Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions that follow: Every year, a handful of people are honoured and elevated to a reputed title, the „Nobel laureate‟, which
distinguishes them from others. Celebrated as one of the most coveted awards, the Nobel Prize is widely
regarded as the crowning achievement of mankind that marks its scientific, economic, literary and
political excellence. While most people are aware of its existence, relatively few people know about
Alfred Nobel, the genius who laid the foundation of these annually distributed awards.
Alfred Nobel, an engineer and inventor, was born on October 21st, 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden. He was
an intensely curious young boy with a natural affinity for problem solving. He was deeply fascinated
with Nitroglycerin due to its unpredictable and highly explosive nature. In the 1860s, he experimented
with this product and used it in controlled explosions. However, in 1864, just as he was about to achieve
complete success, tragedy struck. A vat of nitroglycerine overheated and resulted in an explosion killing
five people, including his younger brother, Emil. Alfred himself suffered minor injuries in the disaster.
Rather than giving up his work completely, he continued his work and produced „Dynamite‟ a safer way
to handle explosives. He was soon granted patents for his inventions and his business boomed. Dynamite
soon found numerous uses, including mining, canal cutting, tunnel blasting and more. The explosives
created by Nobel spread rapidly around the world and brought greater benefits to engineering and
mining. He became an extremely rich businessman and amassed a huge fortune.
But inevitably, dynamite also started being used in war. Alfred himself was a person who believed in
universal peace and believed that his weapon would be used to maintain peace, ultimately proving to be
a boon to mankind. This however was a gross miscalculation. Wars continued amongst nations and more
and more dynamite began to be used. His inventions failed to change the course of the world. His faith in
mankind was sadly misplaced. On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below:

7. In which fields are Nobel Prizes awarded every year?
a. Science, politics, literature, mathematics
c. Science, engineering, medicine, economics

b. Literature, politics, science, economics
d. Literature, politics, science, engineering

8. Which among the following fields did not benefit from Dynamite?
a. Engineering
c. Construction

b. Mining
d. Tunnel blasting

9. How did Alfred Nobel amass a huge fortune?

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a. Dynamite became very popular around the world and had many uses
b. Alfred Nobel was granted many patents for his inventions
c. Both a and b
d. He became a great engineer
10. What kind of a boy was Alfred Nobel?
a. Intensely curious with problem solving skills
c. Passionate and careful

b. Lazy and careless
d. Scientific and skill oriented

11. Nobel was fascinated by Nitroglycerine because it
a. Was unpredictable and highly explosive
c. Could be used to maintain peace

b. Could be used in dynamite and make him rich
d. Could be used in controlled explosions

12. Identify the word that will come in the blank space. Boon: Bane :: War:
a. Love
c. Enemy

b. Fight
d. Peace