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This question asked in [Delhi Set, 2019]
Read the following passage carefully:
(1)Overpowering prey is a challenge for creatures that do not have any limbs. Some species like Russell’s viper, inject poison into their prey. Some others opt for an alternative non-chemical method - rat snakes, for instance, catch and push their prey against the ground to immobilize them, while pythons use their muscle power to crush their prey to death. But snakes can’t be neatly divided into poisonous and non-poisonous categories.
(2)Even species listed as non-poisonous are not completely free of poison. The common Sand Boa, for instance, produces secretions particularly poisonous and dangerous to birds. So, the species does not prefer to take any chance – it crushes its prey and injects poison as an extra step.
(3)Do vipers need poison powerful enough to kill hundreds of rats with just one drop? After all, they eat only one or two at a time.
(4)While hunting, animals try their best to kill as efficiently as possible while their prey will put in all the efforts, use any trick to avoid getting caught and becoming a meal, such as developing immunity to the poison. For instance, Californian ground squirrels are resistant to Northern Pacific rattle snake getting caught and poison.
(5)Competition with prey is not the only thing driving snakes to evolve more and more deadly poison. Snakes also have to struggle to avoid becoming prey themselves.
(6)Some snake killers are prone to have partial immunity to poison. Famously, mongooses are sure; highly resistant to the poison of cobra, and with their speed and agility, they can kill snakes fearlessly and are relatively unharmed. It would be mean definite death of cobras as a species if they did not evolve a more deadly poison to stop and resist the mongooses.
(7)Poison has another very important role. It has an extreme meat softening property; their specific enzymes break up the insides of the prey. Normally, a reptile depends on the sun’s warm rays to aid it in its digestion.
(8)But I wonder if we cannot use the venom in our favour. In remote parts of India, local hospitality there often involves serving leather-tough meat. I chew and chew until my jaws start aching. If I spit it out or refuse, our hosts would be offended, I swallow like a python stuffing a deer, down its throat and hope I don’t choke. If only I had poison.
Question 4 ( i )
How do Russell vipers attack their prey?
(A) Inject poison
(B) Crush their prey
(C) Push their prey against the ground
(D) Bite their prey
Answer
So, the correct answer is (A)
Question 4 (ii)
Rat snakes attack their prey by ________.
(A) injecting poison
(B) crushing their prey
(C) pushing their prey against the ground
(D) biting their prey
Answer
So, the correct answer is (C)
Question 4 (iii)
The Sand Boa attacks its prey by _______.
(A) injecting poison
(B) crushing its prey
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) only (A)
Answer
So, the correct answer is (C)
Question 4 (iv)
How many rats do vipers consume at a time?
(A) one or two at a time.
(B) three to four at a time.
(C) five to six at a time.
(D) seven to eight at a time.
Answer
So, the correct answer is (A)
Question 4 (v)
Why do animals try to kill efficiently?
(A) as their prey will use any trick to avoid becoming a meal.
(B) as their prey might attack them.
(C) as they are testing their skill.
(D) as they are trying to learn new tricks.
Answer
So, the correct answer is (A)
Question 4 (vi)
What immunity does Californian ground squirrels have?
(A) They have grown bigger in size.
(B) They inject poison.
(C) They have become resistant to Northern Pacific rattle snake poison.
(D) They can run extremely fast.
Answer
So, the correct answer is (C)
Question 4 (vii)
Poison has one important role, it _______.
(A) makes the meat sweet
(B) reduces the size of the meat
(C) it acts as a preservative
(D) makes the meat soft
Answer
So, the correct answer is (D)
Question 4 (viii)
The writer wished he had poison because __.
(A) he wanted to hurt someone.
(B) he wanted to know how the poison works.
(C) he wanted to make the meat soft.
(D) none of these
Answer
So, the correct answer is (C)
Question 4 (ix)
The synonym of the ‘another’ in para (1) is
(A) opt
(B) alternative
(C) a creature
(D) against
Answer
So, the correct answer is (B)
Question 4 (x)
One word for ‘liquid substances released from glands’:
(A) secretions
(B) species
(C) injects
(D) poisonous
Answer
So, the correct answer is (A)
Question 4 (xi)
The synonym of ‘particular’ in para 7 is ____.
(A) extreme
(B) enzymes
(C) aid
(D) specific
Answer
So, the correct answer is (D)
Question 4 (xii)
The word which means the same as ’poison’ in para 8 is ____________.
(A) venom
(B) remote
(C) offended
(D) choke
Answer
So, the correct answer is (A)
