Read the given passage and answer the following question.

There are three main groups of oils: animal, vegetable and mineral. Great quantities of animal oil from whales, those enormous creatures of the sea which are the largest remaining animals in the world. To protect the whale from the cold of the Arctic seas, nature has provided it with a thick covering of fat called blubber. When the whale is killed, the blubber is stripped off and boiled down. It produces a great quantity of oil which can be made into food for human consumption. A few other creatures yield oil, but none so much as the whale. The livers of the cod and halibut liver oil are given to sick children and other invalids who need certain vitamins.

Vegetable's oil has been known from antiquity. No household can get on without it, for it is used in cooking. Perfumes may be made from the oils of certain flowers. Soaps are made from vegetable and animal oils.

To the ordinary man, one kind of oil may be as important as another. But when the politician or the engineer refers to oil she almost always means mineral oil, the oil that drives tanks, aero planes and warships, motor-cars and diesel locomotives; the oil that is used to lubricate all kinds of machinery. This is the oil that has changed the life of the common man. When it is refined into petrol, it is used to drive the internal combustion engine. To it, we owe the existence of motor car, which has replaced the private carriage drawn by the horse. To it, we owe the possibility of flying. It has changed the methods of warfare on land, sea and air. This kind of oil comes out of the earth. Because it burns well, it is used as fuel and in some ways, it is superior to coal in this respect. Many big ships now burn oil instead of coal. Because it burns brightly, it is used for illumination; countless homes are still illuminated with oil-burning lamps. Because it is very slippery, it is used for lubrication.


1. Vegetable oil is/was

(a) Known to people since ages

(b) Unknown in ancient times 

(c) Known only in the old days

(d) Known only to old people


2. According to the author, whales are

(a) The largest animals that have ever lived in the world

(b) The largest animals living in contemporary times

(c) The largest reptile

(d) The largest animal living in Caspian Sea


3. Which one of the following is not one of the three main purposes for which mineral oil is used?

(a) For lighting

(b) As fuel for motors

(c) As an economic power

(d) As lubricant


4."No household can get on without vegetable oil, for it is used in cooking", means 

(a) Households and vegetables oil cannot get on with each other

(b) Households can manage without oil

(c) Oil is an essential ingredient in cooking, so households need it

(d) Households can get on with cooking without vegetable oil


5. Oil-burning lamps

(a) Are used in more and more homes nowadays

(b) Are not used at all

(c) Burn more brightly than any other kind of lamp

(d) Are used by a large number of people, although not so many as previously

Answers :

1)a 2)b 3)c 4)c 5)d