Reading Comprehension

Which word in the passage means the same as 'overstatement'?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

The year 842 BC may be considered the first accurate date in Chinese history, and in this year the Emperor had to flee from his capital on account of popular dissatisfaction with his tyrannical ways: he betook himself northward to an outlying settlement on the Tartar frontier, and the charge of imperial affairs was taken over by a regency or duumvirate.

At this time, the confederation of cultured princes called China — or, to use their own term, the Central Kingdom — was a very different region from the huge mass of territory familiar to us under those names at the present day. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that civilised China, even at that comparatively advanced period, consisted of little more than the modern province of Ho Nan. All outside this flat and comparatively riverless region inhabited by the "orthodox" was more or less barbaric, and such civilisation as it possessed was entirely the work of Chinese colonists, adventurers, or grantees of fiefs in partibus infidelium (so to speak). Into matters of still earlier ancient history, we may enter more deeply in another chapter, but for the present, we simply take China as it was when definite chronology begins.

In the passage, China has been referered to as

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

The year 842 BC may be considered the first accurate date in Chinese history, and in this year the Emperor had to flee from his capital on account of popular dissatisfaction with his tyrannical ways: he betook himself northward to an outlying settlement on the Tartar frontier, and the charge of imperial affairs was taken over by a regency or duumvirate.

At this time, the confederation of cultured princes called China — or, to use their own term, the Central Kingdom — was a very different region from the huge mass of territory familiar to us under those names at the present day. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that civilised China, even at that comparatively advanced period, consisted of little more than the modern province of Ho Nan. All outside this flat and comparatively riverless region inhabited by the "orthodox" was more or less barbaric, and such civilisation as it possessed was entirely the work of Chinese colonists, adventurers, or grantees of fiefs in partibus infidelium (so to speak). Into matters of still earlier ancient history, we may enter more deeply in another chapter, but for the present, we simply take China as it was when definite chronology begins.

When did the third dynasty complete its 300 year rule over China?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

The year 842 BC may be considered the first accurate date in Chinese history, and in this year the Emperor had to flee from his capital on account of popular dissatisfaction with his tyrannical ways: he betook himself northward to an outlying settlement on the Tartar frontier, and the charge of imperial affairs was taken over by a regency or duumvirate.

At this time, the confederation of cultured princes called China — or, to use their own term, the Central Kingdom — was a very different region from the huge mass of territory familiar to us under those names at the present day. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that civilised China, even at that comparatively advanced period, consisted of little more than the modern province of Ho Nan. All outside this flat and comparatively riverless region inhabited by the "orthodox" was more or less barbaric, and such civilisation as it possessed was entirely the work of Chinese colonists, adventurers, or grantees of fiefs in partibus infidelium (so to speak). Into matters of still earlier ancient history, we may enter more deeply in another chapter, but for the present, we simply take China as it was when definite chronology begins.

According to the passage, which of the following has been referred to as a 'modern province'?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

The year 842 BC may be considered the first accurate date in Chinese history, and in this year the Emperor had to flee from his capital on account of popular dissatisfaction with his tyrannical ways: he betook himself northward to an outlying settlement on the Tartar frontier, and the charge of imperial affairs was taken over by a regency or duumvirate.

At this time, the confederation of cultured princes called China — or, to use their own term, the Central Kingdom — was a very different region from the huge mass of territory familiar to us under those names at the present day. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that civilised China, even at that comparatively advanced period, consisted of little more than the modern province of Ho Nan. All outside this flat and comparatively riverless region inhabited by the "orthodox" was more or less barbaric, and such civilisation as it possessed was entirely the work of Chinese colonists, adventurers, or grantees of fiefs in partibus infidelium (so to speak). Into matters of still earlier ancient history, we may enter more deeply in another chapter, but for the present, we simply take China as it was when definite chronology begins.

Which word in the passage means the same as 'empires'?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

The year 842 BC may be considered the first accurate date in Chinese history, and in this year the Emperor had to flee from his capital on account of popular dissatisfaction with his tyrannical ways: he betook himself northward to an outlying settlement on the Tartar frontier, and the charge of imperial affairs was taken over by a regency or duumvirate.

At this time, the confederation of cultured princes called China — or, to use their own term, the Central Kingdom — was a very different region from the huge mass of territory familiar to us under those names at the present day. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that civilised China, even at that comparatively advanced period, consisted of little more than the modern province of Ho Nan. All outside this flat and comparatively riverless region inhabited by the "orthodox" was more or less barbaric, and such civilisation as it possessed was entirely the work of Chinese colonists, adventurers, or grantees of fiefs in partibus infidelium (so to speak). Into matters of still earlier ancient history, we may enter more deeply in another chapter, but for the present, we simply take China as it was when definite chronology begins.

Why did the Emperor flee from the capital?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

The year 842 BC may be considered the first accurate date in Chinese history, and in this year the Emperor had to flee from his capital on account of popular dissatisfaction with his tyrannical ways: he betook himself northward to an outlying settlement on the Tartar frontier, and the charge of imperial affairs was taken over by a regency or duumvirate.

