Read the following passage and answer the questions set on it.
In 1989, an earthquake almost flattened Armenia, ** over 20,000 people in less than four minutes. In the midst of utter devastation and chaos, a father left his wife securely at home and rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be, only to discover that the building had collapsed. After the initial shock, he remembered the promise he had made to his son, “No matter what, I’ll always be there for you’. His eyes began to till with tears. He looked at the pile of debris that once was the school, it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his commitment to his soil. He began to remember where he left his son at school every morning. Remembered that his son’ classroom was at finback right corner of the building, lie rushed there and started digging through the rubble.
As he was digging, other parents arrived clutching their hearts saying, “My Son! My Daughter!”. Others tried to pull him saying, “It is too late!” “They’re !”. “You cannot help!” “Go home!” “Come on, face reality, there’ nothing you can do!” “You are just going to makes things worse!”
To each parent, he responded with one line, “Arc you going to help me now?” And then he proceeded to dig for his son, stone by stone.
The ** chief tried to pull him saying ‘Fires arc breaking out, **** c happening everywhere. You’re in danger. We’ll take care of it. Go home”. To which loving, caring Armenian father asked, “Are you going to help me now?”
The police said, “You’re , distraught and it’ over. You are endangering others. Go home, we’ll handle it!”. No one helped; courageously he proceeded alone because he needed to know for himself, ‘Is my boy alive or is he ?’
Six hours, twelve hours, sixteen hours, twenty-four hours, thirtysix hours he went on digging. At the thirty-eighth hour, he pulled back a boulder and heard his son’ voice. He screamed his son’ name, “Armand!”. He heard back “Dad? It’* me, Dad”. The lather then heard his son screaming with joy. “Dad! I told the others not to worry. I told them if you are alive, you’d save me and when you saved me, they’d be saved. You promised,
“No matter what, I’ll always be there for you” you did it, Dad!” “There are fourteen of us left out of thirty-three, Dad. We are scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful that you’re here. When the building collapsed, it made a wedge, like a triangle and it saved us.”
“Come on out, Boy!” “No Dad, let the other kids come out first. I know you’ll get me! No matter what, I know you’ll always be there for me!”
“Come on out, Boy!” “No Dad, let the other kids come out first. I know you’ll get me! No matter what, I know you’ll always be there for me!”
(a) Where did the incident take place?
(b) What did the father find in the place of his son’* school?
(c) What was the father’* promise to his son?
(d) Whom did the forlorn parents call out for?
(e) How did the father respond to each parent? (f) Add a prefix to the word ‘secure’ to make its antonym.
(g) They could hear ..... (explosives / explosions) all around.
(h) Name the boy mentioned in the passage.
(i) How many **** were trapped alive inside?
(j) What had saved the boys from dying?
