Reading Compreh...

[passage-header]Read the following passage and answer the question given after it.[/passage-header]Nationalism, of course, is a curious phenomenon which at a certain stage in a country's history gives life, growth and unity but at the same time, it has a tendency to limit one because one thinks of one's country as something different from the rest of the world. One's perceptive changes and one is continuously thinking of one's own struggles and virtues and failing to the exclusion of their thoughts. The result is that the same nationalism, which is the symbol of cessation of that growth in mind. Nationalism, when it becomes successful, sometimes goes on spreading in an aggressive way and become a danger internationally. Whatever line of thought you follow, you arrive at the conclusion that some kind of balance must be found. Otherwise, something good can turn into evil. Culture, which is essentially good, becomes not only static but aggressive and something that breeds conflict and hatred, when looked at from a wrong point of view. How will you find a balance, I don't know. Apart from the political and economic problems of the age, perhaps, that is the greatest problem today because behind it, there is a tremendous search for something, which cannot be found. We turn to economic theories because they have an undoubted importance. It is folly to talk of culture or even of god when human beings starve and die. Before one can talk about anything else, one must provide the normal essentials of life to human beings. That is where economics comes in. Human beings today are not in the mood to tolerate this suffering and starvation and inequality when they see that the burden is not equally shared. Others profit, while they only bear the burden.

[passage-header]Read the poem carefully and answer the question that follows:
[/passage-header]Rise, brothers, rise; the wakening skies pray to the morning light, 
The wind lies asleep in the arms of the dawn like a child that has cried all night. 
Come, let us gather our nets from the shore and set our catamarans free, 
To capture the leaping wealth of the tide, for we are the kings of the sea! 

No longer delay, let us hasten away in the track of the sea gull's call, 
The sea is our mother, the cloud is our brother, the waves are our comrades all. 
What though we toss at the fall of the sun where the hand of the sea-god drives? 
He who holds the storm by the hair will hide in his breast our lives. 

Sweet is the shade of the cocoanut glade, and the scent of the mango grove, 
And sweet are the sands at the full o' the moon with the sound of the voices we love; 
But sweeter, O brothers, the kiss of the spray and the dance of the wild foam's glee; 
Row, brothers, row to the edge of the verge, where the low sky mates with the sea.

[passage-header]Read the passage and answer the question that follows:
'Tools and Weapons in Neolithic age'
[/passage-header]One of the remarkable achievements of the Neolithic Period was the invention of the wheel. It brought a rapid progress in man's life. The wheel was used in horse-carts and bullock-carts that helped man a lot to carry heavy loads. Therefore, in this period transport became quite easy and quick. The wheel was also used for spinning and weaving. It also helped in pottery. Man made beautiful pots to keep food grains and to store water. The tools and weapons of the Neolithic Age are better and sharper than the Palaeolithic Age. Now a polished stone called 'celt' was used to make tools. Some newly developed tools like sickles, bows and arrows and improved axes were made in the Neolithic Age. These tools were used for various purposes like the axe was used for cutting down trees, sickles to harvest the crops and arrows to kill animals.

[passage-header]Read the following passage and answer the question given after it.[/passage-header]Nationalism, of course, is a curious phenomenon which at a certain stage in a country's history gives life, growth and unity but at the same time, it has a tendency to limit one because one thinks of one's country as something different from the rest of the world. One's perceptive changes and one is continuously thinking of one's own struggles and virtues and failing to the exclusion of their thoughts. The result is that the same nationalism, which is the symbol of cessation of that growth in mind. Nationalism, when it becomes successful, sometimes goes on spreading in an aggressive way and become a danger internationally. Whatever line of thought you follow, you arrive at the conclusion that some kind of balance must be found. Otherwise, something good can turn into evil. Culture, which is essentially good, becomes not only static but aggressive and something that breeds conflict and hatred, when looked at from a wrong point of view. How will you find a balance, I don't know. Apart from the political and economic problems of the age, perhaps, that is the greatest problem today because behind it, there is a tremendous search for something, which cannot be found. We turn to economic theories because they have an undoubted importance. It is folly to talk of culture or even of god when human beings starve and die. Before one can talk about anything else, one must provide the normal essentials of life to human beings. That is where economics comes in. Human beings today are not in the mood to tolerate this suffering and starvation and inequality when they see that the burden is not equally shared. Others profit, while they only bear the burden.

