The Mayan Indians lived in Mexico for thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. The Mayan were an intelligent, culturally rich people whose achievements were many. They had farms, beautiful palaces, and cities with many buildings. The Mayan people knew a lot about nature and the world around them. This knowledge helped them to live a better life than most people of that time, because they could use it to make their lives more comfortable and rewarding. Knowledge about tools and farming, for instance, made their work easier and more productive.
In ancient Mexico there were many small clearings in the forest. In each clearing was a village with fields of corn, beans, and other crops around it. To clear the land for farms, the Mayan cut down trees with stone axes. They planted seeds by digging holes in the ground with pointed sticks. A farmer was able to grow crops that produced food for several people. But not every Mayan had to be a farmer. Some were cloth makers, builders, or priests.
The Mayan believed in many gods, including rain gods, sun gods, and corn gods. The people built large temples to honor the Mayan gods. Skillful workers built cities around these temples. It was difficult for them to construct these cities, because they had no horses to carry the heavy stone they used to build with. Workers had to carry all of the building materials themselves. Today, many of these ancient Mayan cities and temples are still standing.
Although the cities that the Mayan built were beautiful, and the people worked hard to build them, very few of the people lived in them. Usually, only the priests lived in the cities.
The other people lived in small villages in the forests. Their houses were much simpler than the elaborate structures in the cities. They lived in small huts with no windows. The walls were made of poles covered with dried mud, and the roof was made of grass or leaves. Most Maya lived a simple life close to nature.
Measuring time was important to the Maya, so they developed a system for measuring it accurately. Farmers needed to know when to plant and harvest their crops. Mayan priests made a system to keep track of time. They wrote numbers as dots (...) and bars (-). A dot was one and a bar was five.
The Mayan priests studied the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. They made a calendar from what they learned. The year was divided into 18 months of 20 days each with five days left over. The Mayan calendar was far more accurate than the European calendars of the time.
Around the year 800, the Maya left their villages and beautiful cities, never to return. No one knows why this happened. They may have died from an infectious disease. They may have left because the soil could no longer grow crops. Archaeologists are still trying to find the lost secrets of the Maya. They are still one of our greatest mysteries.
1. Read this sentence from the story.
The Maya were an intelligent, culturally rich people whose achievements were many.
What is a synonym for the word achievements?
mistakes
successes
skills
roads
Ans: B
2. The Maya lived in Mexico
only after the Spanish arrived
at the same time as the Spanish
only for a few years
thousands of years before the Spanish.
Ans: D
3. Many Mayan cities and temples are still standing today because
they were so well built.
they are not very old.
they have been rebuilt.
there is never any bad weather in Mexico.
Ans: A
4. What is the main idea of this article?
The Mayan calendar was more accurate than the European calendar.
The Maya were excellent farmers.
The Maya were a culturally rich, advanced society.
The Mayan cities were difficult to build.
Ans: B
5. MOST Mayan lived
in beautiful cities.
in huts made of poles, mud, and leaves.
in caves.
in stone temples.
Ans: B
Directions for Questions 6-10: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow on the basis of the information provided in the passage.
The Rajputs occupy an honoured place in the history of India. They were a war-like, people, proud and patriotic. They were jealous of their honour, and would lay down their lives to uphold it. They loved their homes and fought bravely to defend the honour of their women-folk. Nothing would tame their sprits. Perils only called forth their courage and poverty only increased their power of resistance. None could fight like them. Their motto was 'Better death than dishonour'.
6. Which of the following represents the central theme of the passage?
A) The pride of the Rajputs B) Rajputs and their sacrifices
C) The rise and fall of the Rajputs
D) Rajputs - the spritted heroes of Indian history.
Ans : (D)
7. Which of the following is opposite in meaning to the word 'proud in the passage'?
A) humble B) kind C) courteous D) cowardly
Ans : (A)
8. The expression 'tame their spirits' in the passage means
A) suppress their ambitions B) arouse their enthusiasm
C) develop their courage D) curb their enthusiasm
Ans : (D)
9. Which of the following statements is not true in the context of the passage?
A) The Rajputs achieved eminence in history due to their great bravery
B) They were homely people and would fight for upholding women's honour
C) In moments of danger they would exhibit great courage
D) They could not, however, face the challenge of poverty
Ans : (D)
10. According to the writer, the Rajputs occupy an honoured place in history, because
A) they were fond of wars
B) they were proud of their war
C) they were jealous of people's honour
D) they lived and died upholding their self respect.
Ans : (D)
Directions11-18 : Pick out the most effective word from the given words to fill in the blank to make the sentence meaningfully complete.
11. The two sisters look so............. that it is difficult to tell one from the other
A) same B) similar C) identical D) alike E) resembling
Ans: D
12. Since one cannot read every book, one should be content with making a...............selection
A) normal B) standard C) sample D) moderate E) judicious
Ans: E
13. Success comes to those who are vigilant not to permit............... from the chosen path
A) diversion B) deviation C) obstruction D) alienation E) distraction
Ans: B
14. His actions had..................pain and suffering on thousands of people.
A) deplored B) eliminated C) affected D) inflicted E) imposed
Ans: D
15. He has good...................over the famous world languages
A) authority B) expertise C) hold D) command E) knowledge
Ans: D
16. The lions in the Gir forest are protected as they come under ............ species.
A. dangerous B. engendered C. enamoured D. endangered
Ans: D
17. People who have an ....... reputation are often avoided by the rest
A. unsteady B. unsavory C. unsafe D. unsatisfied
Ans: B
18. My father was too ...........to push open the heavy door.
A. timid B. faint C. feeble D. faltering.
Ans: C
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