At this time, the confederation of cultured princes called China — or, to use their own term, the Central Kingdom — was a very different region from the huge mass of territory familiar to us under those names at the present day. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that civilised China, even at that comparatively advanced period, consisted of little more than the modern province of Ho Nan. All outside this flat and comparatively riverless region inhabited by the "orthodox" was more or less barbaric, and such civilisation as it possessed was entirely the work of Chinese colonists, adventurers, or grantees of fiefs in partibus infidelium (so to speak). Into matters of still earlier ancient history, we may enter more deeply in another chapter, but for the present, we simply take China as it was when definite chronology begins.

Why would successive dynasties "strain a point"?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

The year 842 BC may be considered the first accurate date in Chinese history, and in this year the Emperor had to flee from his capital on account of popular dissatisfaction with his tyrannical ways: he betook himself northward to an outlying settlement on the Tartar frontier, and the charge of imperial affairs was taken over by a regency or duumvirate.

At this time, the confederation of cultured princes called China — or, to use their own term, the Central Kingdom — was a very different region from the huge mass of territory familiar to us under those names at the present day. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that civilised China, even at that comparatively advanced period, consisted of little more than the modern province of Ho Nan. All outside this flat and comparatively riverless region inhabited by the "orthodox" was more or less barbaric, and such civilisation as it possessed was entirely the work of Chinese colonists, adventurers, or grantees of fiefs in partibus infidelium (so to speak). Into matters of still earlier ancient history, we may enter more deeply in another chapter, but for the present, we simply take China as it was when definite chronology begins.

The third great dynasty gave all the land to _______, following the customs of predecessors.

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

The year 842 BC may be considered the first accurate date in Chinese history, and in this year the Emperor had to flee from his capital on account of popular dissatisfaction with his tyrannical ways: he betook himself northward to an outlying settlement on the Tartar frontier, and the charge of imperial affairs was taken over by a regency or duumvirate.

At this time, the confederation of cultured princes called China — or, to use their own term, the Central Kingdom — was a very different region from the huge mass of territory familiar to us under those names at the present day. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that civilised China, even at that comparatively advanced period, consisted of little more than the modern province of Ho Nan. All outside this flat and comparatively riverless region inhabited by the "orthodox" was more or less barbaric, and such civilisation as it possessed was entirely the work of Chinese colonists, adventurers, or grantees of fiefs in partibus infidelium (so to speak). Into matters of still earlier ancient history, we may enter more deeply in another chapter, but for the present, we simply take China as it was when definite chronology begins.

Whatever civilisation existed outside Ho Nan was the work of Chinese

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

The year 842 BC may be considered the first accurate date in Chinese history, and in this year the Emperor had to flee from his capital on account of popular dissatisfaction with his tyrannical ways: he betook himself northward to an outlying settlement on the Tartar frontier, and the charge of imperial affairs was taken over by a regency or duumvirate.

At this time, the confederation of cultured princes called China — or, to use their own term, the Central Kingdom — was a very different region from the huge mass of territory familiar to us under those names at the present day. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that civilised China, even at that comparatively advanced period, consisted of little more than the modern province of Ho Nan. All outside this flat and comparatively riverless region inhabited by the "orthodox" was more or less barbaric, and such civilisation as it possessed was entirely the work of Chinese colonists, adventurers, or grantees of fiefs in partibus infidelium (so to speak). Into matters of still earlier ancient history, we may enter more deeply in another chapter, but for the present, we simply take China as it was when definite chronology begins.

What is the deep indebtedness of the present to the past? (1) that eighty centuries have gone by without the people of Vera Cruz charging in any way (2) that the present culture of Vera Cruz represents the highest point in a line of human experience that goes back to eighty centuries (3) that the customs and traditions of Vera Cruz have withstood the passage of time

Directions: Study the situation given below and answer the question.
IN VERACRUZ, during nearly two decades of research, I have come to realize the deep indebtedness of the present to the past. Even today, and usually unconsciously, the people of this only favoured state adhere to many customs and traditions that echo ancient ways. Their lives culminate an eighty century continuum of human experience.

In our understanding of Mesoamerican civilization, between the well known cultures of the Maya and of highland Mexico, the Gulf coast of Vera Cruz had remained a gray area of scattered knowledge. A multi- disciplinary scientific effort over the past 12 years was sought to fill in the gaps. We have traced the evolutionary chronology of Vera Cruz from an early hunting and gathering era through a remarkably artistic civilization known as EL Tajin, and beyond that society demise to Spanish conquest and the present day synthesis of Indian and European cultures.

Blessed in the vitality and diversity of its people, Vera Cruz profits also from fertile soils, abundant rainfall, a 450 mile long sea coast with harbours and excellent fishing, reserves of oil and natural gas. From the narrow coastal plain the land rises steeply through diverse ecological zones to glacier. Capped Orizaba, at 18,700 feet the third highest mountain in North America, after Mount McKinley and Moung Logan. A few score mile separate tropical shores from the dry, high plateau of central Mexico west of the Sierra Madre Oriental.

