VA--continues[2]

DIRECTIONS for questions1 to 5: Fill in the blanks choosing the word that is most appropriate in the context of the passage.

Just as economic liberalization is freeing the Indian city financially, so is local self-government (panchayatraj) 326 the Indian village
politically. While we keep vigorously debating economic reforms almost no one speaks or writes about this far reaching political reform.It may be because the village has 327 in our urban middle class imagination, and has become a remote memory. This political revolution began in 1993 when the seventy third amendment to the constitution came into force. We are witnessing real 328 of power and seem to be returning to the India of the centuries - to the old India of autonomous villages. When a panchayat undertakes a poverty project, the village assembly meets again to 329 the panchayat accounts. Overall it is a mixed record. In many elections the fendal forces of the village and caste have 330 their power. Where voluntary organization are present, panchayats are working better. The important thing is that a beginning has been made.
326. (1) discharging (2) ensalving (3) emancipating (4) emasculating
327. (1) rebounded (2) receded (3) abated (4) surged
328. (1) surrender (2) dichotomy (3) dialectic (4) devolution
329. (1) ratify (2) countersign (3) rationalize (4) rebuke
330. (1) integrated (2) consolidated (3) consigned (4) conscripted

DIRECTIONS for questions331 to : Fill the gaps in the passages below with the most appropriate word from the options given for each
gap. The right words are the ones used by the author. Be guided by the author’s overall style and meaning when you choose the answers.



It is sometimes argued that human development, with its emphasis on the social sector is the (331)of economic growth. The whole point is that the two are interlinked and can be part of a (332) circle in which an improvement of education and health facilitates faster
economic growth and vice-versa. A neglect of human development or economic growth can push countries into a (333)circle in which inadequate attention to human development pulls down economic growth and the other way round as well.

331. (1) antithesis (2) antipathy (3) antidote (4) antecedent
332. (1) virtual (2) virtuous (3) vindictive (4) visible
333. (1) real (2) vicious (3) venomous (4) violent

It is a known fact that irrespective of any industrial or agricultural legislation or even compulsory education that may have been responsible for the (334) of child labour, it exists in practically every society, and will continue to do so as long as it is not intrinsically (335) to the prevailing order. Hence, the focus should be on production so that bonded labour, a (336) of the feudal form of exploitation is done away with.

334. (1) eradication (2) intimidation (3) abolition (4) digression
335. (1) equitable (2) iniquitous (3) inimical (4) innate
336. (1) reminiscence (2) remnant (3) repercussions (4) remittance

DIRECTIONS for questions 337 to 342 the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, four words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case and mark its number as your answer.

In the twelfth century, orthodoxy was 337 by the Arab cleric Imam Al Ghazali. Science and Mathematics were 338 as anti-Islam because they were 339 of the mind and weakened faith. Ghazali patronized revelation over reason, pre-destination over rational thinking. Mired in orthodoxy Islam 340 . Interaction between Jewish and Christian scholars 341 out and intolerance of faith crept in and Islam became 342. The last great Muslim thinker of world renown lived in the fourteenth century!

337. (1) rekindled (2) rejuvenated (3) relaxed (4) relapsed
3381) pronounced (2) denounced (3) denoted (4) deputed
3391) intuitions (2) inundations (3) introspection (4) intoxicants
340) fainted (2) felicitated (3) faltered (4) festered
3411) persisted (2) petered (3) percolated (4) perished
3421) insubstantial (2) integrated (3) insular (4) intellectual

DIRECTIONS for questions 343 to 347: Each question has a sentence with two blanks followed by four pairs of words as choices. From the choices, select the pair of words that can best complete the given sentence.

343. In a workplace, just as a _____ tradition ought to be followed to ensure that people of any religion or no religion are not made to feel uncomfortable or out of place, there should also be an atmosphere where women can feel safe and respected and not just _____ because of their gender.
(1) religious . . . reprimanded (2) spiritual . . . discriminated
(3) secular . . . venerated (4) neutral . . . victorious

344. Women employed in the lower rungs of an organization are far more _____ to harassment from their male counterparts than women who are in powerful posts, of whom the numbers are still _____ but growing.
(1) prone . . . alarming (2) susceptible . . . a minuscule
(3) vulnerable . . . enormous (4) subjected . . . extraordinary

345. _____ is like a magic word, which fuels the urge to do better and makes us _____ to achieve the highest possible honours.
(1) Motivation . . . strive (2) Appreciation . . . slog
(3) Criticism . . . responsible (4) Imagination . . . struggle

346. As several parts of the state were reeling under severe drought conditions, the helpless people _____ God to bless the land with rains and _____ their suffering.
(1) enjoined . . . alleviate (2) appealed . . . dispel
(3) besought . . . destroy (4) invoked . . . mitigate

347. While the Delhi-Lahore bus service has _____ reopened the door to India-Pakistan interaction, Noor has in more senses than one
opened a/an/the _____ of sub-continental friendship.
(1) really . . . deluge (2) literally . . . profusion
(3) symbolically . . . floodgates (4) suddenly . . . outpouring

Directions for questions 348 and 349 : In each of the following sentences, part/parts of the sentence is/are left blank. Beneath each sentence four different ways of completing the sentence are indicated. Choose the word / phrase that best completes the sentence.

348.The life-history of some of the past Indian freedom leaders amply shows how a mix of resilience and __________ helped them __________ their obstacles before achieving the pinnacle of glory.
1] fortitude …. win over 2] will-power …. procrastinate
3] fortitude …surmount 4] determination …. Rectify

349. The novel comes as a ____________ to all women dumped by_________ males who will feel provoked at the title of the book, or at the sight of the picture on the cover.
1] surprise ….eclectic 2] comfort ….narcissistic
3] solace ….non-conformist 4] prelude ….chauvinistic