Questions

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

One should consciously engage in activities that will nourish your soul. Just as we nourish the body, we need to nurture the soul to connect to the creative power of the universe and to manifest joy in our lives. Often, we forget to address the soul, lost as we are in a jungle of material and sensual pleasures. But the more you embrace what feeds your soul, the happier you become. So if you want to enjoy the abundance of life, engage in what enriches your soul. Nurturing the soul is all about finding calm amidst chaos. There are a number of practices that empower people towards this end including silent contemplation, various forms of meditation, yoga and tai chi However, the rigor and discipline involved in the pursuit of such practices often seems to discourage people. Add to this, the temptations of the material world that leave little time and motivation for anyone to pursue the spiritual path. Poet Walt Whitman declared: “Whatever satisfies the soul is truth”. The good news is that simple, everyday activities can also nutrify the soul — like spending time in the midst of nature, dancing in the rain or just putting thoughts on paper. Do whatever is calming and pleases you. Creative pursuits are particularly appealing as inside each one of us, there is an artist craving for release and awaiting an opportunity for expression. One of the ways to indulge the artist within is to get started with the practice of any one or more of the creative art forms such as music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction or essay writing.

When you engage in such soul nourishing activities, all thought and energy gets focused toward goal accomplishment. At this point, you will find that even unknown forces of the universe are conniving to assist you in your amateurish but sincere attempts. As you progress, you are motivated to do better. You touch and access a faculty, a part of you that you never knew existed. Your inner artist is unleashed, baring the beauty of your soul that has found a fond medium of expression. For instance, a sculptor’s soul is seen in his artwork; a musician’s in his compositions; an actor’s in his acting, a painter’s in his paintings and so on. It is immaterial whether your effort is an immaculate artwork or just a clumsy attempt by a layperson. The idea is to try, be inspired and to create giving free rein to the mind. As Michelangelo remarked: “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free”!

What can you infer from Michelangelo’s statement - "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free"?

India-born Sundar Pichai is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of which of the following companies?

Which of the following Indian women cricket openers scored 320 in 45.3 overs to become the world's first pair to achieve a 300-run opening wicket partnership in a one-day internationals(ODIs)?

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

Keep at bay

As per a MoU signed in November 2017, India will provide financial assistance of $ 2.87 million for the public transport system to which Asian country?

Botanical Survey of India has discovered a new species of parasitic flowering plant Gleadovia Konyakianorum named in the honour of which community?

On 5 January 2018, Lok Sabha passed High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2017. The Bill seeks to revise the pension for Chief Justice of India to a maximum of how much amount per annum?

According to Article 75 of Indian Constitution, the ministers are collectively responsible to the Parliament in general and to the _____ in particular.