Reading Passage Question
Nine days of state mourning at the passing away of Britain’s queen mother will mark a unique era because the racehorse loving, gin and tonic drinking ‘grand old mum’, as the Brits called her, literally lived through the entire 20th century. While TV channels put out some black and white archival footage from another age, the formerly reverential BBC attracted criticism from the people because its newscasters did not wear black ties and they discussed the event with a frankness that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
She was widowed 50 years ago. A relic I still have in my possession amongst my naval memorabilia is a black, mourning armband issued to us when King George VI died on February 6, 1952. It was dispatched by Messrs Gieves of Old Bond Street in London, the naval tailors ‘By appointment to the King’. I recall listening to the last Christmas day broadcast of King George VI, with his consort by his side, while having dinner with a friend in Surrey. Then, a few weeks later, we were to receive news of his death while we were at sea on board our training cruiser, HMS Devonshire, headed for the Caribbean. As we proceeded to drop anchor in Barbados harbour, we were struck first, by the magnificent sight of flying fish which kept darting across the placid blue waters, and then, by the great alacrity with which mourning bands were delivered to us for the funeral ceremonies. Inevitably, we were billed by ‘Messrs Thieves’ for five shillings, a princely sum then, because our pay was four shillings a day.
Brought up, as I was, in a family known for thrift, I had put that piece of uniform safely away and which, as it happened, came in handy a year later following the death of the then queen mother, Mary. Our pay had doubled to eight shillings by then, we having been promoted as midshipmen, and the commander-in-chief in Malta was Louis Mountbatten. He was a close member of the royal family, a cousin of George VI and, of course, he and his wife Edwina flew to London for the funeral service in Westminster Abbey. But the formalities connected with a royal funeral were meticulously observed by all ships of the Mediterranean fleet and thus that black armband became an absolute necessity.
“Nine days of state mourning at the passing away of Britain’s queen mother”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 4 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.
Solution and Explanation
Question 1
1. From the information in the passage, what can be inferred about the perception of the BBC amongst the public before the queen’s death?
(A) The public was indifferent towards it.
(B) The public was critical of its actions.
(C) It was respected by the public.
(D) The public was not appreciative of the behavior of at least some of its newscasters.
(E) The public considered it the only authentic source of information
Answer: D
Explanation: As previously mentioned, some archival black and white footage from a different age is broadcast on TV. Because its newscasters did not wear black ties, the formerly revered BBC came under fire from the public. They also spoke candidly about the incident, which was inconceivable a few years ago.
Question 2
According to the information in the passage, the life style of the British ‘Grand mum’ can best be described as
(A) Extravagant
(B) Conservative
(C) Philanthropic
(D) Inspiring
(E) Sedentary
Answer: A
Explanation: The lifestyle of the ‘Grand mum’ can be discerned from the opening lines of the passage. Racehorse loving, gin and tonic drinking. Such a lifestyle can hardly be called ‘Conservative’ or ‘Philanthropic’. Again, there is nothing in the passage to suggest that the Queen’s life was inspiring. It was also not sedentary because ‘race horse loving’ gives the opposite sense. ‘Extravagant’ is the best word to describe her lifestyle. Hence, the answer should be A.
Question 3
At the end of the second paragraph, the author refers to ‘Messrs Gieves of Old Bond Street’ as ‘Messrs Thieves’. This most likely suggests that the author:
(A) did not appreciate being charged a high price for the black armbands that he did not order voluntarily
(B) believed that ‘Messrs Gieves’ had shown a lot of alacrity in delivering the armbands on time
(C) thought that he was underpaid for his work in the army
(D) was miserly by nature
(E) was not in favor of elaborate funeral ceremonies
Answer: A
Explanation: The author recalls how the mourning armband was issued to them when King George VI passed away. He says that they were hit initially as they were about to pitch anchor in the harbour of Barbados. By the breathtaking sight of flying fish dashing through the calm blue seas. And after that, he was amazed at how quickly the mourning bands arrived for the burial rites. They were inevitably charged five shillings by "Messrs Thieves," which at the time was a splendid sum given their daily wage of four shillings.
Question 4
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) TV channels were generally disrespectful towards the queen mother after her death.
(B) The queen mother was widowed at the age of 50.
(C) The black armband was an important part of royal funeral formalities.
(D) Louis Mountbatten and the queen mother were cousins.
(E) Armymen were generally underpaid at the time of the queen mother’s death.
Answer: C
Explanation: The black armband was an important part of royal funeral formalities. As mentioned in the last paragraph of the passage. “But the formalities connected with a royal funeral were meticulously observed by all ships of the Mediterranean fleet. And thus that black armband became an absolute necessity.”
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