ISRO Accounts Officer 2007

II. In the following passage, there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, three or four words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word.

Passage:

Some scholars were exploring the forests of Middle America. They discovered, during their exploration some buildings which were in ruins. These buildings were (1).......... ruined by the encroaching forest. It was also clear that these buildings were no ordinary structures. They were remnants of a (2)........... civilisation. The scholars got interested. They excavated more and discovered (3)...........their utmost surprise the remains of a flourishing civilisation - the Mayan's (4).......... .they named it. Thus, it was as late as in (5)........... 19th century that the secrets of a new civilisation were (6).............. For some time, the scholars believed that the Mayans must have (7)............... the descendants of ancient Egyptians or one of the lost tribes of Israel; or perhaps a brand of South East Asia's immigrants. However, they could not come to a unanimous decision. Nonetheless, the fact remains that even to-day the Mayan culture is one of (8).................. most fascinating ancient civilisations. This civilisation was situated in the (9)............. of Middle America. It covered area equivalent to France, (10)..........spread across Guatemala, Belize and some parts of Mexican Honduras. It started in 2500 B.C. and continued its progress till 34 (11)............... later. Throughout its period of progress, the people struggled against the invading (12)..........They use to burn the plants and make the land (13)................. for cultivation. Their staple food was maize. But even while (14)................. for existence, they found time to build remarkable buildings for (15)........... they used mortar, sandstone and volcanic rock. The buildings do tell us about the technological advances they had attained.