PASSAGE 40

As my train was not due to leave for another hour, I had plenty of time to spare. After buying some magazines to read on the journey, I made my way to the luggage office to collect the heavy suitcase I had left there three days before. There were only a few people waiting, and I took out my wallet to find the receipt for my case. The receipt did not seem to be where I had left it. I emptied the contents of the wallet, and the railway tickets, money scraps of paper, and photographs tumbled out of it; but no matter how hard I searched the receipt was nowhere to be found. I explained the situation sorrowfully to the assistant. The man looked at me suspiciously as if to say he had heard this type of story many times and asked me to describe the case. I told him that it was an old brown looking object no different from the many suitcases I could see on the shelves. The assistant then gave me a form and told me to make a list of the contents of the case. If they were correct he said, I could take the case away. I tried to remember all the articles I had hurriedly packed and wrote them down.

After I had done this I went to look among the shelves. There were hundreds of cases there and for one dreaded moment it occurred to me that if someone had picked the receipt up he could easily have claimed the case already. Fortunately this had not happened, for after a time, I found the case lying on its side high up in the corner. After examining the articles inside, the assistant gave me the case. I took out my wallet to pay him. I pulled out a ten shilling note and out slipped my lost receipt with it! I could not help blushing. The assistant nodded his head knowingly as if to say that he had often seen this happen too!

1. The writer had plenty of time to spare because
A) He had arrived three days before.
B) He had arrived an hour earlier.
C) He had to collect his luggage.
D) He needed to buy magazines.

2. The writer needed the receipt
A) To claim his suitcase
B) To pay at the luggage office
C) To prove that he had paid at the luggage office
D) To prove that he had bought the suitcase

3. The writer felt foolish because
A) he could not find his receipt
B) he hadn’t really lost his receipt at all
C) he had to fill in a form
D) the assistant eyed him suspiciously

4. There weren’t _______ people waiting at the luggage room.
A) very much
B) a great deal of
C) lots of
D) very many

5. “wrote them down” means
A) copied them
B) signed them
C) made a note of them
D) pointed at them

6. The writer found the receipt
A) On the high shelf near the cases
B) Among the contents of his suitcase
C) Nestled with the money in his wallet
D) Trapped between the photographs in his wallet

7. The writer took out his wallet first time to
A) buy some magazines
B) look for the receipt
C) fill out the form given by the assistant
D) pay the assistant

8. The assistant asked the writer to make a list of the contents to
A) ascertain his ownership of the case
B) test his memory
C) charge him extra money
D) embarrass the writer

9. I explained the situation sorrowfully to the assistant means
A) the writer found the situation tragic
B) he explained the situation to the assistant who was very sorrowful
C) with great distress the writer explained his unfortunate situation to the assistant
D) The assistant found the situation tragic

10. In this passage situation means
A) place B) event
C) condition D) position

Answer Key

Solution with explanation

1. Option ‘B’. First line of the passage is good enough to know the answer.

2. Option ‘A’. Second sentence of the second paragraph is good enough to understand that the writer needed the receipt to claim his suitcase.

4. Option ‘D’. PEOPLE is a countable noun. VERY MUCH and A GREAT DEAL are used with uncountable nouns; so options ‘A’ and ‘B’ are rejected. To talk about quantities, numbers, amounts LOTS OF is used in conversational language, not in standard English; so option ‘C’ is rejected.

6. Option ‘C’. NESTLED = drawn or pressed close to someone or something for or as if for affection or protection. The second last sentence of the passage has the answer.

7. Option ‘B’. The line of the first paragraph — I emptied the contents of the wallet, and the railway tickets, money scraps of paper, and photographs tumbled out of it; but no matter how hard I searched the receipt was nowhere to be found. – is good enough to know the answer.

10. Option ‘D’. POSITION = a situation; e.g. When two of your best friends argue, it puts you in a very awkward position.

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