Reading Comprehension

Consider each of the three choices and select all that apply.

What generalization about Chinese people can you draw from their religious behavior?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage:

There are two terms in ancient Chinese literature which seem to be used indiscriminately for God. One is T'ien, which has come to include the material heavens, the sky; and the other is Shang Ti, which has come to include the spirits of deceased Emperors. These two terms appear simultaneously, so to speak, in the earliest documents which have come down to us, dating back to something like the twentieth century before Christ. Priority, however, belongs beyond all doubt to T'ien, which it would have been more natural to find meaning, first the visible heavens, and secondly the Deity, whose existence beyond the sky would be inferred from such phenomena as lightning, thunder, wind, and rain.

But the process appears to have been the other way, so far at any rate as the written language is concerned. The Chinese script, when it first came into existence, was purely pictorial, and confined to visible objects which were comparatively easy to depict.

There does not seem to have been any attempt to draw a picture of the sky. On the other hand, the character T'ien was just such a representation of a human being as would be expected rom the hand of a prehistoric artist; and under this unmistakable shape the character appears.

Distinction between T'ien and Shang Ti.-The term Shang Ti means literally Supreme Ruler. It is not quite so vague as T'ien, which seems to be more of an abstraction, while Shang Ti is a genuinely personal God. Reference to T'ien is usually associated with fate or destiny, calamities, blessings, prayers for help, etc. The commandments of T'ien are hard to obey; He is compassionate, to be feared. Shang Ti lives in heaven, walks, leaves tracks on the ground, enjoys the sweet savor of sacrifice, approves or disapproves of conduct, deals with rewards and punishments in a more particular way, and comes more actually into touch with the human race. Thus Shang Ti would be the God who walked in the garden in the cool of the day, the God who smelled the sweet savor of Noah's sacrifice, and the God who allowed Moses to see His back. T'ien would be the God of Gods of the Psalms, whose mercy endures for ever; the everlasting God of Isaiah, who faints not, neither is weary.

All the following are distinctive of “Shang Ti' except

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage:

There are two terms in ancient Chinese literature which seem to be used indiscriminately for God. One is T'ien, which has come to include the material heavens, the sky; and the other is Shang Ti, which has come to include the spirits of deceased Emperors. These two terms appear simultaneously, so to speak, in the earliest documents which have come down to us, dating back to something like the twentieth century before Christ. Priority, however, belongs beyond all doubt to T'ien, which it would have been more natural to find meaning, first the visible heavens, and secondly the Deity, whose existence beyond the sky would be inferred from such phenomena as lightning, thunder, wind, and rain.

But the process appears to have been the other way, so far at any rate as the written language is concerned. The Chinese script, when it first came into existence, was purely pictorial, and confined to visible objects which were comparatively easy to depict.

There does not seem to have been any attempt to draw a picture of the sky. On the other hand, the character T'ien was just such a representation of a human being as would be expected rom the hand of a prehistoric artist; and under this unmistakable shape the character appears.

Distinction between T'ien and Shang Ti.-The term Shang Ti means literally Supreme Ruler. It is not quite so vague as T'ien, which seems to be more of an abstraction, while Shang Ti is a genuinely personal God. Reference to T'ien is usually associated with fate or destiny, calamities, blessings, prayers for help, etc. The commandments of T'ien are hard to obey; He is compassionate, to be feared. Shang Ti lives in heaven, walks, leaves tracks on the ground, enjoys the sweet savor of sacrifice, approves or disapproves of conduct, deals with rewards and punishments in a more particular way, and comes more actually into touch with the human race. Thus Shang Ti would be the God who walked in the garden in the cool of the day, the God who smelled the sweet savor of Noah's sacrifice, and the God who allowed Moses to see His back. T'ien would be the God of Gods of the Psalms, whose mercy endures for ever; the everlasting God of Isaiah, who faints not, neither is weary.

