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127.
Around the turn of the century; and interesting trend was slowly becoming prominent in retailing across the globe. Department stores were slowly becoming prominent in retailing across the globe. Department stores were slowly becoming less and less popular with customers. Large department stores offered a wide range of product categories - from apparel, luggage, toys, crockery, to home furnishing - as well as owned and managed the stock of products they sold inside the store and from their warehouses.Industry analysts started questioning whether this could still be the ideal retail model, and whether the changing retail environment marked the end of large department stores as we knew them.
On one side there were the stores that focussed on a particular category - electronics, toys, women’s wear or home appliances. Over the years, these had evolved into giant superstores and had become very
popular with customers who went shopping for a particular product. On the other hand, there were discounters, hypermarkets and wholesale clubs that served the new age shoppers found their ambience to be formal and boring.
To keep pace with these trends, some department stores were steadily reinventing themselves. The most prominent among them was UK based selfridges chain. In 2003, Selfridges launched a new store in Birmingham, England that completely reinvented the idea of the department store. Brands competed with each other within the store but there was no heirarchy of goods: watches competed with each other perfume, and luggage with fashion. In addition the store organised various show stunts and performances through the day and called it, ‘shopping entertainment.’ Similar stores had come up in various parts of Southeast Asia, Japan and Europe. For customers, these new-age department stores seemed like mall, just the they didn’t have the walls that separate the different stores within a mall.
While this trend was becoming more and more apparent abroad, within India too, certain consumer patterns were emerging. Our experience showed that a customer visiting a mall typically walks into four or five stores. That includes a large store and a few smaller brand showrooms. After that fatigue sets in and he or she is unwilling to walk into any more stores at the mall.So we asked ourselves, what would happen if we removed the walls between the different stores in a mall? In that case, a customer would be exposed to multiple brands at the same time, without the necessity of walking in and out of different stores. And along with shopping we could also provide her with other entertainment options.
Within the company itself there was a renewed confidence and an urge to play a larger role in shaping the modern retailing space in India.We had completed more than six years in retailing. With Big Bazaar we had tried and tested our skills at offering a wide range of categories while Pantaloons was firmly positioned in the lifestyle segment. We could now create shopping and entertainment landmarks in the cities in which we had already established a strong presence.
There three insights - the metamorphosis of department stores into developed markets; customer fatigue at the existing shopping malls in India; and the need to create working on, Central. The objective was to create a retail format that was must larger and totally different from what India had seen till then. It would offer everything - from multiple brands for shopping, to restaurants, coffee shops, entertainment options and gaming zones - all under one roof.If we were able to deliver ton these two fronts, we could attract customers from every part of the city and make it the city’s prime shopping destination.
There were a couple of the issues that the Central model addressed quite well. Pantaloons outlets had
limited space. We were positioning it as a fashion destination and thr business model was based on
selling mostly brands that we owned, or what are called private labels. However, with its increasing popularity; we were being approached by multiple foreign and Indian brands to stock these at Pantaloons. Central, being far bigger in size allowed us to open up a lot of space for other brands paid us a certain percentage of their sales in the mall as commission. Based on the performance of these brands, we could decide on which to keep and which to discard.
The first Central mall was launched in Bangalore in May 2004. Measuring 1,20,000 square feet, it was
spread over six floors and housed over three husband brands in categories like apparel, footwear, accessories, home furnishing, music and bools. In addition we had coffee shops, food courts, a Food Bazaar, restaurants, pubs and discotheques. A customer could also book tickets for movies and concerts, book travel tickets and make bill payments.
What has primarily made Central the ‘destination mall’ for Bangalore is its location.It is located in the heart of the city, at M.G. Road, where once Hotel Victoria stood. Moreover, we added a lot of features to further establish it as the focal point of the city.The Central Square located outside the mall building has been made available for art exhibitions, cultural performances, shows and product launches. And in 2005, the vintage car rally was flagged off from the Central flag-point, which has since become the epicenter for many such events.Thus, Central captured in all its glory what we wanted a destination mall to be, and loved up to its tagline of ‘Shop, Eat, and Celebrate.’
Soon after the launch of Bangalore Central, we opened the second Central in Hyderabad in November 2004. Once again it was located at the heart of the city on the Punjagutta Cross Road. Here, the roads connecting the city centre with Secunderabad, Jubllee Hills and the old part of the city; converge. It was more than double the size of Bangalore Central.Apart from over hundreds of brands to shop, it had food courts, restaurants, as well as a five-screen multiplex managed by PVR Cinemas. Much like the one Bangalore, Hyderabad Central didn’t take much time to become the nerve centre of the city.With an annual retail turnover of around Rs 200 crore it is presently among the largest retail destinations in the country.[1] Which of the following statement is true?
(A) The Central mall in Hyderabad in 2004 occupies more than 2,40,000 square meter in are and currently considered as one of the largest retail destinations in the country with a generated annual retail destinations in the country with a generad annual retail turnover of around Rs. 200 crore.
