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Read the following passage carefully and answer the question given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering the question.
By the mid nineteen the century, the educated Indian had become sufficiently aware of both his rich historical heritage and the abject state of his current existence. Nostalgia and a sense of racial identity grew as Indians gradually perceived the oppressiveness of alien rule. In the early nineteenth century Orientalist scholars associated with the Fort William College, Kolkata, helped considerably to unearth several obscure Indian texts and traditions, thereby also creating a new awareness and sensitivity among Indians about their cultural heritage.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, particularly in Bengal, patriotism was not grossly inconsistent with undisguised support for the consistent continuation of the British rule. Bengali writers of this period made repeated references to how the British have 'rescued' India from many centuries of 'tyrannical' and 'unprogressive' Muslim rule. Many people of this time, in fact, made an important distinction between the pragmatic gains to be made from a short term tutelage under the British rule and a long term objective of securing independence from it. Though such thoughts ultimately proved to be naive and over-optimistic, in the 1820s and 1830s the advantages of the British rule seemed to outweigh its disadvantages. In a letter written in 1823 to Governor General Lord Amherst, Raja Rammohan Roy (1774-1833) opposed an official move to open a Sanskrit College on the ground that it would produce no positive or progressive influence on the educated Hindu. He felt rather than indulging themselves in abstract metaphysical speculation as was likely to be the result of a purely Sanskritic education, Indians would profit far more by imbibing the best of modern European civilization pragmatism and a rational, scientific outlook. Social usefulness, more than anything else, was now to be the true measure of things. Rammohan's emphasis on rationality and a commonsense approach to religion led some of his friends and admirers to call him a 'religious utilitarian'.
Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning to the word abject as used in the passage.
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Important Questions on Reading Comprehension
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By the mid nineteen the century, the educated Indian had become sufficiently aware of both his rich historical heritage and the abject state of his current existence. Nostalgia and a sense of racial identity grew as Indians gradually perceived the oppressiveness of alien rule. In the early nineteenth century Orientalist scholars associated with the Fort William College, Kolkata, helped considerably to unearth several obscure Indian texts and traditions, thereby also creating a new awareness and sensitivity among Indians about their cultural heritage.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, particularly in Bengal, patriotism was not grossly inconsistent with undisguised support for the consistent continuation of the British rule. Bengali writers of this period made repeated references to how the British have 'rescued' India from many centuries of 'tyrannical' and 'unprogressive' Muslim rule. Many people of this time, in fact, made an important distinction between the pragmatic gains to be made from a short term tutelage under the British rule and a long term objective of securing independence from it. Though such thoughts ultimately proved to be naive and over-optimistic, in the 1820s and 1830s the advantages of the British rule seemed to outweigh its disadvantages. In a letter written in 1823 to Governor General Lord Amherst, Raja Rammohan Roy (1774-1833) opposed an official move to open a Sanskrit College on the ground that it would produce no positive or progressive influence on the educated Hindu. He felt rather than indulging themselves in abstract metaphysical speculation as was likely to be the result of a purely Sanskritic education, Indians would profit far more by imbibing the best of modern European civilization pragmatism and a rational, scientific outlook. Social usefulness, more than anything else, was now to be the true measure of things. Rammohan's emphasis on rationality and a commonsense approach to religion led some of his friends and admirers to call him a 'religious utilitarian'.
Which thoughts, according to the passage, proved imprudent and over-optimistic?
