Reading Comprehension

From the passage it appears that the author was

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

But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with the preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill large animals.) Besides, there was the beast's owner to be considered. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking people who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing; he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.

One of the chief concerns of the country is to

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions.

March 12, 1992 Mauritius becomes a republic and is tipped as the first tiger of the Indian Ocean and Africa. It has always solved its problems on its own. Population density is still high at 1500 persons per square mile but the population growth rate has been contained at less than two percent per year in the 1990s. The structure of the economy has undergone substantial transformation. Diversification away from sugar (but not at its expense) has been achieved. Textile and garment and tourism are other leading sectors today. The major challenge today is not finding jobs but finding enough skilled labour to maintain the competitiveness of the economy. The unemployment rate stands at less than three percent. The overall balance of payments is positive. Income per capita is Rs 25000, placing Mauritius among the middle income group of countries. Mauritius is now poised to move to a higher development phase.

That Mauritius is tipped as the first tiger of the Indian Ocean and Africa suggests it

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions.

March 12, 1992 Mauritius becomes a republic and is tipped as the first tiger of the Indian Ocean and Africa. It has always solved its problems on its own. Population density is still high at 1500 persons per square mile but the population growth rate has been contained at less than two percent per year in the 1990s. The structure of the economy has undergone substantial transformation. Diversification away from sugar (but not at its expense) has been achieved. Textile and garment and tourism are other leading sectors today. The major challenge today is not finding jobs but finding enough skilled labour to maintain the competitiveness of the economy. The unemployment rate stands at less than three percent. The overall balance of payments is positive. Income per capita is Rs 25000, placing Mauritius among the middle income group of countries. Mauritius is now poised to move to a higher development phase.

It can be inferred from the passage that

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

But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with the preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill large animals.) Besides, there was the beast's owner to be considered. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking people who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing; he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.

What would be the opposite of the word 'dilemmas' as used in the passage?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions.

Graham Greene was one of the most outstanding novelists after the Second World War. His remarkable novels are mainly concerned with evil and its endless conflict with righteousness. He saw action as a series of moral dilemmas and he depicts fundamental good and fundamental evil. His famous novels are Power and the Glory, The End of the Affair, Brighton Rock.

The phrase 'preoccupied grandmotherly air' signifies

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

But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with the preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill large animals.) Besides, there was the beast's owner to be considered. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking people who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing; he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.

Which of the following statements does not directly refer to the economic development of the country?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions.

March 12, 1992 Mauritius becomes a republic and is tipped as the first tiger of the Indian Ocean and Africa. It has always solved its problems on its own. Population density is still high at 1500 persons per square mile but the population growth rate has been contained at less than two percent per year in the 1990s. The structure of the economy has undergone substantial transformation. Diversification away from sugar (but not at its expense) has been achieved. Textile and garment and tourism are other leading sectors today. The major challenge today is not finding jobs but finding enough skilled labour to maintain the competitiveness of the economy. The unemployment rate stands at less than three percent. The overall balance of payments is positive. Income per capita is Rs 25000, placing Mauritius among the middle income group of countries. Mauritius is now poised to move to a higher development phase.

Which of the following statements is correct in respect of Graham Greene?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions.

Graham Greene was one of the most outstanding novelists after the Second World War. His remarkable novels are mainly concerned with evil and its endless conflict with righteousness. He saw action as a series of moral dilemmas and he depicts fundamental good and fundamental evil. His famous novels are Power and the Glory, The End of the Affair, Brighton Rock.

Which word can best replace the word 'murder' as used in the passage?

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

But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with the preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill large animals.) Besides, there was the beast's owner to be considered. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking people who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing; he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.

Judging from the passage as a whole, the writer's attitude can be described as being generally

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

History would suggest that once every couple of generations there is a “cleansing cycle” that occurs within the financial markets, society, and even within humanity as a whole. Financial institutions collapse, diseases rage, locusts fly, hailstones fall, earthquakes increase, volcanoes rumble, sunspots explode out from our heat source, wars breakout all over and despotism reigns supreme. We appear to be entering one of these historic cycles at this seminal point in the maturation of the human race. Almost as if the entire planet is vibrating out of control, has some kind of harmonic resonance pushed us out of kilter, like we are getting disconnected from our core and spiralling out of control? Maybe it’s our collective lack of moral backbone precipitating these events, as historically, such perilous times tend to follow a period of wild excess. The last time this happened was in the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s. It started with the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and then it moved through to the Great Depression and ended beyond World War II. The question is: is it cyclically returning?

