Questions

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

The Amazon basin has been continuously inhabited for at least 10, 000 years, possibly more. Its earliest inhabitants were stone-age peoples, living in hundreds of far-flung tribes, some tiny, others numbering in the tens of thousands. It was from the west that Europeans explorers first arrived. In 1541 a Spanish expedition from Quito, led by Gonzalo Pizarro, ran short of supplies while exploring east of the Andes in what is today Peru. Pizarro’s cousin Francisco de Orellana offered to take 60 men along with the boats from the expedition and forage for supplies. De Orellana floated down the Rio Napo to its confluence with the Amazon, near Iquitos (Peru), and then to the mouth of the Amazon. Along the way his expedition suffered numerous attacks by Indians; some of the Indian warriors, they reported, were female, like the Amazons of Greek mythology, and thus the world’s greatest river got its name. No one made a serious effort to claim this sweaty territory, however, until the Portuguese built a fort near the mouth of the river at Belém in 1616, and sent Pedro Teixeira up the river to Quito and back between 1637 and 1639. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Portuguese bandeirantes (groups of roaming adventurers) penetrated ever further into the rain forest in pursuit of gold and Indian slaves, exploring as far as present-day Rondônia, and the Guaporé and Madeira river valleys. Amazonian Indians had long used the sap from rubber trees to make waterproof bags and other items. European explorers recognized the potential value of natural latex, but were unable to market it because it tended to grow soft in the heat, or brittle in the cold, and thus had limited appeal outside the rain forest. However, in 1842 American Charles Goodyear developed vulcanization (made natural rubber durable) and in 1890 Ireland’s John Dunlop patented pneumatic rubber tires. Soon there was an unquenchable demand for rubber in the recently industrialized USA and Europe, and the price of rubber on international markets soared. As profits skyrocketed, so did exploitation of the seringueiros, or rubber tappers, who were lured into the Amazon, mostly from the drought-stricken northeast, by the promise of prosperity only to be locked into a cruel system of virtual slavery dominated by seringalistas (owners of rubber-bearing forests). Rigged scales, hired guns, widespread illiteracy among the rubber tappers, and monopoly of sales and purchases all combined to perpetuate the workers’ debt and misery. In addition, seringueiros had to contend with jungle fevers, Indian attacks and all manner of deprivation.

Seringalistas refers to

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.

For a minute, dispel all the mental images and stereotypes; ______________ the jargon of 'opening up,' 'flow,' 'nidra,' and 'balance'. Focus _______ what you need for your body. ___________ you aren't sure, begin here — with just one asana. It's one of the basic ones ___________ I lead every class with. You can do it as a stand-alone piece ____________ begin with it when you're at the gym.

stand-alone piece ____________ begin with it when you're at the gym.

In the following question, the sentence given with blank to be filled in with an appropriate word. Select the correct alternative out of the four and indicate it by selecting the appropriate option.

The art of growing up is living in the school of life, where learning is ______, and taking responsibility is important.

In the following question, out of the given four alternatives, select the one which is opposite in meaning of the given word.

Punctilious

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.

Widespread liberalization of the economic ________________ regime was long overdue in 1991, and has played a positive role since, but its impact has ________________ its course and the policy has recognisable ___________________. Liberalization cannot address all aspects of the man­made environment and now climate change ________________ to change everything forever. We do not have another quarter century to deal ___________ these imperatives.

the policy has recognisable ___________________.

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.

It is obviously wrong as the cost of school uniform, books and stationery, and transport, ________ all are under the monopoly of the school, are not included. ______________ private schools want additional money for special occasions like festivals, picnics, ______________ and projects. And they often recommend tuition for the children. None of this ______________ in this cost calculation. However, the family __________ this burden and these items add significantly to the revenue of private schools.

However, the family __________ this burden

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.

We also need to work towards a re-engineering of procedures. It __________________ that fear of being scrutinised by the office of the Central Vigilance Commissioner has _________________ loan officers in the public sector into inaction. It is _______________ no use having a publicly-owned banking ___________ that does not extend credit to sound projects on grounds of __________________ scrutiny.

Central Vigilance Commissioner has _________________ loan officers in the public sector into inaction.

Article 222 of the Indian Constitution "Transfer of a Judge from one High Court to another" deals with?