General Knowledge Questions

The question below consists of a set of labelled sentences. These sentences, when properly sequenced form a coherent paragraph. Select the most logical order of sentences from among the options.

P: World War I began in 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and lasted until 1918.
Q: Thanks to new military technologies and the horrors of trench warfare, World War I saw unprecedented levels of carnage and destruction.
R: During the conflict, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy,
Romania, Japan and the United States (the Allied Powers).
S: By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people – soldiers and civilians alike – were dead.

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

Cock and bull story

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

Why did he break the vase?

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

One should consciously engage in activities that will nourish your soul. Just as we nourish the body, we need to nurture the soul to connect to the creative power of the universe and to manifest joy in our lives. Often, we forget to address the soul, lost as we are in a jungle of material and sensual pleasures. But the more you embrace what feeds your soul, the happier you become. So if you want to enjoy the abundance of life, engage in what enriches your soul. Nurturing the soul is all about finding calm amidst chaos. There are a number of practices that empower people towards this end including silent contemplation, various forms of meditation, yoga and tai chi However, the rigor and discipline involved in the pursuit of such practices often seems to discourage people. Add to this, the temptations of the material world that leave little time and motivation for anyone to pursue the spiritual path. Poet Walt Whitman declared: “Whatever satisfies the soul is truth”. The good news is that simple, everyday activities can also nutrify the soul — like spending time in the midst of nature, dancing in the rain or just putting thoughts on paper. Do whatever is calming and pleases you. Creative pursuits are particularly appealing as inside each one of us, there is an artist craving for release and awaiting an opportunity for expression. One of the ways to indulge the artist within is to get started with the practice of any one or more of the creative art forms such as music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction or essay writing.

When you engage in such soul nourishing activities, all thought and energy gets focused toward goal accomplishment. At this point, you will find that even unknown forces of the universe are conniving to assist you in your amateurish but sincere attempts. As you progress, you are motivated to do better. You touch and access a faculty, a part of you that you never knew existed. Your inner artist is unleashed, baring the beauty of your soul that has found a fond medium of expression. For instance, a sculptor’s soul is seen in his artwork; a musician’s in his compositions; an actor’s in his acting, a painter’s in his paintings and so on. It is immaterial whether your effort is an immaculate artwork or just a clumsy attempt by a layperson. The idea is to try, be inspired and to create giving free rein to the mind. As Michelangelo remarked: “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free”!

Why do creative pursuits appeal us?

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.

For me the ______________ and the chill of those nights dissolved into those little flames of fire that for hours made us live in a wonderland, in a ___________ fair of fireflies, and made us _________ there’s nothing that can blow those divine lights ________. In my mind I can still hear the jingling sounds of ________ tiny bells that grandma used to ring during the puja.

The question below consists of a set of labelled sentences. Out of the four options given, select the most logical order of the sentences to form a coherent paragraph.

He does not mean

X-when he denies that it is causal
Y-to indicate that the relation
Z-is any the less uniform or dependable

The question below consists of a set of labelled sentences. Out of the four options given, select the most logical order of the sentences to form a coherent paragraph.

Aqueous rocks of equal

X-exhibit in like manner a stratification nearly undisturbed
Y-over the lake-district of North America, and
Z-antiquity extend for hundreds of miles

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

Deliberately destroy something for military advantage