SSC Selection Post 2022 PYQ — Question 1

SSC Selection Post - Higher Secondary Level 2022 - 11 Feb 2022 - Shift 1 • English • Q1

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

Over the green squares of the fields and the low curve of a wood there rose in the distance a grey, melancholy hill, with a strange, jagged summit, dim and vague in the distance, like some fantastic landscape in a dream. Baskerville sat for a long time, his eyes fixed upon it, and I read upon his eager face how much it meant to him, this first sight of that strange spot where the men of his blood had held sway so long and left their mark so deep. There he sat, with his tweed suit and his American accent, in the corner of a railway-carriage, and yet as I looked at his dark and expressive face, I felt more than ever how true a descendant he was of that long line of high-blooded, fiery, and masterful men. There were pride, valour, and strength in his thick brows, his sensitive nostrils, and his large hazel eyes. If on that forbidding moor a difficult and dangerous quest should lie before us, this was at least a comrade for whom one might venture to take a risk with the certainty that he would bravely share it. The train pulled up at a small wayside station and we all descended. Outside, beyond the low, white fence, a wagon was waiting. Our coming was evidently a great event, for station-master and porters clustered around us to carry out our luggage. It was a sweet, simple country spot, but I was surprised to observe that by the gate there stood two soldierly men in dark uniforms who leaned upon their short rifles and glanced keenly at us as we passed. The coachman, a hard-faced, gnarled little fellow, saluted Sir Henry Baskerville, and in a few minutes, we were flying swiftly down the broad, white road. Rolling pasture lands curved upward on either side of us, and old gabled houses peeped out from amid the thick green foliage, but behind the peaceful and sunlit countryside there rose ever, dark against the evening sky, the long, gloomy curve of the moor, broken by the jagged and sinister hills.

What seemed special about the place for Baskerville?

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D

Explanation

The correct answer is option 4, i.e. His family had held a position of power there.

Correct Answer: His family had held a position of power there.

Line to refer: “I read upon his eager face how much it meant to him, this first sight of that strange spot where the men of his blood had held sway so long and left their mark so deep.”

This line clearly tells us that Baskerville’s family had ruled over this place for a long time, and this was his first emotional encounter with it.

Hence, the chosen option is correct.