What is the author least likely to agree with?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

Fashion, much like the society that it is an integral part of, is an ever evolving organism with many interdependent and complemental roles and myriad rules that are assayed within the framework devised by the numerous constituents of the same. Over the ages, the mindset of allegedly the most intelligent race on the planet has been transfigured sometimes gleefully and with vociferous cries of ayes and at times grudgingly and involuntarily. The movement has sometimes found favor with the teeming multitudes while at others antagonizing a sizable component those that have to be dragged, kicking, screaming and protesting into accepting the writing on the wall about the impermanence of the order of things. What is meat and potatoes for someone turns into over fermented vinegar for others and herein lies both the rub and the beauty of the turn of events. The fifties and sixties were perhaps epitomized by the Wild West, the rough and ready apparel, the Blue Levis, the cocked hat and the loaded gun. People like Clint Eastwood, John Wayne and Gregory Peck came to be the vanguard of the cowboy tribe, the one of frequent brawls and infrequent baths. The seventies are known as ‘Swinging’ not without a legitimate cause. Suddenly, macho was not the only buzz word and with the advent of psychedelic hued clothes (would not be surprised at all if Hawaiian print shirts- the loud ones-made an appearance during this period), headbands, free and universal love, booze, drugs and aspirations of world peace, the fashion scene changed once again. In the backdrop of the ill-fated Vietnam War, it was the on screen rebels like James Dean, the celluloid Mafia dons like Marlon Brando and Al Pacino that stole the thunder and ruled the roost. Eighties saw the emergence of cult figures like the Ray-Ban adorned Tom Cruise, Nicholas Cage and Clark Kent as Superman- without the shades but with the addition of a cape. It is really surprising that both hot and cool mean similar things at times even when the trusted dictionary tells us that they are locked in mortal combat. Something that is rakish and swank can and does often turn dowdy faster than one can say the magic word - abracadabra! It is really nothing to get one’s knickers in a twist over when a fashion iconoclast like Farah Fawcett Majors is thought of to be so eighties now. The curl, the wave and the bang, made so famous by the Goldilocks evokes now a sigh of nostalgia in some and a whistle of disbelief in others. Alas, fashion, like the divas that represent it on the promenade, can hardly be called the cornerstone of reliability and dependability, changing moods with the speed and the fickleness of the earth changing moods, the chameleon changing colors, and most aptly, like the models who, in the time between one swirl on the stage and the next pirouette, change clothes so fast that one would be forgiven for harboring the belief that Superman must have taken lessons from them.

How does the author narrate the possible economic scenario?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

While there is no denying the fact that the world economy is limping out of its worst doldrums faced in the last few decades, a sudden stiff breeze cannot be taken to be the guarantee of the availability of sustainable energy to fill the sails. For starters, nothing can be said with certainty about the system having been decisively purged of the ills that have been plaguing it for the last few years. While many, including the optimists and the salespersons believe and preach that the worst is over, one should not lose sight of another disquieting fact which avers that the gullible will be taken for a ride every time by the unscrupulous elements amongst us. With many a corporate lie exposed, and the financial battlefield littered with the corpses of the erstwhile giants of the arena, one would not be called paranoid if one stopped and tried to read between the lines of the statements of capital bonhomie given by the ones with an axe to grind and with smiles that never reach their eyes.

While the postulations of the happy-go-lucky and those of the doomsday conspirators gyrate wildly between the two extremes, there can be no doubt that any of the two extremes, and many, many intervening scenarios are possible and perhaps all that it will take for the fickle beast to turn either way will be such a small trigger that might just go unnoticed till the time its repercussions hit us with gale force. A major impediment sometimes in reading the writing on the wall is not the inability to read, but the sheer mule headedness in not acknowledging the same. For starters, the lack of connect with old times and time tested values has proven to be the waterloo of many individuals and institutions and one of the fundamental rules is to stay solvent. With the economies across the developed world teetering on the brink, the political masters and bureaucrats are scrambling to provide fiscal stimuli in an almost vain hope of finding a silver bullet for the werewolf prowling on the horizon. With interest rates at their lowest ebb, the powers-that-be are borrowing heavily in order to prop up the faltering businesses in the hope that someday, when things get better, the debtors will be knocking the doors down in a mad stampede to repay their financial obligations. All is hunky dory as long as the story meanders along predictable lines but if there is a default by the retail borrowers going ahead, this David could really bring Goliath down in a jiffy. With everything being felt in rippling after-effects, suddenly the malaise could spread to financial organizations. With them gone, the State could be left hanging in thin air with no safety net. With just one default on the part of the State, an avalanche of redemptions will hit the treasuries and the situation will turn very sticky indeed. If the creditors lose faith in the system, it could result in mass redemptions of the bonds and debentures which, if the state is interested in protecting whatever is left of its dignity, will spark off borrowings at higher rates of interest and that would awaken the scepter of sky-rocketing inflation. What would go up from bottom, will knock down many more dominoes on its way back and the resultant recession might just make the Great Depression look like a jaunt in the park.

