Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.
If the census tells us that India has two or three hundred languages, it also tells us, I believe, that Germany has about fifty or sixty languages. I do not remember anyone pointing out this fact in proof of the disunity or disparity of Germany. As a matter of fact, a census mentions all manner of petty languages, sometimes spoken by a few thousand persons only; and often dialects are classed for scientific purposes as different languages. India seems to me to have surprisingly few languages, considering its area. Compared to the same area in Europe, it is far more closely allied in regard to language, but because of widespread illiteracy, common standards have not developed and dialects have formed. The principal languages of India are Hindustani (of the two varieties, Hindi and Urdu), Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. If Assamese, Oriya, Sindhi, Kashmiri, Pushtu and Punjabi are added, the whole country is covered except for some hill and forest tribes. Of these, the Indo-Aryan languages, which cover the whole north, centre and west of India, are closely allied; and the southern Dravidian languages, though different, have been greatly influenced by Sanskrit, and are full of Sanskrit words. 

One of the reasons why there are many dialects in India is- 

In the following passage there are blanks each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each four words have been suggested, one of which fits the blanks appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.

The empty ‘Chyawanprash’ containers near the makeshift kitchen at the elephant camp say it all – that the elephants have been having a healthy, nutritious diet as (1) by the veterinary doctors.  The camp managers say that the elephants get to have the nutritious (2) twice a day – morning before bath and early evening, walk eight to 1 km on the walking track twice a day and have loads of green fodder. A few of these elephants also undergo special medication, if necessary. ‘Valli’, a female elephant from the Koodal Azhagar Perumal Koil, Madurai, and ‘Vedanayagi’ another female elephant from Bhavani, Erode, are two such elephants. Based on the veterinarians’ prescription, the managers are treating the two for foot rot disease.
 The elephants get to (3) their legs in a decoction of seven chemicals, a traditional formula, to get over the problem. The foot rot sets in when the elephants are obese, or stand on hard surface or bitumen-topped roads for long with very little movement.
 Likewise, two other elephants are also undergoing eye treatment to overcome the ‘watery eye’ problem. This occurs when the elephants’ living (4) is hot. The managers say that the ingredients of the food and the quantity given to the elephants (5) from one to another and are dependent on the age and gender.
 Based on the two, a body-mass-index of sorts is derived and that determines the food and the quantity. Right at the start of the camp, the managers have noted down the weight of each elephant.
 This will be compared to the (6) that they will record when the elephants exit the camp around the second week of January. The managers say that one important factor in the camp is giving green fodder, which the elephants (7) in plenty in the camp. For the weak elephants, the camp managers give twigs of ‘aal’, ‘arasu’ ‘athi’ trees and also ‘koondapanai’. They add that the managers are also (8) the mahouts and those accompanying the elephants on the ways to keep the animal healthy. This is (9) the mahouts are with the elephants 24x7. And also because the animal should continue to live in a (10) environment.

Choose the correct option for (8).

You have eight brief passages with 10 questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives 

Time was when people looked heavenward and prayed, “Ye Gods, give us rain, keep drought away.” Today there are those who pray. “Give us rain, keep El Nino away.” 

El Nino and its atmospheric equivalent, called the Southern Oscillation, are together referred to as ENSO, and are household words today. Meteorologists recognize it as often being responsible for natural disaster worldwide. But this wisdom dawned only after countries suffered, first from the lack of knowledge, and then from the lack of coordination between policy making and the advances in scientific knowledge. 

Put simply, El Nino is a weather event restricted to certain tropical shores, especially the Peruvian coast. The event has diametrically opposite impacts on the land and sea. The Peruvian shore is a desert. But every few years, an unusually warm ocean current - El Nino - warms up the normally cold surface-waters off the Peruvian coast, causing very heavy rains in the early half of the year, 

And then, miraculously, the desert is matted green. Crops like cotton, coconuts and banana grow on the otherwise stubbornly barren land. These are the Peruvians’ anos de abundencia or years of abundance. The current had come to be termed El Nino, or the Christ Child because it usually appears as an enhancement if a mildly warm current that normally occurs here around every Christmas. 

