SSC Selection Post - Matriculation Level 2020 - 9 Nov 2020 - Shift 1

Read the passage and answer the questions.
Swami spread his bed under the bench in father’s office. It seemed to be a much safer place
and more reassuring. But he was racked with nightmares in his sleep. A tiger was at his back
and he could hear it scratch its claws on the ground…. Swami opened his eyes and put his
hand out to feel his granny’s presence at his side, as was his habit. But today, he felt the
wooden leg of the bench next to himself. His lonely state came back to him and he sweated
with fright.
And now what was this rustling? He moved to the edge of the bench and stared into the
darkness. Something was surely moving. He lay gazing at it in horror. He thought that the
devil had come to tear him to pieces. As the sound came closer, Swami crawled from under
the bench and held it with all his might. He used his teeth on it like a mortal weapon….
“Aiyo! Something has bitten me,” went forth a painful cry, following by a heavy tumbling and
falling amidst furniture. In a moment father, mother and a servant came in carrying light. And,
all three of them fell on the burglar who lay on the ground with a bleeding ankle….
Congratulations were showered on Swami next day at school. His classmates looked at him
with respect and his teachers patted his back. Swami had bitten into the flesh of the most
notorious house breaker of the district and the police were grateful to him for it.