What according to the passage is primarily responsible for the present day imbroglio?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

While there is no denying the fact that the world economy is limping out of its worst doldrums faced in the last few decades, a sudden stiff breeze cannot be taken to be the guarantee of the availability of sustainable energy to fill the sails. For starters, nothing can be said with certainty about the system having been decisively purged of the ills that have been plaguing it for the last few years. While many, including the optimists and the salespersons believe and preach that the worst is over, one should not lose sight of another disquieting fact which avers that the gullible will be taken for a ride every time by the unscrupulous elements amongst us. With many a corporate lie exposed, and the financial battlefield littered with the corpses of the erstwhile giants of the arena, one would not be called paranoid if one stopped and tried to read between the lines of the statements of capital bonhomie given by the ones with an axe to grind and with smiles that never reach their eyes.

While the postulations of the happy-go-lucky and those of the doomsday conspirators gyrate wildly between the two extremes, there can be no doubt that any of the two extremes, and many, many intervening scenarios are possible and perhaps all that it will take for the fickle beast to turn either way will be such a small trigger that might just go unnoticed till the time its repercussions hit us with gale force. A major impediment sometimes in reading the writing on the wall is not the inability to read, but the sheer mule headedness in not acknowledging the same. For starters, the lack of connect with old times and time tested values has proven to be the waterloo of many individuals and institutions and one of the fundamental rules is to stay solvent. With the economies across the developed world teetering on the brink, the political masters and bureaucrats are scrambling to provide fiscal stimuli in an almost vain hope of finding a silver bullet for the werewolf prowling on the horizon. With interest rates at their lowest ebb, the powers-that-be are borrowing heavily in order to prop up the faltering businesses in the hope that someday, when things get better, the debtors will be knocking the doors down in a mad stampede to repay their financial obligations. All is hunky dory as long as the story meanders along predictable lines but if there is a default by the retail borrowers going ahead, this David could really bring Goliath down in a jiffy. With everything being felt in rippling after-effects, suddenly the malaise could spread to financial organizations. With them gone, the State could be left hanging in thin air with no safety net. With just one default on the part of the State, an avalanche of redemptions will hit the treasuries and the situation will turn very sticky indeed. If the creditors lose faith in the system, it could result in mass redemptions of the bonds and debentures which, if the state is interested in protecting whatever is left of its dignity, will spark off borrowings at higher rates of interest and that would awaken the scepter of sky-rocketing inflation. What would go up from bottom, will knock down many more dominoes on its way back and the resultant recession might just make the Great Depression look like a jaunt in the park.

Why does the author use the words, “an almost vain hope of finding a silver bullet for the werewolf prowling on the horizon”?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

While there is no denying the fact that the world economy is limping out of its worst doldrums faced in the last few decades, a sudden stiff breeze cannot be taken to be the guarantee of the availability of sustainable energy to fill the sails. For starters, nothing can be said with certainty about the system having been decisively purged of the ills that have been plaguing it for the last few years. While many, including the optimists and the salespersons believe and preach that the worst is over, one should not lose sight of another disquieting fact which avers that the gullible will be taken for a ride every time by the unscrupulous elements amongst us. With many a corporate lie exposed, and the financial battlefield littered with the corpses of the erstwhile giants of the arena, one would not be called paranoid if one stopped and tried to read between the lines of the statements of capital bonhomie given by the ones with an axe to grind and with smiles that never reach their eyes.

