Why was Tenali Raman not satisfied?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following data.

He opened the door, but just a little, and shouted, Holy Mother, unless you promise to grant my wish, I will not open the door.

Kali became very angry indeed, but Raman was obstinate. After some arguments the Goddess had to yield.  Then he opened the door.  She entered.

Though she had ten heads, she was beautiful to look at. But Raman began to laugh as soon as he saw her.  He could not control his laughter.  He laughed and laughed and laughed till tears ran down his cheeks and his little tuft unfastened.

Goddess Kali was dumbstruck by this behaviour.  She asked him angrily, Why are you laughing like a fool?
Tenali Raman could not answer her. He was still laughing. This annoyed her more but she was helpless. She waited patiently.

After a long time Raman recovered and replied, Oh Goddess, forgive me. You are the most beautiful Mother I have seen in my life. But I am laughing because some foolish thought occurred to me when I looked at you.
The Goddess became furious and wanted to know what it was. Tenali Raman brought his palms together humbly and replied, Oh Mother, when I get a cold I find it difficult to blow the one nose I have.  I was wondering how you manage with the ten noses you have, when you catch a cold. Saying this he laughed, all the more.
The goddess could not help laughing too, when she heard him.  It was the first time that she had laughed at herself. She was pleased with the young man. So she offered him a boon. She gave him the gift of making people laugh.

Tenali Raman was not satisfied.  He said that the gift would only help others and not him. Kali thought that this was reasonable and she wanted to give him something more.
She took two silver cups and said, Son, here are two silver cups. One is full of honey, which will give you wisdom. The other cup contains milk which will give you riches. You can choose what you want.

Dumbstruck means

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following data.

He opened the door, but just a little, and shouted, Holy Mother, unless you promise to grant my wish, I will not open the door.

Kali became very angry indeed, but Raman was obstinate. After some arguments the Goddess had to yield.  Then he opened the door.  She entered.

Though she had ten heads, she was beautiful to look at. But Raman began to laugh as soon as he saw her.  He could not control his laughter.  He laughed and laughed and laughed till tears ran down his cheeks and his little tuft unfastened.

Goddess Kali was dumbstruck by this behaviour.  She asked him angrily, Why are you laughing like a fool?
Tenali Raman could not answer her. He was still laughing. This annoyed her more but she was helpless. She waited patiently.

After a long time Raman recovered and replied, Oh Goddess, forgive me. You are the most beautiful Mother I have seen in my life. But I am laughing because some foolish thought occurred to me when I looked at you.
The Goddess became furious and wanted to know what it was. Tenali Raman brought his palms together humbly and replied, Oh Mother, when I get a cold I find it difficult to blow the one nose I have.  I was wondering how you manage with the ten noses you have, when you catch a cold. Saying this he laughed, all the more.
The goddess could not help laughing too, when she heard him.  It was the first time that she had laughed at herself. She was pleased with the young man. So she offered him a boon. She gave him the gift of making people laugh.

Tenali Raman was not satisfied.  He said that the gift would only help others and not him. Kali thought that this was reasonable and she wanted to give him something more.
She took two silver cups and said, Son, here are two silver cups. One is full of honey, which will give you wisdom. The other cup contains milk which will give you riches. You can choose what you want.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following data.

Her father, Edward Moulton Barren, was, as Elizabeth later wrote, a very peculiar person.  "Heir to a fortune, educated at Harrow and Cambridge, he was nevertheless a complete domestic tyrant".  After bearing him twelve children, his gentle wife had little strength left for struggle against  him, and  the children never dared oppose  his wishes.

Yet Elizabeth's childhood was happy. She romped and studied with her eldest brother, learnt Greek and French, read widely and wrote poetic tragedies.  Her own tragedy began at fifteen with a cough and an injury to her back, which resulted in increasingly bad health.  Then her mother died.

Four years later, her father decided to sell the country home. The large family moved from house to house until her father bought No. 50 Wimpole Street.  There Elizabeth's health grew worse, and she became a creature of the shadows and silence.

As the years passed, the family grew used to her withdrawn life. She had a certain independence, for an uncle had left her a small income.  But her brothers and sisters were at the mercy of Mr. Barren's harsh rules, which hung over the household like thunder in heavy weather.  Chief among them was the absolute refusal to let his daughters marry.  He prevented the marriage of Elizabeth’s gay, dance-loving sister, Henrietta, and the scenes that followed broke Elizabeth’s heart. Yet she remained devoted to her father. It was a devotion that served to strengthen the walls of her prison.

Directions: Choose the appropriate option from (1 - 4) according to the information given in the reading passage.

Which of the following is mentioned as an aid to enhance the effect of massage?