(B) It has been observed during the last decade that the hypermarkets are slowing, failing to retain consumers in competition with the department stores.
(C) The market analysis convinced the company referred in the text that the time is rope to introduce now shopping and entertainment landmarks in cities, where they already enjoy some market presence.
(D) While the consumers were able to look for a certain category of products at length in the specialty stores, wholesale clubs allowed them to purchase a number of products at a cheap and negotiable rate.[2] Which of the following statement is false?
(A) The recent consumer response towards department stores led to the quest for a new business Model which may replace it in the coming days.
(B) Since inauguration the Central Square outside the mall in Hyderabad has been used for various purposes so far including, art exhibitions, cultural shows, product launches etc.
(C) When the company mentioned in the passage decided to capitalize on the emerging changes in consumer mindset on the retail sales, they already had an experience of nearly six years of operating in this market segment.
(D) The changing structural framework of the new type of malls became very popular in various European and Southeast Asian countries, owing to their boundary-less arrangement of products, coupled with shopping entertainment options.[3] Which of the following statement is false?
(A) Department Stores (B) Hypermarkets
(C) Wholesale Clubs (D) Super-speciality stores[4] Which of the following terms has not been mentioned in the above passage?
(A) The firm discussed here allowed various foreign and India garment companies to display their products in heir show room on the condition that they will pay them either some rent, or a pre-decided percentage of their sales as commission.
(B) Before going for the Central venture, the firm already had the experience of offering a wide range of product categories throuth Big Bazaar and in specialized segments through Pantaloons.
(C) The Central mall in Bangalore provided importance to both goods and services for business development: it displayed around two hundred brands in categories like garments, footwear, music, book etc. on one hand, and ensured eating and entertainment options, ticket-booking for movies and concerts, travel services and bill payments within its premises on the other.
(D) The reasons behind the losing out of the specialty stores had been multifarious, covering the traditional and unexciting environment, steep price competition from other rivals, inflexibility in operation etc.[5] Which of the following statement is false?
(A) In tune with the changing time, the new store created in Birmingham allowed brand competition within the store without explicit hierarchy of products, and organized various events to ensure lively amusement for the shoppers.
(B) Since visiting different stores even within a mega shopping complex gets monotonous once the initial excitement is over, the exposure to multiple brands simultaneously with removal of the walls has been a consumer-friendly move.
(C) The idea behind setting up a mega retail network was to make it city’s unque shopping location by ensuring exposure to multiple brands on one hand, and by making it an excellent hang-out option through setting up of entertainment and nourishment options on the other.
(D) The market analysis by the company described in the passage revealed that a representative buyer to a shopping center goes to at the most four or five stores, selecting large or small showrooms randomly.asked in IIFT
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128.
The trouble started on May 4, 2004,only days after Google’s celebrated coming- out party. Geico, the giant automobile insurer, filed a lawsuit against the search engine for trademark infringement. The insurer claimed the Google’s advertising system unlawfully profited form trademarks that Geico owned. Since all of Google’s revenue and growth was from advertising, the disclosure of the lawsuit appeared ominous. “We are, and may be in the future, subject to intellectual property right claims, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay damages, and could limit our ability to use certain technologies,” Google disclosed in public filing outlining potential risks. Abroad, where Google had promising growth prospects, similar court challenges
also arose. “A court in France held us liable for llowing advertisers to select certain trademarked terms as keywords,” the company declared. “We have appealed this decision. We were also subject to two lawsuits in Germany on similar matters.”
To make matters worse, it turned out that prior to its IPO filing, Google had eased its trademark policy in the U.S., allowing companies to place ads even if they were pegged to terms trademarked and owned by others. That was a significant shift, and one, Google warned could increase the risk of lawsuits against the company. It was also a practice that Yahoo, its search engine rival, did not permit. Google claimed it made the policy change to serve users, but some financial analysts said it appeared designed to pump profits before the IPO.
And there was more. Competition form Yahoo and Microsoft posed a greater challenger to Google following the disclosure about its mammoth profitability. With so much money at stake, the intensity of the competition would heat up. Such competition might be good for computer users searching the Internet, but Google said it posed additional risk for potential shareholders. “If Microsoft or Yahoo are successful in providing similar or better Web search results compared to ours or leverage their platforms to make their Web search services easier to access than ours, we could experience a significant decline in user traffic,” the company disclosed. In addition, Google warned that irs momentum seemed seemed unsustainable due to competition and “the inevitable decline in growth rates as our revenues increase to a higher level.”
The there was the question of Googles’s exclusive reliance on advertising, and one particular type of
advertising, for all of its revenue. That was potentially quite one particular type of advertising, for all of its revenue. That was potentially quite problematic. If Yahoo or Microsoft gained ground on search, users could flock to their Web sites, and advertisers could follow, “The reduction in spending by; or loss of, advertisers could seriously harm our business,” the company disclosed in its SEC filing.
