Reading Comprehension

What does the phrase 'mercy killing', in line1, refer to?

Answer this question based on the following passage.

            Euthanasia is often erroneously described
            as "mercy killing". Most forms of euthanasia
            are, indeed, motivated by (some say:
            misplaced) mercy. Not so others. In Greek,
(5)        "eu" means both "well" and "easy" and
            "Thanatos" is death.
            Euthanasia is the intentional premature
            termination of another person's life either
            by direct intervention (active euthanasia)
 (10)     or by withholding life-prolonging measures
            and resources (passive euthanasia), either
            at the express or implied request of that
            person (voluntary euthanasia), or in the
            absence of such approval (non-voluntary
(15)      euthanasia). Involuntary euthanasia -
            where the individual wishes to go on living
            - is a euphemism for murder.
            To my mind, passive euthanasia is immoral.
            The abrupt withdrawal of medical treatment,
(20)      feeding, and hydration results in a slow and
            (potentially) torturous death. Moreover,
            passive euthanasia allows us to evade
            personal responsibility for the patient's death.
            In active euthanasia, the relationship between
(25)      the act (of administering a lethal medication,
            for instance) and its consequences is direct
            and unambiguous.
            To qualify as euthanasia, the termination of
            life has to be the main and intended aim of
(30)      the act or omission that leads to it.
            The sanctity and value of life compete with a
            host of other equally potent moral demands.
            Even the most devout pro-life ethicist accepts
            that certain medical decisions - for instance,
(35)      to administer strong analgesics – inevitably
            truncate the patient's life. Yet, this is
            considered moral because the resulting
            euthanasia is not the main intention of the
            pain-relieving doctor. Moreover, the apparent
(40)      dilemma between the two values (reduce
            suffering or preserve life) is non-existent.

What is the highlight of the 'dark ages' (lines 7 - 8) of art according to passage 2?

Answer this question based on the following passages.

Passage 1

            There is a constant evolution in all things
            progressive, and this evolution is felt very
            perceptibly. Times change, however, and
            we change with them. While the changes
(5)        may be slow and almost imperceptible to
            the observer, they are sure, and finally
            become evident by the accumulation of
            event after event.
            Many of our foremost educators in all
 (10)     branches of development, physical and
            mental, are now making a bold stand for
            natural methods of education. However,
            all training and development in the past
            has not been on the wrong side of the
(15)      question. The custom of many has been,
            and is, to condemn without investigation;
            to condemn because it does not happen to
            be in the line of their teaching and study.
            He who condemns without knowledge or
(20)      investigation is dishonest.
            There have been, at all ages and under all
            circumstances and conditions, men who
            have been at the root or the bottom of
            things — men who have preserved the truth
(25)      in spite of their surroundings. There have
            been at every decade a few men who have
            known the truth, and who have handed it
            down even through the dark ages. The work
            of these men has not been lost. Its influence
(30)      has been felt, and is today more powerful
            than ever. Hence the trend of the best
            thought is away from the ideas of the local-
            effort school, away from rigidity and
            artificiality, and more in the direction of
 (35)     naturalness and common sense.
            There is to-day a movement which had
            its origin in the belief that no man ever
            learned because he consciously, rigidly
            set or firmly pulled in one direction or
(40)      another, or because he did a hundred
            other unnatural things too foolish to
            mention. It is true he may have learned
            in spite of them, which shows that Nature
            is kind; but as compared to the whole, he
(45)      is one in a thousand.

Passage 2

            Even in the palmiest days, there were
            forces at work which were destined to
            influence the entire world. The subtle
            influence of these forces was felt so
(5)        gradually, and yet so surely and powerfully,
            that art was changed to artificiality. Thus
            arose that which may be called the dark
            ages of the art — an age when error
            overshadowed truth and reason; for while
(10)      discovered much of the true science, many
            who styled themselves scientists discovered
            much that they imagined was the true science.
            Upon the theories advanced by self-styled
(15)      scientists, many systems were based, without
            definite proof as to their being true or false.
            These systems were exploited for the benefit
            of those who formulated them. This condition
            of things still manifests itself at the present
 (20)     day, and no doubt will continue to do so for
            many years to come.
            The world undoubtedly owes much to the
            study and research of the true scientist.
            All true art is based upon science. Science
(25)      is knowledge of certain phenomena or
            movements which are found under certain
            conditions to occur regularly. The object of
            the true art is to study the conditions which
            allow these phenomena to occur.
(30)      But the greatest mistake of the many
            systems, formulated upon the theories of
            the scientists, and of the so-called scientists,
            was not so much in their being based upon
            theories which often were wrong, as in the
(35)      misunderstanding and misapplication of true
            theories. While it is true that the world owes
            much to science and the scientists, yet "the
            highest science can never fully explain
            the true phenomena, which are truly the
(40)      phenomena of Nature."
            The phenomena are more psychological
            than physiological; are more an expression
            of mind and soul than a physical expression
            or a physical force. It is true, the body is
(45)      the medium through which the soul, the
            real man, gives expression to thought
            and feeling; and yet something that is
            simply mechanical or physical is always
            common and meaningless. The normal
 (50)     condition of true art is emotional and
            soulful.

