.
C. he boasted to the Professor about his son’s riding skills.
D. he would make a display of his parental skills on seeing the narrator.

182. The boy’s constant bike riding reflects his
A. longing for a simpler way of life.
B. yearning for something exciting to occur.
C. desire to escape from his father’s influence.
D. joy in being young and without responsibilities.

183. This text is written from the point of view of

A. an adult reflecting on his boyhood
B. a boy recounting his summer holiday
C. an outsider observing life in the suburbs
D. an adolescent describing his community

184. “Was always aboard’ in the passage means
A. was always engaged in adventure
B. was always on the bike
C. was always doing stunts
D. was always the outdoor type

185. The narrator described himself as ‘a kind of centaur’ because
A. he felt that the bike was a part of him.
B. he enjoyed riding his bike in a reckless manner.
C. he used his bike to escape from his family in the evening.
D. he knew that the professor was watching him as he rode his bike.

Passage – IV
(Q. 186-190):
Like all visions, this one begins with a dream; dream is of a stressed education system throughout India. That where there is stress, it is the exception not arising out of the system, but out of some aberration or the other. The extension of that dream is that the children, thus growing up free will feel better disposed to arrive at the ultimate point of all living, the giving and receiving of love without limits. That growing up in such an atmosphere, they become effortlessly harbingers of peace to the world, which is what it seems India used to be in Vedic times. But whatever about the nation’s role in the world tomorrow, what is needed is such relationship as both arise out of and strengthen a deep sense of meaning, of self-confidence, of focus, and, above all, of peace.
We want that, for our kids, their reach should exceed their grasp, that the accomplishment of goals be only challenges to greater things, that sensing final arrival is either an illusion or an indication that the dream was itself originally petty. We want that they be open to the impossible, the barely imaginable, the almost magical.
186. How will the world be benefited by the loving nature with which children will grow up and communicate with others?
A. Children growing up in such an environment will bring tranquillity and peace to the world.
B. They will spread love and lessen differences.
C. They will be able to trigger off fast progress and greater development.
D. A better bonding will be created between individuals and the social environment will be bettered.

187. What ideal qualities should be nurtured in our children?
A. They should understand that maintaining a moderate level of ambition is desirable.
B. They should be idealistic, imaginative, ready to face challenges and reach out to greater goals.
C. They should receive proper education and aim higher.
D. They should become better humans and be very practicable, suppressing all softer emotions.

188. Which word or group of words in the passage means ‘infinite’?
A. without limits
B. extension
C. exceed their grasp
D. deep

189. What is the implication for India of a pure and untainted system of education?
A. That too much of baseness has entered the flawless system.
B. That where we find strain, it is a product not of the existing system but of some anomaly or other.
C. That where we find some problem, it is because of the individual elements.
D. That the stress-free education system is so perfect that it can only be conceived in dreams.

190. What will be the benefits of children growing up as free individuals?
A. They will consider their thoughts as the highest and will be eager to confidently share them.
B. They will be practical and will be able to control the intensities of their emotions.
C. They will become more genial, sharing and receiving love without restraint.
D. They will be morally upright as far as worldly life is concerned.

Passage- V
(Q. 191-200):
Art both reflects and interprets the notion that produced it. Portraiture was the dominant theme of British painting up to the end of the eighteenth century because of a persistent demand for it. It would be unfair to say that human vanity and pride of possessions were the only reasons for this persistent demand, but certainly these motives played their part in shaping the course of British painting. Generally speaking, it is the artist’s enthusiasm that accounts for the vitality of the picture, but it is the client who dictates its subject matter. The history of national enthusiasms can be pretty accurately estimated by examining the subject matter of a nation’s art.
There is one type of subject which recurs in British painting of the late eighteenth century and the just half of the nineteenth and which hardly met with in the part of any other country – the sporting picture in which a love of outdoor life is directed into the channel of sport. The sporting picture is really an extension of the conversation piece. In it, the emphasis is even more firmly based on the descriptive side of painting. It made severe demands on the artist and it must be confessed that painters capable of satisfying these demands were rare. The ability to paint a reasonably convincing landscape is not often combined with the necessary knowledge of horses and dogs in movement and the power to introduce a portrait when necessary. To weld such diverse elements into a satisfactory aesthetic unity requires exceptional ability. It is not surprising, therefore, that while sporting pictures abound in England, especially in the private collections of country squires, not many of them are of real importance as works of art. What makes the sporting picture worth noting in a history of British painting is the fact that it is as truly indigenous and as truly popular a form of art in England as was the religious icon in Russia.
191. Artists capable of painting sporting pictures were________.
A. rarely found
B. umpteen
C. without any aesthetic sense
D. firmly dealt with

192. The motives that played their part in shaping the course of British painting are
A. the persistent demand for it and its supply.
B. the artist’s enthusiasm for it and his efforts.
C. human vanity and pride of possessions.
D. the spirit of competition that prevailed then and the encouragement given.

193. Persistent demand for portraliture could be found
A. in the early eighteenth century.
B. in the late eighteenth century.
C. up to the end of the eighteenth century.
D. before the end of the eighteenth century.

194. British painting of the late eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century chiefly deals with
A. a love of outdoor life directed into the channel of sport.
B. a love of country life which cannot be found in any other country.
C. love in the open directed into a sporting channel.
D. love out of doors with enough life in it.

195. England has sporting pictures in abundance but
A. they are not easily available.
B. not many of them are significant as works of art.
C. many of them are of real importance as works of art.
D. they are only to be found in the private collection of country squires and nowhere else.

196. In the history of English painting, the sporting picture is worth noting because
A. it is not at all native nor popular form of art in England.
B. it is truly religious, though insignificant in England.
C. it is truly sporting and exceptional in England.
D. it is truly native and a popular form of art in England.

197. ‘It’ in the line ‘It made severe demands on the artist… were rare’ refers to
A. the descriptive side of painting.
B. a convincing landscape.
C. the sporting picture.
D. the artist’s enthusiasm.

198. The vitality of the picture depends on
A. the strength of the artist.
B. the incentive given to him for his work.
C. the persistent demand for his work.
D. the enthusiasm of the artist.

199. Up to the end of the eighteenth century British artists chiefly painted portraits because
A. they could only paint portraits and nothing else.
B. they were religiously devoted towards portrait painting and nothing else.
C. more and more people repeatedly wanted artist to paint portraits and nothing else.
D. they were highly paid for portrait painting.

200. The sporting picture lays more stress on
A. the descriptive side of painting.
B. the constructive side of painting.
C. the abstract side of painting.
D. indigenous painting

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