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By the mid nineteen the century, the educated Indian had become sufficiently aware of both his rich historical heritage and the abject state of his current existence. Nostalgia and a sense of racial identity grew as Indians gradually perceived the oppressiveness of alien rule. In the early nineteenth century Orientalist scholars associated with the Fort William College, Kolkata, helped considerably to unearth several obscure Indian texts and traditions, thereby also creating a new awareness and sensitivity among Indians about their cultural heritage.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, particularly in Bengal, patriotism was not grossly inconsistent with undisguised support for the consistent continuation of the British rule. Bengali writers of this period made repeated references to how the British have 'rescued' India from many centuries of 'tyrannical' and 'unprogressive' Muslim rule. Many people of this time, in fact, made an important distinction between the pragmatic gains to be made from a short term tutelage under the British rule and a long term objective of securing independence from it. Though such thoughts ultimately proved to be naive and over-optimistic, in the 1820s and 1830s the advantages of the British rule seemed to outweigh its disadvantages. In a letter written in 1823 to Governor General Lord Amherst, Raja Rammohan Roy (1774-1833) opposed an official move to open a Sanskrit College on the ground that it would produce no positive or progressive influence on the educated Hindu. He felt rather than indulging themselves in abstract metaphysical speculation as was likely to be the result of a purely Sanskritic education, Indians would profit far more by imbibing the best of modern European civilization pragmatism and a rational, scientific outlook. Social usefulness, more than anything else, was now to be the true measure of things. Rammohan's emphasis on rationality and a commonsense approach to religion led some of his friends and admirers to call him a 'religious utilitarian'.
Which awareness had dawned on Indians by the mid-nineteenth century?
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By the mid nineteen the century, the educated Indian had become sufficiently aware of both his rich historical heritage and the abject state of his current existence. Nostalgia and a sense of racial identity grew as Indians gradually perceived the oppressiveness of alien rule. In the early nineteenth century Orientalist scholars associated with the Fort William College, Kolkata, helped considerably to unearth several obscure Indian texts and traditions, thereby also creating a new awareness and sensitivity among Indians about their cultural heritage.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, particularly in Bengal, patriotism was not grossly inconsistent with undisguised support for the consistent continuation of the British rule. Bengali writers of this period made repeated references to how the British have 'rescued' India from many centuries of 'tyrannical' and 'unprogressive' Muslim rule. Many people of this time, in fact, made an important distinction between the pragmatic gains to be made from a short term tutelage under the British rule and a long term objective of securing independence from it. Though such thoughts ultimately proved to be naive and over-optimistic, in the 1820s and 1830s the advantages of the British rule seemed to outweigh its disadvantages. In a letter written in 1823 to Governor General Lord Amherst, Raja Rammohan Roy (1774-1833) opposed an official move to open a Sanskrit College on the ground that it would produce no positive or progressive influence on the educated Hindu. He felt rather than indulging themselves in abstract metaphysical speculation as was likely to be the result of a purely Sanskritic education, Indians would profit far more by imbibing the best of modern European civilization pragmatism and a rational, scientific outlook. Social usefulness, more than anything else, was now to be the true measure of things. Rammohan's emphasis on rationality and a commonsense approach to religion led some of his friends and admirers to call him a 'religious utilitarian'.
Which of the following was opposed by Raja Rammohan Roy?
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By the mid nineteen the century, the educated Indian had become sufficiently aware of both his rich historical heritage and the abject state of his current existence. Nostalgia and a sense of racial identity grew as Indians gradually perceived the oppressiveness of alien rule. In the early nineteenth century Orientalist scholars associated with the Fort William College, Kolkata, helped considerably to unearth several obscure Indian texts and traditions, thereby also creating a new awareness and sensitivity among Indians about their cultural heritage.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, particularly in Bengal, patriotism was not grossly inconsistent with undisguised support for the consistent continuation of the British rule. Bengali writers of this period made repeated references to how the British have 'rescued' India from many centuries of 'tyrannical' and 'unprogressive' Muslim rule. Many people of this time, in fact, made an important distinction between the pragmatic gains to be made from a short term tutelage under the British rule and a long term objective of securing independence from it. Though such thoughts ultimately proved to be naive and over-optimistic, in the 1820s and 1830s the advantages of the British rule seemed to outweigh its disadvantages. In a letter written in 1823 to Governor General Lord Amherst, Raja Rammohan Roy (1774-1833) opposed an official move to open a Sanskrit College on the ground that it would produce no positive or progressive influence on the educated Hindu. He felt rather than indulging themselves in abstract metaphysical speculation as was likely to be the result of a purely Sanskritic education, Indians would profit far more by imbibing the best of modern European civilization pragmatism and a rational, scientific outlook. Social usefulness, more than anything else, was now to be the true measure of things. Rammohan's emphasis on rationality and a commonsense approach to religion led some of his friends and admirers to call him a 'religious utilitarian'.