All of the following are necessary for human progress (passage 1), except

Answer this question based on the following passages.

Passage 1

            There is a constant evolution in all things
            progressive, and this evolution is felt very
            perceptibly. Times change, however, and
            we change with them. While the changes
(5)        may be slow and almost imperceptible to
            the observer, they are sure, and finally
            become evident by the accumulation of
            event after event.
            Many of our foremost educators in all
 (10)     branches of development, physical and
            mental, are now making a bold stand for
            natural methods of education. However,
            all training and development in the past
            has not been on the wrong side of the
(15)      question. The custom of many has been,
            and is, to condemn without investigation;
            to condemn because it does not happen to
            be in the line of their teaching and study.
            He who condemns without knowledge or
(20)      investigation is dishonest.
            There have been, at all ages and under all
            circumstances and conditions, men who
            have been at the root or the bottom of
            things — men who have preserved the truth
(25)      in spite of their surroundings. There have
            been at every decade a few men who have
            known the truth, and who have handed it
            down even through the dark ages. The work
            of these men has not been lost. Its influence
(30)      has been felt, and is today more powerful
            than ever. Hence the trend of the best
            thought is away from the ideas of the local-
            effort school, away from rigidity and
            artificiality, and more in the direction of
 (35)     naturalness and common sense.
            There is to-day a movement which had
            its origin in the belief that no man ever
            learned because he consciously, rigidly
            set or firmly pulled in one direction or
(40)      another, or because he did a hundred
            other unnatural things too foolish to
            mention. It is true he may have learned
            in spite of them, which shows that Nature
            is kind; but as compared to the whole, he
(45)      is one in a thousand.

Passage 2

            Even in the palmiest days, there were
            forces at work which were destined to
            influence the entire world. The subtle
            influence of these forces was felt so
(5)        gradually, and yet so surely and powerfully,
            that art was changed to artificiality. Thus
            arose that which may be called the dark
            ages of the art — an age when error
            overshadowed truth and reason; for while
(10)      discovered much of the true science, many
            who styled themselves scientists discovered
            much that they imagined was the true science.
            Upon the theories advanced by self-styled
(15)      scientists, many systems were based, without
            definite proof as to their being true or false.
            These systems were exploited for the benefit
            of those who formulated them. This condition
            of things still manifests itself at the present
 (20)     day, and no doubt will continue to do so for
            many years to come.
            The world undoubtedly owes much to the
            study and research of the true scientist.
            All true art is based upon science. Science
(25)      is knowledge of certain phenomena or
            movements which are found under certain
            conditions to occur regularly. The object of
            the true art is to study the conditions which
            allow these phenomena to occur.
(30)      But the greatest mistake of the many
            systems, formulated upon the theories of
            the scientists, and of the so-called scientists,
            was not so much in their being based upon
            theories which often were wrong, as in the
(35)      misunderstanding and misapplication of true
            theories. While it is true that the world owes
            much to science and the scientists, yet "the
            highest science can never fully explain
            the true phenomena, which are truly the
(40)      phenomena of Nature."
            The phenomena are more psychological
            than physiological; are more an expression
            of mind and soul than a physical expression
            or a physical force. It is true, the body is
(45)      the medium through which the soul, the
            real man, gives expression to thought
            and feeling; and yet something that is
            simply mechanical or physical is always
            common and meaningless. The normal
 (50)     condition of true art is emotional and
            soulful.

Why did capitalist class gain popularity in the nineteenth century in America?

Questions are based on the following passage.

            The onset of the industrial era brought
            with it a new governing class, as every
            considerable change in human environment
            must bring with it a governing class to give
(5)        it expression. Perhaps, for lack of a
            recognized name, I may describe this class
            as the industrial capitalistic class, composed
            in the main of administrators and bankers.
            As nothing in the universe is stationary, ruling
(10)       classes have their rise, culmination, and
            decline, and I conjecture that this class
            attained its acme of popularity and power,
            at least in America, toward the close of the
            third quarter of the nineteenth century.
(15)       History may not be a very practical study,
            but it teaches some useful lessons, one of
            which is that nothing is accidental, and that
            if men move in a given direction, they do so
            in obedience to an impulsion as automatic
(20)       as is the impulsion of gravitation. I harbor no
            doubt that the equilibrium of society is very
            rapidly shifting, and seeks a new centre of
            social gravity. Industrialism has induced
            conditions which can no longer be controlled
(25)       by the old capitalistic methods, and that the
            country must be brought to a level of
            administrative efficiency competent to deal
            with the strains and stresses of the twenty
            -first century, just as, a couple of hundred
(30)       years ago, it was brought to an administrative
            level competent for that age, by the adoption
            of the Constitution.

