Eca Practice Test
Read The Passage Carefully and answer the questions that follow. � Don't forget to look for key words and READ the passage. �
Use process of elimination to help you figure out the answer.
Questions and Answers
- 1.
The Photograph Ruskin Bond In this story set in India, a boy spends a summer day with his grandmother. 1 I was ten years old. My grandmother sat on the string bed under the mango tree. It was late summer and there were sunflowers in the garden and a warm wind in the trees. My grandmother was knitting a woollen scarf for the winter months. She was very old, dressed in a plain white sari.1 Her eyes were not very strong now but her fingers moved quickly with the needles and the needles kept clicking all afternoon. Grandmother had white hair but there were very few wrinkles on her skin. 2 I had come home after playing cricket on the maidan.2 I had taken my meal and now I was rummaging in a box of old books and family heirlooms that had just that day been brought out of the attic by my mother. Nothing in the box interested me very much except for a book with colourful pictures of birds and butterflies. I was going through the book, looking at the pictures, when I found a small photograph between the pages. It was a faded picture, a little yellow and foggy. It was the picture of a girl standing against a wall and behind the wall there was nothing but sky. But from the other side a pair of hands reached up, as though someone was going to climb the wall. There were flowers growing near the girl but I couldn’t tell what they were. There was a creeper too but it was just a creeper. 3 I ran out into the garden. “Granny!” I shouted. “Look at this picture! I found it in the box of old things. Whose picture is it?” 4 I jumped on the bed beside my grandmother and she walloped me on the bottom and said, “Now I’ve lost count of my stitches and the next time you do that I’ll make you finish the scarf yourself.” 5 Granny was always threatening to teach me how to knit which I thought was a disgraceful thing for a boy to do. It was a good deterrent for keeping me out of mischief. Once I had torn the drawing-room curtains and Granny had put a needle and thread in my hand and made me stitch the curtain together, even though I make long, two-inch stitches, which had to be taken out by my mother and done again. 6 She took the photograph from my hand and we both stared at it for quite a long time. The girl had long, loose hair and she wore a long dress that nearly covered her ankles, and sleeves that reached her wrists, and there were a lot of bangles on her hands. But despite all this drapery, the girl appeared to be full of freedom and movement. She stood with her legs apart and her hands on her hips and had a wide, almost devilish smile on her face. 7 “Whose picture is it?” I asked. 8 “A little girl’s, of course,” said Grandmother. “Can’t you tell?” 9 “Yes, but did you know the girl?” 10 “Yes, I knew her,” said Granny, “but she was a very wicked girl and I shouldn’t tell you about her. But I’ll tell you about the photograph. It was taken in your grandfather’s house about sixty years ago. And that’s the garden wall and over the wall there was a road going to town.” 11 “Whose hands are they,” I asked, “coming up from the other side?” 1sari—an outer garment worn by women of India, consisting of a long lightweight cloth wrapped around the waist and draped over the shoulder 2maidan—a level, open space near a town in India RYPHO611_ 12 Grandmother squinted and looked closely at the picture, and shook her head. “It’s the first time I’ve noticed,” she said. “They must have been the sweeper boy’s. Or maybe they were your grandfather’s.” 13 “They don’t look like Grandfather’s hands,” I said. “His hands are all bony.” 14 “Yes, but this was sixty years ago.” 15 “Didn’t he climb up the wall after the photo?” 16 “No, nobody climbed up. At least, I don’t remember.” 17 “And you remember well, Granny.” 18 “Yes, I remember . . . . I remember what is not in the photograph. It was a spring day and there was a cool breeze blowing, nothing like this. Those flowers at the girl’s feet, they were marigolds, and the bougainvillea creeper, it was a mass of purple. You cannot see these colours in the photo and even if you could, as nowadays, you wouldn’t be able to smell the flowers or feel the breeze.” 19 “And what about the girl?” I said. “Tell me about the girl.” 20 “Well, she was a wicked girl,” said Granny. “You don’t know the trouble they had getting her into those fine clothes she’s wearing.” 21 “I think they are terrible clothes,” I said. 22 “So did she. Most of the time, she hardly wore a thing. She used to go swimming in a muddy pool with a lot of ruffianly3 boys, and ride on the backs of buffaloes. No boy ever teased her, though, because she could kick and scratch and pull his hair out!” 23 “She looks like it too,” I said. “You can tell by the way she’s smiling. At any moment something’s going to happen.” 24 “Something did happen,” said Granny. “Her mother wouldn’t let her take off the clothes afterwards, so she went swimming in them, and lay for half an hour in the mud.” 25 I laughed heartily and Grandmother laughed too. 26 “Who was the girl?” I said. “You must tell me who she was.” 27 “No, that wouldn’t do,” said Grandmother, but I pretended I didn’t know. I knew, because Grandmother still smiled in the same way, even though she didn’t have as many teeth. 28 “Come on, Granny,” I said, “tell me, tell me.” 29 But Grandmother shook her head and carried on with the knitting. And I held the photograph in my hand looking from it to my grandmother and back again, trying to find points in common between the old lady and the little pig-tailed girl. A lemon-coloured butterfly settled on the end of Grandmother’s knitting needle and stayed there while the needles clicked away. I made a grab at the butterfly and it flew off in a dipping flight and settled on a sunflower. 30 “I wonder whose hands they were,” whispered Grandmother to herself, with her head bowed, and her needles clicking away in the soft warm silence of that summer afternoon. 3ruffianly — tough or rowdy 20. In paragraphs 1–6, the grandmother’s actions imply that she is
- A.
