General Knowledge Questions

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

What is Gandhian philosophy? It is the religious and social ideas adopted and developed by Gandhi, first during his period in South Africa from 1893 to 1914, and later of course in India. These ideas have been further developed by later "Gandhians", most notably, in India by, Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan. Outside of India some of the work of, for example, Martin Luther King Jr. can also be viewed in this light. Understanding the universe to be an organic whole, the philosophy exists on several planes - the spiritual or religious, moral, political, economic, social, individual and collective. The spiritual or religious element, and God, is at its core. Human nature is regarded as fundamentally virtuous. All individuals are believed to be capable of high moral development, and of reform. The twin cardinal principles of Gandhi's thought are truth and nonviolence. It should be remembered that the English word "truth" is an imperfect translation of the Sanskrit, "satya", and "non-violence", an even more imperfect translation of "ahimsa". Derived from "sat" - "that which exists" - "satya" contains a dimension of meaning not usually associated by English speakers with the word "truth". There are other variations, too, which we need not go into here. For Gandhi, truth is the relative truth of truthfulness in word and deed, and the absolute truth - the Ultimate Reality. This ultimate truth is God (as God is also Truth) and morality - the moral laws and code - its basis. Ahimsa, far from meaning mere peacefulness or the absence of overt violence, is understood by Gandhi to denote active love - the pole opposite of violence, or "Himsa", in every sense. The ultimate station Gandhi assigns non violence stems from two main points. First, if according to the Divine Reality all life is one, then all violence committed towards another is violence towards oneself, towards the collective, whole self, and thus "self"-destructive and counter to the universal law of life, which is love. Second, Gandhi believed that ahimsa is the most powerful force in existence. Had himsa been superior to ahimsa, humankind would long ago have succeeded in destroying itself. The human race certainly could not have progressed as far as it has, even if universal justice remains far off the horizon. From both viewpoints, non violence or love is regarded as the highest law of humankind.

According to Gandhiji, what is the most powerful force in existence?

In the following question the 1st and the last part of the sentence/passage are numbered 1 and 6. The rest of the sentence/ passage is split into four parts and named P, Q, R and S. These four parts are not given in their proper order. Read the sentence/passage and find out which of the four combinations is correct.

1. The biggest villain in Deadwood has always been one thing: Fire.

P. In less than an hour the flames were leaping through the tree-tops.

Q. In our own times, a great fire threatened the town yet again.

R. The wind roared through the forest carrying the flames almost to the edge of town.

S. It all began when some waste-paper caught fire at the foot of the valley.

6. Fire-brigades arrived from all parts of the country to save Deadwood.

n 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".

I wondered what one would have thought some 40 years ago if you (had said) you could heat liquid using a plastic container.

In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. Read the passage carefully and select the correct answer for the given blank out of the four alternatives.

While language as the medium ___________ thought may be compared to air as the medium of the sun's influence, in other _____________ it is like the skin of the body; a scurvy skin shows bad blood within, and a scurvy language shows inaccurate thought ___________ a confused mind. And as a disease once fixed on the skin reacts and poisons the blood in turn as it has first been poisoned by the blood, so careless use of language __________ indulged reacts on the mind to make it permanently and increasingly _____________, illogical, and inaccurate in its thinking.

in other _____________ it is like the skin

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.

Because she had a ______________ demeanour, she was a desirable friend.

Curd contains mainly ___ acid.

Orbital period of Halley's comet is ___ years.

Sleep apnea is related to ___ while sleeping.