Question

Read the following passage carefully:

(1)	It was a bleak, rainy day, and I had no desire to drive up the winding mountain road to my daughter Carolyn's house. But she had insisted that I come and see something at the top of the mountain.
(2)	So, here I was, reluctantly making the two-hour journey through fog that hung like veils. By the time I saw how thick it was near the summit, I'd gone too far to turn back. Nothing could be worth this, I thought, as I inched along the perilous highway.
(3)	"I'll stay for lunch, but I'm heading back down as soon as the fog lifts," I announced when I arrived. "But I need you to drive me to the garage to pick up my car," Carolyn said. "Could we at least do that?"
(4)	"How far is it?" I asked. "About three minutes," she said. "I'll drive- I'm used to it."
(5)	After ten minutes on the mountain road, I looked at her anxiously. "I thought you said three minutes." She grinned. "This is a detour."
(6)	Turning down a narrow track, we parked the car and got out. We walked along a path that was thick with old pine needles. Huge black-green evergreens towered over us. Gradually, the peace and silence of the place began to fill my mind.
(7)	Then we turned a corner and stopped - and I gasped in amazement.' From the top of the mountain, sloping for several acres across folds and valleys, were rivers of daffodils in radiant bloom. A profusion of colour - from the palest ivory to the deepest lemon to the most vivid salmon - blazed like a carpet before us. It looked as though the Sun had tipped over and spilled gold down the mountainside.
(8)	At the centre, cascaded a waterfall of purple hyacinths. Here and there were coral-coloured tulips. And as if this bonanza were not enough, Western bluebirds frolicked over the heads of the daffodils, their tawny breasts and sapphire wings like a flutter of jewels.
(9)	A riot of questions filled my mind. Who created such beauty? Why? How? As we approached the home that stood in the centre of the property, we saw a sign that read:" Answers to the Questions I Know You are Asking."
(10)	The first answer was: "One Woman - Two Hands, Two Feet." The second was: "One at a Time". The third was: "Started in 1958".
(11)	As we drove home, I was so moved by what we had seen, I could scarcely speak. "She changed the world," I finally said, "one bulb at a time. She started almost 40 years ago, probably just the beginning of an idea, but she kept at it."
(12)	The wonder of it would not let me go. "Imagine," I said, "If I'd had a vision and worked at it, just a little bit every day, what might I have accomplished? " Carolyn looked at me sideways, smiling. "Start tomorrow", said she. "Better yet, start today."

Answer the following questions based on the above passage.

1. State why the author was reluctant to make a two-hour journey.   (1)
2. "This is a detour." On what occasion did Carolyn say this to the author? (30 - 40 words only)   (2)
3. The author started liking the place because _________.    (1)
   1. of its forest and sandy sea beach.
   2. of the black-green evergreens towering over them.
   3. of the bleak and rainy day.
   4. of reaching the place in just three minutes.
4. The place, where the author went with her daughter, had a beautiful panoramic view. Justify this statement with reference to the passage, in about 40 words.   (2)
5. Why was the narrator's mind filled with questions?   (1)
6. Complete the following sentence appropriately.  (1)
   "The wonder of it would not let me go."
   From this sentence, we can infer that the author was deeply.....
7. State whether the given assertion is True or False.    (1)
   A field of flowers opens one woman's eyes to the world of the possibilities.
8. What is the lesson learns form her experience?      (1)   
   1. To drive to such places more often
   2. To start working for nature
   3. To change the world with a new vision
   4. That there is a huge world of possibilities
9. Find a word form Paragraph 1, which means the same as 'Cheerless and gloomy'.   (1)
10. Substitute the word 'perilous' with a word which is its synonym.   (1)
    1. Dangerous
    2. Cunning
    3. Devastating
    4. Secured

Answer 1

1. The author was reluctant to make a two-hour drive because it was a rainy day and the author did not want to drive up the winding road.
2. Carolyn, the author's daughter says this when she, in the pretext of taking the author to the garage to pick up her car. It was a journey of three minutes, she takes her father on a journey which crosses over 10 minutes.
3. The author started liking the place because of the black green evergreens towering over them.
4. It is true to say that the place, where the author's daughter took him, has a beautiful panoramic view. The landscape was magnificent with mountains covered in beautiful daffodils of different colours. The pale white and lemon yellow colours of the daffodils look as if the sun had coloured them as it. In addition, there were purple hyacinths and coral-colored tulips all of which were surrounded by Western bluebirds.
5. The narrators' mind was filled with questions because the landscape and its beauty mesmerised him so much that he wanted to know who created it, for what reason and how.
6. impacted and mesmerised by the beautiful landscape.
7. False
8. That there is huge world of possibilities
9. bleak
10. Dangerous