Abusive
- B.
Old-fashioned
- C.
Playful
- D.
Patient
Correct Answer
B. Old-fashionedExplanation
The grandmother's actions in paragraphs 1-6 suggest that she is old-fashioned. She is seen knitting a woollen scarf and wearing a plain white sari, indicating a traditional and conservative lifestyle. She also threatens to teach the boy how to knit, which he considers disgraceful for a boy to do. These actions and beliefs align with a more traditional and old-fashioned mindset.Rate this question:
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- 2.
These sentences from paragraph 1, “It was late summer and there were sunflowers in the garden and a warm wind in the trees” and “She was very old, dressed in a plain white sari,” provide examples of —
- A.
Metaphor
- B.
Symbolism
- C.
Foreshadowing
- D.
Imagery
Correct Answer
D. ImageryExplanation
The given sentences create vivid mental images in the reader's mind. The mention of sunflowers in the garden and a warm wind in the trees appeals to the senses of sight and touch, creating a visual and sensory experience for the reader. The description of the old woman dressed in a plain white sari also adds to the imagery by providing a visual representation of her appearance. Therefore, these sentences exemplify the use of imagery in the text.Rate this question:
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- 3.
I ran out into the garden. “Granny!” I shouted. “Look at this picture! I found it in the box of old things. Whose picture is it?” 4 I jumped on the bed beside my grandmother and she walloped me on the bottom and said, “Now I’ve lost count of my stitches and the next time you do that I’ll make you finish the scarf yourself.” 5 Granny was always threatening to teach me how to knit which I thought was a disgraceful thing for a boy to do. It was a good deterrent for keeping me out of mischief. Once I had torn the drawing-room curtains and Granny had put a needle and thread in my hand and made me stitch the curtain together, even though I make long, two-inch stitches, which had to be taken out by my mother and done again. Paragraphs 3–5 reveal that this story is set in a society in which —
- A.
Children are taught to be seen and not heard
- B.
Boys learn different skills than girls _
- C.
Families struggle with poverty and hunger
- D.
Women make knitted garments to sell
Correct Answer
B. Boys learn different skills than girls _Explanation
The correct answer is "boys learn different skills than girls". This is evident from the statement "Granny was always threatening to teach me how to knit which I thought was a disgraceful thing for a boy to do." This suggests that knitting is considered a skill for girls and not for boys in the society depicted in the story.Rate this question:
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- 4.
6. She took the photograph from my hand and we both stared at it for quite a long time. The girl had long, loose hair and she wore a long dress that nearly covered her ankles, and sleeves that reached her wrists, and there were a lot of bangles on her hands. But despite all this drapery, the girl appeared to be full of freedom and movement. She stood with her legs apart and her hands on her hips and had a wide, almost devilish smile on her face. In paragraph 6, the character of the girl in the photograph is revealed through -
- A.
Her actions
- B.
The narrator's description
- C.
Her thoughts
- D.
The characters' dialogue
Correct Answer
B. The narrator's descriptionExplanation
The character of the girl in the photograph is revealed through the narrator's description. The passage provides details about the girl's appearance, such as her long hair, long dress, and bangles on her hands. Additionally, the narrator describes the girl's posture and facial expression, mentioning that she stands with her legs apart, hands on her hips, and has a wide, almost devilish smile. These descriptions paint a vivid picture of the girl and give insight into her personality and demeanor.Rate this question:
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- 5.
18 “Yes, I remember . . . . I remember what is not in the photograph. It was a spring day and there was a cool breeze blowing, nothing like this. Those flowers at the girl’s feet, they were marigolds, and the bougainvillea creeper, it was a mass of purple. You cannot see these colours in the photo and even if you could, as nowadays, you wouldn’t be able to smell the flowers or feel the breeze.” According to paragraph 18, the photograph differs from the grandmother’s memory of the setting because the photograph does not capture —
- A.
The heat of the day
- B.
The appearance of the girl
- C.
The kinds of plants
- D.
The colors of the flowers
Correct Answer
D. The colors of the flowersExplanation
The paragraph states that the photograph does not capture the colors of the flowers. The grandmother remembers that the flowers at the girl's feet were marigolds and the bougainvillea creeper was a mass of purple, but these colors cannot be seen in the photo.Rate this question:
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- 6.
22 “So did she. Most of the time, she hardly wore a thing. She used to go swimming in a muddy pool with a lot of ruffianly3 boys, and ride on the backs of buffaloes. No boy ever teased her, though, because she could kick and scratch and pull his hair out!” 23 “She looks like it too,” I said. “You can tell by the way she’s smiling. At any moment something’s going to happen.” 24 “Something did happen,” said Granny. “Her mother wouldn’t let her take off the clothes afterwards, so she went swimming in them, and lay for half an hour in the mud.” In paragraphs 22 and 24, the description of the girl in the photograph creates an impression that
- A.
She was affectionate and loving
- B.
The boys were unfriendly and mean
- C.
She was rebeillious and carefree
- D.
The mother was patient and supportive
Correct Answer
C. She was rebeillious and carefreeExplanation
The description in paragraphs 22 and 24 mentions that the girl hardly wore any clothes, went swimming in a muddy pool with ruffianly boys, and lay in the mud for half an hour. These actions suggest that she was rebellious and carefree, as she did not conform to societal norms and enjoyed engaging in activities that were unconventional and adventurous.Rate this question:
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