Reading Comprehension

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It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that from being artless the poet becomes the conscious artist. Often enough the poets when faced with more difficult material tend to become obscure, and again in handling some of the difficult metres which they attempted the same result is achieved. Though humour is often enough lacking, there are touches here and there, sometimes of a grim kind. Pathos, too, of a solemn and elevated kind is to be found as well as that of a more simple genre. In the best, the style is lucid, firm, controlled, and superb; in the worst, it has every possible fault.

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In the unending revolutions of the world, as the wheel of the Eternal turns mightily in its courses, the Infinite Energy, streams forth from the Eternal and sets the wheel to work, looms up in the vision of man in various aspects and infinite forms. Each aspect creates and marks an age. Sometimes She is Love, some She is Knowledge, sometimes She is Renunciation, sometimes She is Pity. This Infinite Energy is the Mother of us all. When we raise our eyes and turn our gaze, huge masses of strength rise before our vision.

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Though the prose writing of the period is not great in bulk, it shows a profound change in style. Previous writers had done remarkable and beautiful work in prose, but clear style had not yet found itself. It was wayward and erratic, often cumbrous and often obscure, and weighted with a Latinized construction and vocabulary. In Dryden's time prose begins definitely to find its feet. It acquires a general utility and permanence; it is smoothed and straightened, simplified and harmonized. This is the age of average prose, and prepares the way for the works of those that then stood on the threshold of the modern prose style.

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Whether man is prepared to cope with the increased choice of material and cultural wares available to him is, however, a totally different question. For there comes a time when choice, rather than freeing the individual, becomes so complex, difficult and costly, that it turns into its opposite. There comes a time, in short, when choice turns into over-choice and freedom into un-freedom. To understand why we must go beyond this examination of our material and cultural choice, we have to look at what is happening to social choice as well, for this choice will have far more bearing on the other choices.

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What with a strong and intelligent public opinion here and a well meaning government, the difficulties we have to contend with are not at all commensurate with those that retard the well-being of our countrymen in that country. It is, therefore, quite the time that all public bodies should at once turn their attention to this important subject to create an intelligent public opinion with a view to organizing an agitation for the removal of the grievances under which our brethren are labouring. Indeed, these grievances have become and are day by day becoming so unbearable and offensive that the requisite agitation cannot be taken up one day too soon.

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The space between the waves and the foot of the cliffs was very broad; one might walk for half an hour before reaching the latter. Our boots crushed innumerable shells of all shapes and sizes, the remains of prehistoric creatures. We saw enormous carapaces, sometimes fifteen feet across, which had belonged to beasts of which the modern tortoise is but a greatly reduced reproduction. Besides this, the stones covering the ground were rounded, and disposed in rows and layers; from all of which we concluded that at one time the sea had covered this part, now beyond its reach.

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Savings play an important role in the economic growth of any country. Savings are also considered as backbone of investments. The neo-classical economists Robert M. Solow and T. W. Swan emphasized the role of savings which are translated into investment and investment in turn helps increase economic growth. An economy can have different forms of savings of which household savings generally constitute the largest share in aggregate savings. Other forms of savings comprise private corporate sector savings, public sector savings and foreign savings. Household savings are made either by way of direct physical assets or in the form of financial assets.

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The problem is not, therefore, to suppress change, which cannot be done, but to manage it. If we opt for rapid change in certain sectors of life, we can consciously attempt to build stability zones elsewhere. A divorce, perhaps, should not be too closely followed by a job transfer. Since the birth of a child alters all the human ties within a family, it ought not, perhaps, be followed too closely by a relocation which causes tremendous turn-over in human ties outside the family. The recent widow should not, perhaps, rush to sell her house. But to achieve this, we need far more potent tools.

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Most observers agree that Latin America and Africa have been severe victims of globalization. The widespread lament about lost decades in the context of these two continents relates to the absolute fall in per capita incomes witnessed during the years following globalization. And it should not surprise anybody that at least seven Latin American countries have already elected left-wing governments in a bid to reverse the process of liberalization and globalization. But India and China are supposed to be success stories. The example of China, with its very different economic system, may not be apposite in arguing the case of globalization. But the claim that India is shining warrants a close look.

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The period of transition is nearly over. The English language has shaken down to a kind of average-to the standard of the East Midland speech, the language of the capital city and of the universities. The other dialects, with the exception of the Scottish branch, rapidly melt away from literature, till they become quite exiguous. French and English have amalgamated to form the Standard English tongue, which attains to its first full expression in the works of Chaucer. From the literary point of view, of greater importance are the social and intellectual movements of the period giving rise to the spirit of inquiry.

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The demand for education, and the recognition that it is vital for personal advancement and empowerment, has now penetrated all levels of society. With the economy projected to grow at an average of eight per cent, the demand for skilled labour is exploding. The transition from an agrarian/rural economy to an urban/industrial economy can be facilitated only by education. The debate over the choice between primary education on the one hand, and tertiary on the other is a spurious one: the country needs both robust primary education and innovative higher education.

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Sharp differences would quickly emerge between the society that presses technological advance selectively and blindly snatches at the first opportunity that comes along. Even sharper differences would develop between the society in which the pace of technological advance is moderated and guided to prevent future shock, and that in which masses of ordinary people are incapacitated for rational decision-making. In one, political democracy and broad-scale participation are feasible; in the other, powerful pressures lead towards political rule by a tiny techno-managerial elite. Our choice of technologies, in short, will decisively shape the cultural style of the future.

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The last five years have seen a surge in private corporate savings as companies became more efficient and increased their profitability. That has been accompanied by a rise in public sector savings on the back of increased fiscal prudence. However, the current economic situation is putting pressure on both corporate profitability and the public finances, ensuring that savings in these two sectors are unlikely to grow as rapidly as in the past. Household savings will therefore remain crucial to sustaining a strong saving rate. This means private and public sector savings will remain distant competitors to household savings.

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A calm, rational, socially sensitive approach was required to deal with most work related problems. To make good decisions people needed a peaceful mind. Heightened pressure increased their agitation, excitability and fight and flight response, which was hardly required to handle corporate situations calling for cool, calculated, well thought-out decisions. Adrenaline, which heightened their fight or flight response made them aggressive. The workplace was based on human inter-relation and team work which were quickly shattered by an aggressive approach. In situations where each person felt threatened and remained concerned about his own survival he was less likely to think of what his behaviour was doing to others.

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Mature workforce is the workforce having large exposure in an organization. This group of workforce is skilled, professional and subject expert. These have to be retained. This experienced workforce is the essence of any organization, their experience gives the confidence to the top leaders that the situations will be managed well in any crucial and crisis time. This segment of people in an organization grooms the young generations for future leadership. They can play the role of mentors for the new entrants in the organization. The mature workforce may also be hired through lateral recruitment.

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