English Questions

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.

A saint or a satyagrahi is often put on a ___________, freezing her acts of goodness in time. Goodness acquires an act of fixed quality __________ in amber. Rather than _____________ a living creature, a saint or an icon becomes a hoarding, a permanent spectacle or a redundant quotation. Saintliness or heroism becomes a bundle of pictures in a calendar, a statue __________ inflexibly. Goodness becomes a stencil fixed _________ time.

A saint or a satyagrahi is often put on a ___________

In the question given below, three paragraphs are given, which are jumbled. Find the correct sequence of these paragraphs so that they form a meaningful passage.
A. The power of compounding works the way it does because you are reinvesting the interest that you earn back into the instrument, besides giving it time to grow. Let’s simplify it further. Say in the first year you invest ₹100 and you get 10% annual return of ₹10. Next year, along with ₹110 (the first year principal amount and the interest amount), you will put another ₹100. The ₹10 you earned as interest gets reinvested, helping you grow your money faster.

B. To get a perspective, let’s turn to some numbers. Say you started investing ₹3,000 a month when you were 25, and go on till you are 60. At an average annual rate of 7% returns, your corpus will grow to ₹53.24 lakh. If you decide to start investing at the age of 35 years, even if you put aside double the amount— ₹6,000 per month — till the age of 60, the value of your corpus will be only ₹48.72 lakh. The example shows that you would need half the amount to get more in returns if you start investing early.
C. Adulting can’t wait when it comes to savings and investing. Why you may ask? If you delay your investments, how will you see the magic of compounding? When it comes to investing, you need to start early. In fact, you should start saving and investing as soon as you start earning. Compounding allows you to build a bigger corpus with a smaller amount.

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.

A century later, the philosophy community needs to take __________ the new challenge of moral deliberation on the most pressing issues of our difficult times. We have to revoke the suspension of ethics and morality ____________ our lives by initiating a dialogue on it. Foregrounding ethics, however, ___________ means undermining the epistemological or ontological questions that are inevitably there. One such beginning can be made by anchoring moral ________________ in fairness and justice —one founded on obligatory fairness towards the people and the planet, towards the earth and the environment, and above all justice towards one_________.

and above all justice towards one _________.

In the following passage some of the words have been left out. Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer for the given blank out of the four alternatives.

The conditions ______ which democracy can _______ are _______ to ________ ; but one thing is _______ that democracy is always a slow growth, whereas dictators may _____ to ______ and _______ a new _______ with dramatic success, under _______ conditions.

whereas dictators may _____

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”!

According to the passage, why even our amateurish attempts motivate us?

In the following question, a passage is given which describes a situation. From the given options, mark the correct inference that can be drawn from the passage. If none of the inferences follow, mark option 5, “None of these” as the answer.
In nearly all human populations a majority of individuals can taste the artificially synthesized chemical phenylthiocarbonide (PTC). However, the percentage varies dramatically-- from as low as 60% in India to as high as 95% in Africa. That this polymorphism is observed in non- human primates as well indicates a long evolutionary history which, although obviously not acting on PTC, might reflect evolutionary selection for taste discrimination of other, more significant bitter substances, such as certain toxic plants.

In the following question, out of the given four alternatives, select the one which best expresses the meaning of the given word.

Beguile

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.

you'll _________ strength in the ankles, thighs, knees, hips