In the beginning, the firm, earned all of its money from ads triggered by searches on Google.com. But now, most of its growth and half of its sales were coming primarily from the growing network of Web sites that displayed ads Google provided. This self-reinforcing network had a major stake in Google’s successful future. It gave the search engine, operating in the manner of a television network providing ads and programming to network affiliates, a sustainable competitive advantage. But there was a dark side there too, because of the substantial revenue firm a handful of Google partners, notably America Online and the search engine Ask Jeeves. If at any point they left Google and cut a deal with Microsoft or Yahoo, the lost revenue would be immense and difficult to replace. “If one or more of these key relationships is terminated or not renewed, and is not replaced with a comparable relationship, our business would be adversely affected,” the company stated.
Google’s small, nonintrusive text ads wee a big hit. But like major television an cable networks, which were hurt by innovations that enabled users to tune out commercials, the company faced the risk that users could simply turn ads off if mew technologies emerged.
Going public also posed a potentially grave risk to Google’s culture. Life at the Googleplex was informal.
Larry and Sergey knew many people by their first names and still signed off on many hires. With rapid
growth and an initial public offering, more traditional management and systems would have to be implemented. No more off-theshelf software to track revenue on the cheap. Now it was time for audits by major accounting firms. As Google’s head count and sales increased, keeping it running without destroying its culture was CEO Eric Schmidt’s biggest worry.
Google, the none that became a verb, had built a franchise and a strong brand name with global recognition based entirely on word of mouth. Nothing like it had been done before on this scale. The Internet certainly helped. But Google’s profitability would erode if the company were forced to begin spending the customary sums of money on advertising and marketing to maintain the strength of its brand awareness. Marketing guru Peter Sealey said privately that the advice he gave Google to study consumer perception of the Google brand was rejected by the company and that they were unwilling to spend money on marketing.[1] Which of the following statement is true?
(A) Google’s growing popularity has been a threat to other players operating in that market segment like Yahoo and Ask Jeeves, as Google eroded their market share.
(B) According to Google its decision to considerably relax its industrial design policy in the US was geared to satisfy its clients.
(C) One of the major challenges for Peter Sealey has been to expand the Google Empire while keeping its existing internal work culture intact.
(D) Google’s business potential is likely to be threatened seriously if the accessibility and quality of the Web search offered by its competitors like Microsoft or Yahoo becomes superior than the same offered by it.[2] Which of the following Statement is false?
(A) Google has been potentially vulnerable to external competition owing to its exclusive reliance on advertising for resource generation.
(B) By writing the “the none that became a verd”, the author indicates the growing popularity of the search engine.
(C) “non-intrusive” in the current passage refers to the advertisement format that does not directly hamper or distract the flow of operation of the person working in the computer.
(D) The legal dispute between Google and the automobile giant Geico during May 2004 centered on the advertising system and the trademark policy adopted by the latter.[3] What conclusion can you form about ‘Altavista’ from the passage?
(A) It has been a partner of Google.
(B) It has been a Competitor of Google.
(C) It can not be concluded from the passage.
(D) It was a partner of Google initially, but later emerged as a major competitor.[4] Which of the following sentence is false?
(A) Google has not been keen to undertake any major analysis on the popular impression about the Google brand.
(B) Google’s resolution to provide the search engine and programming to collaborators like America Online ensured significant revnue for bout sides involved.
(C) Google’s perceived concern over Intellectual Property issues in the passage has been quoted from a confidential company report.
(D) With increase in the volume of Google’s total annual revenue, it was anticipated by the management that the annual growth rate of their business may decline.asked in IIFT
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129.
