Read the passages and answer the following questions.
A. The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming, and seeks to be feared rather than loved. To this type belong many lunatics and most of the great men in history. Love of power, like vanity, is a strong element in normal human nature, and as such is to be accepted; it becomes deplorable only when it is excessive or associated with an insufficient sense of reality. Where this occurs, it makes a man unhappy or foolish, if not both. The lunatic who thinks he is crowned head may be, in a sense, happy, but his happiness is not of a kind that any sane person would envy. Alexander the Great was psychologically of the same type as the lunatic, though he possessed the talent to achieve the lunatic’s dream. He could not, however, achieve his own dream, which enlarged his scope as his achievement grew. When it became dear that he was the greatest conqueror known to fame, he decided that he was a God. Was he a happy man? His drunkenness, his furious rages, his indifference to women, and his claim to divinity, suggest that he was not. There is no ultimate satisfaction in the cultivation of one element of human nature at the expense of all the others, nor in viewing all the world as raw material for the magnificence of one’s own ego.
1. How would an ordinary megalomaniac differ from Alexander the Great?
a) Alexander the Great is a great emperor, while ordinary megalomaniacs are not.
b) Alexander was raised to be a megalomaniac.
c) Alexander the Great was not a lunatic.
d) Alexander the Great had the talent to achieve his wish, which an ordinary megalomaniac does not.
2. Which among the following could be the reason for unhappiness?
a) He was the greatest conqueror known to fame.
b) His indifference to women
c) Cultivating one element of human nature at the expense of others
d) His drunkenness
3. What does ‘this’ mean in “Where this occurs, it makes a man unhappy or foolish, if not both”?
a) Megalomania
b) Excessive love of power
c) Possessing the talent to achieve a lunatic’s dream
d) Excessive love of vanity
4. Why should a love of power be accepted?
a) Because it is a part of human nature
b) Because many great men in history do it
c) Because Alexander the Great was the same
d) Because a megalomaniac is different from a narcissist.
5. How is a narcissist different from a megalomaniac?
a) By wishing to be charming
b) By wishing to be powerful
c) By wishing to be like Alexander the Great
d) By wishing to be feared
Answers
1. d
2. c
3. b
4. a
5. a
B. There is an old African proverb that says, “Until the lions have their own historians, histories of the hunt will glorify the hunter.”
As is common knowledge, while the male lion’s mane incites our imagination, it is actually the lionesses that bring in food and ensure survival of the species. As Renana Jhavwala of SEWA and member of UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment aptly says, “Women’s work is invisible … women are at the base of the economic pyramid. Women are stuck on a ‘sticky floor’ of low technology, low productivity, low skills, low earnings and low dignity.” Rural women in the Asia-Pacific region make critical contributions to household production and national food security, yet their contribution is hardly acknowledged.
The credit for the success of Brazil’s conditional cash transfer programme, Bolsa familia, goes to women. The programme rewards families for sending their children to school and taking them for regular health check- ups. This scheme has pulled millions out of poverty. The state tends to believe women are more reliable than men. In Mexico, a similar programme, Oportunidades, is available exclusively to women.
There is strong empirical evidence to suggest that money in the hands of the mother increases expenditure on children. There is a strong positive correlation between women’s status and economic/social development. Policy makers across the world have placed great emphasis on gender equality. The experience suggests that economic development alone is not enough to bring about equality. What is needed is policy action. This is where the importance of women’s political empowerment comes. Democracy in the 21st century is moving towards equity and inclusion. This is the underlying message of citizens’ movements across the world. And with the increasing role of women at the policy level and in institutions of government, democracy can become ‘politics of difference’ and ‘politics of presence.’
1. What is the meaning of the statement ‘Democracy in the 21st century is moving towards equity and inclusion’?
a) All castes are being included in the process of democracy.
b) Women are getting increasingly involved in the process of democracy
c) The speeches by UN secretary generals help in ensuring democracy
d) Women’s work is no longer invisible.
2. Which among the following is contrary to the passage above?
a) Women contribute greatly to household production and food security.
b) Women are confined to low productivity jobs.
c) The work done by women is acknowledged.
d) None of these.
3. What is the position of women in the economic pyramid?
a) They are at the top of the pyramid.
b) They have been restricted from being a part of it.
c) They are in the middle of the pyramid.
d) They are at the bottom of the pyramid.
4. Which of the following is true of the Bolsa Familia programme?
a) It is a contingent cash transfer programme in Mexico.
b) According to this programme, men are more reliable than women.
c) The government helped a great deal in this programme.
d) This scheme pulled millions out of poverty.
5. Which of the following is true according to the author?
a) There is a causation between women’s status and economic/social development.
b) There is a strong need for legislative and judicial action.
c) Economic development is not sufficient to bring about equality.
d) Policy makers across the world are divided in the need for gender equality.
Answers
1. b
2. c
3. d
4. d
5. c
2. c
3. b
4. a
5. a
B. There is an old African proverb that says, “Until the lions have their own historians, histories of the hunt will glorify the hunter.”
As is common knowledge, while the male lion’s mane incites our imagination, it is actually the lionesses that bring in food and ensure survival of the species. As Renana Jhavwala of SEWA and member of UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment aptly says, “Women’s work is invisible … women are at the base of the economic pyramid. Women are stuck on a ‘sticky floor’ of low technology, low productivity, low skills, low earnings and low dignity.” Rural women in the Asia-Pacific region make critical contributions to household production and national food security, yet their contribution is hardly acknowledged.
The credit for the success of Brazil’s conditional cash transfer programme, Bolsa familia, goes to women. The programme rewards families for sending their children to school and taking them for regular health check- ups. This scheme has pulled millions out of poverty. The state tends to believe women are more reliable than men. In Mexico, a similar programme, Oportunidades, is available exclusively to women.
There is strong empirical evidence to suggest that money in the hands of the mother increases expenditure on children. There is a strong positive correlation between women’s status and economic/social development. Policy makers across the world have placed great emphasis on gender equality. The experience suggests that economic development alone is not enough to bring about equality. What is needed is policy action. This is where the importance of women’s political empowerment comes. Democracy in the 21st century is moving towards equity and inclusion. This is the underlying message of citizens’ movements across the world. And with the increasing role of women at the policy level and in institutions of government, democracy can become ‘politics of difference’ and ‘politics of presence.’
1. What is the meaning of the statement ‘Democracy in the 21st century is moving towards equity and inclusion’?
a) All castes are being included in the process of democracy.
b) Women are getting increasingly involved in the process of democracy
c) The speeches by UN secretary generals help in ensuring democracy
d) Women’s work is no longer invisible.
2. Which among the following is contrary to the passage above?
a) Women contribute greatly to household production and food security.
b) Women are confined to low productivity jobs.
c) The work done by women is acknowledged.
d) None of these.
3. What is the position of women in the economic pyramid?
a) They are at the top of the pyramid.
b) They have been restricted from being a part of it.
c) They are in the middle of the pyramid.
d) They are at the bottom of the pyramid.
4. Which of the following is true of the Bolsa Familia programme?
a) It is a contingent cash transfer programme in Mexico.
b) According to this programme, men are more reliable than women.
c) The government helped a great deal in this programme.
d) This scheme pulled millions out of poverty.
5. Which of the following is true according to the author?
a) There is a causation between women’s status and economic/social development.
b) There is a strong need for legislative and judicial action.
c) Economic development is not sufficient to bring about equality.
d) Policy makers across the world are divided in the need for gender equality.
Answers
1. b
2. c
3. d
4. d
5. c
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Sanya Ambastha
Contributing author
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