Cortes gave the name La Villa Rica De La Vera Cruz (Rich Villa of the True Cross) to the town he founded during Easter week in 1519. From that first formal European settlement of the New World mainland, Cortes marched inland with his Spanish adventures and Indian allies to conquer Aztec Mexicans. Thus, began the slow merging of Renaissance Europe and aboriginal America.

Vera Cruz city and region prospered. Commerce, ranching, fishing and sugarcane production contributed first to the colonial and then to the Mexican economy.

The preeminent modern resources are, of course, oil and natural gas. In northern Vera Cruz alone, the Chicontepec area hold almost 15 percent of Mexico estimated reserves. I remember, in the early sixties, driving from the state capital of Jalapa to the Totonac market town of Papantla. Riding the ferry across the Tecolutla River dark, I stood transfixed of the tail. Up- stream the sky, heavy with clouds, pulsated with color. It glowed red to pink, reflecting the burn-off of gas in oil fields known as the New Golden Lane. The scene was surrealistic spell bounding.

We changed past clusters of dugout canoes from which local fishermen cast their nets on the changing tide. In the channel, porpoises leaped as if in some aquatic celebration, fragments of the popular folk music known as los sones waited from the far shore. Harp and guitar in some small restaurant sent out these strains, which wove a graceful counterpart to the visual drama of man superscribed technology.

The farmers consider sparrows a nuisance because

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:
Years ago, people woke up to find sparrows chirping in their backyard. A noisy lot, they took grains right from your hand if you had befriended them. They got over their fear easily and demanded food or water with their loud chirping if you had forgotten to give them their regular share of food. Tiny pink beaks opened to morsels of food or worms sometimes regurgitated by the parent birds. We had a splendid time watching the bird family bond and as children sat gazing at them as they picked up grain or splashed about us in muddy water.
Many people have written poems and lyrics on sparrows, their noisy chirps, their friendly nature, and their spotty feathers. Sparrows were a menace on the fields. There were guards with slings and stones to chase them away as they ate grains from standing crops. Now, people are trying to woo them back to nature.

A major factor in Jyoti's success seems to be

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question given after it:
Jyoti lived with her mother in a small village. From a young age, she had witnessed her mother, a widow, being ill treated by the villagers. But when she was in high school,  she began to understand things. She couldn’t take the insults to her mother anymore. She decided to change the way widows were viewed in village society. Jyoti started a “Widow Empowerment Campaign”. She spoke to village elders and knocked on two hundred doors to spread her message. She learned to organise street plays, which she used to make people aware about the plight of widows.

Toys that are considered eco-friendly are those that

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

Designing toys for children is challenging yet stimulating. Considering the low attention span of today’s kids, toys with higher play value are able to engage them longer. Young minds are also quite impressionable. So, toy design has to be conscious about ethics and values and also aid their cognitive, physical, emotional and social skills. But above all, fun is the primary objective of play. Fun is what makes them come back for more, makes them learn and remember. Another crucial factor is eco-friendliness.
Some of the best pro-environment design processes can actually be found in the Indian handicrafts industry. One such example is the lathe-turned toy craft of Channapatna, a town near Bengaluru. The age old craft uses wood and colours made completely from natural materials like turmeric, kumkum, indigo, etc. Creating modern designs based on such conventional techniques opens up a new range of products that are unique, educational and organic.

The reference to the ‘impressionable nature’ of young children is to suggest that

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

Designing toys for children is challenging yet stimulating. Considering the low attention span of today’s kids, toys with higher play value are able to engage them longer. Young minds are also quite impressionable. So, toy design has to be conscious about ethics and values and also aid their cognitive, physical, emotional and social skills. But above all, fun is the primary objective of play. Fun is what makes them come back for more, makes them learn and remember. Another crucial factor is eco-friendliness.
Some of the best pro-environment design processes can actually be found in the Indian handicrafts industry. One such example is the lathe-turned toy craft of Channapatna, a town near Bengaluru. The age old craft uses wood and colours made completely from natural materials like turmeric, kumkum, indigo, etc. Creating modern designs based on such conventional techniques opens up a new range of products that are unique, educational and organic.

Toys are said to have a high play value when

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

Designing toys for children is challenging yet stimulating. Considering the low attention span of today’s kids, toys with higher play value are able to engage them longer. Young minds are also quite impressionable. So, toy design has to be conscious about ethics and values and also aid their cognitive, physical, emotional and social skills. But above all, fun is the primary objective of play. Fun is what makes them come back for more, makes them learn and remember. Another crucial factor is eco-friendliness.
Some of the best pro-environment design processes can actually be found in the Indian handicrafts industry. One such example is the lathe-turned toy craft of Channapatna, a town near Bengaluru. The age old craft uses wood and colours made completely from natural materials like turmeric, kumkum, indigo, etc. Creating modern designs based on such conventional techniques opens up a new range of products that are unique, educational and organic.