question_answer

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:

When Levi Strauss sold his first pair of jeans, they were not blue and they were not denim. He was 21, a recent immigrant from Bavaria, when he landed in San Francisco in 1850 with gold on his mind. His brother back East had stocked him with some dry goods and bolts of canvas, which young Levi intended to sell as tents and wagon tops. He wanted to raise cash to buy himself a claim in the gold digs. Legend has it that a single encounter with a disgruntled miner changed his carrier. Eyeing the goods, the miner said he would have done better to bring pants. Pants wore out quickly in the gold digs.

Very soon the miner had the toughest pair of brown canvas pants in the West. Soon other goods prospectors came around looking for those pants of Levi's. Within a few years, he switched from canvas to French denim, reputed to be the strongest fabric in the world. He later added the indigo dye that puts the .blue in the blue jeans.

Meanwhile, Jacob Davis, a tailor in Nevadall, came up with the idea of copper-riveted pockets. Miners kept loading ore into their pockets and ripping them out.

One day, after having repaired the same miner's pockets several times, the tailor sneaked off to the harness shop and reinforced the seams with rivets. Davis knew he had a good thing, so he went down to see Strauss in San Francisco and the two men took out a patent on riveted pockets.

Strauss developed the first and the largest garment-making business west of the Mississippi River. His reputation for probity and public spiritedness became a San Francisco legend. "You can buy Levi's for a dollar, but you can't buy Levi's Strauss for a million dollars." it was said.

A. Based on your reading of the given passage, answer the following questions:

(i) What is the story behind the pair of brown canvas pants?

(ii) How did the brown canvas pants change into blue jeans?

(iii) Why did Levi Strauss go to San Francisco in 1850?

(iv) Mention some character traits that make Levi Strauss unique.

B. Fill in the gaps as briefly as possible.

(i) Levi Strauss used ............ to make his jeans ............ in colour.

(ii) Levi's jeans got their special pockets when............

C. Find out a word from the passage which has the same meaning as:

(i) Dissatisfied (Para 1)

(ii) Strengthened (Para 4)

Answer:

A (i) Once Levi went to San Francisco to sell some dry goods and bolts of canvas as he wanted to raise cash to buy a claim in the gold digs. But the miner demanded pants instead of those goods.

(ii) Once the brown canvas pants were in demand in the west, Levi switched from canvas to French denim. He later added the indigo dye that puts the blue in jeans.

(iii) Levi Strauss went to San Francisco in 1850 with the idea of working as a gold digger in mines. He was also stocked with some dry goods and bolts of canvas.

(iv) Levi Strauss was reputed for his honesty and public service. He also had a reputation for public spiritedness.

B (i) indigo dye; blue

(ii) Strauss and Davis took out a patent on riveted pockets.

C (i) disgruntled

(ii) reinforced.