Under the Panchayat System the rural elite has not been able to exploit in

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

However romantic the concept of self government might be, the reality is as grim as it was a decade ago. Power to the people has been a lip service, a mere slogan. If anything, the Panchayat System has virtually legitimised the exploitation of the rural elite, barring, of course, in a few states like West Bengal and Karnataka.

No one is blind to the fact that the scheduled caste members are made to sit separately in panchayat meetings, that the poorest of the poor is never identified and the benefits go to the preferred ones. So vicious is the trap that no law from Delhi can undo it overnight. Instead of mere legislation, however well-intentioned it may be, what is needed is political education and general awareness. The villager must be given scope for critical thinking on his environment. This is possible through his initiation into the understanding of the system he is a victim of.

The concept of community control must be replaced by community participation which would free the villager of unnecessary political and bureaucratic interference and give him a sense of belonging to the village property. Unless the Panchayati Raj builds up into a truly people’s movement backed by a willing community, the vested interests will stifle the rare lone voice of resistance.

What is the meaning of 'romantic' as used in the passage?

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

However romantic the concept of self government might be, the reality is as grim as it was a decade ago. Power to the people has been a lip service, a mere slogan. If anything, the Panchayat System has virtually legitimised the exploitation of the rural elite, barring, of course, in a few states like West Bengal and Karnataka.

No one is blind to the fact that the scheduled caste members are made to sit separately in panchayat meetings, that the poorest of the poor is never identified and the benefits go to the preferred ones. So vicious is the trap that no law from Delhi can undo it overnight. Instead of mere legislation, however well-intentioned it may be, what is needed is political education and general awareness. The villager must be given scope for critical thinking on his environment. This is possible through his initiation into the understanding of the system he is a victim of.

The concept of community control must be replaced by community participation which would free the villager of unnecessary political and bureaucratic interference and give him a sense of belonging to the village property. Unless the Panchayati Raj builds up into a truly people’s movement backed by a willing community, the vested interests will stifle the rare lone voice of resistance.

Which of these words best reflects the meaning of the word 'spiralling' as used in the passage?

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

History would suggest that once every couple of generations there is a “cleansing cycle” that occurs within the financial markets, society, and even within humanity as a whole. Financial institutions collapse, diseases rage, locusts fly, hailstones fall, earthquakes increase, volcanoes rumble, sunspots explode out from our heat source, wars breakout all over and despotism reigns supreme. We appear to be entering one of these historic cycles at this seminal point in the maturation of the human race. Almost as if the entire planet is vibrating out of control, has some kind of harmonic resonance pushed us out of kilter, like we are getting disconnected from our core and spiralling out of control? Maybe it’s our collective lack of moral backbone precipitating these events, as historically, such perilous times tend to follow a period of wild excess. The last time this happened was in the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s. It started with the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and then it moved through to the Great Depression and ended beyond World War II. The question is: is it cyclically returning?

Our world is going out of control due to

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

History would suggest that once every couple of generations there is a “cleansing cycle” that occurs within the financial markets, society, and even within humanity as a whole. Financial institutions collapse, diseases rage, locusts fly, hailstones fall, earthquakes increase, volcanoes rumble, sunspots explode out from our heat source, wars breakout all over and despotism reigns supreme. We appear to be entering one of these historic cycles at this seminal point in the maturation of the human race. Almost as if the entire planet is vibrating out of control, has some kind of harmonic resonance pushed us out of kilter, like we are getting disconnected from our core and spiralling out of control? Maybe it’s our collective lack of moral backbone precipitating these events, as historically, such perilous times tend to follow a period of wild excess. The last time this happened was in the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s. It started with the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and then it moved through to the Great Depression and ended beyond World War II. The question is: is it cyclically returning?

The writer thinks that

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

History would suggest that once every couple of generations there is a “cleansing cycle” that occurs within the financial markets, society, and even within humanity as a whole. Financial institutions collapse, diseases rage, locusts fly, hailstones fall, earthquakes increase, volcanoes rumble, sunspots explode out from our heat source, wars breakout all over and despotism reigns supreme. We appear to be entering one of these historic cycles at this seminal point in the maturation of the human race. Almost as if the entire planet is vibrating out of control, has some kind of harmonic resonance pushed us out of kilter, like we are getting disconnected from our core and spiralling out of control? Maybe it’s our collective lack of moral backbone precipitating these events, as historically, such perilous times tend to follow a period of wild excess. The last time this happened was in the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s. It started with the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and then it moved through to the Great Depression and ended beyond World War II. The question is: is it cyclically returning?