Kathmandu - Reading Comprehension

AP/ NCERT Board-Based Reading Comprehension Passages Grade 9 Beehive 

Chapter 8 Kathmandu

Reading Comprehension 1

I get a cheap room in the centre of town and sleep for hours. The next morning, with Mr Shah’s son and nephew, I visit the two temples in Kathmandu that are most sacred to Hindus and Buddhists.

At Pashupatinath (outside which a sign proclaims ‘Entrance for the Hindus only’) there is an atmosphere of ‘febrile confusion’. Priests, hawkers, devotees, tourists, cows, monkeys, pigeons and dogs roam through the grounds. We offer a few flowers. There are so many worshippers that some people trying to get the priest’s attention are elbowed aside by others pushing their way to the front. A princess of the Nepalese royal house appears; everyone bows and makes way. By the main gate, a party of saffron-clad Westerners struggle for permission to enter. The policeman is not convinced that they are ‘the Hindus’ (only Hindus are allowed to enter the temple). A fight breaks out between two monkeys. One chases the other, who jumps onto a shivalinga, then runs screaming around the temples and down to the river, the holy Bagmati, that flows below. A corpse is being cremated on its banks; washerwomen are at their work and children bathe. From a balcony a basket of flowers and leaves, old offerings now wilted, is dropped into the river. A small shrine half protrudes from the stone platform on the river bank. When it emerges fully, the goddess inside will escape, and the evil period of the Kaliyug will end on earth.

1. According to the passage, which two temples in Kathmandu are most sacred to Hindus and Buddhists?

    a) Pashupatinath and Swayambhunath

    b) Boudhanath and Durbar Square

    c) Pashupatinath and Boudhanath 

     c)Swayambhunath and Durbar Square

2. What is the atmosphere like at Pashupatinath?

    a) Calm and serene

     b)Noisy and chaotic 

    c) Empty and deserted

    d) Peaceful and tranquil

3. Who is allowed to enter the Pashupatinath temple according to the sign outside?

    a) Hindus only 

    b) Buddhists only

    c)Tourists only

    d) Priests only

4. What happens when a small shrine fully emerges from the stone platform on the river bank?

    a) The river will flood

    b) The temple will collapse

    c) The goddess inside will escape

    d) The evil period of the Kaliyug will begin on earth

5. The phrase "febrile confusion" refers to

    a) state of restless, frenzied, or agitated confusion.

    b) a heightened level of excitement, chaos, or disorder.

    c) the symptoms exhibited during a fever.

    d) All the above 

Reading Comprehension 2

At the Baudhnath stupa, the Buddhist shrine of Kathmandu, there is, in contrast, a sense of stillness. Its immense white dome is ringed by a road. Small shops stand on its outer edge: many of these are owned by Tibetan immigrants; felt bags, Tibetan prints and silver jewellery can be bought here. There are no crowds: this is a haven of quietness in the busy streets around.

1. What is the main characteristic of the atmosphere at the Baudhnath stupa?

   a) Stillness

   b) Chaos

   c) Confusion

   d) Crowdedness

 2. What surrounds the immense white dome of the Baudhnath stupa?

   a) Gardens

   b) Monasteries

   c) Shops

   d) Temples

3. Who primarily owns the small shops surrounding the Baudhnath stupa?

   a) Local Nepalese vendors

   b) Indian immigrants

   c) Tibetan immigrants

   d) Chinese immigrants

4. What items can be purchased at the shops near the Baudhnath stupa?

   a) Felt bags and silver jewellery

   b) Traditional Nepalese clothing

   c) Religious artifacts

   d) Local artwork

5. This is a haven of quietness in the busy streets around - what is being described here?

     a) Baudhnath stupa

     b) Shops

     c) Roads

    d) Restaurants 

Reading Comprehension 3

Kathmandu is vivid, mercenary, religious, with small shrines to flower-adorned deities along the narrowest and busiest streets; with fruit sellers, flute sellers, hawkers of postcards; shops selling Western cosmetics, film rolls and chocolate; or copper utensils and Nepalese antiques. Film songs blare out from the radios, car horns sound, bicycle bells ring, stray cows low questioningly at motorcycles, vendors shout out their wares. I indulge myself mindlessly: buy a bar of marzipan, a corn-on-the-cob roasted in a charcoal brazier on the pavement (rubbed with salt, chilli powder and lemon); a couple of love story comics, and even a Reader’s Digest. All this I wash down with Coca Cola and a nauseating orange drink, and feel much better for it.

1. What can be found along the narrow and busy streets of Kathmandu?

   a) Small shrines to flower-adorned deities

   b) Vegetable markets

   c) Clothing boutiques

   d) Music stores

2. What items are sold in the shops of Kathmandu?

   a) Western cosmetics and film rolls

   b) Traditional Nepalese clothing

   c) Antique furniture and artwork

   d) Local handicrafts and souvenirs

3. What can be heard in the bustling streets of Kathmandu?

   a) Film songs blaring from radios

   b) Sounds of construction

   c) Church bells ringing

   d) Water fountains flowing

4. What does the narrator indulge themselves with in Kathmandu?

   a) Local fruits and vegetables

   b) Traditional Nepalese cuisine

   c) Marzipan and roasted corn-on-the-cob

   d) Exotic teas and spices

5. How does the narrator feel after indulging in their purchases?

   a) Disappointed

   b) Nauseous

   c) Energized

   d) Regretful

Reading Comprehension 4

I consider what route I should take back home. If I were propelled by enthusiasm for travel per se, I would go by bus and train to Patna, then sail up the Ganges past Benaras to Allahabad, then up the Yamuna, past Agra to Delhi. But I am too exhausted and homesick; today is the last day of August. Go home, I tell myself: move directly towards home. I enter a Nepal Airlines office and buy a ticket for tomorrow’s flight.

