General Knowledge Questions

Read the following passage carefully and choose the most appropriate answer to the question out of the four alternatives.

To avoid the various foolish opinions to which mankind are prone, no superhuman brain is required. A few simple rules will keep you free, not from all errors, but from silly errors. If the matter is one that can be settled by observation, make the observation yourself. Aristotle could have avoided the mistake of thinking that women have fewer teeth than men, by the simple device of asking Mrs. Aristotle to keep her mouth open while he counted. Thinking that you know when in fact you do not is a bad mistake, to which we are all prone. I believe myself that hedgehogs eat black beetles, because I have been told that they do; but if I were writing a book on the habits of hedgehogs, I should not commit myself until I had seen one enjoying this diet. Aristotle, however, was less cautious. Ancient and medieval writers knew all about unicorns and salamanders; not one of them thought it necessary to avoid dogmatic statements about them because he had never seen one of them.

According to the author, unicorns and salamanders

Which country's constitution is the world's longest?

In the following question, a sentence / a part of sentence is underlined. Below are given alternatives to the underlined part which may improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative. In case no improvement is required, choose "No Improvement" option.

Woe betide the youngster who is less than respectful.

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.

I had seen this road many years ago when my parents moved to Mundakotukurussi, our ancestral village. However, in those early years, I hadn't begun exploring the countryside. I stored the unknown road in my head under 'One Day I Will'. Ten years ago, when I recovered from a herniated disc, it was to discover that I had a useless left leg. Though I managed to lose the limp, I hated not being able to stride around as I used to. I needed a challenge to tell myself that I wasn't going to buckle to a creature called sciatica. Thus the 'One Day I Will' arrived. "Where does the road by the medical shop lead to?" I asked my parents while visiting them next. "Chalavara," they said. "It's not an easy road to walk on," my father added. "There are too many ups and downs." Chalavara was a superior grade of a village as compared to Mundakotukurussi, with a high school, a fine library, ATMs and several shops. But it also has two approach roads. The one I had chosen was a narrow back road used by the locals and that settled it for me. I needed to know for myself I could walk a road that wasn't going to be easy. And the next day, I would get up and walk that road again.

One Day I Will' is the title of?

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.

The word 'deification' in the passage means _____ .

The sentences given with blanks are to be filled with an appropriate word(s). Four alternatives are suggested for each question. For each question, choose the correct alternative and click the button corresponding to it.

The squadron leader ordered his men to _____ immediately.

A sentence/a part of the sentence is underlined. Four alternatives are given to the underlined part which will improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative and click the button corresponding to it. In case no improvement is needed, click the button corresponding to "No improvement".

We were not the wiser after hearing the explanation

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.

An ideal breakfast should contain