Questions

A passage is given with 5 questions following it. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives and click the button corresponding to it.

Man's attitude to various animals changed many times in the course of centuries. From indifference or practicality, he went on to adoration and deification, and then to hatred. Ancient Egyptians, for example, highly appreciated the cat's ability to destroy rodents. The cat was much superior in this respect to the grass­snakes and weasels they had kept in their houses before. These proved unable to cope with hordes of rats which invaded Egypt from Asia. So the cat, a very useful animal, was ranked as a sacred animal and one of the most important animals, too. The goddess of the Moon, fertility and child­birth, Bast herself was portrayed by the Egyptians as a woman with a cat's head.

Sumptuous temples were built to this goddess, where cats were kept in luxury and fed the choicest of foods. They had their own priests and votaries, more numerous as a matter of fact than any other sacred animal could boast. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the festival in the city of Bubastis, which had a temple dedicated to cats, was attended by as many as 700 thousand, who brought their offerings to the goddess in the shape of figurines of her made of gold, silver and bronze and adorned with precious stones.

What is the opposite of the word ‘votaries’ ?

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.

He wasn't the first, nor would he be the last, but the wiry, bespectacled man from Gujarat is certainly the most famous of the world's peaceful political dissidents. Mohandas Gandhi – also affectionately known as Mahatma – led India's independence movement in the 1930s and 40s by speaking softly without carrying much of a big stick, facing down the British colonialists with stirring speeches and non-violent protest. More than anything else, historians say, Gandhi proved that one man has the power to take on an empire, using both ethics and intelligence.

Urges Britain to quit India

It is hard to imagine the thin, robed Gandhi working in the rough and tumble world of law, but Gandhi did get his start in politics as a lawyer in South Africa, where he supported the local Indian community's struggle for civil rights. Returning to India in 1915, he carried over his desire to improve the situation of the lower classes.

Gandhi quickly became a leader within the Indian National Congress, a growing political party supporting independence, and traveled widely with the party to learn about the local struggles of various Indian communities.

It was during those travels that his legend grew among the Indian people, historians say.

Gandhi was known as much for his wit and intelligence as for his piety. When he was arrested several more times over the years for his actions during the movement,  Gandhi calmly fasted in prison, believing that his death would embarrass the British enough to spur independence, which had become the focus of his politics by 1920.

Gandhi's non-cooperation movement, kicked off in the early 1920s, called for Indians to boycott British goods and traditions and become self-reliant. His most famous protest came in 1930, when Gandhi led thousands of Indians on a 250-mile march to a coastal town to produce salt, on which the British had a monopoly.

What led to the growth of legend of Mahatma Gandhi among the Indians?

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which will improve the bracketed part of the sentence. In case no improvement is needed, select "no improvement".

People from all walks of life (to enjoy) the rather popular spot.

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

A bad hair day

A sentence has been given in Direct/Indirect Speech. Out of the four given alternatives, select the one which best expresses the same sentence in Indirect/Direct Speech.

"My hour has come." thought the king.

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which is the best substitute of the phrase.

to break up into small parts as the result of impact or decay

Select the word with the correct spelling.

Which of the following is not among the 3 main classes of Algae?