Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
We have witnessed several disasters in recent times, some natural others man made. The frequency of such calamities has injured us and deadened our collective sensitivity, but that does not reduce the enormity of the - personal tragedy of each victim's family and community. The economic loss is only secondary to the human suffering, but is also substantial. The Government whether State or Central has standardised its response. This consists of reacting late, blaming others, visits by VIPs announcing a relief package including compensation for those affected and then forgetting all about it. There seems to be little attempt at drawing lessons from each disaster, storing the knowledge for future use , long term planning for possible pre - emptive action. Prepared ness for disasters thus falls short of what is possible using today ' s technologies.

Floods in many parts of India like the states of Bihar and Assam area yearly phenomenon. Yet the government seems to be caught by surprise year after year. It is obvious that tarpaulins, vaccines, medicines, clothes, satellite phones, large numbers of doctors and paramedical staff etc. will be needed as will boats and buses for evacuation. This is known to all those who have combated emergencies yet the non - availability of these essential services and commodities occurs. Worse the organizational structure and mechanisms for dealing with disasters are lethargic and ill defined. The National Disaster Management Agency, set up a short time ago being a central government agency has limitations relating to infringing the jurisdiction of states. It could have aggregated and disseminated experiences and knowledge, stocked many of the essential items required in an emergency or worked with agencies to ensure sufficient stocks, but hasn’t.

While the reaction to major disasters is dismal, the response to emergencies like accident is equally sad. Victim lie unattended since passersby are wary of getting caught in a labyrinthine of police and legal systems. The resulting delay in treatment con verts injuries into deaths. Of late, unique and free service to provide assistance in emergency cases is operational. Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) is a professionally managed operation - initiated by the vision and grant from Ramalinga Raju. The service , which is a successful example of public private partnership likely to become operational in a few states in the near future . Given the sad failure of conventional government organisations in handling disaster, it is time we looked at the PPP model as an alternative without the government seeking in any way to abdicate its responsibility. While the state provides the funding, private organizations will provide the drive, professionalism, competent management and output linked efficiency of a good corporate organization. Combining the sensitivity and purpose of an NGO with private entrepreneurial drive to handle disasters together is thus a worthwhile challenge for both corporates and the government .

Which of the following is NOT true in the context of the passage?

Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The problem of water pollution by pesticides can be understood only in context, as part of the world to which it belongs- the pollution of the total environment of making. The pollution entering our waterways comes from many sources, radioactive wastes from reactors, laboratories, and hospitals; fallout from nuclear explosions; domestic wastes from cities and towns; chemical wastes from factories. To these is added a new kind of fallout the chemical sprays applied to crop lands and gardens, forests and fields. Many of the chemical agents in this alarming melange initiate and augment the harmful effects of radiation, and within the group of chemicals themselves there are sinister and little- understood interactions, transformations, and summations of effect.
Even since the chemists began to manufacture substances that nature never invented, the problems of water purification have become complex and the danger to user of water has increased. As we have seen, the production of these synthetic chemicals in large volume begin in the 1940’s. It has now reached such proportion that an appalling deluge of chemical pollution is daily poured into the nation’s waterways. When inextricably mixed with domestic and other wastes discharged into the same water, these chemicals sometimes defy detection by the methods in ordinary use by purification plants. Most of them are so complex that they cannot be identified. In rivers, a really incredible variety of pollutants combine to produce deposits that sanitary engineers can only despairingly refer to as “gunk”.

The main argument of paragraph is:

Read the carefully the following passage and give answer the questions.

Which of the following statements is not true in the context of the passage?
 

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the following questions. Some words are highlighted to help you answer some of the questions.

A golden age for Western schools in China may be coming to an end in the face of a new government clampdown. China has been a happy hunting ground for Western schools in recent years, as a burgeoning middle class looks to equip their children with the qualifications to get into a Western university, as well as the skills to join a global workforce. The last five years has seen a 64% increase in the number of students enrolled in international schools in China, which now account for 372,000 children in 857 schools.