Indian car rental market may be segmented under four broad categories. First, the most popular segment is of a fuel conscious and mileage hungry consumer who prefers a chauffer driven car. To extract maximum benefit from hired car, consumer representing (5) mileage per liter of fuel that he has paid for. Consumer of this segment is very price sensitive and wants maximum value for money even if he may rent an by unorganized players. Branded players are lagging behind to true this segment because (10) Indian marker, organized car rental industry is crawling for the last couple of years to position itself as a most sought after option to meet segment requirements. Hertz India is also practicing the same. To position itself perfectly in the mind of the targeted segment, it has gone for multiple strategic routes to win over different segments. The major external influencing factors for the consumer in this segment may (15) be the firm’s marketing efforts to establish itself as a service provider with value for money. Due to their association with renewed airlines and hotels, Hertz, to a lot many people means faith. This may help Her to create an impression in the mind of this segment that they will definitively be cheated and get their value, even if it means spending a little extra. Further, it is trying to educate this segment about (20) benefits of self-driven car as a medium of hassle-free journey by projecting a premium value for money image and with a fleet nix of compact and luxury cars (such as Ikon, Accent and Esteem). Second, a sizable amount of people are there who usually use their own compact or three box mid size car but prefer to enjoy the riding thrill of SUV (sports ?Utility Vehicles) (25) like Ford Endeavor/Honda CRV/GM Chevrolet or a Luxury car like a Mercedes/Camry for a shorter time span. Upcoming new generations urban executive of large corporate in India with a high disposable income and proactive to enjoy all new things in life and to make it more adventurous and eventful represent this segment. To them renting a self-drive car and driving off to a palace of their choice in a (30) Mercedes /SUV gives them an experience off to a place of their choice in a holiday. Under this same self-drive segment, another type of consumers are frequent international travelers (including foreign tourists) who prefer their privacy and independence and wish to choose their own routes/ car model at the time of exploring destination. They love their freedom & space in life whereever they (35) travel without any barrier like being driven by a chauffer. Equipped with their internationally accepted credit cards, an international driving permit or license, they prefer advance car rental booking by logging on the car rental company’s website and thereafter just picking up the keys of their booked car once they enter a new country/city. They are adventurous, driving enthusiast, belonging to the uppermiddle (40) class, have brand loyalty about their car rental agency. In this self-driven segment, Hertz India is trying to position itself as a contemporary service provider by offering both economy cars and SUV’s (Scorpio and Tata Safari). To win over occasional self-drivers of SUV type cars and frequent travelers. Hertz uses slogans like “Break free” or “Drive the World’s #1” regularly in travel magazines to portrait the quality of its cars, (45) and the range it offers. Third segment consists of instructional consumers, mainly hotels in big cities and air service providers. Institutional consumers prefer quality and service assurance to offer maximum possible service to their customers. In India, all big car rental agencies have contract with start hotels to offer rental service to them. In this segment, Hertz has (50) prominent clienteles like Taj Group of Hotels, Marriott and Jet Airways. Further, they have contract with hotels like Shangrila in Delhi, and Renaissance and JW Marriott in Mumbai to provide all car rental requirements of them. Their other clients are Carlson Wagonlit, BTI Sita, Thomas Cook and online travel sites like Make my trip, India times and Travelgutu. according to their deal with Jet Airways, it allows Jet (55) Privilege members to earn ‘miles’ every time they use Hertz car rental service. for every Rs. 1000/- spent on Hertz rentals, a Jet privilege member earns 100 JP Miles and special discounts are given to platinum, gold and silver card holders. In recent past ‘fleet management’ is coming up a s a possible fourth target segment for car rental companies in India. Word wide cars are not purchased but only leased and (60) this trend is getting its root in Indian market also. It means the management of a fleet of vehicles, using certain tools, to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness. To win over consumers of this segment, services should be professional and a fleet management company should address all the issues a company might deal a\with pertaining to managing its fleet. In India, Lease plan Fleet Management (65) India (LPFM), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Leas plan Corporation, Natherlands is pioneer in this focusing more on car rentals than on fleet management. Though it provides chauffeur-driven cars to many companies like IBM, Sony, KPMG, Compaq, there is a huge scope in this segment for future growth. this segment demands (70) Customized service in terms of vehicle acquisition, fuel management, vehicle financing and maintenance, resale of the cars at the end of the contract period etc.
[1] The primary purpose of this passage is to:
(A) Illustrate how Hertz could plan for the Indian market and maximize profits
(B) Illustrate buying behavior of unorganized sectors offering car rental services
(C) Illustrate segment opportunities for a new entrant in car rental business
(D) Illustrate consumer awareness and views about options available in car-rental business in India.[2] ‘Self-Drive’ concept may be a lucrative option to a manager to true Indian consumers because:
(A) Collectivist culture motivates Indian consumers to opt for self drive
(B) Indian roads encourage consumers to experience joy of long drive
(C) Indians may enjoy driving comfort of SUV as they don’t have capacity to own it
(D) A sizeable number of Indian consumers aspire to enjoy new things in life[3] As a business manager of a car-rental company, you may popularize ‘self-drive’ concept to international travelers because:
(A) they know Indian roads and want to explore new places by their own
(B) They dislike concept of chauffeur as Indian chauffeurs are not every professional
(C) Individualistic culture discourages them to travel in group
(D) They can easily book their cars through website of car rental agencies[4] As a business manager of a globally recognized ‘car-rental’ agency if you like to tap institutional consumers of India, you should not:
(A) Banks on your globally recognized ‘brand name’ to ensure sale
(B) Make a list of your global clientele to impress your prospective consumer
(C) Consider offerings of your competitors to formulate your value proposition
(D) Accept service assurance not as a major influencer behind buying decision[5] As a business manager you think ‘fleet management’ a profitable segment for organized sector to explore in India because:
(A) Companies want to associate with ‘brand name’ and unorganized players are lacking here
(B) Their is a huge scope as competition is low in this filed
(C) Everywhere in India logistics services are outsourced and companies are focusing on their core business
(D) This business demands gamut of customized services and organized professionals may only offer those[6] If you are to tap “first” segment of “car rental” business as a manger of a branded company, you should not:
(A) Advertise your brand name to communicate with consumers
(B) Compare your service conditions vis-a-vis your competitors to influence consumers
(C) Match price of your service with your companies from organized sector
(D) Cerate unique value proposition to position you away from your competitionasked in IIFT
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130.
