In these modern times of fast food lunches, take-away dinners and ready-to-eat breakfasts, we often reminisce about the dishes that our mothers made when we were young. The aromas and flavours of those dishes are still fresh in our minds, though several years have passed since we last had these. Is it the flavour that actually makes us remember these dishes? Or is it that these dishes are connected to other pleasant memories of those times and of our younger selves, which have left an indelible impression on our minds?

If we think about how our mother’s garden used to be, there was nothing remarkable about it, at least at first glance. What did stand out was that everything—flowers, fruits and vegetables—was neatly laid out and pleasing to the eye. Widely contrasting fruits and vegetables such as strawberries and cucumber, poppies and potatoes, turnips and tomatoes grew in perfect harmony in mother’s garden.

One group of plants that one particularly remembers among this eclectic mix is the “sweet” herbs placed just outside the kitchen. These are items that we never see on the table and that never play leading roles in the dramatic act that is mother’s cooking. Nonetheless, these are absolutely essential ingredients of mother’s food, just like members of the cast who play small but important roles and without whom the act would lose a lot of its colour and charm. It is these performances that one remembers long after one has forgotten the names of the leading cast members. The herbs in mother’s garden are no different.

1. The author compares herbs in mother’s garden with members of ‘the cast’ primarily in order to:

(A) describe the supporting role played by these herbs in preparing a dish.
(B) identify a similarity between these herbs and other fruits and vegetables.
(C) analyse the relationship between herbs and cooking.
(D) explain how these herbs play a vital role in providing flavour to a dish.
(E) point out the key differentiating ingredients in mother’s dishes.


2. According to the passage, which of the following could be a reason we are attracted towards the dishes made by our mothers?

(A) They were made using ingredients that are not available today.
(B) They satisfed our hunger much better than modern dishes do.
(C) They did not involve the use of artificial flavours.
(D) They serve as reminders of our younger selves.
(E) They were made from home grown vegetables.


3. According to the passage, which of the following was a unique feature of mother’s garden?

(A) The availability of rare herbs and vegetables.
(B) The use of sweet herbs.
(C) The addition of mother’s love.
(D) The effort that went into preparing the dishes.
(E) The neat and organised layout.


4. From the information in the passage, which of the following is not true of the herbs discussed in the last paragraph of the passage?

(A) They tasted sweet.
(B) Their memory lingered long after the food was eaten.
(C) They were usually not the main ingredient of a dish.
(D) They added flavour to a dish.
(E) They were not laid out on the dining table.