[passage-header]Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]Probe into the subject, delve into its various effects - you will be amazed at how rapidly Western culture is corroding the Indian culture - exclusively to be proud of, to rust. These spicy pictures of the Western culture surely flatter the palate, but in course of time won't they canker it too? The root of all this misfortune lies in the soil nourished by the word 'modern'. What does 'modern' mean to us? Do we become modern by wearing outrageous clothes that make us look like aliens? Does modernism set in by profuse use of western slang?

Receptionist: Thank you for calling Pioneer Dental Clinic. Mary speaking. How can I help you?
Sonia: Hi Mary. It's Sonia Jain calling. How are you today?
Receptionist: I'm fine Mrs. Jain. How are you?
Sonia: Well actually, I have a bit of a sore tooth. I was wondering if Dr. Khan would have some time to see me this week.
Receptionist: I'm afraid he's booked this week. I can put you in for $$8$$ pm next Saturday. Is that alright with you?
Sonia: That would be great.
Receptionist: I'll have to give you the address of our new office.
Sonia: Oh, that's right, you moved.
Receptionist: Yes, we moved to the suburbs. do you have a pen handy?
Sonia: Could you hold on a moment please? Okay, go ahead Mary.
Receptionist: We are at $$201$$, Silver Mall, M.G. road.
Sonia: Would you mind spelling that for me?
Receptionist: Sure. That's two-zero-one, silver-S as in Simla, I as in India, L as in Lucknow, V as in Victor, E as in Echo. R as in Romeo. Mall-M as in Mile, A as in Alpha, L as in Lucknow. M.G. road is Mehruali-Gurgaon road.
Sonia: Okay great. I'll see you on Saturday then.
Receptionist: Okay. Thanks for calling. See you then.
Sonia: Thanks. Bye.

Read the passage and answer the question that follows:
We all love to wear our blue jeans but what do we know about them? It all began in the Nevada region of the United States. In the 1850s, there were many people searching for gold and mining. This was called the Gold Rush. Miners had to dig deep to find even a little gold. They had to work very hard and for a long time. Their clothes tore easily. A miner's wife decided to get a sturdy pair of trousers for her husband. So, she went to a tailor named Jacob W. Davis and told him what she wanted. He was not an ordinary tailor. He used to stitch horse blankets, wagon covers and tents. Jacob understood what his customer wanted. It had to be strong cotton cloth and should not tear easily. He found some material called denim with a man named Levi Strauss. He stitched the first pair of denim overalls. To make the pair last longer, Jacob decided to fix small metal pins or rivets near the pockets, zipper and other areas. The overalls were tough and looked strong. Soon, everyone wanted a pair of riveted pants!
Davis decided to own the design. So, he became partners with Levi Strauss. Together, they got the denim overalls patented on 20th May, 1873 and Levi Strauss Jeans was born. There was no looking back from then on. Hollywood cowboy movies cast their actors in Levi's and made them famous all across America. They soon became a symbol of young, American culture. Some people felt that denim overalls were 'workers clothes' and not right for school. Yet, in 1959, a newspaper reported that 90% of young Americans were wearing denim pants everywhere except to bed and church. By the 1960s, the name 'jeans' was given to the blue overalls. Europe and parts of Asia wanted them too and they became famous worldwide. Soon, people of all ages wore them. In 1969, a magazine reported that denim is one of the oldest fabrics but will remain eternally young. How true!