Line: From the every beginning TCL (Tata Chemicals Ltd.) has successfully grown by meeting consumer
requirements in a mutually beneficial way. To determine its benchmark, it uses its own ‘Customer Requirements
Determination Process (CRDP)’ where unit explores present and future customer requirements to
enable them to
(5) incorporate those in their business offering. This process starts with listening to end-users by exploring
various customer listening information sources. This information captures various expectations of customers.
Next step starts with identification of segments and matching of segment wise expectations. Outcome
of this exercise gives enough guidelines about new business scopes and grey areas of current
(10) business practices, After validation of customer expectations through cross checking, TCL matches
its internal resources and skill sets with external opportunities and threats to address attractive business
avenues. Launch of Tata Kisan Sansar was an outcome to that to offer all sort of end-to end agree solutions
of farmers.
Agriculture today contribute a lot of the development of Indian economy with
(15) an employment share of around 69 percent of the work force and with a contribution of near about 24
percent of the GDP of the country. Indian agriculture sector has its importance in economic growth but
value addition in this sector in terms of earning capacity is decreasing because of greater income streams
form industry and services sectors. The continuous expanding of the gap in per
(20) capita income between the agriculture and non-agriculture sectors has huge economic ad social
implications and it is almost necessary to empower the farmers financially by enriching the source of
income. In this backdrop, one of the motivations for TCL to start ‘Tata Kisan Sansar (TKS)’ was to ensure
business by empowering agri-product producers. again TCL felt that due to its business nature of
(25) manufacturing and marketing commodities, it developed an image of a purely product centrie organization.
TCL’s internal research substantiated its feeling and it recognized a paradigm shift towards a
customer centric organization.
TCL first started ‘Tata Kisan Kendra’ in 1988, executive franchised retail outlets of ‘Tata with the objective
of proving ‘one-stop agri input shop’ to the farmers. With the
(30) marketing function being transferred from Rallis to tata chemicals, TCL used the Tata Kisan Kendras
(TKKS) more extensively to market their products. It was understood by the company that the range of
offering under the TKKS offered an attractive basket of benefits to the farmers. The business model of the
TKKs was base on offering a complete set of inputs to the farmer. Along with this, it also offered
(35) extension services and technology inputs to help farmers plan their crops. At that time it dealt more
with offering fertilizers and other inputs form those centers. Over the time it realized the job is half done
because requirement of a farmer is multi-layered. To offer more holistic services it changed “Tata Kisan
Kendra” as ‘Tata mulit-layered. To offer a more holistic services it changed “Tata Kisan Kendra’ as ‘Tata
Kisan Sansar’ and repositioned it as ‘one-stop farmers solution shop’ by offering entire
(40) range of agri services including quality agri input products. Objective was to empower farmers by
providing them information about better agronomic practices, facilitating farm credit and providing quality
agri inputs from a single source.[1] Which of the following bets described the purpose of the statement in bold (agriculture... income)?
(A) The emergence of TKS is only because of the rising gap between the income. From the agriculture and non-agriculture sources.
(B) The farmers income can be enriched through TKS.
(C) The alternate sector growth can only be curtailed through emphasis on TKS.
(D) TKS can enhance agriculture’s GDP contribution.[2] As a business manage, what was not a major motivation behind using ‘CRDP’ model?
(A) Ensuring sustainable competitive advantage by knowing customer is in a better manner.
(B) Fro segmenting the market in heterogeneous group of customers to serve better.
(C) For estimating of gap analysis of what customer expects and TCL delivers.
(D) Formulate business offering and identification of one business scopes.[3] What would have been a wrong decision as a manager in the context of ‘CRDP’ programme of TCL?
(A) Using external agencies to cross check validity of information.
(B) Using information to offer readymade solution for different initiatives of TCL.
(C) Identify external opportunities to explore in a strategically profitable manner.
(D) Projecting TCL as more customer centric organization.[4] For long term sustainability of TKS as a concept a manger should not?
(A) Project TKS as a corporate social responsibility initiative of TCL.
(B) Enrich offering of TKS with added facilities and services.
(C) Position itself as a commodity retailing centre of TCL.
(D) Focus on return on investment of TKS initiatives.[5] Transition from TKK to TKS was logical for TCL because:
(A) Conceptually there was a mismatch between skill sets of TCL and TKK.
(B) TKK lost its acceptability as it became older as a concept and could not leverage first mover advantages.
