Reading Comprehension

Section Overview: This section contains the Reading Comprehension passages from the Dec 2025 exam. Read the passage carefully before answering the questions below it.

Passage 1: Poetry Analysis

When I was fair and young, then favor graced me,
Of many was I sought their mistress for to be,
But I did scorn them all and answered them therefore:
Go, go, go, seek some other where, importune me no more.

How many weeping eyes I made to pine in woe,
How many sighing hearts I have not skill to show,
But I the prouder grew and still this spake therefore:
Go, go, go, seek some other where, importune me no more.

Then spake fair Venus' son, that proud victorious boy,
Saying: you dainty dame, for that you be so coy,
I will so pluck your plumes as you shall say no more:
Go, go, go, seek some other where, importune me no more.

As soon as he had said such change grew in my breast,
That neither night nor day I could take any rest,
Wherefore I did repent that I had said before:
Go, go, go, seek some other where, importune me no more.

Q91. In the poem, why was the last lover "proud" and "victorious"?
  • 1. Because he was richer and more handsome than the lady.
  • 2. He was more virtuous and prouder than the lady.
  • 3. Because he was handsome and self confident.
  • 4. Because he did not succumb and submit to the lady.
Correct Answer: 4. Because he did not succumb and submit to the lady.

Explanation:

The "boy" mentioned is Cupid (Venus' son). Unlike the mortal lovers whom she "made to pine in woe," Cupid is victorious because he has the power to humble her pride rather than becoming another victim of her rejection.

  • Reflective Line: "Then spake fair Venus' son, that proud victorious boy..."
🎯 Literary Note: This poem is often attributed to Queen Elizabeth I, reflecting her reputation as the "Virgin Queen" who rejected many suitors.
Q92. Why did the lady reject all the proposals?
  • 1. Because she loved someone else.
  • 2. Because she scorned them all.
  • 3. Because she was innocent.
  • 4. Because she was proud and arrogant.
Correct Answer: 4. Because she was proud and arrogant.

Explanation:

The lady explicitly states that the attention she received made her grow "prouder," leading her to "scorn them all."

  • Reflective Line: "But I the prouder grew and still this spake therefore..."
Q93. What does the line, "Go, go, go, seek some other where, importune me no more", appear to stand for?
  • 1. Her reluctance to the lovers.
  • 2. Her arrogance and self-pride.
  • 3. Because she was not impressed with their pursuits.
  • 4. She was getting annoyed by their pursuits.
Correct Answer: 2. Her arrogance and self-pride.

Explanation:

This refrain is the verbal manifestation of her pride. It is a literal rejection, but in the poem's context, it serves as proof of her haughty and unyielding character.

  • Reflective Line: "But I did scorn them all and answered them therefore..."
Q94. What does the line, "When I was fair and young, then favor graced me", appear to connote?
  • 1. The lady had good fortune and was wealthy.
  • 2. She was very beautiful and young.
  • 3. She had many love-proposals.
  • 4. She had the favour of many of her lovers.
Correct Answer: 3. She had many love-proposals.

Explanation:

In this context, being "graced" by "favor" refers to being the object of intense pursuit and social admiration.

  • Reflective Line: "Of many was I sought their mistress for to be..." confirms she was sought by many suitors.
Q95. What did the lady repent for?
  • 1. For her rudeness and false pride.
  • 2. For breaking the heart of so many of her lovers.
  • 3. For not responding her last lover.
  • 4. For not caring the feelings of others.
Correct Answer: 1. For her rudeness and false pride.

Explanation:

After Cupid humbles her ("pluck your plumes"), she experiences internal turmoil that prevents her from resting. She regrets the arrogant way she previously dismissed her lovers.

  • Reflective Line: "Wherefore I did repent that I had said before: Go, go, go..."
Passage 2: Prose Analysis

There is nothing that more betrays a base ungenerous spirit than the giving of secret stabs to a man's reputation; lampoons and satires that are written with wit and spirit are like poisoned darts, which not only inflict a wound, but make it incurable. For this reason I am very much troubled when I see the talents of humour and ridicule in the possession of an ill-natured man.

