Reading Comprehension Test 27

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[passage-header]Read the passage and answer the question that follows:
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Henna comes from the leaves of the plant Lawsonia inermias. The plant grows in hot and dry climes, and is native to North Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Middle East. The leaves of the plant are dried and crushed to powder. Various additives such as coffee decoction, tea, lime juice, mehendi and eucalyptus oil are mixed with the henna powder to increase the potency of the dye; this also helps to bind the powder to a paste like consistency. The mixture is applied through cones in intricate patterns depending on the region of use.

Album of Patterns
Four major styles can be found in the vast dictionary of mehendi designs. Earlier the application was restricted to hands and feet, but the adoption of mehendi by different cultures throughout the world has seen experimentation on different body parts including the neck, navel and back.
North African patterns rely on geometrical images to trace the shape of hands and feet, Arabic designs borrow heavily from local textiles, paintings and architecture. These are more spaced out, to allow the design to stand out boldly from the skin parts left untouched by henna. The Indian style comprises of delicate loops and curves, paisleys, teardrops and flowers that give a dainty filigree glow-like effect. Though intricate patterning is the name of the game today, this trend took off in India only during the $$20$$th century. The patterns preferred by the South Asian countries are a mix of Indo-Pakistani and Arabic design schemes. Chinese and Celtic symbols now find a place in the vast repertorie of mehendi designs as well.

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Fill in the blank with the most suitable option:

Intricate pattern is the name of the game of today; ___________, this trend took off in India, recently.

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[passage-header]Answer the following question according to the text.[/passage-header] In an interview yesterday Mr. Wilson was questioned about the harmful effects of horror movies on teenagers. He argued that such effects were often exaggerated and claimed that other types of films were far more dangerous for young people. When asked to prove this, he pointed out that horror films were often set in unreal situations and were clearly not to be taken seriously. In contrast, he claimed that films showing violent crime were often set in everyday life, and were therefore more damaging.

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[passage-header]Answer the following question according to the text.[/passage-header] A popular method of treating frozen fingers and toes in very cold, even freezing weather is to slowly rewarm them or rub them with snow. The best treatment, however, is not slow rewarming but rapid rewarming. Putting the frozen fingers or toes in a warm bath or using a hot water bottle are both good ways to treat them. Hot drinks to warm the body from within are also helpful. One must be careful about burning the skin, however. The temperature of any heat applied should not be greater than 43$$^\circ$$C.

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[passage-header]Answer the following question according to the text.[/passage-header] The desires of a child were naturally rather limited in the Victorian era. Toys were simple and comparatively few. There were no bicycles or mechanical models; the average child "made his own fun" from very cheap materials. Really the only shop the child dreamed of entering for his own purposes was the sweatshop. Nowadays a bewildering variety of toys, magazines and entertainment in a multitude of shops, compete for his interest and money; and the boredom of having everything ready-made leads to a constant desire for something new.

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[passage-header]Answer the following question according to the text.[/passage-header] Every summer many people, girls and women as well as boys and men, try to swim from England to France or from France to England. The distance at the nearest points is only about twenty miles, but because of the strong currents the distance that must be swum is usually twice as far. The first man to succeed in swimming across the Channel was Captain Webb, an Englishman. This was in August 1875. He landed in France 21 hours 45 minutes after entering the water at Dover. Since then there have been many successful swims and the time has been shortened. One French swimmer crossed in 11 hours and 5 minutes.

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[passage-header]Answer the following question according to the text.[/passage-header] Most people were not impressed when in 1913, the Daily Mail newspaper offered 10,000 pounds to the first pilot to fly across the Atlantic in under 72 hours. The majority of scientists, even said it could not be done. Certainly the problems involved were many and far ranging. Obviously the design of the aeroplane was of great importance, but so too were the skill and courage of the pilot and the navigator; weather conditions also had to be taken into consideration. A very few enthusiasts thought it might be possible ten years later. They were wrong. A pilot received the prize just six years later.

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