(C) Emerging needs sets outmoded existing value proposition of TKK.
(D) Changing demographics of farmers forced TCL to add new spark in its offer.asked in IIFT
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131.
We now come to the second part of our journey under the sea. The first ended with the moving scene in the coral cemetery which left a deep impression on my mind. I could no longer content myself with the theory which satisfied Conseil. That worthy fellow persisted in seeing in the Commander of the Nautilus one of those unknown servants who returns mankind contempt for indifference. For him, he was a misunderstood genius who, tired of earth‘s deceptions, had taken refuge in this inaccessible medium, where he might follow his instincts freely. To my mind, this explains but one side of Captain Nemo‘s character. Indeed, the mystery of that last night during which we had been chained in prison, the sleep, and the precaution so violently taken by the Captain of snatching from my eyes the glass I had raised to sweep the horizon, the mortal wound of the man, due to an unaccountable shock of the Nautilus, all put me on a new track. No; Captain Nemo was not satisfied with shunning man. His formidable apparatus not only suited his instinct of freedom, but perhaps also the design of some terrible retaliation.
That day, at noon, the second officer came to take the altitude of the sun. I mounted the platform, and watched the operation. As he was taking observations with the sextant, one of the sailors of the Nautilus (the strong man who had accompanied us on our first submarine excursion to the Island of Crespo) came to clean the glasses of the lantern. I examined the fittings of the apparatus, the strength of which was increased a hundredfold by lenticular rings, placed similar to those in a lighthouse, and which projected their brilliance in a horizontal plane. The electric lamp was combined in such a way as to give its most powerful light. Indeed, it was produced in vacuo, which insured both its steadiness and its intensity. This vacuum economised the graphite points between which the luminous arc was developed - an important point of economy for Captain Nemo, who could not easily have replaced them; and under these conditions their waste was imperceptible. When the Nautilus was ready to continue its submarine journey, I went down to the saloon. The panel was closed, and the course marked direct west.
We were furrowing the waters of the Indian Ocean, a vast liquid plain, with a surface of 1,200,000,000 of acres, and whose waters are so clear and transparent that any one leaning over them would turn giddy. The Nautilus usually floated between fifty and a hundred fathoms deep. We went on so for some days. To anyone but myself, who had a great love for the sea, the hours would have seemed long and monotonous; but the daily walks on the platform, when I steeped myself in the reviving air of the ocean, the sight of the rich waters through the windows of the saloon, the books in the library, the compiling of my memoirs, took up all my time, and left me not a moment of ennui or weariness.
From the 21st to the 23rd of January the Nautilus went at the rate of two hundred and fifty leagues in twenty-four hours, being five hundred and forty miles, or twenty-two miles an hour. If we recognized so many different varieties of fish, it was because, attracted by the electric light, they tried to follow us; the greater part, however, were soon distanced by our speed, though some kept their place in the waters of the Nautilus for a time. The morning of the 24th, we observed Keeling Island, a coral formation, planted with magnificent cocos, and which had been visited by Mr. Darwin and Captain Fitzroy. The Nautilus skirted the shores of this desert island for a little distance. Soon Keeling Island disappeared from the horizon, and our course was directed to the north-west in the direction of the Indian Peninsula.
From Keeling Island our course was slower and more variable, often taking us into great depths. Several times they made use of the inclined planes, which certain internal levers placed obliquely to the waterline. I observed that in the upper regions the water was always colder in the high levels than at the surface of the sea. On the 25th of January the ocean was entirely deserted; the Nautilus passed the day on the surface, beating the waves with its powerful screw and making them rebound to a great height. Three parts of this day I spent on the platform. I watched the sea. Nothing on the horizon, till about four o‘clock a steamer running west on our counter. Her masts were visible for an instant, but she could not see the Nautilus, being too low in the water. I fancied this steamboat belonged to the P.O. Company, which runs from Ceylon to Sydney, touching at King George‘s Point and Melbourne.
At five o‘clock in the evening, before that fleeting twilight which binds night to day in tropical zones, Conseil and I were astonished by a curious spectacle. It was a shoal of argonauts traveling along on the surface of the ocean. We could count several hundreds. These graceful molluscs moved backwards by means of their locomotive tube, through which they propelled the water already drawn in. Of their eight tentacles, six were elongated, and stretched out floating on the water, whilst the other two, rolled up flat, were spread to the wing like a light sail. I saw their spiral-shaped and fluted shells, which Cuvierjustly compares to an elegant skiff. For nearly an hour the Nautilus floated in the midst of this shoal of molluscs.
The next day, 26th of January, we cut the equator at the eighty-second meridian and entered the northern hemisphere. During the day a formidable troop of sharks accompanied us. They were ―cestracio philippi‖ sharks, with brown backs and whitish bellies, armed with eleven rows of teeth, their throat being marked with a large black spot surrounded with white like an eye. There were also some Isabella sharks, with rounded snouts marked with dark spots. These powerful creatures often hurled themselves at the windows of the saloon with such violence as to make us feel very insecure. But the Nautilus, accelerating her speed, easily left the most rapid of them behind.
