English Questions

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Fever in the season of dengue is sending Calcuttans scurrying to hospitals for admission, triggering a shortage of beds that has forced some private health care institutes to even postpone planned surgeries. Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals on the Bypass had 504 patients in its care as on Thursday of whom 70 had been admitted with fever. Belle Vue Clinic had 180 patients, 32 of them with dengue. Calcutta Medical Research Institute had 350 patients 60 of them with fever.

The number of people admitted for treatment of fever caused by dengue or any undiagnosed illness has been rising every day across hospitals for more than a fortnight.

"There has been heavy pressure on all private hospitals for admission of dengue and cases of unknown fever since the beginning of August. Now it is a surge," said Pradip Tondon, President of the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India.

In July, four to five patients were getting admitted with fever on an average in every hospital. The number has since ballooned with the Calcutta Municipal Corporation apparently in denial about the extent of the dengue outbreak and the Government focused on playing down the threat.

Such has been the rush of patients with fever that some hospitals are calling up people to postpone admissions planned in advance, mostly for surgeries. "We have told many people to come only when we call them to confirm availability of beds," said an official at Belle Vue.

The word 'ballooned' implies

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.

What makes Chalavara better than Mundakotukurussi?

Select the synonym of
to stranded

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Ants have been living on the earth for more than 100 million years and can be found almost anywhere on the planet. It is estimated that there are about 20000 different species of ants. For this reason ants have been called Earth's most successful species. If you watch ants for any length of time you will see that they really do communicate with each other and very effectively too. Ants communicate by touching each other with their antennae. Ants also use chemicals called pheromones to leave scent trails for other ants to follow. Ants build many different types of homes. Many ants build simple little mounds out of dirt or sand. Other ants use small sticks mixed with dirt and sand to make a stronger mound that offers protection from rain. Western Harvester ants make a small mound on top, but then tunnels up to 15 feet straight down to hibernate during winter. Ant mounds consist of many chambers connected by tunnels. Different chambers are used for nurseries, food storage, and resting places for the worker ants. Some ants live in wood like termites. Army ants don't make a home at all but travel in a large groups searching for food. Ants are social insects which means they live in large colonies or groups. Some colonies consist of millions of ants. There are three types of ants in each species, the queen, the sterile female workers and males. The male ants only serve one purpose, to mate with future queen ants and do not live very long. The queen grows to adulthood, mates, and then spends rest of her life laying eggs. A colony may have only one queen, or there may be many queens depending on the species. Ants go through four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa and adult.

Why are ants called the 'Earth's' most successful species?

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Dyslexia is a perceptual disorder often occurring in persons of normal, or even above average intelligence. The reader is unable to perceive correctly what is on a page. Letters and numbers often appear reversed: "b" seems to be "d","quite" is "quiet" and "from" is "form". The reader tends to leave out letters or words or insert words or letters that are not there. Vowel and consonant sounds may be confused. Many dyslexics are left­handed or able to write with either hand. They often confuse left and right. Learning to speak may also be delayed beyond infancy. The condition seems to be inherited. It may persist into adulthood. However, with early recognition and specialized approaches to teaching reading, most dyslexics can learn to read.

Some researchers believe that latent dyslexia may be aggravated by the way reading is taught. The modern whole­word, or look­and­say, method seems to be more of a hindrance to learning for dyslexics than it is for ordinary pupils. The phonetic method of teaching students to learn letters and sound them out appears to achieve better reading results. The problem of words that cannot be sounded out ­ such as rough, laugh or through ­ is not solved by phonetics. These words must simply be memorized. However, for children with dyslexia the problem can be compounded by the failure of parents or teachers to recognize the condition. This can easily lead to emotional problems for dyslexic children, who cannot understand their failure to keep up with their classmates.

Dyslexia may ___________

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Dyslexia is a perceptual disorder often occurring in persons of normal, or even above average intelligence. The reader is unable to perceive correctly what is on a page. Letters and numbers often appear reversed: "b" seems to be "d","quite" is "quiet" and "from" is "form". The reader tends to leave out letters or words or insert words or letters that are not there. Vowel and consonant sounds may be confused. Many dyslexics are left­handed or able to write with either hand. They often confuse left and right. Learning to speak may also be delayed beyond infancy. The condition seems to be inherited. It may persist into adulthood. However, with early recognition and specialized approaches to teaching reading, most dyslexics can learn to read.

Some researchers believe that latent dyslexia may be aggravated by the way reading is taught. The modern whole­word, or look­and­say, method seems to be more of a hindrance to learning for dyslexics than it is for ordinary pupils. The phonetic method of teaching students to learn letters and sound them out appears to achieve better reading results. The problem of words that cannot be sounded out ­ such as rough, laugh or through ­ is not solved by phonetics. These words must simply be memorized. However, for children with dyslexia the problem can be compounded by the failure of parents or teachers to recognize the condition. This can easily lead to emotional problems for dyslexic children, who cannot understand their failure to keep up with their classmates.

People suffering from dyslexia are often ___________

Select the synonym of
maestro

A person who enjoys pain is called