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NDA 2017 GAT · English · Reading Comprehension · easy

NDA 2017 GAT English: The Lighthouse in the Storm

By nightfall the storm had reached the headland. Waves the height of cottages hurled themselves against the rocks, and the wind tore slates from the keeper's roof. Inside the tower, Marta climbed the spiral stairs for the fourth time that hour, her lantern swinging. The great lamp had to turn without pause; if its clockwork slowed, the beam would falter, and any ship feeling its way through the channel would have nothing to trust but guesswork. She wound the weights, oiled the gears and wiped the salt-fogged glass. Her grandfather, who had kept the light before her, used to say that a lighthouse does not fight the storm; it simply refuses to go out. At dawn, when the sea finally grew sullen and grey, a fishing boat limped into the harbour with its mast cracked. Its skipper never learned Marta's name, but he knew the light had been there all night.

Question 1

Single correct option

Why did Marta climb the spiral stairs again and again during the storm?
  1. A. To escape the waves breaking over the headland
  2. B. To keep the lamp's clockwork wound, oiled and the glass clear so the beam kept turning
  3. C. To repair the slates torn from the keeper's roof
  4. D. To signal to the fishing boat with her lantern
Show answer and solution

Answer: (B) To keep the lamp's clockwork wound, oiled and the glass clear so the beam kept turning

The passage says the lamp had to turn without pause and that she wound the weights, oiled the gears and wiped the glass. The roof and the waves are mentioned only as storm damage, and no signalling by lantern is described. Her climbs served the lamp, not her own safety. Always return to the passage and match each option against the exact lines, because options that sound reasonable but are not stated are the usual traps in NDA comprehension questions.

Question 2

Single correct option

The phrase 'nothing to trust but guesswork' suggests that without the beam, sailors would
  1. A. have to steer without any dependable guidance
  2. B. be certain of the channel from memory
  3. C. trust the sound of the waves to find harbour
  4. D. reach the harbour more quickly
Show answer and solution

Answer: (A) have to steer without any dependable guidance

If the beam faltered, ships feeling their way through the channel would have no reliable guide and could only guess their position. Nothing in the passage suggests memory, sound or speed would help. The phrase stresses the danger of losing a dependable signal. An inference must follow directly from what the author says; avoid options that need outside knowledge or stretch the author's words beyond their plain meaning.

Question 3

Single correct option

The grandfather's remark that a lighthouse 'simply refuses to go out' mainly conveys that
  1. A. lighthouses are able to defeat storms
  2. B. the lamp should be switched off at dawn
  3. C. the lighthouse's worth lies in steadfast endurance, not in defeating the storm
  4. D. keepers should avoid the sea in bad weather
Show answer and solution

Answer: (C) the lighthouse's worth lies in steadfast endurance, not in defeating the storm

He explicitly says the lighthouse does not fight the storm; its role is to keep shining. So the point is endurance and reliability. Option about defeating storms contradicts his words, and the others add ideas the passage never states. An inference must follow directly from what the author says; avoid options that need outside knowledge or stretch the author's words beyond their plain meaning.

Question 4

Single correct option

In the passage, the word 'sullen' used for the sea at dawn is closest in meaning to
  1. A. bright and joyful
  2. B. roaring and violent
  3. C. shallow and calm-blue
  4. D. gloomy and subdued
Show answer and solution

Answer: (D) gloomy and subdued

Sullen describes something dull, heavy and ill-humoured. The sea has 'finally' grown grey and quiet after the storm, so it is subdued but still gloomy. 'Roaring and violent' describes the night, which the word 'finally' tells us is over. Read the whole sentence around the word and test each option by substituting it back; the dictionary meaning alone can mislead when the context points elsewhere.

Question 5

Single correct option

All of the following are stated or clearly implied in the passage EXCEPT:
  1. A. the storm damaged the keeper's roof
  2. B. the lamp was driven by a clockwork mechanism
  3. C. a damaged fishing boat reached harbour at dawn
  4. D. the skipper later learned the keeper's name and thanked her
Show answer and solution

Answer: (D) the skipper later learned the keeper's name and thanked her

The last sentence says the skipper never learned Marta's name. The damaged roof, the clockwork lamp and the cracked-mast boat are all mentioned. In an EXCEPT question the answer is the statement that contradicts the text, which is the one about the skipper thanking her by name. Always return to the passage and match each option against the exact lines, because options that sound reasonable but are not stated are the usual traps in NDA comprehension questions.
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Original question written in the NDA 2017 GAT pattern and checked twice for the correct answer. Not an official question paper. How we write and check questions · Corrections policy · Report a mistake