About seven o‘clock in the evening, the Nautilus, half-immersed, was sailing in a sea of milk. At first sight the ocean seemed lactified. Was it the effect of the lunar rays? No; for the moon, scarcely two days old, was still lying hidden under the horizon in the rays of the sun. The whole sky, though lit by the sidereal rays, seemed black by contrast with the whiteness of the waters. Conseil could not believe his eyes, and questioned me as to the cause of this strange phenomenon. Happily I was able to answer him.
"It is called a milk sea," I explained. "A large extent of white wavele often to be seen on the coasts of Amboyna, and in these parts of the sea."
"But, sir," said Conseil, "can you tell me what causes such an effect? For I suppose the water is not really turned into milk."
"No, my boy; and the whiteness which surprises you is caused only by the presence of myriads of luminous little worm, gelatinous and without colour, of the thickness of a hair, and whose length is not more than seven-thousandths of an inch. These insects adhere to one another sometimes for several leagues."
"Several leagues!" exclaimed Conseil.
"Yes, my boy; and you need not try to compute the number of these infusoria. You will not be able, for, if I am not mistaken, ships have floated on these milk seas for more than forty miles."
Towards midnight the sea suddenly resumed its usual colour; but behind us, even to the limits of the horizon, the sky reflected the whitened waves, and for a long time seemed impregnated with the vague glimmerings of an aurora borealis.[1] Find the TRUE Sentence:
A. According to the narrator, the above-mentioned journey was taking place during full moon period.
B. According to Conseil, the Captain of the Nautilus in which they were traveling was really a brilliant person, a fact which had been corroborated by many people.
C. It is implied from the passage that although the author was witnessing many interesting events during their journey, he was not always having his way.
D. From the chronicle, it is understood that the Nautilus was in the vicinity of the Island of Crespo on the 25 of January.[2] Find the FALSE sentence:
A. After entering the Northern Hemisphere, the narrator witnessed several sea creatures, including several varieties of sharks, who kept bumping on the windows of the submarine.
B. On 25 January, the second officer of Nautilus came to the platform for measuring the altitude of the sun and for that purpose took observations with the sextant.
C. After January 24, Nautilus started traveling at a relatively reduced speed, and some of the time it was going further away from the sea-surface.
D. The course of Nautilus took them near the Keeling Island, which had earlier been visited by Mr. Darwin and Captain Fitzroy.[3] Match the following:
1. Molluses
2. Sharks
3. Infusia
4. Coral
i. Colourless
ii. Tentacles
iii. Coco
iv. Snouts
A. 1- ii, 2-iv, 3-i, 4-iii.
B. 1- iii, 2-i, 3- iv, 4-ii.
C. 1- iv, 2-iii, 3-ii, 4-i.
D. 1- iii, 2-ii, 3-iv, 4-i.[4] Find the TRUE statement:
A. During 22nd to 24th of January. Nautilus was traveling at the rate of two hundred and fifty leagues in twenty-four hours, which means a speed of twenty-two miles an hour.
B. On 26th January for approximately an hour the narrator witnessed a shoal of mollusks, and he enjoyed watching their spiral-shaped and fluted shells.
C. On the 25th of January the narrator come across a steamboat, which was owned by PO Company, which travels between Ceylon to Sydney.
D. The electric lamp of the submarine was an example of efficiency and effective fixtures.asked in IIFT
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132.
My comrade and I had been quartered in Jamaica, and from there we had been drafting off to the British settlement of Belize, lying away West and North of the Mosquito coast. At Belize there had been great alarm of one cruel gang of pirates (always more pirates than enough in those Caribbean Seas), and as they got the better of our English cruisers by running into out-of-the-way creeks and shallows, and taking the land when they were hotly pressed, the governor of Belize had received orders from home to keep a sharp look-out for them along shore. Now, there was an armed sloop came once a year from Port Royal, Jamaica, to the Island, laden with all manner of necessaries to eat, and to drink, and to wear, and to use in various ways; and it was aboard of that sloop which had touched at Belize, that I was standing, leaning over the bulwarks.
The Island was occupied by a very small English colony. It had been given the name of Silver-Store. The reason of its being so called, was, that the English colony owned and worked a silver-mine over on the mainland, in Honduras, and used this Island as a safe and convenient place to store their silver in, until it was annually fetched away by the sloop. It was brought down from the mine to the coast on the backs of mules, attended by friendly local people and guarded by white men; from thence it was conveyed over to Silver-Store, when the weather was fair, in the canoes of that country; from Silver-Store, it was carried to Jamaica by the armed sloop once a-year, as I have already mentioned; from Jamaica, it went, of course, all over the world.