What best explains the origin of today's movement (passage 1)?

Answer this question based on the following passages.

Passage 1

            There is a constant evolution in all things
            progressive, and this evolution is felt very
            perceptibly. Times change, however, and
            we change with them. While the changes
(5)        may be slow and almost imperceptible to
            the observer, they are sure, and finally
            become evident by the accumulation of
            event after event.
            Many of our foremost educators in all
 (10)     branches of development, physical and
            mental, are now making a bold stand for
            natural methods of education. However,
            all training and development in the past
            has not been on the wrong side of the
(15)      question. The custom of many has been,
            and is, to condemn without investigation;
            to condemn because it does not happen to
            be in the line of their teaching and study.
            He who condemns without knowledge or
(20)      investigation is dishonest.
            There have been, at all ages and under all
            circumstances and conditions, men who
            have been at the root or the bottom of
            things — men who have preserved the truth
(25)      in spite of their surroundings. There have
            been at every decade a few men who have
            known the truth, and who have handed it
            down even through the dark ages. The work
            of these men has not been lost. Its influence
(30)      has been felt, and is today more powerful
            than ever. Hence the trend of the best
            thought is away from the ideas of the local-
            effort school, away from rigidity and
            artificiality, and more in the direction of
 (35)     naturalness and common sense.
            There is to-day a movement which had
            its origin in the belief that no man ever
            learned because he consciously, rigidly
            set or firmly pulled in one direction or
(40)      another, or because he did a hundred
            other unnatural things too foolish to
            mention. It is true he may have learned
            in spite of them, which shows that Nature
            is kind; but as compared to the whole, he
(45)      is one in a thousand.

Passage 2

            Even in the palmiest days, there were
            forces at work which were destined to
            influence the entire world. The subtle
            influence of these forces was felt so
(5)        gradually, and yet so surely and powerfully,
            that art was changed to artificiality. Thus
            arose that which may be called the dark
            ages of the art — an age when error
            overshadowed truth and reason; for while
(10)      discovered much of the true science, many
            who styled themselves scientists discovered
            much that they imagined was the true science.
            Upon the theories advanced by self-styled
(15)      scientists, many systems were based, without
            definite proof as to their being true or false.
            These systems were exploited for the benefit
            of those who formulated them. This condition
            of things still manifests itself at the present
 (20)     day, and no doubt will continue to do so for
            many years to come.
            The world undoubtedly owes much to the
            study and research of the true scientist.
            All true art is based upon science. Science
(25)      is knowledge of certain phenomena or
            movements which are found under certain
            conditions to occur regularly. The object of
            the true art is to study the conditions which
            allow these phenomena to occur.
(30)      But the greatest mistake of the many
            systems, formulated upon the theories of
            the scientists, and of the so-called scientists,
            was not so much in their being based upon
            theories which often were wrong, as in the
(35)      misunderstanding and misapplication of true
            theories. While it is true that the world owes
            much to science and the scientists, yet "the
            highest science can never fully explain
            the true phenomena, which are truly the
(40)      phenomena of Nature."
            The phenomena are more psychological
            than physiological; are more an expression
            of mind and soul than a physical expression
            or a physical force. It is true, the body is
(45)      the medium through which the soul, the
            real man, gives expression to thought
            and feeling; and yet something that is
            simply mechanical or physical is always
            common and meaningless. The normal
 (50)     condition of true art is emotional and
            soulful.

The author refers to “history” (line 15) in order to

Questions are based on the following passage.

            The onset of the industrial era brought
            with it a new governing class, as every
            considerable change in human environment
            must bring with it a governing class to give
(5)        it expression. Perhaps, for lack of a
            recognized name, I may describe this class
            as the industrial capitalistic class, composed
            in the main of administrators and bankers.
            As nothing in the universe is stationary, ruling
(10)       classes have their rise, culmination, and
            decline, and I conjecture that this class
            attained its acme of popularity and power,
            at least in America, toward the close of the
            third quarter of the nineteenth century.
(15)       History may not be a very practical study,
            but it teaches some useful lessons, one of
            which is that nothing is accidental, and that
            if men move in a given direction, they do so
            in obedience to an impulsion as automatic
(20)       as is the impulsion of gravitation. I harbor no
            doubt that the equilibrium of society is very
            rapidly shifting, and seeks a new centre of
            social gravity. Industrialism has induced
            conditions which can no longer be controlled
(25)       by the old capitalistic methods, and that the
            country must be brought to a level of
            administrative efficiency competent to deal
            with the strains and stresses of the twenty
            -first century, just as, a couple of hundred
(30)       years ago, it was brought to an administrative
            level competent for that age, by the adoption
            of the Constitution.

