I have tried to suggest that there is an interaction between
the creator of the cultural idiom and the patron, that the idiom itself is not
independent of this relationship, but that in this process an institution is
born which has a wide social relevance. By institution I do not mean only a
public organization, but an integrated, organised behavior pattern through
which social control is exercised. The bard or the poet is seemingly only
concerned with the raja, but his composition as a prasasti, becomes a cultural
form. The eulogy focuses on political power. This, in turn, reflects on the
role of the bard in relation to the raja and also fixes certain functions of
the bard in society where the bard becomes the legitimiser of the king but can
also, for this reason, articulate a protest against the king.
The trader and the artisan are concerned with the sangha, but
both the stupa and the nature of donations to it impinge on a large range of social concerns, involving the status
of the donor as well as the function of the sangha in society. The stupa draws
on the institution of bhikkhus or renouncers, who on joining the order,
discontinued their normal social obligations, but created an alternative
society, giving rise to a kind of moral authority which could impinge on social
behavior and political action.
A king donates wealth for a temple built by an architect. From
this is born a parallel institution to existing ones, with a multiplicity of
social roles. The temple has a horizontal nexus with its patrons which is based
on a relatively equal exchange of wealth for legitimation and the social recognition of piety. But it also has a vertical nexus- with those who keep it
going, which endorses and legitimizes a hierarchy of unequal status and
dependence, as well as an inequality of social access to the goods and services
of the temple. The temple, therefore, has also to be seen as an institution,
and has to be assessed as a social and political statement apart from its
religious function.
In each case a new cultural idiom is created, a new cultural
signal. But our recognition, comprehension and acceptance of this signal should
go beyond the creator and the patron,
and should include a recognition of its social reference point for a proper
understanding of ancient Indian culture. An understanding of the signal
involves more than just an appreciation of its religious or aesthetic form.
Q1. Which of the following can be inferred from
the passage above?
(a) Renouncing of ‘this worldly’
pursuits by bhikkhus was a dishonest endeavor as the stupas were full of
wealth.
(b) Renouncers ultimately lived a
very comfortable life.
(c) All renouncers became
powerful enough to challenge the monarchical power.
(d) Both (a) and (b)
(e) None of the above
Q2. Which of the following statement is supported
by arguments in the above passage?
(a) The prasasti is not a
creative expression of the bard.
(b) Since the bard survives on
the financial patronage of the king, he can never, in reality, articulate a
protest against the king.
(c) Cultural idioms cannot be
politically neutral.
(d) Institutions built around
patronage do not survive for too long.
(e) All of the above
Q3. Institution, as understood by the author in
the above passage, refers to
(a) a public organization
financed by the king
(b) a set of organized social
norms that play a role in social organization
(c) a set of norms which the
powerful force upon the less powerful
(d) a place where social exchange
takes place
(e) None of the above
Q4. Which of the following about ancient Indian
society is implied in the above passage?
(a) Dissent was not tolerated.
(b) The king commanded an
absolute power over his subjects.
(c) There was very little
appreciation for the aesthetics of cultural forms and idioms.
(d) The power of monarchy was
mediated through several institutions that allowed articulation of
alternatives
(e) None of the above
Q5. Which of the following words is nearest in
meaning to the word ‘legitimation’ as used in the passage? (a) Connivance
(b) Legal
(c) Canonical
(d) justice
(e) None of the above
Q6. Which of the
following words is nearest in meaning to the word ‘piety’ as used in the
passage?
(a) appraised
(b) sanctity
(c) proximate
(d) ostensible
(e) intrude
Q7. Which of the following words is farthest in meaning to the word ‘patron’ as used in the passage?
Q8. Which of the following words is farthest in meaning to the word ‘impinge’ as used in the passage?(a) tenuous
Directions (9-10): In each
of the question given below a/an idiom/phrase is given in bold which is then
followed by five options which then tries to decipher its meaning as used in
the sentence. Choose the option which gives the meaning of the phrase most
appropriately in context of the given sentence.
Q9.
There will have to be a sea change
in people’s attitudes if public transport is ever to replace the private car.
(a)
development
(b)
transformation
(c)
growth
(d)
continuation
(e)
parameters
Q10.
Overall it is troubling, as an ill wind
does no one much good.
(a)
a coming disaster
(b)
a contagious disease
(c)
ill nature
(d)
an unfortunate event
(e)
an ill temperament
Direction (11-15): Which of the following phrases (I), (II), and (III) given below each
sentence CANNOT replace the phrase printed in bold letters without altering the
meaning of the sentence both grammatically and contextually? Choose the best
option among the five given alternatives that reflect the incorrect use of
phrase in the context of the grammatically correct sentence. If all three
phrases are incorrect, choose (e) as the answer.
Q11. People want real and genuine relief
and not cleverly propped up or exaggerated benefits which may not be so impressive when subjected to closer scrutiny.
(I)which may seem unimpressive
(II)that is not so impressive
(III)which can be unimpressive
(a)Only (I)
(b)Only (II)
(c)Only (III)
(d)Both (I) and (II)
(e)All (I), (II) and (III)
Q12.
While the distress of rural areas has
been rightly emphasised in recent months, this should not lead to neglect
of economic difficulties of weaker sections in urban areas.
