ADVANCED READING AND WRITING

(Brief-answer Questions)

Reading – I

9. Read the following composition attentively and answer any five of the questions:

Hercules was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena. Eurystheus, the King of Mycenate and his cousin, made him undergo some difficult tasks, which are known in Greek myths as the `twelve labours of Hercules’. The valley of Nemea was being disturbed by a terrible lion and so Eurystheus ordered Hercules to slay the beast and bring him his skin. At first, Hercules tried to fight the lion with his club and arrows but this took him nowhere. Then Hercules attempted a different tactic: he decided he would use his hands. He thus managed to slay the animal on his own, relying entirely on his immense strength. Victorious, he returned to Mycenae carrying the dead lion on his shoulders, a sight that terrified the king.

His next task was to slay a monster called Hydra that was ravaging the country of Argos. The Hydra had nine heads, of which the middle on was said to be immortal. Our hero struck off its heads with his club, but whenever he knocked off a head, two new ones erupted in its place. Eventually with the help of his devoted servant Iolaus, Hercules succeeded in burning all the heads of the Hydra Except the ninth or immortal one, which he decided to bury under a huge rock. In other words, Hercules triumphed again, as he would every time he was given an impossible task by Eurystheus! And this is how he began to acquire the reputation of a hero possessing immense strength throughout the world.

      a.  Hercules was able to slay the Hydra –  

      (Choose the best answer)

      i. at first chance ii. by repeated attempts iii. effortlessly.

      Ans : ii. by repeated attempts

      b. Hercules attained reputation for his superhuman efforts.

      (Is this statement true or false?)

      Ans : True

      c.  Hydra was a terrible monster that was causing …… to the country of Argos.

      (Fill in the blank with an appropriate word based on the passage)

      Ans : disturbance  

      d. Acquire (Noun)

      (Change the word as directed and make a sentence with the changed one.)

      Ans : Acquirement – Education brings positive change in attitude through the acquirement of knowledge.

      e.  What does the phrase "twelve labours of Hercules" mean in the passage?

      Ans : In this passage, the phrase "twelve labours of Hercules" means the twelve impossible tasks completed by Hercules.