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Among all other forms of medical practices, massage is perhaps one of the most fascinating as well as rewarding of all. This is so because of its being such a simple and direct form in which individuals contact, thus, satisfying the basic human desire for touch. In other words, there can be hardly anything so rewarding as having the skill to massage since it can strengthen one’s contact with friends, family or the loved ones as you help them relieve their bodily stress, muscular pain, backache and so on. It is understood that massage is a fundamental skill which each one of us should possess. It requires some basic techniques and strokes. At the same time other essentials requirements to be a practitioner include generosity, warmth and time. Besides, one needs to be well aquainted with the basics of anatomy and physiology to have an exact idea of where to place the hands. Along with theoretical and practical knowledge, it is necessary to have a fair knowledge of various oils and aromatherapy that helps in enhancing the massage. In practice, the first step involves deciding the place of massage for example-if it is a quick neck and shoulder or hand massage, the patient must be made to sit with a supported back, be it on floor or chair. However, a full body massage may ideally be given in a place where there is enough space for the patient to lie down comfortably. Further come the oils used in the treatment. Some of the commonly used oils are sweet almond, grape seed, avocado, carrot, jojoba and apricot. The essential oils include chamomile, basil, jasmine, rose, sandalwood and bergamot. It is recommended that the commonly used oils (also called base oils) must be kept separate from the essential oils. Although the oils used in massage are mostly a mix of base and essential oils but their appropriate measure is important to achieve various effects on the body. To make an ideal mix of oil generally 25 drops of essential oil are mixed into 50 ml of base oil. After the mixing of oils, it is warmed before application.

Fill blank (iii).

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

It was as black in the closet as old blood. They had ____(i)____ me in and locked the door. I breathed heavily through my nose, fighting desperately to ____(ii)____ calm. I tried counting to ten on every intake of breath and to eight as I released each one slowly into the darkness. Luckily for me, they had pulled the gag so tightly into my open mouth that my nostrils were left ____(iii)____ and I was able to draw in one slow lungful after another of the stale, musty air. I tried hooking my fingernails under the silk scarf that ____(iv)____ my hands behind me, but since I always bit them to the quick, there was nothing to catch. Jolly good luck then, that I'd remembered to put my fingertips together, using them as ten firm little bases to press my palms ____(v)____ as they had pulled the knots tight.

Fill blank (ii).

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

It was as black in the closet as old blood. They had ____(i)____ me in and locked the door. I breathed heavily through my nose, fighting desperately to ____(ii)____ calm. I tried counting to ten on every intake of breath and to eight as I released each one slowly into the darkness. Luckily for me, they had pulled the gag so tightly into my open mouth that my nostrils were left ____(iii)____ and I was able to draw in one slow lungful after another of the stale, musty air. I tried hooking my fingernails under the silk scarf that ____(iv)____ my hands behind me, but since I always bit them to the quick, there was nothing to catch. Jolly good luck then, that I'd remembered to put my fingertips together, using them as ten firm little bases to press my palms ____(v)____ as they had pulled the knots tight.

Fill blank (iv).

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

It was as black in the closet as old blood. They had ____(i)____ me in and locked the door. I breathed heavily through my nose, fighting desperately to ____(ii)____ calm. I tried counting to ten on every intake of breath and to eight as I released each one slowly into the darkness. Luckily for me, they had pulled the gag so tightly into my open mouth that my nostrils were left ____(iii)____ and I was able to draw in one slow lungful after another of the stale, musty air. I tried hooking my fingernails under the silk scarf that ____(iv)____ my hands behind me, but since I always bit them to the quick, there was nothing to catch. Jolly good luck then, that I'd remembered to put my fingertips together, using them as ten firm little bases to press my palms ____(v)____ as they had pulled the knots tight.

Fill blank (i).

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

It was as black in the closet as old blood. They had ____(i)____ me in and locked the door. I breathed heavily through my nose, fighting desperately to ____(ii)____ calm. I tried counting to ten on every intake of breath and to eight as I released each one slowly into the darkness. Luckily for me, they had pulled the gag so tightly into my open mouth that my nostrils were left ____(iii)____ and I was able to draw in one slow lungful after another of the stale, musty air. I tried hooking my fingernails under the silk scarf that ____(iv)____ my hands behind me, but since I always bit them to the quick, there was nothing to catch. Jolly good luck then, that I'd remembered to put my fingertips together, using them as ten firm little bases to press my palms ____(v)____ as they had pulled the knots tight.

Directions: The sentences below convey a certain idea. Mark the sentence that does not convey this idea.

