Off the coast near Jeddah about six years ago I slipped a pair of flippers onto my feet, put on a face mask and gingerly poked my head beneath the placid surface of the Red Sea. I am not sure, now, exactly what I saw in that first glimpse; shafts of sunlight, probably, slanting off through clear blue water; a coral reef of fantastic beauty and, no doubt, many fish. But I do recall that by the time I surfaced I had already developed a need to return to that incredibly lovely world below. So I did. Indeed, it would not be much of an exaggeration to say that except for such periods as were necessary to earn a living, I have rarely been anywhere else. Diving became a passion and then a way of life—one, as you will gather, I totally endorse.
For the first year after that initial experience I amused myself by hunting fish with a spear gun. It was not at all difficult. Fish are so abundant there that divers do not need to use tanks to get down to where the fish are; they find them near the surface. Furthermore, the water of the Red Sea, like the Caribbean, the South Seas and parts of the Indian Ocean, is so transparent that you can see upto 150 feet away. Thus, all you really need are a mask, a snorkel tube to breathe through, flippers and a spear gun.
Hunting, however, began to pall on me. I began to wonder if it wouldn’t be more interesting—and more sporting—to photograph some of these magnificent creatures rather than kill them. It was certainly an ideal place for underwater photography. In addition to hundreds of species of fish the Red Sea coast offers thousands of miles of what they call ‘fringing reefs’—great barriers of coral 10 to 200 miles wide that wind along the African shore from Egypt to Djibouti and down the Asian shore from Aqaba to the Babal-Mandab at the gate of the Indian Ocean. Although no more than the accumulation of billions of coral polyps—minute creatures that produce a calcareous deposit—the reefs have grown to fantastic sizes, the largest being the 1,200 mile-long Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
1. In what way is the Red Sea SIMILAR to the Caribbean Sea, the South Seas, etc.
(1) Variety of Fish
(2) Fantastic Reefs
(3) Clear and transparent water
(A) 1 only
(B) 2 only
(C) 3 only
(D) All the three
(E) None of these
2. Which of the following changes occurred in the author after the initial period of a year or so ?
(1) He got fed up with hunting
(2) He struck with the idea of shooting the fish with a camera rather than by spear gun
(3) Hunting became more interesting and sporting
(A) 1 only
(B) 2 only
(C) 1 and 3 only
(D) 1 and 2 only
(E) All the three
3. Fishing in the Red Sea off the coast near Jeddah was—
(A) Difficult because the water was transparent
(B) Risky because tanks are needed to spot the fish
(C) Easy because the fish are clearly visible near the surface itself
(D) Cumbersome because of the tools like mask, snorkel tube, flippers, etc.
(E) More difficult than at the Caribbean Sea, the South Sea and the Indian Ocean
4. What are ‘fringing reefs’ ?
(A) Calcareous deposit formation
(B) Collection of fish
(C) Sea-food accumulation
(D) Collection of minute creatures other than fish
(E) None of these
Questions No. 5 to 7 : Which of the following is most nearly the SAME in meaning as the word given in bold as used in the passage ?
5. GINGERLY
(A) Cautiously (B) Recklessly (C) Clearly (D) Purposely (E) Unintentionally
6. MAGNIFICENT
(A) Delicate (B) Fragile (C) Obvious (D) Powerful (E) Splendid
7. TRANSPARENT
(A) Opaque (B) Glowing (C) Dependable (D) Visible (E) Dark
Questions No. 8 to 10 :Which of the following is most OPPOSITE in meaning of the word given in bold as used in the passage.
8. RECALL
(A) Call up (B) Recollect (C) Forget (D) Invite (E) Send back
9. MINUTE
(A) Enormous (B) Tiny (C) Small (D) Heavy (E) Delay
10. FANTASTIC
(A) Incredible (B) Plausible (C) Unforgettable (D) Imaginary (E) Realistic
Answers
1. (C) 2. (A) 3. (C) 4. (A) 5. (A) 6. (E) 7. (D) 8. (C) 9. (A) 10. (E)