How I came to be aboard the armed sloop, is easily told. Four-and-twenty marines under command of a lieutenant - that officer‘s name was Linderwood - had been told off at Belize, to proceed to Silver-Store, in aid of boats and seamen stationed there for the chase of the Pirates. The Island was considered a good post of observation against the pirates, both by land and sea; neither the pirate ship nor yet her boats had been seen by any of us, but they had been so much heard of, that the reinforcement was sent. Of that party, I was one. It included a corporal and a sergeant. Charker was corporal, and the sergeant‘s name was Drooce. He was the most tyrannical non-commissioned officer in His Majesty‘s service.
The night came on, soon after I had had the foregoing words with Charker. All the wonderful bright colours went out of the sea and sky in a few minutes, and all the stars in the Heavens seemed to shine out together, and to look down at themselves in the sea, over one another‘s shoulders, millions deep.
Next morning, we cast anchor off the Island. There was a snug harbour within a little reef; there was a sandy beach; there were cocoa-nut trees with high straight stems, quite bare, and foliage at the top like plumes of magnificent green feathers; there were all the objects that are usually seen in those parts, and I am not going to describe them, having something else to tell about.
Great rejoicings, to be sure, were made on our arrival. All the flags in the place were hoisted, all the guns in the place were fired, and all the people in the place came down to look at us. One of the local people had come off outside the reef, to pilot us in, and remained on board after we had let go our anchor.
My officer, Lieutenant Linderwood, was as ill as the captain of the sloop, and was carried ashore, too. They were both young men of about my age, who had been delicate in the West India climate. I thought I was much fitter for the work than they were, and that if all of us had our deserts, I should be both of them rolled into one. (It may be imagined what sort of an officer of marines I should have made, without the power of reading a written order. And as to any knowledge how to command the sloop—Lord! I should have sunk her in a quarter of an hour!)
However, such were my reflections; and when we men were ashore and dismissed, I strolled about the place along with Charker, making my observations in a similar spirit.
It was a pretty place: in all its arrangements partly South American and partly English, and very agreeable to look at on that account, being like a bit of home that had got chipped off and had floated away to that spot, accommodating itself to circumstances as it drifted along. The huts of the local people, to the number of five- and-twenty, perhaps, were down by the beach to the left of the anchorage. On the right was a sort of barrack, with a South American Flag and the Union Jack, flying from the same staff, where the little English colony could all come together, if they saw occasion. It was a walled square of building, with a sort of pleasure-ground inside, and inside that again a sunken block like a powder magazine, with a little square trench round it, and steps down to the door.
Charker and I were looking in at the gate, which was not guarded; and I had said to Charker, in reference to the bit like a powder magazine, "That‘s where they keep the silver you see;" and Charker had said to me, after thinking it over, "And silver ain‘t gold. Is it, Gill?"[1] Find out the TRUE statement:
A. During the time of the narration, the total number of pirates at Belize was much more than the same in the Caribbean Seas.
B. From the accounts presented here, when the narrator of the passage made the journey he already happened to be an experienced sailor with considerable navigating experiences.
C. The author and his friends used to consider Drooce as the most authoritarian non- commissioned officer in Her Majesty‘s service.
D. While walking with Charker, the narrator came across a barrack like structure where all the English settlers could assemble and stay together, if there was any necessity for doing so.[2] Find out the FALSE statement:
A. According to the passage, the silver that was being stored in the place where the author went to was being mined in Honduras.
B. The narrator noted that the silver was being transported from the mine to the coast on the backs of mules, after which it was being sent to Jamaica in a sloop, from where it was reaching various destinations.
C. Although the sea-voyage near Belize was being threatened by the presence of one notorious pirate fleet, the captain of the patrolling ship was accompanied by less than thirty soldiers.
D. The Island the author talks here about was considered to be a good point for surveillance against the pirates both by land and sea.[3] Find out the TRUE Statement:
A. The author was initially staying in Jamaica, which is located in the West and North of the Mosquito coast.
B. A casual review of the place by the narrator revealed that the store for keeping the silver was heavily guarded, fearing a possible pirate attack anytime.
C. The narrator and his companion noticed the South American Flag and the Union Jack flying on the port office.
D. When the ship entered the harbour, both it‘s Captain and Lieutenant Linderwood was unwell as the West Indian climate was not suiting them.[4] Mark the FALSE statement:
A. It was being difficult to capture the pirates because they either used to hide in uncommon waters whenever the patrolling ships were pursuing them or used to disembark and flee whenever severely chased.
B. The local canoes were employed by the miners to bring the silver from the coast to the island during favorable climatic condition.
C. The lifestyle of the island was not exactly British as it had to adjust itself with the local South American culture, but the same seemed quite delightful for the narrator and his company.
D. When Corporal Charker and Sergent Gill were walking around the harbour, they noticed that the size of the settlement of the local people was not very large.asked in IIFT
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