But from next year, schools will have to select their students via a lottery, rather than being able to pick and choose from among the applicants. The crackdown has been prompted by fears that foreign-owned schools are poaching the brightest children, according to Richard Gaskell, director of international education analysts ISC Research. The move follows changes introduced last year’s requiring   international schools to teach the Chinese curriculum alongside other national programs.

There is a backlash against the rapid increase in international schools in China, where it’s perceived that they have been simply creaming off the best students. International schools should put expansion plans on hold until the full effect of the changes becomes apparent next spring, he told the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference of leading fee-paying schools in the U.K.

The international schools market has exploded in China in recent years, after the authorities relaxed regulations Chinese children attending foreign-owned schools. Until then, international schools almost entirely served the children of foreign nationals, but opening them up to Chinese children revealed a massive and previously untapped demand.

For the growing Chinese middle class, the schools provided a more reliable route that Chinese national schools for getting into highly-regarded universities in the West, particularly those in the U.S. and U.K. These students, in turn, represent a lucrative source of income, for both the schools themselves and for Western universities. The annual fee for a leading international school is around 280,000 yuan, or $39,000.

China is the largest source of international students at U.K. universities, _________________ for more than one in five at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Some of the most prestigious private schools have sought to capitalise on their brand by opening branches in China in recent years. A record 14 British international schools have opened or are due to open in China this year, including outposts of the King’s School, Canterbury, and Shrewsbury School, which counts Charles Darwin among its alumni.

But despite the increased scrutiny, there are still opportunities for international schools to open in China, given the "massive demand" among Chinese families. There is a deep desire amongst the wealthy, middle class and young Chinese parents for a Western style of education. Parents want an international education but also want their children to retain their culture and identity, he added, as well as excellent exam results and "places at the top universities."

Which of the following statements is not true as per the information given in the passage above?
(I) Many international universities are cancelling their plans to build universities in China owing to increasing restriction by Chinese government.
(II) Although there is huge demand for UK universities in China, the number of UK universities is coming down.
(III) Parents want their children to be more inclined towards the Western education for stronger workforce instead of retaining their culture and identity.

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. 

What paved the way for the “true newspapers”? 

Directions: Passage in The folk dances of Rajasthan are inviting and engaging. They are bound to induce you to tap a foot or two along with the dancers . Rajasthani dances are essentially folk dances. Their origin is in rural customs and traditions . These traditional dances of Rajasthan are absolutely colourful and lively. They have their own significance and style . They are attractive and skilful. They are enjoyed by every age group. The people of Rajasthan love their folk dances.

The sentence, The people of Rajasthan love their folk dances " is in the 

Direction: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words / phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Princess Chandravati was very beautiful. She loved all kinds of ornaments and always wanted to wear the most precious and lovely jewels. Once, a jeweler came to the palace and gifted the King a wonderful diamond necklace. It glittered with big and small diamonds. It was certainly a very expensive necklace. The princess fell in love with it as soon as she saw it. So, the king presented it to her.
 From that day on, the princess always wore that necklace, wherever she went. One day before, going for a swim in the pond, she took the necklace off and put in the hands of her oldest and the most trustworthy servant. "Hold this and be careful. This is the most precious necklace in the whole world, " she said. The Servant was an old woman. She sat under tree, holding the ornament tightly and waited for the princess. It was a hot afternoon and the servant was very tired so she dozed off under the tree. Suddenly the servant felt that someone was tugging at the necklace and she woke up with a start. She looked around but it no one was there and the necklace was gone. Scared out of her wits, the old servant started screaming. On hearing her scream the royal guards rushed to her. She pointed towards the direction in which the thief may have gone and the guards ran off that way.
 There was a poor and dim-witted farmer walking on the same road. As soon as he saw the royal guards running towards him, he thought that they wanted to catch him and started running. But he was not a strong man and could not outrun the hefty guards. The royal guards caught him in no time. “Where is it? " they demanded. shaking him. “Where is what? " the poor farmer stammered back. The necklace you stole!" thundered one of the royal guards. The farmer had no idea what they were talking about. He only understood that some precious necklace was lost and he was supposed to have it. He quickly replied, " I don't know where it is now. I gave it to my landlord.”

