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”!

Why do creative pursuits appeal us?

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 basic to a democracy that its citizens remain in harmony _______ one another. At the very least, they should _______ treat each other as enemies. Enmity is spreadonly by vested interests that hope to thrive _________ polarising citizens. The ______________ between professed love for the country and infecting the people with hatred remains ignored. There is no instance in history of the policy of ‘divide and rule’ _____________ people’s welfare.

they should _______ treat each other

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.

Many persons of good education unconsciously circumscribe themselves ___________ a small vocabulary. They have a knowledge of hundreds of desirable wordswhich they do not put _________ practical use in their speech or writing. Many, too, are conscious __________ a poverty of language, which engenders in them a senseof timidity and self-___________. The method used for building a large vocabulary has __________ been confined to the study of single words.

timidity and self-___________. The method used

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.

In its _______________ phase, the big telco monopolies tried to levy a "tax" on all Internet content __________________. The Internet companies were then the new kids on the _________________. They and the Internet user community fought back such attempts. This was the first net neutrality war, and it ______________ the principle of ________________ on the Internet between different types of content or sites.

The Internet companies were then the new kids on the _________________.

Light can travel ___ km in a year.

The Tableau of which state was adjudged best at the Republic Day parade?

In the following question, out of the given four alternatives, select the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the Idiom/Phrase.

A hair’s breadth

If A is 50% more than B, then B is what percent of A?