Questions

A passage is given with five questions following it. Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given four alternatives.

Teaching about compassion and empathy in schools can help deal with problems of climate change and environmental degradation,” says Barbara Maas, secretary,
Standing Committee for Environment and Conservation, International Buddhist Confederation (IBC). She was in New Delhi to participate in the IBC’s governing
council meeting, December 10-11, 2017. “We started an awareness campaign in the year 2005-2006 with H H The Dalai Lama when we learnt that tiger skins were
being traded in China and Tibet. At that time, I was not a Buddhist; I wrote to the Dalai Lama asking him to say that ‘this is harmful’ and he wrote back to say, “We
will stop this.” He used very strong words during the Kalachakra in 2006, when he said, ‘If he sees people wearing fur and skins, he doesn’t feel like living. ‘This sent
huge shock waves in the Himalayan community. Within six months, in Lhasa, people ripped the fur trim of their tubba, the traditional Tibetan dress.

The messenger was ideal and the audience was receptive,” says Maas who is a conservationist. She has studied the battered fox’s behavioral ecology in Serengeti, Africa. She heads the endangered species conservation at the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) International Foundation for Nature, Berlin. “I met Samdhong Rinpoche, The Karmapa, HH the Dalai Lama and Geshe Lhakdor and I thought, if by being a Buddhist, you become like this, I am going for it, “says Maas, who led the IBC initiative for including the Buddhist perspective to the global discourse on climate change by presenting the statement, ‘The Time to Act is Now: a Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change,’ at COP21 in Paris.

“It was for the first time in the history of Buddhism that leaders of different sanghas came together to take a stand on anything! The statement lists a couple of important things: the first is that we amass things that we don’t need; there is overpopulation; we need to live with contentment and deal with each other and the environment with love and compassion,” elaborates Maas. She is an ardent advocate of a vegan diet because “consuming meat and milk globally contributes more to climate change than all "transport in the world.”

Turning vegetarian or vegan usually requires complete change of perspective before one gives up eating their favorite food. What are the Buddhist ways to bring about this kind of change at the individual level? “To change our behavior, Buddhism is an ideal vehicle; it made me a more contented person,” says Maas, who grew up in Germany, as a sausage chomping, meat-loving individual. She says, “If I can change, so can anybody”.

According to the passage, how can studying compassion and empathy in schools help?

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the idiom/phrase.

No dice

According to Census 2011, which one of the following is the correct sequence of States in decreasing order of their total size of population?

Banks earn interest on

Heavy water is mostly used in which of the following?

In the following question, the sentence given with blank to be filled in with an appropriate word. Select the correct alternative out of the four and indicate it by selecting the appropriate option.
Both taciturn and _____ , Daniel seldom spoke and never spent money.

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

Without breakfast, all of us ­ irrespective of age ­ are likely to experience the late morning slump; tiredness, sleepiness and the urge to sit back. Our efficiency goes down further as the day progresses.Moreover, skipping the first meal of the day leads to intense hunger pangs by late morning and we end up eating chips, samosas, burgers or other high­ fat unhealthy foods. Break fast­skippers are more likely to be overweight. A good breakfast leads to a more active, productive day. Research has found a definite connection between skipping breakfast and memory impairment in both young and older adults. Moreover, breakfast is directly linked with performance in school and college. Breakfast should contribute at least one ­fourth of our daily requirement of nutrients. An ideal breakfast should contain adequate amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in addition to minerals and vitamins. Essentially this means including most of our food groups in the morning meal. Whole grain cereals ­ like atta in parathas and puris, dalia, suji, etc. are an integral part of the traditional Indian breakfast. Their high fibre and protein content provides a feeling of satisfaction, which lowers the urge to snack before lunch. On the other hand, high­ sugar foods actually make people sleepier, not active.

Milk, cheese, eggs or dals (as sprouts in idli or dosas or as sambhar) are other protein sources. A serving of milk (one cup) provides B­ complex vitamins and also minerals like zinc, magnesium and calcium. Fruits or vegetables provide valuable vitamin C and keep constipation away.

A good breakfast

In the following question, a sentence has been given in Active/Passive Voice. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best expresses the same sentence in Passive/Active Voice.

These things have been left here by an unknown customer.