English Reading Comprehension

All of the following were contributing factors for the wave of anti-Semitism except:

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

A DNA molecule is made up of two long polymers, the polymers being the mixture of compounds formed by polymerization, and consisting essentially of repeating structural units. The strands are joined together with hydrogen atoms and are woven together in the shape of a double helix. Each of the polymers contains chemicals called nucleotides which in turn can be broken down into many individualized components including four nitrogenous bases that form the basic building block of life and contain all the genetic information that an organism needs. The backbone of the DNA molecule is made up of alternating sugars and phosphates and, being quite strong, it protects the whole from damage and mutation. Since one strand is a photographic negative of the other, it is very easy to replicate the information once the structure of one of the two component strands is known and understood. Replication begins with the unwinding of the helix with an enzyme and it is not mandatory that the replication has to start at the ends of the strand. It can start anywhere and once started, the enzymes create two replication forks that continue to replicate the strand in both the directions. DNA contains all the information necessary for life processes but this information never leaves the nuclei of the cells.

One of the earliest proponents of genetic research and the role of heredity in transmission of genetic disorders, and dare one say human cloning, was the now infamous Josef Menegle, from the concentration camp of Auschwitz in the Second World War. At the acme of Hitler’s power in Germany, and indeed in most of Europe and Africa, Jew hating wasn’t just a wave; it was a way of life with not only the state machinery arrayed against them, but also a lot of otherwise unbiased citizens and fellow humans who were just caught in the maelstrom of events between the hard choices of betraying friends and neighbors and being branded traitors to the cause themselves. The Nazi party and its followers started believing in the own racial superiority and being a Jew or a gypsy meant carrying a perpetual death sentence. Indeed another contemporary of Menegle, Joseph Goebbels, who, from a failed literary writer was to become the minister of propaganda for the Nazis, commenced his attacks on Jews in 1933 and continued through 1938 when they finally took the shape of the notorious ‘Final Solution’, which looked at the total annihilation of the Jews. Menegle was especially interested in studying twins and performed a variety of experiments on them without anesthesia to determine the genetic origins of diseases as at that time medical research into twin physiology was seen as the best tool of studying the variant factor in heredity. Also, he was extremely interested in genetic segregation of the Aryan blood as he thought that Jewish and Roma blood was impure and thought that twins were the best way to carry forward the purity of lineage. Taking forward the Nazi party line of the creation and preservation of the ‘Master Race’, which included thousands of vasectomies and operations on women to weed out the undesirable parts from the population, some even credit Menegle with having impregnated hundreds, perhaps thousands, of women with the Fuhrer’s semen in order to propagate the Aryan race.

The passage mentions all of the following except:

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

A DNA molecule is made up of two long polymers, the polymers being the mixture of compounds formed by polymerization, and consisting essentially of repeating structural units. The strands are joined together with hydrogen atoms and are woven together in the shape of a double helix. Each of the polymers contains chemicals called nucleotides which in turn can be broken down into many individualized components including four nitrogenous bases that form the basic building block of life and contain all the genetic information that an organism needs. The backbone of the DNA molecule is made up of alternating sugars and phosphates and, being quite strong, it protects the whole from damage and mutation. Since one strand is a photographic negative of the other, it is very easy to replicate the information once the structure of one of the two component strands is known and understood. Replication begins with the unwinding of the helix with an enzyme and it is not mandatory that the replication has to start at the ends of the strand. It can start anywhere and once started, the enzymes create two replication forks that continue to replicate the strand in both the directions. DNA contains all the information necessary for life processes but this information never leaves the nuclei of the cells.

