General Knowledge Questions

Select the synonym of

to recline

Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

It is a labour of love and the result of painstaking research. Chikankari - A Lucknawi Tradition by Paola Manfredi, an Italian, is a book that shows her close and long association with the craft. Lucknow’s chikankari is known across the world yet very little research or documentation has been done. Articles or features have appeared off and on but this book is amongst the first of its kind, which aims to document the vast treasure called Chikan. What makes the book extremely interesting is that unlike other books that tend to rely on second hand material, with exhaustive references and quotes, Paola Manfredi has filled her tome with passionate grass-roots level research. The narrative more in the nature of a personal journey, with all the quirks and street-smart practicality, makes the book refreshing. As Paola says in the book, it is not a scholarly or academic research but more of a documentation of the world of chikankari.

Paola questions the use of chikan as a word for embroidery, highlighting that it has a broader connotation encompassing haute couture, the fine art of making a garment, embroidering it and finishing it with finesse. She is no stranger to chikankari having worked with SEWA and several craftsmen. Her love for white on white embroidery also found a calling in chikan. Paola came to India to work in textile exports and as she says, “If you like textiles ... India is a heaven, an inexhaustible treasure trove.”

The book, ‘Chikankari - A Lucknawi Tradition’ is best described as a ____________ the art of chikankari.

Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

Prebiotics are the lesser-known gut-health promoters which serve as food for good bacteria inside the gut. "We found that dietary prebiotics can improve non-REM (random eye movement) sleep, as well as REM sleep after a stressful event," said Robert Thompson, a PhD researcher at University of Colorado Boulder in the U.S. Prebiotics are dietary fibres found naturally in foods like artichokes, raw garlic, leeks and onions.

When beneficial bacteria digest prebiotic fibre, they not only multiply, improving overall gut health, but they also release metabolic by-products. Researchers fed three-week-old male rats a diet of either standard chow or chow that included prebiotics. They then monitored the rats' body temperature, gut bacteria and sleep-wake cycles — using electroencephalogram (EEG), or brain activity testing over time. Findings revealed that the rats on the prebiotic diet spent more time in non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep, which is restful and restorative, than those on the non-prebiotic diet.

What type of sleep is restorative?

Select the synonym of

sentry

Rearrange the following jumbled sentences to make a meaningful one

P - weather conditions across a vast geographic

Q - the climate of India

R - scale and varied topography

S - comprises of a wide range of

The proper sequence should be

Select the synonym of

murmur

Select the synonym of

to superimpose

Select the synonym of

reassert