Read the following passages and select the most appropriate options as answers to the questions given below them:
When the time came for me to tell him what brought me to Darchen, his eyes lit up. “We could be a team,” he said excitedly. “Two academics who have escaped from the library.” Perhaps my positive thinking strategy was working after all.
My initial relief at meeting Norbu, who was also staying in the guesthouse, was tempered by the realisation that he was almost as ill-equipped as I was for the pilgrimage. He kept telling me how fat he was and how hard it was going to be. “Very high up,” he kept reminding me, “so tiresome to walk.” He wasn’t really a practising Buddhist, it transpired, but he had enthusiasm and he was, of course, Tibetan.
Although I’d originally envisaged making the trek in the company of devout believers, on reflection I decided that perhaps Norbu would turn out to be the ideal companion. He suggested we hire some yaks to carry our luggage, which I interpreted as a good sign, and he had no intention of prostrating himself all round the mountain. “Not possible,” he cried, collapsing across the table in hysterical laughter. It wasn’t his style, and anyway his tummy was too big.
1. The meaning of the phrase ‘his eyes lit up’ is ……………
A. ‘he was surprised.’
B. ‘he got excited.’
C. ‘he was shocked.’
D. ‘he became serious.’
2. The meaning of the word ‘transpired’ is ……………
A. ‘was disclosed.’
B. ‘was forgotten.’
C. ‘was decided.’
D. ‘was ignored.’
3. Norbu was ……………. to accompany the writer for the pilgrimage.
A. greatly excited
B. very much determined
C. quite unwilling
D. all prepared
4. What was identical about Norbu’s body ?
A. He laughed a lot.
B. His figure was short.
C. He was very fat.
D. His stomach was very big.