One of the earliest proponents of genetic research and the role of heredity in transmission of genetic disorders, and dare one say human cloning, was the now infamous Josef Menegle, from the concentration camp of Auschwitz in the Second World War. At the acme of Hitler’s power in Germany, and indeed in most of Europe and Africa, Jew hating wasn’t just a wave; it was a way of life with not only the state machinery arrayed against them, but also a lot of otherwise unbiased citizens and fellow humans who were just caught in the maelstrom of events between the hard choices of betraying friends and neighbors and being branded traitors to the cause themselves. The Nazi party and its followers started believing in the own racial superiority and being a Jew or a gypsy meant carrying a perpetual death sentence. Indeed another contemporary of Menegle, Joseph Goebbels, who, from a failed literary writer was to become the minister of propaganda for the Nazis, commenced his attacks on Jews in 1933 and continued through 1938 when they finally took the shape of the notorious ‘Final Solution’, which looked at the total annihilation of the Jews. Menegle was especially interested in studying twins and performed a variety of experiments on them without anesthesia to determine the genetic origins of diseases as at that time medical research into twin physiology was seen as the best tool of studying the variant factor in heredity. Also, he was extremely interested in genetic segregation of the Aryan blood as he thought that Jewish and Roma blood was impure and thought that twins were the best way to carry forward the purity of lineage. Taking forward the Nazi party line of the creation and preservation of the ‘Master Race’, which included thousands of vasectomies and operations on women to weed out the undesirable parts from the population, some even credit Menegle with having impregnated hundreds, perhaps thousands, of women with the Fuhrer’s semen in order to propagate the Aryan race.

Why does the author say, 'the now infamous' while referring to Josef Menegle?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

A DNA molecule is made up of two long polymers, the polymers being the mixture of compounds formed by polymerization, and consisting essentially of repeating structural units. The strands are joined together with hydrogen atoms and are woven together in the shape of a double helix. Each of the polymers contains chemicals called nucleotides which in turn can be broken down into many individualized components including four nitrogenous bases that form the basic building block of life and contain all the genetic information that an organism needs. The backbone of the DNA molecule is made up of alternating sugars and phosphates and, being quite strong, it protects the whole from damage and mutation. Since one strand is a photographic negative of the other, it is very easy to replicate the information once the structure of one of the two component strands is known and understood. Replication begins with the unwinding of the helix with an enzyme and it is not mandatory that the replication has to start at the ends of the strand. It can start anywhere and once started, the enzymes create two replication forks that continue to replicate the strand in both the directions. DNA contains all the information necessary for life processes but this information never leaves the nuclei of the cells.

One of the earliest proponents of genetic research and the role of heredity in transmission of genetic disorders, and dare one say human cloning, was the now infamous Josef Menegle, from the concentration camp of Auschwitz in the Second World War. At the acme of Hitler’s power in Germany, and indeed in most of Europe and Africa, Jew hating wasn’t just a wave; it was a way of life with not only the state machinery arrayed against them, but also a lot of otherwise unbiased citizens and fellow humans who were just caught in the maelstrom of events between the hard choices of betraying friends and neighbors and being branded traitors to the cause themselves. The Nazi party and its followers started believing in the own racial superiority and being a Jew or a gypsy meant carrying a perpetual death sentence. Indeed another contemporary of Menegle, Joseph Goebbels, who, from a failed literary writer was to become the minister of propaganda for the Nazis, commenced his attacks on Jews in 1933 and continued through 1938 when they finally took the shape of the notorious ‘Final Solution’, which looked at the total annihilation of the Jews. Menegle was especially interested in studying twins and performed a variety of experiments on them without anesthesia to determine the genetic origins of diseases as at that time medical research into twin physiology was seen as the best tool of studying the variant factor in heredity. Also, he was extremely interested in genetic segregation of the Aryan blood as he thought that Jewish and Roma blood was impure and thought that twins were the best way to carry forward the purity of lineage. Taking forward the Nazi party line of the creation and preservation of the ‘Master Race’, which included thousands of vasectomies and operations on women to weed out the undesirable parts from the population, some even credit Menegle with having impregnated hundreds, perhaps thousands, of women with the Fuhrer’s semen in order to propagate the Aryan race.

