Read the following passage carefully and then answer items based on what is stated or implied. A cry went up from the pack running after him when he fell. There was tension and hysteria in that concerted cry. And other things too, but he scarcely thought about it at all. Three women fell out of the race and clutched their sides and laughed; one of them fell on the sidewalk laughing like that, her belly puffing up huge with laughter, and subsiding again, letting it go.

He scrambled up to his feet, their cries in his ears, spurring him on; he must run, run until he dropped, going God knows where. He scrambled to his feet, his fingers clawing at the asphalt, stumbled on, sounds filling his ears… shriek of a locomotive whistle…coming up, rising to a pitch, and going away…he turned the corner into the street that was at right angles to the one he had come down from the Slaughter House gates… he was running blind before, reacting to the compulsion of his fear…but now he saw his objective and it lent his effort purpose…a long line of freight cars was coming down from the railway yard along the lines that ran across the street, going towards No.1 Pier.

The gates were lowered across the street stopping traffic; all he had to do was to get across the lines before that string of freight cars. They would cut off his pursuit for the time it would take that long train to cross the street. Trains always slowed down going into the dockyard; sometimes stopped, straddling the street. All he had was to get across.

The man operating the gate yelled at him. He paid no heed. He had balanced it in his mind to nicety, figured he’d just have time to get across. He went under the gate. Voices shouted in his ears …the scream of the locomotive whistle rising to a crescendo…he paid no heed. The train was hurtling toward him, but he had time, he could make it.

 

The word “pack” in line of the passage best suggests that

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the man was being chased

his pursuers were like hounds

there were others racing with him

he was leading his competitors

The vivid description of the women is significant primarily because

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it lends relief to the tension of the scene

it makes the writing more picturesque

it appeals to the reader’s sense of humour

it shows the absurdity of the incident

The phrase “concerted cry” most nearly means

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rhythmic sound

all shouting at the same time

an outburst at a stage performance

a cry of defeat

The repetition of the word ‘run’ of the passage best suggests:

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the earnestness of the runner

an exaggerated picture

the urgency of the running

the futility of the running

The word ‘shriek’ used in paragraph 3 appeals to which of the following senses

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sight

hearing

smell

touch

By the frequent use of the triple dots (...) in paragraphs 2 and 4 of the passage, the writer intends to achieve

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better communication with his audience

a detailed description of the scene

gaps in rendering the experience

the mounting excitement and tension of the scene

The paragraph in which the runner experiences the most tension is