COMPREHENSION TEST
571. Poverty ______ on the state of the economy.               577. For the listener, silence can
       (1) is a burden            (2) depends                         (1) emphasise a point         (2) be a potent tool
       (3) borders                (4) does not depend                 (3) lure him to say more      (4) buy time
572. When a substantial segment of a society ______            578. According to the author, the pregnant pause
       a bare subsistence level, that society is said to be           (1) breaks up communication
       plagued with mass poverty.                                     (2) helps communication
       (1) thrives on a           (2) is deprived of                  (3) builds up anticipation
       (3) struggles on           (4) continues at                    (4) leads to confusion
573. Mass poverty exists in the Third World                    579. The opposite of potent is
       countries ______ Europe and America.                           (1) latent                 (2) patent
       (1) excluding              (2) including                       (3) weak                   (4) inherent
       (3) and in pockets of      (4) and invariably in        580. Give the synonym of Gauge.
574. India _______ from the problem of mass poverty due               (1) measure                (2) Make statement
       to the failure of its economic planning.                       (3) Gather knowledge       (4) Share information
       (1) is free                (2) still suffers                   Directions (581-590) : In the following questions, you
       (3) is not affected        (4) recovers                 have two brief passages with 5 questions following each
575. ______ and there is a lack of equitable distribution of   passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best
       wealth in India.                                        answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
       (1) Some Indians are rich and poor                         (SSC CGL Tier-I Re-Exam. (2013) 20.07.2014, Ist Sitting)
       (2) All Indians are poor                                       Opera refers to a dramatic art form, originated in
                                                               Europe, in which the emotional content is conveyed to the
       (3) Some Indians are rich and some poor
                                                               audience as much through music, both vocal and instru-
       (4) All Indians are rich and poor                       mental, as it is through the lyrics. By contrast, in musical
                            Passage II                         theatre an actor’s dramatic performance is primary, and the
       At first sight, silence would seem to be the essence of music plays a lesser role. The drama in opera is presented
non communication. Yet we know that in some circumstances      using the primary elements of theatre such as scenery, cos-
silence can speak volumes. It is also a potent tool in the     tumes and acting. However, the words of the opera, or li-
communication tool-box, for the speaker, as it adds emphasis   bretto, are sung rather than spoken. The singers are ac-
to point, allowing time for its full significance to sink in.  companied by a musical ensemble ranging from a small in-
Handled skilfully, it can build up anticipation for what is to strumental ensemble to a full symphonic orchestra.
come - the pregnant pause. It gives opportunity to make
eye contact with the audience and gauge their reactions. It                      SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
is an essential component of the timing of one’s delivery.        (1) libretto (N.) : the words that are sung/spoken in
For the listener, silence can buy time, either to digest what         an opera/a musical play
has been said or to consider a response, or both. Silence         (2) ensemble (N.) : a small group of musicians, dancers/
will often lure the speaker into saying more than he or she           actors who perform together
may have intended.                                                (3) symphonic (Adj.) : characterized by the similarity
                                                                      of sound, as words
                  SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
   (1) potent (Adj.) : powerful                                581. It is pointed out in the passage that opera
   (2) significance (N.) : the importance of something                (1) has developed under the influence of musical the-
   (3) sink in (Phr. V.) : to be fully understood/realized                atre
   (4) anticipation (N.) : the fact of seeing that something          (2) is a drama that is not dependent on music.
       might happen in the future and perhaps doing                   (3) is not a high-budget production.
       something about it now                                         (4) is originated in Europe.
   (5) a pregnant pause (Id.) : an occasion when nobody        582. We can understand from the passage that
       speaks, although people are aware that there are               (1) audiences are captivated more by the lyrics than
       feelings/thoughts to express                                       by the music.
   (6) gauge (V.) : to make a judgement about something,              (2) in opera lyrics are as important as the music.
       especially people’s feelings/attitudes                         (3) orchestras in operas do not vary in size.
   (7) buy time (Id.) : to do something in order to delay an          (4) musical theatre relies, above all, on music.
       event, a decision, etc.                                 583. It is stated in the passage that
   (8) lure (V.) : to persuade/trick somebody to do                   (1) acting and costumes are secondary to music in
       something by promising him a reward                                musical theatre.
                                                                      (2) many people find musical theatre more captivat-
576. Silence seems to be the essence of                                   ing than opera.
       (1) communication                                              (3) music in musical theatre is not as important as it
       (2) volumes                                                        is in opera.
       (3) communication tool-box                                     (4) an opera requires a huge orchestra as well as a
       (4) non communication                                              large choir.
                                                          SEE–961