Bengali writers in the first half of the nineteenth century
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To those who believe the government can do nothing right, its polio eradication program must have come as an eye-opener. Starting December 1996 nurses, health workers, government employees and others fanned out across the country administering polio vaccine to children below the age of five. Schoolchildren were pressed into service to remind the target families. Vaccination stalls were set up at railway stations. Health workers even went through trains on two days just in case some children had been missed out. The purpose of the program is laudable. It aims to eliminate the disease from a country that has 60% of the total number of polio cases in the world. Was the coverage of rural areas as effective as that of cities? Was the vaccine potent? Whatever the questions, the implementation of the eradication program is still impressive. It calls to mind the successful elimination of smallpox. Other government initiatives in the social sector too are laudable. There is the effort to eliminate illiteracy in more than 300 districts, the anti-leprosy program and the successful effort to clean Surat which was until a couple of years ago the dirtiest town in the country. These programs stand out because the government has been otherwise so ineffective in the social sector. India has the largest number of illiterates in the world. For most citizens, healthcare or clean drinking water is still only a distant dream. Malaria, after being successfully beaten down, has once again raised its head. Tuberculosis is rampant. And then are the new scourges - Aids and cancer. For all these failures, the government has a ready explanation – the lack of funds. True, even with existing funds, the health infrastructure and the public schools can be run much more effectively than they are. But the tack of funds remains a real problem. And with the constant pressure to narrow the fiscal deficit, the social sector will continue to be squeezed.
Government expenditure on health, education and other social sectors is absolutely vital. It brings enormous benefits to the country. Consider the future savings in hospital bills and orthopaedic aids or the gains from a more productive workforce. All of these are tangible effects. But the private sector will not engage in these activities - not where the beneficiaries are the poorest of the poor – because it stands to make no profit, and profit is the raison d'etre of the private sector. In other words, these are things the government should be doing - and that no one else can do as well. Instead, we have the lamentable sight of the government trying to ruin airlines, hotels, television channels, to take just three wide range of commercial businesses it has got stuck in. Some of these businesses are potential generators of huge profits. Yet the government manages to run its own enterprises into the ground so that they either generate paltry profits or require budgetary support or help in the form of loans.
Last month, the head of the government's hotel business pronounced satisfaction at the fact that his organisation would require no budgetary support. This is not even funny. In the private sector, the benchmark of financial performance is the return of net worth. Where this is less than the return that could be earned on a fixed deposit, the stock market hammers the scrip down. But in most companies in the public sector, managers have yet to start worrying about such parameters. When the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy did a survey of 245 central government enterprises in 1992-93, it found that their return on a net worth of Rs. 73,915 crore was a mere 4.59%. The total gross fixed assets of these enterprises were valued at Rs. 173,501 crores. If these assets are sold at their book value and the money earned is invested in fixed deposits, the government could earn more than Rs. 25,000 crore in a year, which is roughly 40% of the fiscal deficit. In fact, these assets would probably fetch far more. What stops the government from privatizing these companies? The common explanation is opposition form the labour unions. This is no more than an excuse. Workers would probably earn more than they do today if their companies were profitably run by the private sector. The real reason is that ministers and politicians would lose some of their privileges - no more free aeroplane rides, no free hotel stays, no way of getting a hapless company to pick up their bills.
Meanwhile, the country pays the cost - in illiteracy and countless deaths due to disease. The other face of an unprofitable airline is a score of villages without drinking water or a thousand preventable deaths due to malaria.