But this boon on land is accompanied by oceanic disasters. Normally, the waters off the South American coast are among the most productive in the world because of a constant upwelling of nutrient rich cold waters from the ocean depths. During an El Nino, however waters are stirred up only from near the surface. The nutrient-crunch pushes down primary production, disrupting the food chain. Many marine species, including anchoveta (anchovies) temporarily disappear. 

This is just one damning effect of El Nino. Over the years its full impact has been studied and what the Peruvians once regarded as manna, is now seen as a major threat. 

People today, pray to God to keep 

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases are printed in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

Survival is the most essential factor for every living organism. People resort to different tricks to make both ends meet. One such live instances is mentioned here. Villagers of Makhrada village believed that a witch lived in the denseforest near Makhrada. The passers by were much harassed by the witch who used to frighten them and also took their belongings. In the village there lived a young man named Dhiru who was fond of adventures. When he heard about the witch, he did not believe that it was one of the witches who ate flesh. But there was something elseabout the witch, which made Dhiru curious. She did not eat flest but took away the belongings of the people. Therefore, he was keen to solve this mystery.

He set out with a bag of mangoes. He walked through the forest till it was midway. He took shelter under a shady tree and pretended to be fast asleep. However, after some time, he really fell as leep. After a while, he felt that someone was trying to snatch his bag of mangoes, Suddenly, he woke up and caught hold of the person. It was the witch who tried to frighten Dhiru and run away. But Dhiru was strong and bold enough to hold the withc fast. The witch finally surrendered. Dhiru forced has to tell him who she really was. The witch removed her mask and narrated her and story. She told that she was a poor old widow and she had nobody to look after her. Therefore, she used to live in the forest, wearing a fearful-looking mask. People passing through the forest got frightened due to her appearance and took her for a witch. She then robbed the people of their belongings to make both ends meet. Dhiru took pity on her and gave her the bag of ranages.

Why did Dhiru enter the forest?

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain parts are given in bold to answer some of the questions based on the passage.
 Sometimes to upend entrenched power structures, a revolution is required. Naming and shaming powerful men in the #Metoo campaign is in many ways a revolutionary act. The truth about most was known, spoken in whispers, but not to their face. But now that omerta has been broken by some intrepid women , there’s a palpable sense of power and possibility. 

Revolutions are by definition anarchic, as they are aimed against those who make and enforce the rules. So it has been with #MeToo. Men are named, sometimes anonymously, and the naming itself requires punitive action to be taken against them. There isn’t really any room for discussion on context or degree of culpability. Some have raised questions about due process, and the response has been, somewhat reasonably, that due process has failed. And it is true, arguing for due process when due process has failed feels a bit like batting for status quo. So let it be said, #MeToo despite its limitations is unreservedly a good development. However, the question is, what next? The #MeToo movement is more than just outing powerful men, it is about shifting the balance of power between men and women, transferring the punitive aspects — shame, denial of work opportunities — from the victim to the perpetrator. It is about ending impunity embedded in our social construct by shaping new social mores. This is and has to be a collective effort, and it is important for the #MeToo movement to have these discussions.

Let the burden of shame now be shifted to where it is supposed to- the perpetrators and not the women; the victims. It’s the woman who has to hide from the world. And by and large, due to this very fact prevailing in Indian society that many women ultimately choose to leave their jobs, or seek employment elsewhere, when they confront inappropriate behaviour from their colleagues.

Another very important aspect which should be taken care of is that of equality, where there’s no inhibitions, no sense of caution. Women need healthy camaraderie in place of needless caution. Respect, not condescension. They would like colleagues to engage with them, not be patronising. And the fact that they are still having to demand these is telling.

In the context of the passage what do you infer from the word ‘CAMARADERIE’

Read the following passage carefully and answer the given questions.
It is impossible for a well-educated, intellectual or brave man to make money the chief object of his thought, just as it is for him to make his dinner the principal object of them. All healthy people like their dinners, but their dinner is not the main object of their lives. So all healthy-minded people like making money-ought to like it, and to enjoy the sensation of winning it, but the main object of their life is not money, it is something better than money. A good soldier, for instance mainly wishes to do his fighting well. He is glad of his pay, very properly so, and justly grumbles when you keep him ten years without it - still his main notion of life is to win battles not to be paid for winning them. So of the doctor. They like fees, no doubt, ought to like them, yet if they are brave and well-educated, the entire object of their lives is not fees. They, on the whole, desire to cure the sick, and if they are good doctors, and the choice were fairly put to them, they would rather cure their patient, and lose the fees, than kill him and get it. And so with all other brave and rightly trained men, their work is first, their fees second - very important, no doubt, but still second. But in every nation, there are a vast number of people who are ill-educated, cowardly and stupid. And with these people, just as certainly the fee is first and work second, as with brave people the work is first and fee second.