While the postulations of the happy-go-lucky and those of the doomsday conspirators gyrate wildly between the two extremes, there can be no doubt that any of the two extremes, and many, many intervening scenarios are possible and perhaps all that it will take for the fickle beast to turn either way will be such a small trigger that might just go unnoticed till the time its repercussions hit us with gale force. A major impediment sometimes in reading the writing on the wall is not the inability to read, but the sheer mule headedness in not acknowledging the same. For starters, the lack of connect with old times and time tested values has proven to be the waterloo of many individuals and institutions and one of the fundamental rules is to stay solvent. With the economies across the developed world teetering on the brink, the political masters and bureaucrats are scrambling to provide fiscal stimuli in an almost vain hope of finding a silver bullet for the werewolf prowling on the horizon. With interest rates at their lowest ebb, the powers-that-be are borrowing heavily in order to prop up the faltering businesses in the hope that someday, when things get better, the debtors will be knocking the doors down in a mad stampede to repay their financial obligations. All is hunky dory as long as the story meanders along predictable lines but if there is a default by the retail borrowers going ahead, this David could really bring Goliath down in a jiffy. With everything being felt in rippling after-effects, suddenly the malaise could spread to financial organizations. With them gone, the State could be left hanging in thin air with no safety net. With just one default on the part of the State, an avalanche of redemptions will hit the treasuries and the situation will turn very sticky indeed. If the creditors lose faith in the system, it could result in mass redemptions of the bonds and debentures which, if the state is interested in protecting whatever is left of its dignity, will spark off borrowings at higher rates of interest and that would awaken the scepter of sky-rocketing inflation. What would go up from bottom, will knock down many more dominoes on its way back and the resultant recession might just make the Great Depression look like a jaunt in the park.

All of the following, if true, would be arrows in the bow of the faithful except

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

A simple theory in support of belief is the contention that the onus is on the believer to prove the existence of God, in the absence of which, the atheist is justified in disbelieving and advocating the same. The more forceful and choleric atheists not just hold back from assenting to the presence of God, but actively refute the claims made by theists about a supreme power responsible for creating and controlling the world, as indeed the entire universe. They cite logic to support their claims for the absence of God as evinced from the state of the world around us. While a theist talks of a heavenly kingdom, hell and the yet to come resurrection of the dead, the atheist scoffs at these abstract assertions and claims that the evil that we see around us negates the possibility of the existence of a omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent and perfectly good God. When it is contended by the theists that God not only created the universe, but also supports life and wants only the best for his creations, the atheists take the present state of worldly affairs and hold it like a mirror in the face of theist rhetoric. Consolidating further, the atheists say that while evil is all around us, all pervasive and always in our face, the goodness of the supposedly perfect and perfectly good God is visible only in a few distant patches. Another line of reasoning for the atheist is that if God is perfect, his creations should reflect his perfection, to which the theists reply with the ‘choice of free will’ argument that even though God created humans in his own likeness, he left them with a free will to decide what they want to do and that the evil that we see is a result of our misuse of the freedom. To the charge of the presence of natural evil, the existence of natural calamities, disease et cetera, the theists counter with the explanation that evil must exist to quantify good, that the two are relative and one can’t exist without the other. A similar argument proposed by theists is that evil allows the existence of values and forces that oppose it to exist and opens up avenues for compassion, love, mutual dependence and human kindness. Without suffering and trials, the world will lack such higher planes of consciousness which would make it tawdry in comparison to the world as we know it today.

The passage, on the whole, implies which of the following about human psychological constitution?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

The best thing that happens when you learn cooking is that the results can be seen within a short period of time as against having to wait for five years or more to find out if you are going to be a lousy lawyer or doctor. Human beings traditionally have not been blessed with great amounts of patience and waiting often turns out to be hardest part of any process, even if the waiting for results part is just a small part of the overall process of ideation, conception, feasibility, initiation and conclusion. Cooking beans is a much more enjoyable and watch-worthy process for most humans than the process of sowing, growing and harvesting them. One could be mistaken for thinking that the entire human race is infected with the Attention Deficit Disorder because of the transient and ephemeral nature of our attention. With so many distractions and delusions that we find ourselves afflicted with, it is not surprising that only something that threatens to fall apart upon us is able to keep us riveted. Food, more specifically, the process of preparing it - specifically for a recent initiate into the arcane world of culinary skills, gives that edge of the seat excitement, that suspense of a Wilbur Smith thriller and that strange mixture of anticipation and dread that threatens to blow us away even while keeping us glued to our seats. Of course, there is a certain amount of ego involved also, as with anything else in life, when we want to prove ourselves better than the best in all walks of life that we choose to walk upon. The difference between a long drawn project and something that will fructify or explode in one’s face (depending upon one’s perspective) in a relatively shorter period of time is mainly of the credibility diffusion and dispersion that the behemoth project offers, where it becomes easy to blame other extraneous factors for a lack of desired outcomes. Given the reasoning in the previous sentence, one would be justified in thinking that because an enterprise offers more avenues of hegira, a vast multitude would be more interested in the pursuit of grandness of scale but when both options are weighed for their pros and cons, attention disorder syndrome wins out because frame-for-frame, it offers more potshots at pursuit of perfection and food, after all, is a deliciously enticing offering.