The author indirectly states in the passage that
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IBPS Clerk Prelims
IMPORTANT
To those who believe the government can do nothing right, its polio eradication program must have come as an eye-opener. Starting December 1996 nurses, health workers, government employees and others fanned out across the country administering polio vaccine to children below the age of five. Schoolchildren were pressed into service to remind the target families. Vaccination stalls were set up at railway stations. Health workers even went through trains on two days just in case some children had been missed out. The purpose of the program is laudable. It aims to eliminate the disease from a country that has 60% of the total number of polio cases in the world. Was the coverage of rural areas as effective as that of cities? Was the vaccine potent? Whatever the questions, the implementation of the eradication program is still impressive. It calls to mind the successful elimination of smallpox. Other government initiatives in the social sector too are laudable. There is the effort to eliminate illiteracy in more than 300 districts, the anti-leprosy program and the successful effort to clean Surat which was until a couple of years ago the dirtiest town in the country. These programs stand out because the government has been otherwise so ineffective in the social sector. India has the largest number of illiterates in the world. For most citizens, healthcare or clean drinking water is still only a distant dream. Malaria, after being successfully beaten down, has once again raised its head. Tuberculosis is rampant. And then are the new scourges - Aids and cancer. For all these failures, the government has a ready explanation – the lack of funds. True, even with existing funds, the health infrastructure and the public schools can be run much more effectively than they are. But the tack of funds remains a real problem. And with the constant pressure to narrow the fiscal deficit, the social sector will continue to be squeezed.
Government expenditure on health, education and other social sectors is absolutely vital. It brings enormous benefits to the country. Consider the future savings in hospital bills and orthopaedic aids or the gains from a more productive workforce. All of these are tangible effects. But the private sector will not engage in these activities - not where the beneficiaries are the poorest of the poor – because it stands to make no profit, and profit is the raison d'etre of the private sector. In other words, these are things the government should be doing - and that no one else can do as well. Instead, we have the lamentable sight of the government trying to ruin airlines, hotels, television channels, to take just three wide range of commercial businesses it has got stuck in. Some of these businesses are potential generators of huge profits. Yet the government manages to run its own enterprises into the ground so that they either generate paltry profits or require budgetary support or help in the form of loans.
Last month, the head of the government's hotel business pronounced satisfaction at the fact that his organisation would require no budgetary support. This is not even funny. In the private sector, the benchmark of financial performance is the return of net worth. Where this is less than the return that could be earned on a fixed deposit, the stock market hammers the scrip down. But in most companies in the public sector, managers have yet to start worrying about such parameters. When the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy did a survey of 245 central government enterprises in 1992-93, it found that their return on a net worth of Rs. 73,915 crore was a mere 4.59%. The total gross fixed assets of these enterprises were valued at Rs. 173,501 crores. If these assets are sold at their book value and the money earned is invested in fixed deposits, the government could earn more than Rs. 25,000 crore in a year, which is roughly 40% of the fiscal deficit. In fact, these assets would probably fetch far more. What stops the government from privatizing these companies? The common explanation is opposition form the labour unions. This is no more than an excuse. Workers would probably earn more than they do today if their companies were profitably run by the private sector. The real reason is that ministers and politicians would lose some of their privileges - no more free aeroplane rides, no free hotel stays, no way of getting a hapless company to pick up their bills.
Meanwhile, the country pays the cost - in illiteracy and countless deaths due to disease. The other face of an unprofitable airline is a score of villages without drinking water or a thousand preventable deaths due to malaria.
The private sector not engaging in activities related to health and education is indicative of
HARD
IBPS Clerk Prelims
IMPORTANT
To those who believe the government can do nothing right, its polio eradication program must have come as an eye-opener. Starting December 1996 nurses, health workers, government employees and others fanned out across the country administering polio vaccine to children below the age of five. Schoolchildren were pressed into service to remind the target families. Vaccination stalls were set up at railway stations. Health workers even went through trains on two days just in case some children had been missed out. The purpose of the program is laudable. It aims to eliminate the disease from a country that has 60% of the total number of polio cases in the world. Was the coverage of rural areas as effective as that of cities? Was the vaccine potent? Whatever the questions, the implementation of the eradication program is still impressive. It calls to mind the successful elimination of smallpox. Other government initiatives in the social sector too are laudable. There is the effort to eliminate illiteracy in more than 300 districts, the anti-leprosy program and the successful effort to clean Surat which was until a couple of years ago the dirtiest town in the country. These programs stand out because the government has been otherwise so ineffective in the social sector. India has the largest number of illiterates in the world. For most citizens, healthcare or clean drinking water is still only a distant dream. Malaria, after being successfully beaten down, has once again raised its head. Tuberculosis is rampant. And then are the new scourges - Aids and cancer. For all these failures, the government has a ready explanation – the lack of funds. True, even with existing funds, the health infrastructure and the public schools can be run much more effectively than they are. But the tack of funds remains a real problem. And with the constant pressure to narrow the fiscal deficit, the social sector will continue to be squeezed.