The writer’s attitude towards people who prefer money to work is -

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the following questions. Some words are highlighted to help you answer some of the questions.

A golden age for Western schools in China may be coming to an end in the face of a new government clampdown. China has been a happy hunting ground for Western schools in recent years, as a burgeoning middle class looks to equip their children with the qualifications to get into a Western university, as well as the skills to join a global workforce. The last five years has seen a 64% increase in the number of students enrolled in international schools in China, which now account for 372,000 children in 857 schools.

But from next year, schools will have to select their students via a lottery, rather than being able to pick and choose from among the applicants. The crackdown has been prompted by fears that foreign-owned schools are poaching the brightest children, according to Richard Gaskell, director of international education analysts ISC Research. The move follows changes introduced last year’s requiring   international schools to teach the Chinese curriculum alongside other national programs.

There is a backlash against the rapid increase in international schools in China, where it’s perceived that they have been simply creaming off the best students. International schools should put expansion plans on hold until the full effect of the changes becomes apparent next spring, he told the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference of leading fee-paying schools in the U.K.

The international schools market has exploded in China in recent years, after the authorities relaxed regulations Chinese children attending foreign-owned schools. Until then, international schools almost entirely served the children of foreign nationals, but opening them up to Chinese children revealed a massive and previously untapped demand.

For the growing Chinese middle class, the schools provided a more reliable route that Chinese national schools for getting into highly-regarded universities in the West, particularly those in the U.S. and U.K. These students, in turn, represent a lucrative source of income, for both the schools themselves and for Western universities. The annual fee for a leading international school is around 280,000 yuan, or $39,000.

China is the largest source of international students at U.K. universities, _________________ for more than one in five at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Some of the most prestigious private schools have sought to capitalise on their brand by opening branches in China in recent years. A record 14 British international schools have opened or are due to open in China this year, including outposts of the King’s School, Canterbury, and Shrewsbury School, which counts Charles Darwin among its alumni.

But despite the increased scrutiny, there are still opportunities for international schools to open in China, given the "massive demand" among Chinese families. There is a deep desire amongst the wealthy, middle class and young Chinese parents for a Western style of education. Parents want an international education but also want their children to retain their culture and identity, he added, as well as excellent exam results and "places at the top universities."

Which of the following words can fit in “____________”, as given in the passage?

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases are printed in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

Survival is the most essential factor for every living organism. People resort to different tricks to make both ends meet. One such live instances is mentioned here. Villagers of Makhrada village believed that a witch lived in the denseforest near Makhrada. The passers by were much harassed by the witch who used to frighten them and also took their belongings. In the village there lived a young man named Dhiru who was fond of adventures. When he heard about the witch, he did not believe that it was one of the witches who ate flesh. But there was something elseabout the witch, which made Dhiru curious. She did not eat flest but took away the belongings of the people. Therefore, he was keen to solve this mystery.

He set out with a bag of mangoes. He walked through the forest till it was midway. He took shelter under a shady tree and pretended to be fast asleep. However, after some time, he really fell as leep. After a while, he felt that someone was trying to snatch his bag of mangoes, Suddenly, he woke up and caught hold of the person. It was the witch who tried to frighten Dhiru and run away. But Dhiru was strong and bold enough to hold the withc fast. The witch finally surrendered. Dhiru forced has to tell him who she really was. The witch removed her mask and narrated her and story. She told that she was a poor old widow and she had nobody to look after her. Therefore, she used to live in the forest, wearing a fearful-looking mask. People passing through the forest got frightened due to her appearance and took her for a witch. She then robbed the people of their belongings to make both ends meet. Dhiru took pity on her and gave her the bag of ranages.

What did the witch do soon after Dhiru caught her?