The guards ran towards the landlord 's house. "Give us the necklace right now ! " the guards demanded of the at landlord. "Necklace? I don’t have any!" the stunned landlord replied. Then tell us quickly who “does demanded the soldiers. In order to get the royal guards off his back, the landlord pointed towards a priest who was walking by his house and said, "He does." The guards now caught hold of the priest who was walking towards the temple and thinking about the lunch he had just eaten. The priest was stunned when one of the burly guards jumped on him and asked about the necklace. He remembered that the minister, Bhupathi, was at the temple. He took the guards to the temple and pointed towards the praying minister, “I gave it to him, "he said. Bhupati too was caught and all four men were thrown in jail. The Chief Minister of the kingdom knew Bhupati well and was sure that Bhupati would never steal. He decided to find out who the culprit was. He hid near the jail where all four men were put and heard them talking First, Bhupati asked the priest, “Panditji, why did you say that you gave the necklace to me? I was quietly praying at the temple and now you have landed me in jail for no fault of mine.” The priest looked apologetic. He pointed towards the landlord and said, " I didn’t know what to say. He set the " guards on me. I was simply passing by his house and was on my way to the temple." The landlord looked at the priest sheepishly. Then he turned towards the poor farmer and yelled. “You lazy good-for-nothing man! Why did you say that I had the necklace? " The farmer, trembling under the angry gaze of all three men, said, " I was just walking home. The guards caught me and I did not know what to say." On hearing, this conversation, he Chief Minister understood that all the four men were innocent. He immediately ordered the royal guards to search thoroughly, near the pond. The guards searched high and low till they saw something clinging the tree. On the tree sat a monkey with the princess’ favorite necklace around his neck. It took a lot of coxing and bananas before the monkey threw the necklace on the ground. The’ king apologized to at the four men and gave them gold coins as compensation. He requested his daughter to wear the necklace only indoors.

Directions: Choose the word / group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word / group of words printed in bold as used in the passage .
 Trembling 

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain parts are given in bold to answer some of the questions based on the passage.
 Sometimes to upend entrenched power structures, a revolution is required. Naming and shaming powerful men in the #Metoo campaign is in many ways a revolutionary act. The truth about most was known, spoken in whispers, but not to their face. But now that omerta has been broken by some intrepid women , there’s a palpable sense of power and possibility. 

Revolutions are by definition anarchic, as they are aimed against those who make and enforce the rules. So it has been with #MeToo. Men are named, sometimes anonymously, and the naming itself requires punitive action to be taken against them. There isn’t really any room for discussion on context or degree of culpability. Some have raised questions about due process, and the response has been, somewhat reasonably, that due process has failed. And it is true, arguing for due process when due process has failed feels a bit like batting for status quo. So let it be said, #MeToo despite its limitations is unreservedly a good development. However, the question is, what next? The #MeToo movement is more than just outing powerful men, it is about shifting the balance of power between men and women, transferring the punitive aspects — shame, denial of work opportunities — from the victim to the perpetrator. It is about ending impunity embedded in our social construct by shaping new social mores. This is and has to be a collective effort, and it is important for the #MeToo movement to have these discussions.

Let the burden of shame now be shifted to where it is supposed to- the perpetrators and not the women; the victims. It’s the woman who has to hide from the world. And by and large, due to this very fact prevailing in Indian society that many women ultimately choose to leave their jobs, or seek employment elsewhere, when they confront inappropriate behaviour from their colleagues.

Another very important aspect which should be taken care of is that of equality, where there’s no inhibitions, no sense of caution. Women need healthy camaraderie in place of needless caution. Respect, not condescension. They would like colleagues to engage with them, not be patronising. And the fact that they are still having to demand these is telling.

What is meant by the phrase ‘omerta has been broken’ ?