The following can be inferred from both the passages: (I) Both deal in different subjects yet the essence of vision is similar. (II) Both passages relate to American belief in the Almighty. (III) Both describe America's struggle to evolve as a society with cultural and ethnic compatibility.

Answer this question based on the following passages.
Passage 1

We have had many opportunities of hearing
public speakers in America cast doubts upon
the very existence of God and of Providence,
question the historic nature or veracity of the
(5) whole fabric of Christianity; but never has it
been our fortune to catch the slightest
whisper of doubt, the slightest want of faith,
in the chief God of America—unlimited belief
in the future of America. The faith of
(10) Americans in their own country is religious,
if not in its intensity, at any rate in its almost
absolute and universal authority. It pervades
the air we breathe. As children we hear it
asserted or implied in the conversation of
(15) our elders.
The Land of Democracy has always
appealed to its more enthusiastic children
chiefly as a land of wonderful and more than
national possibilities. "Neither race nor
(20) tradition," says Professor Hugo Münsterberg,
"nor the actual past, binds the American to
his countrymen, but rather the future which
together they are building." This vision of a
better future is not, perhaps, as unclouded
(25)  for the present generation of Americans as
it was for certain former generations.
American life cannot with impunity be
wrenched violently from its moorings any
more than the life of a European country can;
(30) but our American past, compared to that of
any European country, has a character all
its own.
When, however, Americans talk of their
country as the Land of Promise, a question
(35) may well be raised as to precisely what they
mean. They mean, of course, in general, that
the future will have something better in store
for them individually and collectively than has
the past or the present; but a very superficial
(40) analysis of this meaning discloses certain
ambiguities. How is this Promise to be
 fulfilled? Will it fulfill itself, or does it imply
certain responsibilities? If so, what
responsibilities?

Passage 2
In whatever way the present civil war in
America shall result, it is certain that the
future condition of the colored race in this
country will be the question over-mastering
(5) all others for many years to come. Had
 there been no slavery, there would have been
no war. A desire for a separate confederacy
was the final cause, yet had slavery not
stood in this country there would not have
(10) come into being that peculiar state of
society which now lives in the Southern
States, and which demands for its very
existence that it should rule alone. Slavery
has created an aristocracy, not of numbers,
(15) but of wealth and power, which bears with
all the social forces. While the slave-holder
are but a very small minority of the whole
people, yet by the force of their wealth and
the fact of their being slave owners, they
(20) hold all the political power, and indeed,
sweep out of existence any opposition.
There are, with very rare exceptions
throughout the whole South, but two classes
--free and slave, or we may say, slave-holders
(25) and slaves, for the non slave-holders are
completely lost; they work in with it, and are
indeed a part of it. Anything which strikes at
slavery strikes at the root of this power; to
destroy slavery would be to blot it out of
(30) existence.
We were content to let it live if it did not
ubjugate other lands, but the events have
crowded us far beyond that. Those of us who
have for a life time been doing what we could
(35) to hasten forward this day, who have spoken
and written and suffered for it, in the new
atmosphere which we breathe are like men
that dream. We know that it would come; we
hoped to live long enough to see the day. We
(40) see it and are glad, we did not think to see it
soon, it has come so suddenly, it shines so
broadly and with so rich a promise for the
nation as a whole that we recognize it as
God's day; we see His wonder-working power
(45) moving marvelously; we behold how God has
taken the work into His own hand; how He has
made slavery destroy itself.
The colored race is here, here for a long time it
will remain; it will not--it will not remain in slavery;
(50) it will and must by-and-by be free. We, as an
American people, must, in God's fear and with
many a cry for His help, bravely deal with it. We
need not now go back and stand sighing over
the past, and mourning that we did not a century
(55) ago meet it and escape the mighty work and
sorrow of today; we cannot put it away any longer.

The term “rent”, as used in line 12 of the passage, could most likely mean

Answer this question based on the following passage.

