Comprehension: In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. The Romans had developed a (1)____ for chariot racing. The (2)_____ of the game are so excited that sometimes it may (3)____ into chaos, confusion and riots. The (4)_____ in which racing took place was called a circus. The (5)____ one was the Circus Maximus in Rome, that could hold up to 3,85,000 spectators, which shows the popularity of the sport

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank no. 2.

Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

The giraffe is the tallest land mammal alive, its long legs and neck contributing to its impressive stature. Males can be up to 18ft (5.5m tall), females a little less.

In the wild, these beautiful creatures stretch their necks beyond those of antelope, kudu and even elephants to strip leaves from the untouched upper reaches of trees. The French zoologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck is usually credited as the first person to suggest that long necks have evolved in giraffes because they allow them to get to the parts other herbivores cannot reach.

As the giraffe lives "in places where the soil is nearly always arid and barren, it is obliged to browse on the leaves of trees and to make constant efforts to reach them," he wrote in his 1809 book ‘Philosophie Zoologique’. "From this habit long maintained in all its race, it has resulted that the animal's fore-legs have become longer than its hind legs, and that its neck is lengthened."

The English naturalist Charles Darwin also thought the giraffe's extraordinary legs and neck must have something to do with foraging. "The giraffe, by its lofty stature, much elongated neck, fore-legs, head and tongue, has its whole frame beautifully adapted for browsing on the higher branches of trees," he wrote in ‘On the Origin of Species’ in 1859. In short, giraffes' long necks are the result of generation upon generation of repeated stretching and inheritance.

During the dry season when feeding competition should be most intense giraffe generally feed from low shrubs, not tall trees. What's more, giraffes feed most often and faster with their necks bent

Male giraffes often fight for access to females, a ritual referred to as "necking". The rivals stand flank to flank, then start to whack each other with their heads. The top or back of the well-armoured skull is used as a club to strike the neck, chest, ribs, or legs of the opponent with a force capable of knocking a competitor off balance or unconscious. The largest males usually win these battles and do most of the breeding, says zoologist Anne Innis Dagg of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, who has been studying giraffes since the 1950s. "The other giraffes don't get much breeding opportunity." There is also evidence that females are more receptive to advances from larger males.

How does a giraffe knock its opponent off balance or unconscious?

In the following passage some words have been deleted. Fill in the blanks with the help of the alternatives given. Select the most appropriate option for each number.

(1) _________ areas are also known as the ’countryside’ or a ‘village’ in India. It has a very low population (2) _________. In rural areas, agriculture is the chief source of livelihood along with fishing, cottage (3) ___________, pottery etc. The (4) ___________ to discover the real rural India still continues in great earnest. Almost (5) ___________ economic agency today has a definition of rural India.

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 2.

In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank.

The Union Budget, 2018-19, has proposed to treat school education holistically without (1)__________ from pre-nursery to Class 1b: Samagra Shiksha - an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class 12 has been, therefore, (2) ______ with the broader goal of improving school effectiveness measured in terms of equal opportunities (3) _______ schooling and equitable learning outcomes. The Goal SDG-4.1 states that, “By 2030, ensure that all boys and girls complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education (4) _______ to relevant and effective learning outcomes”. Further the SDG 4.5 states that, “By 2030, eliminate gender (5)___________ in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations”.

Select the most appropriate option to fill blank 5.

Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence.

The clock that we have in our town square is a big in the whole town

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been highlighted for your attention.

Most people spend (on average) half of their day tapping away at their hand-held devices. Either, surfing the net or checking notifications. Facebook ranks the highest in all social networking platforms, followed by Twitter, Instagram and so forth.

Social media is addictive- which is why so many people are 'hooked'. Often referred to as Social networking addiction, this phrase is often used to describe someone who spends too much time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other channels. A blog post, Instagram post, tweet, or youtube video can be produced easily by anyone and shared, which can then be viewed by millions for free. Psychologists and scientists have now taken the time to study social media in terms of why they believe it interferes with aspects of our daily life. There is no official medical term that identifies addiction and social networking. It cannot be deemed as a disease or disorder as the cases are not severe and the habit can easily be maintained or prevented. Furthermore, instead of spending long periods of time on social media, we dip into and out of these sites all day long. We check for updates from friends and family as well as news and information. However, the behavior associated with the excessive use of these channels has become the subject of much public and sociological debate. We actively post, like, comment and share personal posts. Not only that, we tend to share and reshare expressions (of either negative or positive) contagiously. But, why?

