Questions

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

Manja, or the glass-coated string used for flying kites, not only poses threat to humans, animals and birds but also to trees. A study by the country's oldest botanical garden has revealed that it poses a great threat to trees. But how can a snapped string struck in a tree kill the tree? Apparently, it does so by allying with the creepers in the garden.

A research paper by three scientists of the Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, located in West Bengal's Howrah district, illustrates in detail how the manja, in collusion with climbers, does the damage. "The abandoned, torn kite strings act as an excellent primary supporting platform for the tender climbers, giving easy passage to reach the top of the trees. Lateral branches from the top of the climber and other accessory branches from the ground reaches the top taking support of the first climber, completely covers the treetop, thus inhibiting the penetration of sunlight," says the research paper.

What gives easy passage to 'climbers' to top of the trees?

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

Everyone expected Mary Zophres to win for her retro-revival Technicolor clothes in La La Land — the eventual winner, Colleen Atwood for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, seemed surprised too. But as other awards began to slip away from the well-reviewed musical, a theme could be teased out. What is Fantastic Beasts if not a plea for equal treatment of people, magical or otherwise? Then, Arrival, a film about the inherent benignity of aliens (read immigrants) won for Best Sound Editing. Hacksaw Ridge, which is, in a way, an anti-guns movie, won in two categories. Fences, about an African-American father who fears racial discrimination, took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Earlier, Moonlight, featuring two minority communities (black and gay), won for Best Supporting Actor. This turned out to be one of those years the Oscar voter was underestimated. As a majority of voters are actors, there was the tendency to think they'd reward La La Land, a celebration of creation: the heroine wants to make movies, the hero wants to make jazz. It looked like the year of The Artist all over again.

What does the lead female actor in La La Land want to do?

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.”

Why did Paola come to India?

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

"Tryst with Destiny" was a speech delivered by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, to the Indian Constituent Assembly in Parliament, on 14th August 1947. It is considered to be one of the greatest speeches of all times and to be a landmark oration that captures the essence of the triumphant culmination of the largely non­violent Indian independence struggle against the British Empire in India.

"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. Freedom and power bring responsibility. The responsibility rests upon the assembly, a sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow­mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action.

To the people of India, whose representatives we are, this is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell".

Choose the answer which captures Nehru's belief.

Improve the bracketed part of the sentence.

Many such mishaps can be avoided if we (are) careful.

Choose the word which is nearly opposite in meaning to the given word:-

Sceptic

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

My coat's pretty warm, even though it cost £9.99 and came from the flea market. It had a label in it, CHRISTIN BIOR, but I cut it out as soon as I got home. You can't work where I work and have CHRISTIN BIOR in your coat. You could have a genuine vintage Christian Dior label. Or something Japanese. Or maybe no label because you make your clothes yourself out of retro fabrics that you source at Alfies Antiques. But not CHRISTIN BIOR.

As I get near Catford Bridge, I start to feel a knot of tension. I really don't want to be late today. My boss has started throwing all sorts of hissy fits about people "swanning in at all times," so I left an extra twenty minutes early, in case it was a bad day. I can already see: It's a god-awful day. They've been having a lot of problems on our line recently and keep cancelling trains with no warning. Trouble is, in London rush hour, you can't just cancel trains. What are all the people who were planning to get on that train supposed to do? Evaporate?

Why is her boss angry?

Read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in any part

I am(a) glad(b) that you are here(c). No error.(d)