Government expenditure on health, education and other social sectors is absolutely vital. It brings enormous benefits to the country. Consider the future savings in hospital bills and orthopaedic aids or the gains from a more productive workforce. All of these are tangible effects. But the private sector will not engage in these activities - not where the beneficiaries are the poorest of the poor – because it stands to make no profit, and profit is the raison d'etre of the private sector. In other words, these are things the government should be doing - and that no one else can do as well. Instead, we have the lamentable sight of the government trying to ruin airlines, hotels, television channels, to take just three wide range of commercial businesses it has got stuck in. Some of these businesses are potential generators of huge profits. Yet the government manages to run its own enterprises into the ground so that they either generate paltry profits or require budgetary support or help in the form of loans.
Last month, the head of the government's hotel business pronounced satisfaction at the fact that his organisation would require no budgetary support. This is not even funny. In the private sector, the benchmark of financial performance is the return of net worth. Where this is less than the return that could be earned on a fixed deposit, the stock market hammers the scrip down. But in most companies in the public sector, managers have yet to start worrying about such parameters. When the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy did a survey of 245 central government enterprises in 1992-93, it found that their return on a net worth of Rs. 73,915 crore was a mere 4.59%. The total gross fixed assets of these enterprises were valued at Rs. 173,501 crores. If these assets are sold at their book value and the money earned is invested in fixed deposits, the government could earn more than Rs. 25,000 crore in a year, which is roughly 40% of the fiscal deficit. In fact, these assets would probably fetch far more. What stops the government from privatizing these companies? The common explanation is opposition form the labour unions. This is no more than an excuse. Workers would probably earn more than they do today if their companies were profitably run by the private sector. The real reason is that ministers and politicians would lose some of their privileges - no more free aeroplane rides, no free hotel stays, no way of getting a hapless company to pick up their bills.
Meanwhile, the country pays the cost - in illiteracy and countless deaths due to disease. The other face of an unprofitable airline is a score of villages without drinking water or a thousand preventable deaths due to malaria.
It can be inferred from the passage that politicians
i. have the authority and power to privatise companies
ii. use the privilege of their rank
iii. dare not go against the labour unions
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Every afternoon, on their way back from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden. It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that bore rich fruit. The birds would sit on the trees and sing sweetly to the children playing below. One day the Giant came back. He had been on a long tour and was now determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden and was outrageous. "What are you doing here?" He shouted in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away. "I will not allow anybody to play in my garden but myself" said the Giant. And so, he built a high wall around it, and put up a notice-board that read trespassers will be prosecuted. He was a very selfish Giant. The poor children had now, nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of stones, and they did not like it. On their way back from school, they used to wander around the high wall and remember the good times.
Then came spring, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children and the trees forgot to blossom. The only people who were pleased were the snow and the frost. "Spring has forgotten this garden," they cried, "so we will live here all the year round." I cannot understand why the spring is so late in coming," said the selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden, "I hope there will be a change in the weather." But the spring never came, nor did the summer. The autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. "He was too selfish," she said. So it was always winter there.
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard the birds singing. "I believe the spring has come at last," said the Giant, and he jumped out of bed and looked out. He saw the most wonderful sight. Through the little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting on the branches of the trees. On every tree there was a child. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene however, in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all around it crying bitterly. The Giant's heart melted as he looked out. "How selfish I have been '" he said, "now I know why spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's play-ground forever and ever." He was really sorry for what he had done.
Choose the word which is most OPPOSITE in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the
passage.
Outrageous
