Synonyms Questions and Answers

Direction for [ Question No: 1 To 2 ] :

Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate options :

There's an air of excitement on the platform as the train's departure time draws close. You've found your name on the passenger's list, together with the names of those in the compartment with you; so you already know your 'fellow passengers' names, ages, sex and destination. People are pushing past you to get on, as you show your coupon to the conductor and he tells you to board.

Your fellow passengers are settling in, staking out their claims to territory with too much luggage. A bell clangs but there is no slamming of carriage doors, no blowing of whistles and no shout of "All aboard !" as in the states. The train simply draws out of the station while people stroll alongside and with studied nonchalance, clamber on, one after the other through the still-open doors.

You claim your own seat, pleased to be on the move. Since you have a long journey ahead in the company of strangers, what happens next will govern your enjoyment of the trip. You can start up a conversation and make friends, allies quickly, or he anti-social and lonely for the whole of the journey. Of course, it depends on your personality but if you are travelling alone you'll need an ally, someone you feel you can trust to watch your luggage when you go to the washroom. You can't isolate yourself completely on a train so if that's your style, train travel isn't for you.

I get a thrill out of the start of every train journey. It's not just the excitement of moving on to a new place, there's the anticipation of what's going to happen during the journey; the pleasure at the new acquaintances I'm going to make; the dissolving of city skyline into lush, rural landscape beyond the windows; and the heightened emotions of everyone on board. Indians love to travel by train; they are used to it and prepare properly so it becomes a picnic on wheels. I get excited when I am part of it, you will too.

Direction for [ Question No: 3 To 3 ] :

Read the given extract and answer the questions that follow.

1. Untouchable, a charming French comedy about two friends who have almost nothing in common, has been a huge international success. But before the story became a cinematic sensation, how exactly did a rich French aristocrat and an Algerian immigrant with a criminal past become good friends ? Philip and Abdul first met in Paris in 1993 when Philip was looking for a nurse. He was from a very wealthy family. At one time he had been a successful business man, living a life of great luxury. Then he had a terrible paragliding accident and lost the use of his arms and legs. Life in a wheelchair was lonely and boring. Philip was struggling to imagine the future, and he needed practical help with his day-to-day life.

2. Philip interviewed more than 80 people for the job of a nurse. But none of them seemed right. Then he met Abdul, who had quit a life of crime in Algeria and moved to France to look for work. He was lively, intelligent and quick-thinking, with a crazy sense of humour. Philip got on with Abdul immediately, and he offered him the job. The two men didn't have much in common. Abdul loved pop music, but Philip preferred classical music. Philip loved modern art, but Abdul hated it. Philip's family was sure that he had made a bad choice. They believed that Philip needed someone much more sensible. Meanwhile, Abdul wasn't planning on staying in the job for long.

3. However, their working relationship quickly developed into a close friendship. Abdul gave Philip the support he needed. More importantly, his energy and sense of humour brought fun and excitement back into Philip's life. Abdul helped Philip make trips to other countries. Both of them now live in different countries, each with a wife and family. They keep in touch regularly. All that really matters to their friendship, though, it is their shared love of laughter and adventure.

Direction for [ Question No: 4 To 5 ] :

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.

1. The loss in earnings that farmers see due to extreme weather events or erratic seasonality is, by now, accepted as the most widely felt economic impact of climate change. Farmers were the first people to feel the impacts of climate change, which ultimately affects the country's overall agricultural output and adds to food inflation. High food prices, in turn, could result in people slashing down consumption, which adversely impacts nutritional security.

2. A significant number of farming households produce food for their own consumption. These households have given birth to an old saying : those who eat their own food are the healthiest. In countries like India, where malnutrition is high and food insecurity is a nagging constant, such households have used the home production system to remain out of this crisis. As studies point out, these households are also protected from market fluctuations, thus ensuring that they can afford healthy food. Obviously, they are not impacted by food inflation either.

3. But there are serious conversations taking place over how climate change-induced extreme weather events would impact such households. We need to understand the link between nutrition intake and household food production, and whether weather fluctuations would have any impact on this. Researchers have analysed village level data from households with their own food production and consumption, and co-related this with the local weather conditions to infer whether there was a correlation. The paper establishes that people growing their own food consume more, thus adding to nutrition levels and attaining overall food security. There was also reduction in child stunting and underweight conditions as well as women achieving a normal body mass index. These trends are more pronounced in remote villages.

Direction for [ Question No: 6 To 7 ] :

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.