            That tectonic earthquakes are closely 
            connected with the formation of faults 
            seems now established beyond doubt. 
            They occur far from all traces of recent
(5)        volcanic action. Their isoseismic lines 
            are elongated in directions parallel to 
            known faults. Indeed, when several 
            isoseismics are carefully drawn, it is 
            possible from their form and relative 
(10)      position to predict the position of the 
            originating fault.The initial formation and 
            further spreading of the rent may be the 
            cause of a few earthquakes, but by far the 
            larger number are due to the subsequent 
(15)      growth of the fault. The relative displacement
            of the rocks adjoining the fault, which may 
            amount to thousands of feet, occasionally 
            even to miles, is the result, not of one great
            movement, but of innumerable slips taking 
(20)      place in different parts of the fault and spread
            over vast ages of time. With every fault-slip,
            intense friction is suddenly brought into action
            by the rubbing of one mass of rock against the
            other; and, according to the modern view, it is 
(25)      this friction that gives rise to the earthquake 
            waves.
            In most earthquakes, the slip takes place at a 
            considerable depth, several miles down, and 
            the vertical slip is so small that it dies out 
(30)      before reaching the surface. But, in a few 
            violent earthquakes, the slip is continued up 
            to the surface and is left visible there as a 
            small cliff or fault-scarp. In these cases, the 
            sudden spring of the crust may increase and 
(35)      complicate the effects of the vibratory shock.

The main point of difference between the two passages is:

Answer this question based on the following passages.
Passage 1

We have had many opportunities of hearing
public speakers in America cast doubts upon
the very existence of God and of Providence,
question the historic nature or veracity of the
(5) whole fabric of Christianity; but never has it
been our fortune to catch the slightest
whisper of doubt, the slightest want of faith,
in the chief God of America—unlimited belief
in the future of America. The faith of
(10) Americans in their own country is religious,
if not in its intensity, at any rate in its almost
absolute and universal authority. It pervades
the air we breathe. As children we hear it
asserted or implied in the conversation of
(15) our elders.
The Land of Democracy has always
appealed to its more enthusiastic children
chiefly as a land of wonderful and more than
national possibilities. "Neither race nor
(20) tradition," says Professor Hugo Münsterberg,
"nor the actual past, binds the American to
his countrymen, but rather the future which
together they are building." This vision of a
better future is not, perhaps, as unclouded
(25)  for the present generation of Americans as
it was for certain former generations.
American life cannot with impunity be
wrenched violently from its moorings any
more than the life of a European country can;
(30) but our American past, compared to that of
any European country, has a character all
its own.
When, however, Americans talk of their
country as the Land of Promise, a question
(35) may well be raised as to precisely what they
mean. They mean, of course, in general, that
the future will have something better in store
for them individually and collectively than has
the past or the present; but a very superficial
(40) analysis of this meaning discloses certain
ambiguities. How is this Promise to be
 fulfilled? Will it fulfill itself, or does it imply
certain responsibilities? If so, what
responsibilities?

Passage 2
In whatever way the present civil war in
America shall result, it is certain that the
future condition of the colored race in this
country will be the question over-mastering
(5) all others for many years to come. Had
 there been no slavery, there would have been
no war. A desire for a separate confederacy
was the final cause, yet had slavery not
stood in this country there would not have
(10) come into being that peculiar state of
society which now lives in the Southern
States, and which demands for its very
existence that it should rule alone. Slavery
has created an aristocracy, not of numbers,
(15) but of wealth and power, which bears with
all the social forces. While the slave-holder
are but a very small minority of the whole
people, yet by the force of their wealth and
the fact of their being slave owners, they
(20) hold all the political power, and indeed,
sweep out of existence any opposition.
There are, with very rare exceptions
throughout the whole South, but two classes
--free and slave, or we may say, slave-holders
(25) and slaves, for the non slave-holders are
completely lost; they work in with it, and are
indeed a part of it. Anything which strikes at
slavery strikes at the root of this power; to
destroy slavery would be to blot it out of
(30) existence.
We were content to let it live if it did not
ubjugate other lands, but the events have
crowded us far beyond that. Those of us who
have for a life time been doing what we could
(35) to hasten forward this day, who have spoken
and written and suffered for it, in the new
atmosphere which we breathe are like men
that dream. We know that it would come; we
hoped to live long enough to see the day. We
(40) see it and are glad, we did not think to see it
soon, it has come so suddenly, it shines so
broadly and with so rich a promise for the
nation as a whole that we recognize it as
God's day; we see His wonder-working power
(45) moving marvelously; we behold how God has
taken the work into His own hand; how He has
made slavery destroy itself.
The colored race is here, here for a long time it
will remain; it will not--it will not remain in slavery;
(50) it will and must by-and-by be free. We, as an
American people, must, in God's fear and with
many a cry for His help, bravely deal with it. We
need not now go back and stand sighing over
the past, and mourning that we did not a century
(55) ago meet it and escape the mighty work and
sorrow of today; we cannot put it away any longer.

