Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given four alternatives.

 

By practicing mindfulness and other principles, we become more aware of and present to our fears and others’ fears, bearing witness as a way of healing and empowering. We see the spiritual path as intertwined with the path of social action, with contemplation and action parts of the same whole, each nourishing and guiding the other. Acknowledging that our well-being depends on others makes caring for others’ well-being a moral responsibility.

Through a “mindful citizen” exercise, we create a story articulating who we are as individuals who are also part of communities. This exercise helps us move beyond cynicism, complacency, and despair, instead infusing us with a sense of purpose. We embrace our gifts, resolving to do our part to promote a sense of common humanity as a means toward social justice.

With this exercise, I believe we can help students bridge their divides and replace anger and distrust with compassionate connections – just as I witnessed between Shirley and Tiffany.

Shirley returned to class after a brief hiatus, keeping a cool distance from Tiffany. But over the weeks spent together they gradually came to know each other. They practiced seeing and listening, sharing stories so different that they felt bewildered as to how they could overcome the gap. But they found that acknowledging their differences led them to discover a place of deep connection in commonalities, such as being raised by grandmothers, and even wounds, including childhood trauma, that they never imagined existed.

In assessments of these classes, students say that these small groups become “healing communities,” where we overcome victimization and claim agency. Healing occurs as we transcend an “us vs. them” mentality, crossing borders and forging connections. These communities show a way of reducing intergroup prejudice and fostering inclusion based in psychology research and pedagogical practice.

 

What does the “mindful citizen” exercise help us in?

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which will improve the bracketed part of the sentence. In case no improvement is needed, select "no improvement".

You (will being surprised) to learn that some leading philosophers have supported immoral views.

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which is the best substitute of the words/sentence.

A person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type

In the following question, four words are given out of which one word is correctly spelt. Select the correctly spelt word.

The question below consists of a set of labelled sentences. Out of the four options given, select the most logical order of the sentences to form a coherent paragraph.

The smoke rises and

A-chokes my apartment

B-gets trapped in the

C-tree-tops and

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which will improve the bracketed part of the sentence. In case no improvement is needed, select "no improvement".

I (had been) a unique case of slow learning.

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which is the best substitute of the words/sentence.

Relating to or involved in crime

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the idiom/phrase.

Under the weather

In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. Read the passage carefully and select the correct answer for the given blank out of the four alternatives.

People are now either exposed to the very best of their inner circle and the world, ________ to the worst — articles that look to shock, to provoke rage and put a lens on everything that is wrong _________ the world. Imperceptibly, it goes unsaid that often __________ pieces of ‘news’ fail to actually provide a constructive solution. The effect of such a disparity _________ to the same effect as news of TV and newspapers — a feeling that what we see does not ____________ our lives.

we see does not ____________ our lives.