Read the passage and answer the questions :
Passage 1
Neo-Nazis and other extremists have been held responsible for a wave of ethnic cleansing in the Bratiloyan Republic. The United Nations estimates that over 20,000 people have been murdered there in the last six months. Dissidents who have escaped from the country have asked the British Government to grant them asylum.
The Government is to deport 500 illegal aliens whose visas have expired. Angry members of the opposition have accused the Government of institutional racism, as most of the deportees are of African origin. Meanwhile, the police have been accused of harassment, after Asian families in Bradford complained that they have been pestered and worried by officers following a series of robberies in the city. Civil rights leaders in the USA have held a demonstration in Washington against death penalty. They have called for a total abolition of capital punishment, claiming that it is contrary to basic civil rights principles outlined in the United Nations Declarations of Human Rights.
Rebels fighting the government of President Stanislow have taken control of the television
station in the center of the capital. This follows a long-standing power struggle between Mr.
Stanislow and the principal opposition party which has seriously weakened his power.
A spokesman for the homeless community in London has presented a petition to the Government asking them to provide housing for everyone. He argues that the government’s refusal to raise the minimum wage rate has resulted in thousands living in poverty with not enough money to pay for somewhere to live. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police evicted several squatters who took over a house in the city center last week and refused to leave until the Government took positive action.
station in the center of the capital. This follows a long-standing power struggle between Mr.
Stanislow and the principal opposition party which has seriously weakened his power.
A spokesman for the homeless community in London has presented a petition to the Government asking them to provide housing for everyone. He argues that the government’s refusal to raise the minimum wage rate has resulted in thousands living in poverty with not enough money to pay for somewhere to live. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police evicted several squatters who took over a house in the city center last week and refused to leave until the Government took positive action.
A recent survey reveals that at least 30% of public companies have been accused of
discrimination and exploitation in the past year. The main offender is Anglo-Amalgamated
Telecommunications, a Bristol based company. Their employees, many of them Asian women, claim they have received bad treatment or been taken advantage of by the company.
discrimination and exploitation in the past year. The main offender is Anglo-Amalgamated
Telecommunications, a Bristol based company. Their employees, many of them Asian women, claim they have received bad treatment or been taken advantage of by the company.
And finally, the Cardiff police are preparing for angry scenes at the Welsh International
Computer factory tomorrow when blacklegs, anxious to return to work after six months on strike, will attempt to break through the picket line. A senior officer has expressed his concern that there will be riots and people will get hurt as a result.
Computer factory tomorrow when blacklegs, anxious to return to work after six months on strike, will attempt to break through the picket line. A senior officer has expressed his concern that there will be riots and people will get hurt as a result.
1. What does “ethnic cleansing” mean?
a. The elimination of a certain group from a society, as by genocide or forced
migration
b. A form of religious persecution in which members of a religious population are
subjected to imprisonment, expulsion or death by a majority to achieve religious
homogeneity
c. Confiscation of personal identification, passports and other such documents in
order to make it difficult or impossible for those driven out to return
d. The killing or assassination of tyrants for the common good
migration
b. A form of religious persecution in which members of a religious population are
subjected to imprisonment, expulsion or death by a majority to achieve religious
homogeneity
c. Confiscation of personal identification, passports and other such documents in
