COMPREHENSION TEST
engaged in agriculture in rural areas and in a variety of
                                                                               SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
industries in urban areas. Children as young as seven years
of age spend days stitching footballs, boxing and cricket         (1) advent (N.) : the coming of an important event,
gloves for export. Many children spend their entire childhood         person, invention, etc.
making carpets with their dexterous hands. Unofficial             (2) antiquity (N.) : the ancient past
figures suggest that as many as 40 to 100 million children
                                                                556. According to the author.
work in hazardous industries like glassware, fireworks,
quarries etc. Many of them have been forced to work in                (1) Michael Faraday and Joseph Henry revolutionized
                                                                          elecricity in the USA
unhygienic conditions often on a casual basis.
                                                                      (2) Nuclear power and electricity were discovered in
                  SOME IMPORTANT WORDS                                    the 20th century
   (1) sordid (Adj.) : very dirty and unpleasant                      (3) The discovery of the principle of electromagnetic
   (2) saga (N.) : a long series of events/adventures and/                induction was not an important discovery
       or a report about them                                         (4) The advent of electric power is equivalent to the
   (3) nightmarish (Adj.) : very frightening and unpleasant               application of nuclear power in the 20th century
   (4) ordeals (N.) : a difficult/unpleasant experience         557. Michael Faraday and Joseph Henry discovered
   (5) heart-rending (Adj.) : causing feelings of great               _______.
       sadness ; heart-breaking                                       (1) the application of nuclear power
   (6) hapless (Adj.) : not lucky ; unfortunate                       (2) the generator
   (7) vulnerable (Adj.) : weak and easily hurt physically/           (3) the dynamo
       emotionally                                                    (4) the principle of electro-magnetic induction
   (8) dexterous (Adj.) : skilful with your hands; skilfully    558. Another word for advent is ______.
       done                                                           (1) discovery                (2) arrival
   (9) hazardous (Adj.) : involving risk/danger, especially           (3) invention                (4) constitution
       to somebody’s health/safety                              559. The generator was also known as the _______.
                                                                      (1) inductor                 (2) dynamo
 551. ______ of children work in hazardous conditions.                (3) inventor                 (4) conductor
        (1) Many                  (2) Millions                  560. Give a synonym for antiquity.
        (3) Five percent          (4) Thousands                       (1) Ancient                  (2) Antipathy
 552. The society is accused of ______ towards the problem            (3) Modern                   (4) Uniqueness
        of child labour.                                             Directions (561 – 570) : In the following questions,
        (1) reports               (2) vulnerability            you have two brief passages with 5 questions following
        (3) insensitivity         (4) bias                     each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose
 553. The word heart-rending means _______.                    the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
        (1) risky                 (2) distressing                                               (SSC CAPFs SI, CISF ASI & Delhi
        (3) shocking              (4) painful                                                        Police SI Exam. 22.06.2014)
 554. The report was published by _______.                                                PASSAGE-I
        (1) a Delhi based non-governmental organization              Street theatre in India is a well established ancient art
        (2) the Delhi government                               form. Despite the proliferation of modern means of
                                                               entertainment and communication, street theatre continues
        (3) a governmental organization
                                                               to flourish in India.
        (4) an activist
                                                                     Street theatre as a channel of communication has for
 555. Their childhood is spent in _______ conditions.
                                                               centuries been propagating reforms by highlighting social,
        (1) vast                  (2) nightmarish              economic and political issues present in the society. Unlike
        (3) hapless               (4) urban                    in the olden days, its performance is no longer restricted to
                          PASSAGE-II                           villages or small localities of the city. Today small groups of
        The advent of electric power was, in a way, comparable performers including students, would stage performances
to the successful development and application of nuclear       to mobilize public opinion or to help create or raise
power in the 20th century. In fact, the historical roots of    awareness over a particular issue of public importance.
electricity extend far back into antiquity. Many men had a     Themes on substance abuse, AIDS awareness, and domestic
hand both in acquring basic knowledge about the invisible      violence are some of the areas highlighted by contemporary
form of power and in developing the ways adopted for           street theatre troupe. Unlike in regular drama street drama
practical purpose. One of the vital keys that helped to unlock employ very little props and images. The human body
the doors leading to the production of electricity was the     becomes the main tool in which choreography, mime,
discovery, in 1831, of the principle of electro-magnetic       dialogues, songs and slogans are extensively used.
induction. This discovery was made simultaneously by                 Street theatre is one of the most intimate media. Its
Michael Faraday in England and Joseph Henry in the United      appeal is to the emotions leading to quick psychological
States. From it came the generator, sometimes also called      impact on audiences. By being local and live they also are
the dynamo but several decades of development had to           able to establish not only direct contact with the audience
follow before the first practical dynamos or generator came    but by being cost-effective and flexible they are popular
into existence in early 1870.                                  among all age groups.
                                                           SEE–959