PASSAGE-9

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow โ€“
The umbrella is an old idea. It has not changed much over time. Old sculpture (art made with clay) from the Middle East, shows the king with an umbrella. The sculpture is over 1,000 years old. At that time, common people did not have umbrellas. Only royalty had them. More than 2000 years ago, fashionable women carried umbrellas in ancient Greece. In China, only royalty used umbrellas. In old Chinese books, there are illustrations of umbrellas. These pictures were made with paint, blood, and special drawing tools. The umbrellas in old Chinese books look a lot like todayโ€™s umbrellas. There is not much information about umbrellas in Europe in the Middle Ages. People probably used their coats to protect themselves from the rain. People in the South Pacific used umbrellas made of palm leaves to protect themselves from the sun and rain. There have been many improvements to umbrellas. Now, modern umbrellas are better than the old umbrellas. The old umbrellas were often made of oiled silk. Modern umbrellas are made of cotton or plastic. Old umbrellas had ribbing made of wood. Modern umbrellas have steel ribs. Also, the trunk of the modern umbrella extends like a telescope. It can collapse and become shorter or extend and become longer.

1) Fashionable women had umbrellas inโ€ฆ
A. Europe in the Middle Ages        B. the South Pacific          C. the Middle East       D. ancient Greece

2) In ancient China โ€ฆ
A. only royalty had umbrellas                 B. umbrellas were made of palm leaves
C. umbrellas looked modern                     D. Both A and C are correct

3) In Europe in the Middle Agesโ€ฆ
A. people used their coats to keep dry             B. people used modern umbrellas
C. people used silk umbrellas                            D. None of the above

4) People in the South Pacific usedโ€ฆ
A. umbrellas made of palm leaves                B. umbrellas made of plastic
C. collapsing umbrellas                                   D. telescopes

5) Old umbrellas were often made withโ€ฆ
A. steel               B. cotton                 C. plastic                 D. oiled silk

ANSWERS

1. ancient Greece                      2. umbrellas looked modern       

 3. people used their coats to keep dry          4. umbrellas made of palm leaves    5. oiled silk

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                                                                 PASSAGE-10
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow โ€“
Bessie Smith was the โ€œEmpress of the Blues.โ€ But long before she earned that title, she and her
brother Andrew performed on the streets of Chattanooga, Tennessee. They came from an impoverished family, so they needed to earn money for their household. He danced, and she sang. The two often performed in front of the White Elephant Saloon, a tavern in the cityโ€™s Africanโ€“American community. In 1912, Bessie Smith met Gertrude โ€œMaโ€ Rainey (known as the โ€œMother of the Blues.”) Smith joined Maโ€™s vaudeville act and became a popular Blues singer. In the 1920s, Bessie Smith starred in the Broadway musical How Come? In 1923, she made her first record, โ€œGulf Coast Bluesโ€ and โ€œDown Hearted Blues.โ€ It sold 800,000 copies. She made records with some of the most famous Jazz musicians of that era, including James P. Johnson, Coleman Hawkins, and Louis Armstrong. One of her most famous recordings was โ€œSt. Louis Blues,โ€ recorded in 1929 with Louis Armstrong. She was the highest paid black singer of that time. She made 160 records. But the Depression in the 1930s was not good for her career. Columbia Records dropped her in the 1930s. She died in 1937. Today Bessie Smith is still remembered as the โ€œEmpress of the Blues.โ€ Bessie Smith was admitted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

1) What was Bessie Smith called?
A. โ€œMaโ€            B. โ€œMa Blueโ€                 C. โ€œMother of the Blues.โ€                 D. โ€œEmpress of the Blues.โ€

2) Bessie and Andrew Smith performedโ€ฆ
A. in the White Elephant Saloon        B. in Chattanooga, Tennessee        C. on Broadway       D. in a tavern.

3) When did Smith make her first record?
A. 1912             B. 1920                      C. 1923              D. 1929

4) Smith recorded โ€œSt.. Louis Bluesโ€ withโ€ฆ
A. Louis Armstrong            B. James P. Johnson              C. Coleman Hawkins         D. None of the above

5) Which company did Smith record for?
A. White Elephant          B. Broadway             C. Columbia             D. None of the above

ANSWERS

1. Empress of the Blues.                  2. in Chattanooga, Tennessee                 3. 1923
4. Louis Armstrong                            5. Columbia

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