order to make it difficult or impossible for those driven out to return
d. The killing or assassination of tyrants for the common good
2. Which of the following describes the context of the passage?
a. Egalitarianism in a society
b. Human rights and discrimination
c. Racial cleansing in different countries
d. Displaced people and their rehabilitation
b. Human rights and discrimination
c. Racial cleansing in different countries
d. Displaced people and their rehabilitation
3. Why did civil right activists called for a total abolition of capital punishment?
a. It is a totally unnecessary verdict
b. It is contrary to principles in the UN Declaration of Human Rights
c. It is used by the government for unfair reasons
d. It has been an instrument for discrimination throughout the years
b. It is contrary to principles in the UN Declaration of Human Rights
c. It is used by the government for unfair reasons
d. It has been an instrument for discrimination throughout the years
4. The percentage of homeless people in London has been increasing due to:
a. High prices of livelihood
b. Unemployment and a deficiency of jobs
c. Squatters occupying all the available land
d. Very low minimum wage
b. Unemployment and a deficiency of jobs
c. Squatters occupying all the available land
d. Very low minimum wage
5. “Dissidents” refers to:
a. Conformists
b. Unorthodox people
c. Picketers
d. Militants
b. Unorthodox people
c. Picketers
d. Militants
Passage 2
Amory Blaine inherited from his mother every trait, except the stray inexpressible few, that made him worthwhile. His father, an ineffectual, inarticulate man with a taste for Byron and a habit of drowsing over the Encyclopedia Britannica, grew wealthy at thirty through the death of two elder brothers, successful Chicago brokers, and in the first flush of feeling that the world was his, went to Bar Harbor and met Beatrice O’Hara.
In consequence, Stephen Blaine handed down to posterity his height of just under six feet and his tendency to waver at crucial moments, these two abstractions appearing in his son Amory. For many years he hovered in the background of his family’s life, an unassertive figure with a face half-obliterated by lifeless, silky hair, continually occupied in “taking care” of his wife, continually harassed by the idea that he didn’t and couldn’t understand her.
But Beatrice Blaine! There was a woman! Early pictures taken on her father’s estate at Lake
Geneva, Wisconsin, or in Rome at the Sacred Heart Convent—an educational extravagance that in her youth was only for the daughters of the exceptionally wealthy—showed the exquisite delicacy of her features, the consummate art and simplicity of her clothes. A brilliant education she had—her youth passed in renaissance glory, she was versed in the latest gossip of the Older Roman Families; known by name as a fabulously wealthy American girl to Cardinal Vitori and Queen Margherita and more subtle celebrities that one must have had some culture even to have heard of.
Geneva, Wisconsin, or in Rome at the Sacred Heart Convent—an educational extravagance that in her youth was only for the daughters of the exceptionally wealthy—showed the exquisite delicacy of her features, the consummate art and simplicity of her clothes. A brilliant education she had—her youth passed in renaissance glory, she was versed in the latest gossip of the Older Roman Families; known by name as a fabulously wealthy American girl to Cardinal Vitori and Queen Margherita and more subtle celebrities that one must have had some culture even to have heard of.
She learned in England to prefer whiskey and soda to wine, and her small talk was broadened in two senses during a winter in Vienna. All in all Beatrice O’Hara absorbed the sort of education that will be quite impossible ever again; a tutelage measured by the number of things and people one could be contemptuous of and charming about; a culture rich in all arts and traditions, barren of all ideas, in the last of those days when the great gardener clipped the inferior roses to produce one perfect bud.
In her less important moments she returned to America, met Stephen Blaine and married
him—this almost entirely because she was a little bit weary, a little bit sad. Her only child was carried through a tiresome season and brought into the world on a spring day in ninety-six.
him—this almost entirely because she was a little bit weary, a little bit sad. Her only child was carried through a tiresome season and brought into the world on a spring day in ninety-six.
6. According to the passage, who was Beatrice Bane?
a. Daughter of Stephen Blaine
b. Niece of Queen Margherita
c. Mother of Amory Blaine
d. None of the above
b. Niece of Queen Margherita
c. Mother of Amory Blaine
d. None of the above
7. As described in the passage, meeting Stephen Blaine is almost __________ to Beatrice’s life.
a. Ingenious
b. Incidental
c. Inimitable
d. Indispensable
b. Incidental
c. Inimitable
d. Indispensable
8. Which one of the following features is not true about Beatrice Blaine?
a. She drinks heavily
b. She is beautiful and charismatic
c. She is very humble
d. She is well educated
b. She is beautiful and charismatic
c. She is very humble
d. She is well educated
9. Which of the following words could not describe Beatrice’s education?
a. Mundane
b. Pretentious
c. Superficial
d. Entrancing
b. Pretentious
c. Superficial
d. Entrancing
10. In this passage, the word, “renaissance,” most nearly indicates that Beatrice’s education was __________.
a. Glorious
b. Opulent
c. Enlightened
d. Multi-faceted
b. Opulent
c. Enlightened
d. Multi-faceted
Answers : ENGLISH LANGUAGE (QUESTION NO. 1-10)
1. (a)
Explanation: “Ethnic cleansing” has been defined as the attempt to get rid of (through
deportation, displacement or even mass killing) members of an unwanted ethnic group in
order to establish an ethnically homogenous geographic area.
