People have long circulated news via word-of-mouth, and as language evolved into writing and literacy – and governments played larger roles in people’s lives – sharing information became a necessity. However, disseminating news and information on paper presented significant challenges. When each copy had to be handwritten, mass distribution was impossible. They were first chiseled in stone or metal; later, they were handwritten and distributed in public forums or read from scrolls by town criers. Though both ancient Romans and Chinese – as well as other ancient civilizations – had early forms of news media, they do not qualify as newspapers because they could not be mass-distributed.
 The first true newspapers arrived after Johannes Gutenberg introduced his movable type printing press to the European world around 1440. Though printing presses with movable type had existed in eastern Asia for around two centuries, they never made it to Europe; furthermore, Gutenberg’s version made it significantly faster to mass produce documents. By 1500, the printing press had made its way throughout Europe, and news sheets (or news books) were mass-distributed.
 The first weekly newspaper was published in Germany by Johann Carolus in 1604. Called Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien, the publication satisfied the four tenets of a “true” newspaper: Accessibility by the public, Published at a regular interval (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) ,Information is current ,Covers a variety of topics (politics, events, entertainment, sports, etc.) Despite meeting the requirements for a newspaper, there is some debate as to whether The Relation qualifies as the world’s first newspaper since it was printed in quarto, not folio, size. It’s worth noting the World Association of Newspapers considers The Relation the first true newspaper.’
 Other German newspapers followed, and in 1618 the world’s first broadsheet newspaper printed in folio size was published in Amsterdam, called Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. The newspaper format soon spread throughout Europe, with newspapers published in Spain, France, and Sweden. The first English newspaper was published in 1665 in Oxford, England. Known as the Oxford Gazette, the newspaper moved to London in 1666 and was renamed the London Gazette. It’s still being published today. Soon after, the newspaper became a staple in all major European countries. It then made its way to the New World. 

Which of the following statement is true regarding newspapers? 

Direction (A-E) : In the following passage, there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately.

The result of Anne’s first term exams came out and when her mother went to collect it, she was (A) to see Anne’s poor result. On reaching home, she called Anne, scolded her and in the end gave her some advice regarding her studies. She told Anne to work hard, (B) very carefully to the teacher and stop wasting her time in useless activities. But Anne turned a deaf ear to her mother’s advice. Soon she realised that she had lost her (C) in the class. The teachers didn’t think so well of her now due to her poor marks and some of her good friends, who were also good in studies, preferred to sit in the class and spend time with those who were good in studies. She realised that life was not about having fun only; it is about doing something (D) in order to achieve something. She then started to work hard. Her grades eventually (E) and her teachers were satisfied with her. Her mother was glad that she had accepted her advice. Anne continued to work hard and she did very well in her final exams. If she had not accepted her mother’s advice she would not have been successful.

Find out the appropriate word in each case. (E)

Select the most appropriate synonym of the given word.

CONTAMINATE

In each of the following questions, sentences are given with blanks to be filled in with an appropriate word (s). Four alternatives are suggested for each question. Choose the correct alternative out of the four and indicate your choice for the correct answer.

The mother said to her son, “You always do what you want. Do you always have to be so___?

A small fry 

Directions (28): In each of the question given below a/an idiom/phrase is given in bold which is then followed by five options which then try to decipher its meaning. Choose the option which gives the correct meaning of the phrases.
It ain't over till the fat lady sings

In these questions read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in it. If there is no error, the answer is (D).

He managed (A) / to open the lid (B) / by a screw -driver(C)/ No error (D) 

Direction (1-5): Given below is a passage in which each line is numbered (1)-(5). Four words in each sentence are highlighted. Find out which word is not grammatically/contextually suitable in each of the numbered sentences.
(1) There is a need to question those in power as it is fundamental to preserve the nation and a truthful democratic society, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Thursday. (2) He also underscored the need for more accommodation in public discourse as democracy will be the “loser” if people refused to hear voices other than their own. (3) Delivering the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture, he said all stakeholders in a democratic system, from parties to business leaders, citizens to institutions, have to realise that asking questions is good and healthy. (4) Mukherjee said people in power, across the spectrum of politics, business or civil society, by virtue of the position they enjoy, tend to dominate the discourse and effect its direction. (5) He said Indian civilisation has always celebrated plurality and promoted tolerance as these have been binding people together for centuries despite negligible differences.

Which of the following words is not appropriate in Sentence 5?