(1) The music of Mozart possessed a celestial quality to uplift the depressed soul. (2) Only a beastly soul will go to the extent of killing a newly born girl child. (3) The children are fascinated by the stories of seraphs. (4) The new born baby looked very cute with round cherubic face. (5) The tea was ambrosia after the slop I had been drinking.

Directions: The sentences below convey a certain idea. Pick the sentence that does not convey this idea.

(1) The streams of lava have in themselves the principles of incandescence and can attain white heat. (2) The bonfire smouldered the whole night and the smoke could be seen drifting over the paddock. (3) History is replete with the glowing examples of women achievers. (4) An aureole is symbolic of the man being holy. (5) After the eclipse, the sky was luminous with stars and planets.

Along with the woman's son and daughter, who was the third person weeping beside her?

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question based on it.

The old woman died without pain, a death worth a woman whose life had been blameless. She was resting in her bed, lying on her back, with eyes closed, her face calm, her long white hair carefully arranged as though she had done it up ten minutes before dying. The whole pale face of the dead woman was, so calm, so satisfied that one could feel her sweet soul that lived in her body. She had been a pure and quiet soul. Kneeling beside the bed, her son, a judge with rigid principles, and her daughter, Maria, known as Sister Alis, were weeping with broken hearts. She had given them strict moral code, teaching them religion, without weakness, and duty, without compromise. He, the man, had become a judge and handled the law as a weapon with which he smote the weak ones without pity. She, the girl, influenced by the virtue, which had bathed her in this austere family, had become the bride of the Church through her loathing for man.

What made the son and the daughter inclined towards religion?

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question based on it.

The old woman died without pain, a death worth a woman whose life had been blameless. She was resting in her bed, lying on her back, with eyes closed, her face calm, her long white hair carefully arranged as though she had done it up ten minutes before dying. The whole pale face of the dead woman was, so calm, so satisfied that one could feel her sweet soul that lived in her body. She had been a pure and quiet soul. Kneeling beside the bed, her son, a judge with rigid principles, and her daughter, Maria, known as Sister Alis, were weeping with broken hearts. She had given them strict moral code, teaching them religion, without weakness, and duty, without compromise. He, the man, had become a judge and handled the law as a weapon with which he smote the weak ones without pity. She, the girl, influenced by the virtue, which had bathed her in this austere family, had become the bride of the Church through her loathing for man.

In the passage, which of the following words means 'to strike with a firm blow'?

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question based on it.

The old woman died without pain, a death worth a woman whose life had been blameless. She was resting in her bed, lying on her back, with eyes closed, her face calm, her long white hair carefully arranged as though she had done it up ten minutes before dying. The whole pale face of the dead woman was, so calm, so satisfied that one could feel her sweet soul that lived in her body. She had been a pure and quiet soul. Kneeling beside the bed, her son, a judge with rigid principles, and her daughter, Maria, known as Sister Alis, were weeping with broken hearts. She had given them strict moral code, teaching them religion, without weakness, and duty, without compromise. He, the man, had become a judge and handled the law as a weapon with which he smote the weak ones without pity. She, the girl, influenced by the virtue, which had bathed her in this austere family, had become the bride of the Church through her loathing for man.

Which kind of family did the woman and her children belong to?

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question based on it.

The old woman died without pain, a death worth a woman whose life had been blameless. She was resting in her bed, lying on her back, with eyes closed, her face calm, her long white hair carefully arranged as though she had done it up ten minutes before dying. The whole pale face of the dead woman was, so calm, so satisfied that one could feel her sweet soul that lived in her body. She had been a pure and quiet soul. Kneeling beside the bed, her son, a judge with rigid principles, and her daughter, Maria, known as Sister Alis, were weeping with broken hearts. She had given them strict moral code, teaching them religion, without weakness, and duty, without compromise. He, the man, had become a judge and handled the law as a weapon with which he smote the weak ones without pity. She, the girl, influenced by the virtue, which had bathed her in this austere family, had become the bride of the Church through her loathing for man.

How could one make out that a sweet soul lived in the body of the woman who died?

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question based on it.

The old woman died without pain, a death worth a woman whose life had been blameless. She was resting in her bed, lying on her back, with eyes closed, her face calm, her long white hair carefully arranged as though she had done it up ten minutes before dying. The whole pale face of the dead woman was, so calm, so satisfied that one could feel her sweet soul that lived in her body. She had been a pure and quiet soul. Kneeling beside the bed, her son, a judge with rigid principles, and her daughter, Maria, known as Sister Alis, were weeping with broken hearts. She had given them strict moral code, teaching them religion, without weakness, and duty, without compromise. He, the man, had become a judge and handled the law as a weapon with which he smote the weak ones without pity. She, the girl, influenced by the virtue, which had bathed her in this austere family, had become the bride of the Church through her loathing for man.