There cannot be a greater gratification to a barbarous and inhuman wit than to stir up sorrow in the heart of a private person, to raise uneasiness among near relations, and to expose whole families to derision, at the same time that he remains unseen and undiscovered. If, besides the accomplishments of being witty and ill-natured, a man is vicious into the bargain, he is one of the most mischievous creatures that can enter into a civil society.

His satire will then chiefly fall upon those who ought to be the most exempt from it. Virtue, merit, and everything, that is praiseworthy, will be made the subject of ridicule and buffoonery. It is impossible to enumerate the evils which arise from these arrow that fly in the dark; and I know no other excuse that is or can be made for them, than the wounds they give are only imaginary, and produce nothing more than a secret shame or sorrow in the mind of the suffering person.

Q96. What does appear to be the danger of satire, according to the author?
  • 1. Giving of secret stabs to a man's reputation
  • 2. Wit and spirit which are like poisoned darts
  • 3. Bad and inhuman persons in society
  • 4. Witty and ill- natured persons
Correct Answer: 1. Giving of secret stabs to a man's reputation

Explanation:

The author identifies the primary danger of satire as its ability to damage a person's character covertly. He compares these attacks to "poisoned darts" that cause "incurable" damage.

  • Reflective Line: "There is nothing that more betrays a base ungenerous spirit than the giving of secret stabs to a man's reputation..."
Q97. In the passage, "secret stabs" stands for:
  • 1. Treachery and backbiting
  • 2. Lampoons and satires
  • 3. Poisoned darts which pricks and inflicts
  • 4. Ridicules and Mockery
Correct Answer: 2. Lampoons and satires

Explanation:

The author uses "secret stabs" as a direct metaphor for "lampoons and satires." He views these forms as tools used by "ill-natured" men to attack others while remaining invisible.

  • Reflective Line: "...giving of secret stabs to a man's reputation; lampoons and satires that are written with wit and spirit..."
Q98. What excuse does the author prefer to give for the ill-natured satirists and critics:
  • 1. That the satirical arrows are flying in dark
  • 2. That they are unintentional and impersonal
  • 3. That the wounds they give are only imaginary
  • 4. That the satirist is ill-natured
Correct Answer: 3. That the wounds they give are only imaginary

Explanation:

The author notes that the only possible defense for these writers—though he presents it dismissively—is the idea that the harm is not physical but only "imaginary," producing "secret shame or sorrow".

  • Reflective Line: "...I know no other excuse that is or can be made for them, than the wounds they give are only imaginary..."
Q99. According the author, what is made the subject of ridicule and buffoonery?
  • 1. Virtue, merit, and what is praiseworthy
  • 2. Good-will persons
  • 3. New initiatives in society
  • 4. Privacy of the upper-middle class
Correct Answer: 1. Virtue, merit, and what is praiseworthy

Explanation:

The author expresses concern that when a "vicious" man possesses wit, he does not attack vice; instead, he targets the best qualities of society—virtue and merit—which should actually be "exempt" from satire.

  • Reflective Line: "Virtue, merit, and everything, that is praiseworthy, will be made the subject of ridicule and buffoonery."
Q100. What does trouble the author most?
  • 1. Talent of humour and ridicule is in the possession of ill-natured persons.
  • 2. Talent and wisdom in possession of enemies.
  • 3. Talent and wit in possession of ill-natured persons.
  • 4. Talent of wit and humour in possession of barbarous persons.
Correct Answer: 1. Talent of humour and ridicule is in the possession of ill-natured persons.

Explanation:

The central "trouble" for the author is the mismatch between talent and character. He believes that wit is a gift that becomes "mischievous" when wielded by someone who lacks a generous spirit.

  • Reflective Line: "For this reason I am very much troubled when I see the talents of humour and ridicule in the possession of an ill-natured man."
🎯 Literary Context: This passage style is characteristic of the 18th Century Periodical Essay (likely Joseph Addison in The Spectator), which often focused on correcting social manners and distinguishing between "True Wit" and "False Wit."
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