In the context, 'defensive' means

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows by selecting the most appropriate option.
1.       Some researchers suggest that emotional intelligence can be leaned and strengthened, while others claim it is an inborn characteristic. The purpose for developing our emotional literacy is to precisely identify and communicate our feelings. When we do this we are helping nature fulfill its design for our feelings. We must know how we feel in order to be able to fill our emotional needs. And we must communicate our feelings in order to get the emotional support and understanding we need from others, as well as to show our emotional support and understanding to them.
2.         Also, one of the first steps to developing our emotional intelligence is to improve our emotional literacy. In other words, to improve our ability to identify our feelings by their specific names -, and the more specific we can be, the better. In the English language we have thousands of words which describe and identify our emotions, we just don't use many of them. If you are interested in working on your emotional literacy, the first step is to start using simple, three word sentences such as these : I feel sad. I feel motivated. I feel offended. I feel appreciated. I feel hurt. I feel disrespected. When we talk about our feelings using three word sentences we are sending what have been called "I messages". On the other hand, when we say things like ''You make me so jealous" we are sending a "you message". These "you messages" typically put the other person on the defensive, which hurts communication and relationships rather than helping.

'An angel on the concrete surface' refers to

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows by selecting the most appropriate option.
1.        Dust-caked clouds coated the bay, tanker ships signalled.
2.       Dozens of us wearily pressed on through the unseasonal winds and blanketed chill. Outdoor cafe chairs were abandoned, some overturned and others stacked waiting to tumble down. But not today. My bag felt heavier on my shoulder than ever before. I lifted it in my hand to relieve the pressure and dreamed of days when I, too, was lighter.
3.        My mind wandered.
4.        Another year gone.
5.       I tripped through a wall of pedestrians, then suddenly a moving bus carelessly littered me down into the curb. My tear-stained eyes searched for an angel on the concrete surface, but the illuminated white crossing hand signalled my insignificance.
6.       I pushed myself up, bruised and filthy. A horn quickly warned me of approaching death, then the yellow taxi sped through the red bulb. Sighing, I checked each direction, brushing waste from my body as I joined a new crowd and made the final push across the last road. I hoisted my bag, checked. for my office keys, then entered one of the many sky-gripping fortresses of the financial district.
7.        Back to work.

Here, 'sky-gripping fortresses' are

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows by selecting the most appropriate option.
1.        Dust-caked clouds coated the bay, tanker ships signalled.
2.       Dozens of us wearily pressed on through the unseasonal winds and blanketed chill. Outdoor cafe chairs were abandoned, some overturned and others stacked waiting to tumble down. But not today. My bag felt heavier on my shoulder than ever before. I lifted it in my hand to relieve the pressure and dreamed of days when I, too, was lighter.
3.        My mind wandered.
4.        Another year gone.
5.       I tripped through a wall of pedestrians, then suddenly a moving bus carelessly littered me down into the curb. My tear-stained eyes searched for an angel on the concrete surface, but the illuminated white crossing hand signalled my insignificance.
6.       I pushed myself up, bruised and filthy. A horn quickly warned me of approaching death, then the yellow taxi sped through the red bulb. Sighing, I checked each direction, brushing waste from my body as I joined a new crowd and made the final push across the last road. I hoisted my bag, checked. for my office keys, then entered one of the many sky-gripping fortresses of the financial district.
7.        Back to work.

' ... I, too, was lighter' suggests that the narrator

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows by selecting the most appropriate option.
1.        Dust-caked clouds coated the bay, tanker ships signalled.
2.       Dozens of us wearily pressed on through the unseasonal winds and blanketed chill. Outdoor cafe chairs were abandoned, some overturned and others stacked waiting to tumble down. But not today. My bag felt heavier on my shoulder than ever before. I lifted it in my hand to relieve the pressure and dreamed of days when I, too, was lighter.
3.        My mind wandered.
4.        Another year gone.
5.       I tripped through a wall of pedestrians, then suddenly a moving bus carelessly littered me down into the curb. My tear-stained eyes searched for an angel on the concrete surface, but the illuminated white crossing hand signalled my insignificance.
6.       I pushed myself up, bruised and filthy. A horn quickly warned me of approaching death, then the yellow taxi sped through the red bulb. Sighing, I checked each direction, brushing waste from my body as I joined a new crowd and made the final push across the last road. I hoisted my bag, checked. for my office keys, then entered one of the many sky-gripping fortresses of the financial district.
7.        Back to work.