Explanation: “Ethnic cleansing” has been defined as the attempt to get rid of (through
deportation, displacement or even mass killing) members of an unwanted ethnic group in
order to establish an ethnically homogenous geographic area.
2. (b)
Explanation: The passage talks about various instances where human rights were
violated and where people had to experience discrimination.
Explanation: The passage talks about various instances where human rights were
violated and where people had to experience discrimination.
3. (b)
Explanation: The civil rights leaders in USA have called for a total abolition of capital
punishment. They claim it is a ruthless form of justice and it is contrary to the basic civil
rights principles outlined in the United Nations Declarations of Human Rights.
Explanation: The civil rights leaders in USA have called for a total abolition of capital
punishment. They claim it is a ruthless form of justice and it is contrary to the basic civil
rights principles outlined in the United Nations Declarations of Human Rights.
4. (d)
Explanation: The Government of the UK has refused to raise the minimum wage for
workers. This led to people not being able to afford a place to live.
Explanation: The Government of the UK has refused to raise the minimum wage for
workers. This led to people not being able to afford a place to live.
5. (d)
Explanation: Dissident is a person who opposes official policy, especially that of an
authoritarian state.
Explanation: Dissident is a person who opposes official policy, especially that of an
authoritarian state.
6. (c)
Explanation: Beatrice Blaine is the mother of Amory Blaine.
Explanation: Beatrice Blaine is the mother of Amory Blaine.
7. (b)
Explanation: The passage presents Beatrice’s marriage as a footnote, something almost
not worth mentioning: the result of weariness more than love. Hence the answer is “incidental,” which means “occurring as a result of something else” or “hardly
important.”
Explanation: The passage presents Beatrice’s marriage as a footnote, something almost
not worth mentioning: the result of weariness more than love. Hence the answer is “incidental,” which means “occurring as a result of something else” or “hardly
important.”
8. (c)
Explanation: Beatrice Bane has a good taste for whiskey and soda as given in the passage. She is also beautiful and charming. The passage also mentions she is educated. The only option left is (c). Hence, the answer is (c).
Explanation: Beatrice Bane has a good taste for whiskey and soda as given in the passage. She is also beautiful and charming. The passage also mentions she is educated. The only option left is (c). Hence, the answer is (c).
9. (a)
Explanation: Beatrice has learned gossip and the names of various celebrities, so her
education could be described as “superficial” or shallow. We also know that her education was “measured by the number of things and people one could be contemptuous of and charming about,” so the education is both judgmental and entrancing; further, the education concerns “. . . barren of all ideas,” which indicates that Beatrice’s knowledge is
pretentious. All in all, we get a picture of an education that, while shallow in some ways,
is highly rarified, not at all “mundane” or commonplace.
Explanation: Beatrice has learned gossip and the names of various celebrities, so her
education could be described as “superficial” or shallow. We also know that her education was “measured by the number of things and people one could be contemptuous of and charming about,” so the education is both judgmental and entrancing; further, the education concerns “. . . barren of all ideas,” which indicates that Beatrice’s knowledge is
pretentious. All in all, we get a picture of an education that, while shallow in some ways,
is highly rarified, not at all “mundane” or commonplace.
10. (d)
Explanation: The sentence in question begins a series of several sentences that list the
many varied arts and skills Beatrice acquires during the “renaissance glory” of her youth.
The implication is that “renaissance” is being used as it is in the phrase “renaissance man:” to describe someone who has various passions and areas of expertise. The best word to capture these interests and skills is “multifaceted.”
Explanation: The sentence in question begins a series of several sentences that list the
many varied arts and skills Beatrice acquires during the “renaissance glory” of her youth.
The implication is that “renaissance” is being used as it is in the phrase “renaissance man:” to describe someone who has various passions and areas of expertise. The best word to capture these interests and skills is “multifaceted.”
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Indrasish Majumder
Contributing author
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