Which of the following statements can be directly inferred from the above passage?

Questions are based on the following passages.

            The belief that the Africans brought to London
            to be sold into slavery were at the time in a
            more or less primitive stage of uncivilized life;
            pales in comparison to the methods used to
(5)        capture and transport them to this "land of the
            free and home of the brave". The details,
            brought forth through vivid pen pictures,
            indicate the demoralizing and debasing effects
            of the "system" from its initial period, followed
(10)       up by the blighting influences of slave life, even
            under the most favorable conditions, for nearly
            two hundred and fifty years. This left upon their
            lives and character just the traits it would have
            left upon any other people subjected to similar
(15)       conditions for the same length of time.
            The argument that slavery gave the African
            some of the arts of civilized life; while denying
            him the inalienable rights of manhood, denying
            him the right to the product of his labor, does
(20)       not hold water as it left him no noble incentive to
            labor at these arts, and thus tended to render him
            improvident, careless, shiftless, in short, to
            demoralize his entire nature.

The author in passage 1 has used all, except

Answer this question based on the following passages.
Passage 1

We have had many opportunities of hearing
public speakers in America cast doubts upon
the very existence of God and of Providence,
question the historic nature or veracity of the
(5) whole fabric of Christianity; but never has it
been our fortune to catch the slightest
whisper of doubt, the slightest want of faith,
in the chief God of America—unlimited belief
in the future of America. The faith of
(10) Americans in their own country is religious,
if not in its intensity, at any rate in its almost
absolute and universal authority. It pervades
the air we breathe. As children we hear it
asserted or implied in the conversation of
(15) our elders.
The Land of Democracy has always
appealed to its more enthusiastic children
chiefly as a land of wonderful and more than
national possibilities. "Neither race nor
(20) tradition," says Professor Hugo Münsterberg,
"nor the actual past, binds the American to
his countrymen, but rather the future which
together they are building." This vision of a
better future is not, perhaps, as unclouded
(25)  for the present generation of Americans as
it was for certain former generations.
American life cannot with impunity be
wrenched violently from its moorings any
more than the life of a European country can;
(30) but our American past, compared to that of
any European country, has a character all
its own.
When, however, Americans talk of their
country as the Land of Promise, a question
(35) may well be raised as to precisely what they
mean. They mean, of course, in general, that
the future will have something better in store
for them individually and collectively than has
the past or the present; but a very superficial
(40) analysis of this meaning discloses certain
ambiguities. How is this Promise to be
 fulfilled? Will it fulfill itself, or does it imply
certain responsibilities? If so, what
responsibilities?

Passage 2
In whatever way the present civil war in
America shall result, it is certain that the
future condition of the colored race in this
country will be the question over-mastering
(5) all others for many years to come. Had
 there been no slavery, there would have been
no war. A desire for a separate confederacy
was the final cause, yet had slavery not
stood in this country there would not have
(10) come into being that peculiar state of
society which now lives in the Southern
States, and which demands for its very
existence that it should rule alone. Slavery
has created an aristocracy, not of numbers,
(15) but of wealth and power, which bears with
all the social forces. While the slave-holder
are but a very small minority of the whole
people, yet by the force of their wealth and
the fact of their being slave owners, they
(20) hold all the political power, and indeed,
sweep out of existence any opposition.
There are, with very rare exceptions
throughout the whole South, but two classes
--free and slave, or we may say, slave-holders
(25) and slaves, for the non slave-holders are
completely lost; they work in with it, and are
indeed a part of it. Anything which strikes at
slavery strikes at the root of this power; to
destroy slavery would be to blot it out of
(30) existence.
We were content to let it live if it did not
ubjugate other lands, but the events have
crowded us far beyond that. Those of us who
have for a life time been doing what we could
(35) to hasten forward this day, who have spoken
and written and suffered for it, in the new
atmosphere which we breathe are like men
that dream. We know that it would come; we
hoped to live long enough to see the day. We
(40) see it and are glad, we did not think to see it
soon, it has come so suddenly, it shines so
broadly and with so rich a promise for the
nation as a whole that we recognize it as
God's day; we see His wonder-working power
(45) moving marvelously; we behold how God has
taken the work into His own hand; how He has
made slavery destroy itself.
The colored race is here, here for a long time it
will remain; it will not--it will not remain in slavery;
(50) it will and must by-and-by be free. We, as an
American people, must, in God's fear and with
many a cry for His help, bravely deal with it. We
need not now go back and stand sighing over
the past, and mourning that we did not a century
(55) ago meet it and escape the mighty work and
sorrow of today; we cannot put it away any longer.