What according to the author is the secret of enthralling engagements?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

The best thing that happens when you learn cooking is that the results can be seen within a short period of time as against having to wait for five years or more to find out if you are going to be a lousy lawyer or doctor. Human beings traditionally have not been blessed with great amounts of patience and waiting often turns out to be hardest part of any process, even if the waiting for results part is just a small part of the overall process of ideation, conception, feasibility, initiation and conclusion. Cooking beans is a much more enjoyable and watch-worthy process for most humans than the process of sowing, growing and harvesting them. One could be mistaken for thinking that the entire human race is infected with the Attention Deficit Disorder because of the transient and ephemeral nature of our attention. With so many distractions and delusions that we find ourselves afflicted with, it is not surprising that only something that threatens to fall apart upon us is able to keep us riveted. Food, more specifically, the process of preparing it - specifically for a recent initiate into the arcane world of culinary skills, gives that edge of the seat excitement, that suspense of a Wilbur Smith thriller and that strange mixture of anticipation and dread that threatens to blow us away even while keeping us glued to our seats. Of course, there is a certain amount of ego involved also, as with anything else in life, when we want to prove ourselves better than the best in all walks of life that we choose to walk upon. The difference between a long drawn project and something that will fructify or explode in one’s face (depending upon one’s perspective) in a relatively shorter period of time is mainly of the credibility diffusion and dispersion that the behemoth project offers, where it becomes easy to blame other extraneous factors for a lack of desired outcomes. Given the reasoning in the previous sentence, one would be justified in thinking that because an enterprise offers more avenues of hegira, a vast multitude would be more interested in the pursuit of grandness of scale but when both options are weighed for their pros and cons, attention disorder syndrome wins out because frame-for-frame, it offers more potshots at pursuit of perfection and food, after all, is a deliciously enticing offering.

The above passage is an attempt to:

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

A simple theory in support of belief is the contention that the onus is on the believer to prove the existence of God, in the absence of which, the atheist is justified in disbelieving and advocating the same. The more forceful and choleric atheists not just hold back from assenting to the presence of God, but actively refute the claims made by theists about a supreme power responsible for creating and controlling the world, as indeed the entire universe. They cite logic to support their claims for the absence of God as evinced from the state of the world around us. While a theist talks of a heavenly kingdom, hell and the yet to come resurrection of the dead, the atheist scoffs at these abstract assertions and claims that the evil that we see around us negates the possibility of the existence of a omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent and perfectly good God. When it is contended by the theists that God not only created the universe, but also supports life and wants only the best for his creations, the atheists take the present state of worldly affairs and hold it like a mirror in the face of theist rhetoric. Consolidating further, the atheists say that while evil is all around us, all pervasive and always in our face, the goodness of the supposedly perfect and perfectly good God is visible only in a few distant patches. Another line of reasoning for the atheist is that if God is perfect, his creations should reflect his perfection, to which the theists reply with the ‘choice of free will’ argument that even though God created humans in his own likeness, he left them with a free will to decide what they want to do and that the evil that we see is a result of our misuse of the freedom. To the charge of the presence of natural evil, the existence of natural calamities, disease et cetera, the theists counter with the explanation that evil must exist to quantify good, that the two are relative and one can’t exist without the other. A similar argument proposed by theists is that evil allows the existence of values and forces that oppose it to exist and opens up avenues for compassion, love, mutual dependence and human kindness. Without suffering and trials, the world will lack such higher planes of consciousness which would make it tawdry in comparison to the world as we know it today.