[passage-header]Read the following passage and answer the question that follows.[/passage-header]The Palaeolithic remains have been found in all parts of India, especially in the Deccan. In ancient times, south of the Vindhya Mountain and the Narmada river, was known as Dakshinapathy and now it is called the Deccan. There were two main cultures in the Palaeolithic Age, the Sonnian and the Acheullan. Some tools from the Sonnian culture have been found in the Shivalik hills of the Indian subcontinent. Most Sonnian tools belong to late middle period found in past Shivalik sediments. Sonnian artifacts have been recovered in Pakistan. Acheulian sites have been divided in early Acheulian and late Acheulian, on the basis of the tools produced. Early Acheulian tools have been recovered at the edge of the Vindhya hills in the Narmada Basin. Flake tools were the major features of the late Acheulian Age. Small and medium size hand axes and cleavers were main tools of this age used for chopping meat. Various sites of Acheulian in the Deccan are excavated like Chirki-Nevasa, Guhox, Saswad, Nasre, Yeduwadi, Attirampakkam and Bhimbetka. Various Acheulian tools have been discovered from Nevasa, a tributary of the Godavari in Maharashtra.
All this indicates that Nevasa was a popular habitation of the Palaeolithic man for a long time. From these stone tools we come to know about food and shelters of early man. One of these sites is Attirampakkam valley in the northwest of Tamil Nadu. Archaeological research has discovered evidence of fossil remains of animals and primitive stone implements in the northern Tamil Nadu around $$300,000$$ BC. Man in Deccan lived in this Palaeolithic period for a long time, using only crude implements.

[passage-header]Read the following passage and answer the question that follows.[/passage-header]The Palaeolithic remains have been found in all parts of India, especially in the Deccan. In ancient times, south of the Vindhya Mountain and the Narmada river, was known as Dakshinapathy and now it is called the Deccan. There were two main cultures in the Palaeolithic Age, the Sonnian and the Acheullan. Some tools from the Sonnian culture have been found in the Shivalik hills of the Indian subcontinent. Most Sonnian tools belong to late middle period found in past Shivalik sediments. Sonnian artifacts have been recovered in Pakistan. Acheulian sites have been divided in early Acheulian and late Acheulian, on the basis of the tools produced. Early Acheulian tools have been recovered at the edge of the Vindhya hills in the Narmada Basin. Flake tools were the major features of the late Acheulian Age. Small and medium size hand axes and cleavers were main tools of this age used for chopping meat. Various sites of Acheulian in the Deccan are excavated like Chirki-Nevasa, Guhox, Saswad, Nasre, Yeduwadi, Attirampakkam and Bhimbetka. Various Acheulian tools have been discovered from Nevasa, a tributary of the Godavari in Maharashtra.
All this indicates that Nevasa was a popular habitation of the Palaeolithic man for a long time. From these stone tools we come to know about food and shelters of early man. One of these sites is Attirampakkam valley in the northwest of Tamil Nadu. Archaeological research has discovered evidence of fossil remains of animals and primitive stone implements in the northern Tamil Nadu around $$300,000$$ BC. Man in Deccan lived in this Palaeolithic period for a long time, using only crude implements.

[passage-header]Read the passage and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]Daffodils, the trumpet-shaped flowers bloom during the spring. In fact, daffodils are the first sign of spring and they symbolize rebirth, new beginnings, and friendship. It is the flower of those born in March. Daffodils are native to the Mediterranean region but are cultivated all over the world. The flower is called Nargis in Hindi, perhaps because of its association with the egotistical Greek God Narcissus. Legend has it that Narcissus fell in love with his own image in a pool of water. He was so enamoured by his own image that he fell into the water and drowned. The flower, also called Narcissus, grew where he died. This led to it becoming a symbol of unrequited love. A gift of daffodil flowers is believed to ensure happiness. It is a common decoration flower during the Chinese New Year. Feng Shui experts believe that if a daffodil bulb blooms during the New Year it will bring good luck to your home. The flowers have been viewed as symbols of Christ's resurrection and the promise of eternal life. In Wales, it is a symbol of the patron saint, David. Daffodil bulbs, because of their astringent properties, are pounded and made into a paste to be applied to wounds. Pharma companies use daffodil extracts to make drugs that are used to treat Alzheimer's and Polio.