The primary purpose of the passage is to describe

Answer this question based on the following passage.

            That tectonic earthquakes are closely 
            connected with the formation of faults 
            seems now established beyond doubt. 
            They occur far from all traces of recent
(5)        volcanic action. Their isoseismic lines 
            are elongated in directions parallel to 
            known faults. Indeed, when several 
            isoseismics are carefully drawn, it is 
            possible from their form and relative 
(10)      position to predict the position of the 
            originating fault.The initial formation and 
            further spreading of the rent may be the 
            cause of a few earthquakes, but by far the 
            larger number are due to the subsequent 
(15)      growth of the fault. The relative displacement
            of the rocks adjoining the fault, which may 
            amount to thousands of feet, occasionally 
            even to miles, is the result, not of one great
            movement, but of innumerable slips taking 
(20)      place in different parts of the fault and spread
            over vast ages of time. With every fault-slip,
            intense friction is suddenly brought into action
            by the rubbing of one mass of rock against the
            other; and, according to the modern view, it is 
(25)      this friction that gives rise to the earthquake 
            waves.
            In most earthquakes, the slip takes place at a 
            considerable depth, several miles down, and 
            the vertical slip is so small that it dies out 
(30)      before reaching the surface. But, in a few 
            violent earthquakes, the slip is continued up 
            to the surface and is left visible there as a 
            small cliff or fault-scarp. In these cases, the 
            sudden spring of the crust may increase and 
(35)      complicate the effects of the vibratory shock.

The central theme of passage 1 is

Answer this question based on the following passages.
Passage 1

We have had many opportunities of hearing
public speakers in America cast doubts upon
the very existence of God and of Providence,
question the historic nature or veracity of the
(5) whole fabric of Christianity; but never has it
been our fortune to catch the slightest
whisper of doubt, the slightest want of faith,
in the chief God of America—unlimited belief
in the future of America. The faith of
(10) Americans in their own country is religious,
if not in its intensity, at any rate in its almost
absolute and universal authority. It pervades
the air we breathe. As children we hear it
asserted or implied in the conversation of
(15) our elders.
The Land of Democracy has always
appealed to its more enthusiastic children
chiefly as a land of wonderful and more than
national possibilities. "Neither race nor
(20) tradition," says Professor Hugo Münsterberg,
"nor the actual past, binds the American to
his countrymen, but rather the future which
together they are building." This vision of a
better future is not, perhaps, as unclouded
(25)  for the present generation of Americans as
it was for certain former generations.
American life cannot with impunity be
wrenched violently from its moorings any
more than the life of a European country can;
(30) but our American past, compared to that of
any European country, has a character all
its own.
When, however, Americans talk of their
country as the Land of Promise, a question
(35) may well be raised as to precisely what they
mean. They mean, of course, in general, that
the future will have something better in store
for them individually and collectively than has
the past or the present; but a very superficial
(40) analysis of this meaning discloses certain
ambiguities. How is this Promise to be
 fulfilled? Will it fulfill itself, or does it imply
certain responsibilities? If so, what
responsibilities?

Passage 2
In whatever way the present civil war in
America shall result, it is certain that the
future condition of the colored race in this
country will be the question over-mastering
(5) all others for many years to come. Had
 there been no slavery, there would have been
no war. A desire for a separate confederacy
was the final cause, yet had slavery not
stood in this country there would not have
(10) come into being that peculiar state of
society which now lives in the Southern
States, and which demands for its very
existence that it should rule alone. Slavery
has created an aristocracy, not of numbers,
(15) but of wealth and power, which bears with
all the social forces. While the slave-holder
are but a very small minority of the whole
people, yet by the force of their wealth and
the fact of their being slave owners, they
(20) hold all the political power, and indeed,
sweep out of existence any opposition.
There are, with very rare exceptions
throughout the whole South, but two classes
--free and slave, or we may say, slave-holders
(25) and slaves, for the non slave-holders are
completely lost; they work in with it, and are
indeed a part of it. Anything which strikes at
slavery strikes at the root of this power; to
destroy slavery would be to blot it out of
(30) existence.
We were content to let it live if it did not
ubjugate other lands, but the events have
crowded us far beyond that. Those of us who
have for a life time been doing what we could
(35) to hasten forward this day, who have spoken
and written and suffered for it, in the new
atmosphere which we breathe are like men
that dream. We know that it would come; we
hoped to live long enough to see the day. We
(40) see it and are glad, we did not think to see it
soon, it has come so suddenly, it shines so
broadly and with so rich a promise for the
nation as a whole that we recognize it as
God's day; we see His wonder-working power
(45) moving marvelously; we behold how God has
taken the work into His own hand; how He has
made slavery destroy itself.
The colored race is here, here for a long time it
will remain; it will not--it will not remain in slavery;
(50) it will and must by-and-by be free. We, as an
American people, must, in God's fear and with
many a cry for His help, bravely deal with it. We
need not now go back and stand sighing over
the past, and mourning that we did not a century
(55) ago meet it and escape the mighty work and
sorrow of today; we cannot put it away any longer.