Which of the following statements would explain the phrase “dug its own grave” in the above context?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

The reduction in personal and corporate tax rates came as a Christmas present for the common man. People believe that high taxes were hindering growth of industry and business and added to the miseries of the common man. The government is not enthused by the public response and feels that in trying to earn public goodwill it has dug its own grave.

What development is imperative for the Chinese economy to reach the critical mass for next level of development?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

As the dragon country preens in the spotlight brought about by its fiscal policies that have catapulted it to the centre stage in global economics, additional proof of its newly founded ascendancy has been brought about by its superseding of Japan to officially become world’s second largest economy. What is causing heartburn to many jingoistic analysts and economists from other nations of the world stage is the knowledge that a large part of this leap in rankings has been brought about by the burgeoning exports that have brought along with them a huge hoard of precious foreign currency. It is indeed a marvel how the President, Hu Jin Tao is managing to keep such an impassive front when anyone else in his shoes would have been grinning like a Cheshire cat that has just polished off a huge bowl of cream. Perhaps he is just one of those unexpressive characters or maybe he is waiting to polish off the last few wrinkles on the fiscal face before breaking into a joyful jig. An indication of the latter came recently when the state media, in a statement released to the world media, stressed upon the need of, and the increasing focus of the ruling junta on more equitable distribution of wealth which would endeavor to include farmers and workers into the explosive growth story.

As of now, the unofficial figures state that the cream of the Chinese society makes approximately seventy times more money on year on year basis than the populace at the bottom of the pyramid. Althou gh official numbers contest these findings, they also do not paint a propitious scenario. The Premier, in his call to action, has been exhorting political and economic restructuring with the balance of the power shifting its centre of gravity ever so slightly in favor of the masses but his viewpoint is not finding many backers in the government and the bureaucracy because these two sections of the society, apart from the various large industrial manufacturing units, have benefited the most from the current polices. In spite of the strident objections, a few steps towards the process of deregulating the economy have come through a subtle and tacit approval of the worker’s strikes in the People’s Republic. Idealistically speaking, the workers own everything according to the party doctrine which precludes the need for them to ever resort to a tool-down strike but ground realities are rather different. However, recent incidents of workers going on strikes for pressing their demands for better salaries have not been met by disapproval from the authorities and the workers have been, by and large, been successful in negotiating better pays and working conditions. The current model of growth is based upon the model of export blitzkrieg which, although has been yielding trailblazing results, has had a major Achilles heel in not being able to stimulate domestic consumption and one can safely presume that the fact has not escaped the attention of the politburo. While the author does not profess to possess any knowledge of the politburo members’ academic qualifications, there is little reason to believe that they are babes in the woods when it comes to fiscal foresight. In the event of a global economic meltdown, what will keep any economy ticking over is a robust domestic demand which can keep the smoke billowing out from the industrial chimneys.

In stating that 'the human mind knows everything' about every thing in the universe - past, present and future, the author intends to

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage:

Déjà vu is linked to extraordinary temporal lobe activity but there is more to it than that, including a couple of very interesting theories involving past life experiences and an empirical theory which propounds that the human mind knows everything about everything in the universe - past, present and future. Setting aside medical research which suggests that déjà vu is experienced often just before epilepsy attack, for the simple reason that not everyone who has such an experience suffers from epilepsy, the other two paranormal theories offer a lot of food for thought because they go beyond the realm of surface knowledge and delve into the unknown, uncharted and controversial realms of knowledge. Of all the knowledge that we have now, a vast majority was considered heresy and fantasy before it was established with suitable proof. It is important to try and understand these streams of relatively unexplored and nascent fountainheads of alternative knowledge as conventional dogmas alone cannot hope to provide all the answers to the plethora of unanswered mysteries of the world. One possible explanation for the experiences could be the past life theory, juxtaposing which with déjà vu would suggest the linkage of experiences in previous births with a sensation of having been there before in the present birth but a basic but serious flaw in this theory comes from statistical data which suggests that experiences of déjà vu peak in adolescence and taper off rapidly thereafter. As a starting point however, the theory is not so bad as science is nothing but the art of unraveling a badly jumbled up ball of yarn by pulling, tugging every individual strand and all available ends to try and determine the connection between them. Once a connection or knot is revealed, the next step involves getting one ball of yarn through that tunnel and then repeating that step maybe hundreds of times till a pattern begins to emerge.