Scientists believed some years ago that, dopamine was simply a pleasure chemical in the brain. Recent studies have shown that; dopamine actually produces the desire in people to 'want' by drawing out the need for us to -seek and search. Creating the ultimate drive to find what is that what we want.

Dopamine is spontaneous. It’s stimulated by unpredictability and small bits of information as well as reward cues which are the same conditions that social media presents to all users. In addition, the pull of dopamine is so strong that recent studies have shown that tweeting, for example, can be harder to resist than cigarettes and alcohol!

Researchers at Chicago University studied the effects of social media. They concluded quite quickly that people presented higher levels of addiction to social media than the need to smoke or drink. Media cravings ranked higher.

And, let’s not forget oxytocin, many call it the cuddle chemical because the brain releases pleasure chemicals that transpire usually when you kiss and hug- or tweet. It is also known as the hormone that builds the strong yet unique bond between mothers and their babies. Oxytocin is now regarded as the human stimulant of empathy, generosity, trust, and more. These are factors which many advertisers and marketers play on when promoting a brand or business over social media.

Nevertheless, problems have arisen most commonly with school kids - whereby mobile phone devices have been confiscated because exam results have fallen severely due to lack of attention on homework or studies. Schools in many westernized countries have had to take drastic action - banning smartphones, iPad and most portable devices from school premises- as it is claimed to be a huge distraction. Whereas, other schools use it for educational purposes and as a rewards system for their pupils.

Research has also indicated unsurprisingly that Facebook is the most common activity that university students switch to, when studying. Worryingly, it has also found that those who most engage in this type of internet browsing tend to have lower levels of educational achievement.

Also, there have been many cases of students posting or sharing content that is unethical, which has caused parents and academic institutions to limit the use of these online networking channels.

Which of the following words is the most opposite in meaning to the word ‘confiscated’ as given in the passage?

Complete the sentence with an appropriate ANTONYM of the word mentioned in the bracket.

My fascination with Tyler's items ____________(approached) into distant memories.

Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced another successful mission. ISRO chairman S. Somanath said that three small satellites successfully separated and were injected into orbit.

ISRO had launched three small satellites powered by its SSLV-D2 launch vehicle from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on February 10, 2023 at 09:18 AM IST. The launch vehicle was carrying EOS-07, Janus-1 & AzaadiSAT-2 satellites and aimed to inject them into a 450 km circular orbit. The launch took place at the first launch pad at SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.

The SSLV-D2 had to take a 15 minutes flight to inject EOS-07, Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 satellites into 450 km circular lower orbit. “It is configured with three solid propulsion stages and a velocity terminal module. It is a 34 m tall, 2 m diameter vehicle having a lift-off mass of 120 t,” said ISRO. The EOS-07 satellite weighs 156.3 kg and is made by ISRO. About 13 minutes into its flight, the SSLV rocket ejected EOS-07 and soon after that the other two satellites Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 were ejected — all at an altitude of 450 km, said ISRO.

With the new rocket in its portfolio, ISRO will have three rockets — Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and its variants (cost about Rs 200 crore), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MkII cost about Rs 272 crore and LVM3 Rs 434 crore) and SSLV (Development cost of three rockets about Rs 56 crore each) and production cost may go down later.

“New experiments include mm-Wave Humidity Sounder and Spectrum Monitoring Payload. Janus-1, a 10.2 kg satellite belongs to ANTARIS, USA. A 8.7 kg satellite AzaadiSAT-2 is a combined effort of about 750 girl students across India guided by Space Kidz India, Chennai,” it added.

SSLV caters to the launch of up to 500 kg satellites to Low Earth Orbits on ‘launch-ondemand’ basis. “It provides low-cost access to Space, offers low turn-around time and flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, and demands minimal launch infrastructure,” as per a statement by ISRO

What is the passage mainly about?