Why is ignorance no longer considered the 'mother of purity'?

Answer this question based on the following passage.

            The old maxim, that "Knowledge is Power," 
            is a true one, but there is still a greater truth:
            "Knowledge Is Safety." Safety amid physical
            ills that beset mankind, and safety amid the
(5)        moral pitfalls that surround so many young 
            people, is the crying demand of the age. 
            Research has thrown light on many facts 
            relating to the physiology of man and 
            woman, and the diseases to which they are
(10)      subject, and consequently many reformations
            have taken place in the treatment and 
            prevention of diseases. Any information bearing
            upon the diseases of mankind should not be
            kept under lock and key. The physician is
(15)      frequently called upon to speak in plain 
            language to his patients about disease 
            contracted on account of ignorance. The 
            better plan, however, is to so educate and 
            enlighten old and young upon the important 
(20)      subjects of health, that the necessity to 
            call a physician may occur less frequently.
            A large, respectable, though diminishing 
            class in every community, maintain that 
            nothing that relates exclusively to either sex 
(25)      should become the subject of popular medical
            instruction. But such an opinion is radically 
            wrong; ignorance is no more the mother of 
            purity than it is of religion. The tendency in 
            the right direction must be admitted, and is
(30)      perhaps most clearly shown in some of the 
            articles on prison reform. Preventive work is
            the truest economy. Some go so far as to say
            that if the present human knowledge of the
            laws of heredity were acted upon for a 
(35)      generation, reformatory measures would be 
            rendered unnecessary. 
            Perhaps nothing will so much hasten the time
            when body and mind will both be adequately 
            cared for, as a diffusion of the belief that the 
(40)      preservation of health is a duty. Few seem 
            conscious that there is such a thing as physical 
            morality. The fact is, all breaches of the law of 
            health are physical sins. Men's habitual words 
            and acts imply that they are at liberty to treat 
(45)      their bodies as they please. Though the evil
            consequences inflicted on their descendents 
            and on future generations are often as great 
            as those caused by crime, they do not think 
            themselves in any degree criminal. Purity of 
(50)      purpose and purity of character, after all, 
            are the brightest jewels in the crown of 
            immortality.

How, according to the author, the 'better plan' becomes better?

Answer this question based on the following passage.

            The old maxim, that "Knowledge is Power," 
            is a true one, but there is still a greater truth:
            "Knowledge Is Safety." Safety amid physical
            ills that beset mankind, and safety amid the
(5)        moral pitfalls that surround so many young 
            people, is the crying demand of the age. 
            Research has thrown light on many facts 
            relating to the physiology of man and 
            woman, and the diseases to which they are
(10)      subject, and consequently many reformations
            have taken place in the treatment and 
            prevention of diseases. Any information bearing
            upon the diseases of mankind should not be
            kept under lock and key. The physician is
(15)      frequently called upon to speak in plain 
            language to his patients about disease 
            contracted on account of ignorance. The 
            better plan, however, is to so educate and 
            enlighten old and young upon the important 
(20)      subjects of health, that the necessity to 
            call a physician may occur less frequently.
            A large, respectable, though diminishing 
            class in every community, maintain that 
            nothing that relates exclusively to either sex 
(25)      should become the subject of popular medical
            instruction. But such an opinion is radically 
            wrong; ignorance is no more the mother of 
            purity than it is of religion. The tendency in 
            the right direction must be admitted, and is
(30)      perhaps most clearly shown in some of the 
            articles on prison reform. Preventive work is
            the truest economy. Some go so far as to say
            that if the present human knowledge of the
            laws of heredity were acted upon for a 
(35)      generation, reformatory measures would be 
            rendered unnecessary. 
            Perhaps nothing will so much hasten the time
            when body and mind will both be adequately 
            cared for, as a diffusion of the belief that the 
(40)      preservation of health is a duty. Few seem 
            conscious that there is such a thing as physical 
            morality. The fact is, all breaches of the law of 
            health are physical sins. Men's habitual words 
            and acts imply that they are at liberty to treat 
(45)      their bodies as they please. Though the evil
            consequences inflicted on their descendents 
            and on future generations are often as great 
            as those caused by crime, they do not think 
            themselves in any degree criminal. Purity of 
(50)      purpose and purity of character, after all, 
            are the brightest jewels in the crown of 
            immortality.