According to the author, which of the following is not one of the possible explanations for the feeling of déjà vu?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage:

Déjà vu is linked to extraordinary temporal lobe activity but there is more to it than that, including a couple of very interesting theories involving past life experiences and an empirical theory which propounds that the human mind knows everything about everything in the universe - past, present and future. Setting aside medical research which suggests that déjà vu is experienced often just before epilepsy attack, for the simple reason that not everyone who has such an experience suffers from epilepsy, the other two paranormal theories offer a lot of food for thought because they go beyond the realm of surface knowledge and delve into the unknown, uncharted and controversial realms of knowledge. Of all the knowledge that we have now, a vast majority was considered heresy and fantasy before it was established with suitable proof. It is important to try and understand these streams of relatively unexplored and nascent fountainheads of alternative knowledge as conventional dogmas alone cannot hope to provide all the answers to the plethora of unanswered mysteries of the world. One possible explanation for the experiences could be the past life theory, juxtaposing which with déjà vu would suggest the linkage of experiences in previous births with a sensation of having been there before in the present birth but a basic but serious flaw in this theory comes from statistical data which suggests that experiences of déjà vu peak in adolescence and taper off rapidly thereafter. As a starting point however, the theory is not so bad as science is nothing but the art of unraveling a badly jumbled up ball of yarn by pulling, tugging every individual strand and all available ends to try and determine the connection between them. Once a connection or knot is revealed, the next step involves getting one ball of yarn through that tunnel and then repeating that step maybe hundreds of times till a pattern begins to emerge.

Why does the author say, 'Although official numbers contest these findings, they also do not paint a propitious scenario'?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

As the dragon country preens in the spotlight brought about by its fiscal policies that have catapulted it to the centre stage in global economics, additional proof of its newly founded ascendancy has been brought about by its superseding of Japan to officially become world’s second largest economy. What is causing heartburn to many jingoistic analysts and economists from other nations of the world stage is the knowledge that a large part of this leap in rankings has been brought about by the burgeoning exports that have brought along with them a huge hoard of precious foreign currency. It is indeed a marvel how the President, Hu Jin Tao is managing to keep such an impassive front when anyone else in his shoes would have been grinning like a Cheshire cat that has just polished off a huge bowl of cream. Perhaps he is just one of those unexpressive characters or maybe he is waiting to polish off the last few wrinkles on the fiscal face before breaking into a joyful jig. An indication of the latter came recently when the state media, in a statement released to the world media, stressed upon the need of, and the increasing focus of the ruling junta on more equitable distribution of wealth which would endeavor to include farmers and workers into the explosive growth story.

As of now, the unofficial figures state that the cream of the Chinese society makes approximately seventy times more money on year on year basis than the populace at the bottom of the pyramid. Althou gh official numbers contest these findings, they also do not paint a propitious scenario. The Premier, in his call to action, has been exhorting political and economic restructuring with the balance of the power shifting its centre of gravity ever so slightly in favor of the masses but his viewpoint is not finding many backers in the government and the bureaucracy because these two sections of the society, apart from the various large industrial manufacturing units, have benefited the most from the current polices. In spite of the strident objections, a few steps towards the process of deregulating the economy have come through a subtle and tacit approval of the worker’s strikes in the People’s Republic. Idealistically speaking, the workers own everything according to the party doctrine which precludes the need for them to ever resort to a tool-down strike but ground realities are rather different. However, recent incidents of workers going on strikes for pressing their demands for better salaries have not been met by disapproval from the authorities and the workers have been, by and large, been successful in negotiating better pays and working conditions. The current model of growth is based upon the model of export blitzkrieg which, although has been yielding trailblazing results, has had a major Achilles heel in not being able to stimulate domestic consumption and one can safely presume that the fact has not escaped the attention of the politburo. While the author does not profess to possess any knowledge of the politburo members’ academic qualifications, there is little reason to believe that they are babes in the woods when it comes to fiscal foresight. In the event of a global economic meltdown, what will keep any economy ticking over is a robust domestic demand which can keep the smoke billowing out from the industrial chimneys.