1. We were walking across the garden when my daughter spotted a cluster of familiar red flowers. She pulled me to one side and then, looking excitedly at me as though she had a secret to share, she pulled me down to her height and whispered in my ears. I shot up straight almost as soon as she had finished her sentence. With my mouth ajar, I was about to tell her that it was probably not a good idea to do so when I was transported to the time when I was around her age.

2. It had been a rather long day from school and I was dead tired. I was walking along the pathway that was lined with many ixora plants when my friend grabbed me by the arm. Before I could do anything, he gleefully plucked a single flower from the cluster and showed it to me. Unimpressed, I was not about to be swayed by a puny flower and was about to admonish him when he turned the flower upside down to show me a tiny almost invisible thread-like thing that protruded out from its stalk.

3. He pulled the faint yellowish thread and right at the end of it, a tiny drop of nectar appeared. At least, that was what I think it was, as it was really quite sweet. That day we raided the ixora plants. We really had a lot of fun. I could still taste the sweetness till today. My daughter's urgent tug brought me back to reality. I turned to my daughter and decided that she too needed to know the joy of tasting sweet nectar from beautiful blooms.

Direction for [ Question No: 8 To 8 ] :

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.

Usually the first question I ask a newbie birder is, "What do you think is the most important physical requisite to be a birder ? Your eyes, your ears, your nose or any other ?"

Most often, the answer is "eyes", but several do home into what is the most important faculty - at least, according to me : your ears. Spotting birds in foliage is hard enough, but if you hear them, you know they are there.

But early the other morning, I realised it went much beyond that. The first bird call I heard as I left the house for my walk was the madcap ringing laugh of black-rumped flameback, earlier known as the golden-backed woodpecker. It was a wild, exultant laugh that set the tone and mood for the entire day. And then I realised that every bird call evokes a different reaction, memory or emotion in the listener.

Indian mynas, for example, invariably remind me of people in Delhi-always ready to argue and pick a fight, belligerent and in your face. Yet, they taught me not to make sweeping generalisations because when a pair perch on the window sill in the afternoons, they have meaningful civilised conversations with each other. There is inquiry, humour and affection in their voices.

Direction for [ Question No: 9 To 9 ] :

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.

But the Lion went into the forest and found his own supper and no one ever knew what it was, for he didn't mention it. And the scarecrow found a tree full of nuts and filled Dorothy's basket with them, so that she would not be hungry for a long time. She thought this was very kind and thoughtful of the scarecrow, but she laughed heartily at the awkward way in which the poor creature picked up the nuts. His padded hands were so clumsy and the nuts so small that he dropped almost as many as he put in the basket. But the scarecrow did not mind how long it took him to fill the basket, for it enabled him to keep away from the fire, as he feared a spark might get into his straw and burn him up. So he kept a good distance away from the flames, and only came near to cover Dorothy with dry leaves when she lay down to sleep. These kept her snug and warm and she slept soundly by until morning.

When it was daylight, the girl bathed her face in a little rippling brook and soon after they all started toward the Emerald city.

This was to be a wonderful day for the travellers. They had hardly been walking an hour when they saw before them a ditch that lay across the road and divided the forest as far as they could see on either side.

Direction for [ Question No: 10 To 10 ] :

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.

Yet as soon as she saw him, she did not look as Alfred thought she would look : she smiled, her blue eyes never wavered, and with a calmness and dignity that made them forget that her clothes seemed to have been thrown on her, she put out her hand to Mr. Carr and said politely, "I'm Mrs. Higgins. I'm Alfred's mother."

Mr. Carr was a bit embarrassed by her lack of terror and her simplicity and he hardly knew what to say to her, so she asked, "Is Alfred in trouble ?"

"He is. He's been taking things from the store. I caught him red-handed. Little things like compacts and toothpaste and lipsticks. Stuff he can sell easily," the proprietor said.

Mrs. Higgins put out her hand and touched Sam Carr's arm with an understanding gentleness, and speaking as though afraid of disturbing him, she said, "If you would only listen to me before doing anything". Her simple earnestness made her shy; her humility made her falter and look away, but in a moment she was smiling gravely again and she said with a kind of patient dignity, "What do you intend to do, Mr. Carr ?"

"I am going to get a cop. That's what I ought to do."

"Yes, I suppose so. It's not for me to say, because he's my son. Yet I sometimes think a little good advice is the best thing for a boy when he is at a certain period in his life," she said.

Alfred couldn't understand his mother's quiet composure, for if they had been at home and someone had suggested that he was going to be arrested, he knew she would be in a rage and would cry out against him.