Questions

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

Doing an internship at the University of Lille in France, I almost always found myself stuck whenever I had to speak to non-Indians about India or on anything 'Indian'. This was more because of the subtle differences in the way the French understood India in comparison to what I thought was 'Indian'. For instance, when I, or any Indian for that matter, say 'Hindi' is an Indian language, what it means is that it is one of the languages widely spoken in India. This need not be similar to the understanding that the French would have when they hear of 'Hindi' as an Indian language. Because for them Hindi then becomes the only language spoken in India. This is a natural inference that the French, Germans, Italians and many other European nationals would tend to make, because that is generally how it is in their own respective countries. The risk of such inappropriate generalisations made about 'Indian' is not restricted to language alone but also for India's landscape, cuisine, movies, music, climate, economic development and even political ideologies. The magnitude of diversity of one European country can be easily compared to that of one of the Indian State, isn't it? Can they imagine that India is one country whose diversity can be equated to that of the entire European continent? The onus is upon us to go ahead and clarify the nuances in 'Indianness' while we converse. But why should one do so? How does it even matter to clarify?

Why do some French people think that Hindi is the only Indian language?

Where did Lord Buddha breathe his last

Consider the following statements about National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) of India for 2017-2031 :

1. This is the Third National Wildlife Action Plan.

2. The NWAP is unique as this is the first time India has recognized the concerns relating to climate change impact on wildlife.

3. The NWAP has ten components. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Which of the following statements regarding soil is/are correct?

1.Alluvial soils are rich in nitrogen content.

2.Black soils are rich in iron and lime but deficient in nitrogen.

3.Laterite soils are rich in iron and aluminium but deficient in nitrogen and potassium.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

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

In mid-2012 I completed my first massive online open course, or MOOC, the kind widely offered by Coursera, EdX, Udacity and so on in partnership with different educational institutions. It was on clinical trials and ethical practices, offered by Johns Hopkins, on Coursera. This was shortly before the MOOC sensation hit India, and when Coursera, which was founded by two Stanford professors, itself was just a few months old. The MOOC bug had bit me. The course I’d completed was mainly designed for health care professionals who would be involved in actual clinical trials, not college students who had no prior knowledge of that area. I decided to enroll in the course because it was the only biology related course open at the time. However, I did see hope in that sometime in the future I’d be able to get a glimpse of what classes are like in the hallowed halls of major educational institutions around the world. By early 2013, Coursera and EdX had partnered with so many educational institutions and expanded their course offerings to include everything from food and nutrition to Greek mythology to business, that I was spoilt for choice. I spent hours going through course catalogues and poring over course descriptions, almost delirious with excitement at the fact that I was actually going to be able to take classes offered by universities I had only dreamt of attending.

The course the author completed on MOOC was related to which subject?

If a sound travels from air to water, the quantity that remain unchanged is

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

Prebiotics are the lesser-known gut-health promoters which serve as food for good bacteria inside the gut. "We found that dietary prebiotics can improve non-REM (random eye movement) sleep, as well as REM sleep after a stressful event," said Robert Thompson, a PhD researcher at University of Colorado Boulder in the U.S. Prebiotics are dietary fibres found naturally in foods like artichokes, raw garlic, leeks and onions.

When beneficial bacteria digest prebiotic fibre, they not only multiply, improving overall gut health, but they also release metabolic by-products. Researchers fed three-week-old male rats a diet of either standard chow or chow that included prebiotics. They then monitored the rats' body temperature, gut bacteria and sleep-wake cycles — using electroencephalogram (EEG), or brain activity testing over time. Findings revealed that the rats on the prebiotic diet spent more time in non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep, which is restful and restorative, than those on the non-prebiotic diet.

How are metabolic by-products released?

Improve the bracketed part of the sentence.

Mixed cropping should be encouraged both as a (hedge for) price risk and for its ecological benefits.