1. Why does the narrator consider going by bus and train to Patna instead of taking a direct flight?

   a) Enthusiasm for travel per se

   b) Cost-effectiveness

   c) Preference for scenic routes

   d) Exhaustion and homesickness

2. Which rivers would the narrator sail past if they chose the bus and train route?

   a) Ganges and Yamuna

   b) Brahmaputra and Indus

   c) Nile and Amazon

   d) Mississippi and Danube

3. Why does the narrator decide to move directly towards home?

   a) They want to explore more places along the way

   b) They are too exhausted and homesick

   c) They received a job offer in their hometown

   d) They want to avoid crowded transportation

4. What mode of transportation does the narrator choose in the end?

   a) Bus

   b) Train

   c) Flight

   d) Boat

5. When does the narrator purchase the flight ticket?

   a) The same day as the decision

   b) One week in advance

   c) The day after the decision

   d) They don't mention the specific timing

Reading Comprehension 5

I look at the flute seller standing in a corner of the square near the hotel. In his hand is a pole with an attachment at the top from which fifty or sixty bansuris protrude in all directions, like the quills of a porcupine. They are of bamboo: there are cross-flutes and recorders. From time to time he stands the pole on the ground, selects a flute and plays for a few minutes. The sound rises clearly above the noise of the traffic and the hawkers’ cries. He plays slowly, meditatively, without excessive display. He does not shout out his wares. Occasionally he makes a sale, but in a curiously offhanded way as if this were incidental to his enterprise. Sometimes he breaks off playing to talk to the fruit seller. I imagine that this has been the pattern of his life for years.

1. What does the flute seller hold in his hand?

    a) A bag of flutes

    b) A pole with an attachment

    c) A musical instrument case

    d) A collection of records

2. What are the bansuris made of?

    a) Metal

    b) Plastic

    c) Bamboo

    d) Wood

3. How does the flute seller play the flute?

    a) Rapidly and energetically

    b) Loudly and aggressively

    c) Calmly and contemplatively

    d) Softly and timidly

4. How does the flute seller handle his sales?

    a) He shouts out his wares to attract customers.

    b) He aggressively promotes his flutes to potential buyers.

    c) He makes sales incidentally, without much emphasis.

    d) He engages in elaborate demonstrations to sell his flutes.

5. Match the meanings with the words:

        1) Meditatively          a) Stick out or extend beyond a surface

        2) Protrude                b) Not essential or necessary; secondary or minor

        3) Incidental              c) A project or undertaking, typically a business venture

        4) Enterprise             d) Casual or without much thought or preparation

        5) Offhanded             e) Thoughtfully or contemplatively

    a) 1-d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c, 5-e

    b) 1-e, 2-b  3-a, 4-c, 5-d

    c) 1-e, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c, 5-d 

    d) 1-e, 2-a, 3-c  4-b  5-d

Reading Comprehension 6

I find it difficult to tear myself away from the square. Flute music always does this to me: it is at once the most universal and most particular of sounds. There is no culture that does not have its flute—the reed neh, the recorder, the Japanese shakuhachi, the deep bansuri of Hindustani classical music, the clear or breathy flutes of South America, the high-pitched Chinese flutes. Each has its specific fingering and compass. It weaves its own associations. Yet to hear any flute is, it seems to me, to be drawn into the commonality of all mankind, to be moved by music closest in its phrases and sentences to the human voice. Its motive force too is living breath: it too needs to pause and breathe before it can go on.

That I can be so affected by a few familiar phrases on the bansuri, surprises me at first, for on the previous occasions that I have returned home after a long absence abroad, I have hardly noticed such details, and certainly have not invested them with the significance I now do.

1. What feeling does the author experience when listening to flute music?

   a) Disinterest

   b) Indifference

   c) Difficulty in leaving

   d) Boredom

2. What is unique about flute music?

   a) It is specific to certain cultures only.

   b) It has no universal appeal.

   c) It lacks association with human emotions.

   d) It is both universal and particular.

 3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a type of flute?

   a) Reed neh

   b) Shakuhachi

   c) Bansuri

   d) Sitar

4. What does the author compare flute music to in terms of its closeness to the human voice?

   a) A drumbeat

   b) A trumpet

   c) A guitar

   d) A bansuri

  5. What is the motive force of flute music?

     a) Melody

    b) Rhythm

    c) Living breath

    d) Musical notation

 6.Choose the Irrelevant statement. 

    a) The narrator is amazed by the impact of the flute on him.

    b) Seth admits that he has not invested time in the details of flute music.

    c) Seth is seeing the flute for the first time. 

    d) The narrator admits that the flute is familiar to him.