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.

Anti­apartheid activist Desmond Tutu is even more hard­headed when he says, "In almost ____________ language, the most difficult words are 'I am sorry’." Mr. Tutu adds that ______________ reconciliations can only lead to spurious healing. _____________ him forgiveness is a wager, an ethical wager on the future of ______________ relationship. This is why the few events of apology which stand up to _____________ scrutiny deserve to be treasured.

an ethical wager on the future of ______________ relationship.

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

A little bird told me

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

Certainly she (had been) under a lot of stress.

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.

circumscribe themselves ___________ a small vocabulary.

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.

Indian corporates are _______________ influenced by the American style of management, including ______________ practices. The recent episodes in a couple of big and reputed corporates in India are prompting many to re-think the kind of compensation strategy that would be __________ for Indian corporates. Should it be more socialistic, as prevalent in Scandinavian, some European and Japanese companies? _______________ there be some law to govern the salary differentials? __________should different functions such as Finance be remunerated substantially higher for equivalent educational degree holders and similar efforts by individuals in other functions?

salary differentials? __________ should different

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.

The Trikonasana, or triangle pose, stimulates the function of the entire body and _____________ a lateral (side) stretch to the spine. It helps reduce blood pressure, stress, and anxiety. Practise this asana every day and you'll _________ strength in the ankles, thighs, knees, hips, calves and hamstrings. All standing poses __________the cardiovascular system, so the more you do it, the ________ your stamina will become. The aim is never to overdo it, but to engage regularly, __________ that you get stronger and more stable over time.

to engage regularly, __________ that you get stronger and more stable