(I)Though the distress of rural areas
has been
(II)Despite the fact that the distress
of rural areas have
(III)Even if the distress in rural areas
have been
(a)Only (I)
(b)Only (II)
(c)Both (I) and (II)
(d)Both (II) and (III)
(e)All (I), (II) and (III)
Q13. The police are encouraging people to come forward with any information
about the kidnapped girl.
(I)to come up with informations
(II)to step forward with any information
(III)to furnish with any information
(a)Only (I)
(b)Both (I) and (II)
(c)Both (II) and (III)
(d)Both (I) and (III)
(e)All (I), (II) and (III)
Q14. Schemes like NREGA which provide
work near home while creating livelihood and enhancing assets need significantly higher allocations.
(I)needs a significant higher
allocations
(II)needs a highly significant
allocations
(III)need to allocate significantly high
(a)Only (I)
(b)Only (III)
(c)Both (I) and (II)
(d)Both (II) and (III)
(e)All (I), (II) and (III)
Q15. While the government has been announcing relief under certain
categories, many small entrepreneurs and artisans still feel threatened by the
adverse impact on their livelihoods.
(I)Even though the government has been
announcing
(II)While the government might announce
(III)Despite announcing
(a)Only (I)
(b)Both (I) and (II)
(c)Both (II) and (III)
(d)Both (I) and (III)
(e)All (I), (II) and (III)
S1. Ans. (e)
Sol. None of the given statements can be inferred from the passage. The renouncers simply exercised moral authority which may have acted some influence on social or political structure.
S2. Ans. (c)
Sol. Refer the first sentence of the passage “I have tried to suggest that there is an interaction between the creator of the cultural idiom and the patron, that the idiom itself is not independent of this relationship, but that in this process an institution is born which has a wide social relevance.”
S3. Ans. (b)
Sol. Refer the second sentence of the passage “By institution I do not mean only a public organization, but an integrated, organised behavior pattern through which social control is exercised.”
S4. Ans. (d)
Sol. Refer the second paragraph “The stupa draws on the institution of bhikkhus or renouncers, who on joining the order, discontinued their normal social obligations, but created an alternative society, giving rise to a kind of moral authority which could impinge on social behavior and political action.’
S5. Ans. (e)
Sol. Here ‘Legitimization’ means authorization or validation.
S6. Ans. (b)
Sol. ‘Piety’ means the quality of being religious or reverent. Hence it has similar meaning as ‘sanctity’.
S7. Ans. (d)
Sol. ‘Patron’ means a person who supports the cause. Hence it has opposite meaning as ‘antagonist’.
S8. Ans. (e)
Sol. Impinge means have an effect, especially a negative one. Hence it has opposite meaning as ‘evade’.
S9.
Ans. (b)
Sol.
Option (b) is correct. ‘A sea change’ means a profound or notable
transformation.
S10.
Ans. (d)
Sol.
Option (d) is the correct choice. ‘An ill wind’ means an unfortunate event.
S11. Ans. (b)
Sol. Both the expressions (I) and (III)
can be used to replace the highlighted phrase in the sentence without altering
the meaning of it. Both the expressions provide the similar meaning to the
sentence. However, in the case of second expression, the use of the singular
verb “is” makes it incorrect as the subject it is referring is plural
[exaggerated
benefits]. Moreover, the use of the verb “may” in the sentence
expresses possibility and thus we cannot use the expression suggesting surety.
Hence option (b) is the correct choice.
S12. Ans. (d)
Sol. Only the first expression is
correct enough to replace the existing phrase without altering the meaning of
the sentence. However, the other two expressions are incorrect as they do not
follow the subject-verb agreement correctly. It is to be noted that the subject
is singular [the distress of rural areas], so the following verb should also
be in the similar form which isn’t the case in the expressions (II) and (III).
Hence option (d) is the correct choice.
S13. Ans. (a)
Sol. Both the expressions (II) and (III)
are correct and can be used to replace the existing phrase in the sentence
without altering its meaning. It is to be noted that “come forward” is a
phrasal verb which means to volunteer information about something,
like a crime. Similarly, the phrasal verb “step forward” means to
offer to provide or do something, or to help with something. Thus, the
expressions (II) and (III) give the similar meaning to the sentence. However,
in the case of expression (I), there is a minor mistake in using the word “information”.
It is to be noted that “Information” is a non-count noun, so the convention is
that information
is both singular and plural. Moreover, the phrasal verb “come
up” means to think of an idea, which doesn’t make a sense to the meaning
of the sentence. Hence option (a) is the correct choice.
S14. Ans. (e)
Sol. All the three expressions are
incorrect and they cannot be used to replace the existing phrase in the
sentence. The singular verb “needs” used in the first and the second
expressions is incorrect as the subject “Schemes” is in plural form which
requires a plural verb. The third expression is incorrect owing to the meaning
that it would generate after replacing the existing phrase. It would alter the
intended meaning of the sentence [i.e., Schemes like NREGA require allocations, and
they aren’t meant to allocate]. Hence option (e) is the correct
choice.
S15. Ans. (c)
Sol. Only the first statement can be
used to replace the existing phrase without altering the meaning of the
sentence. It is to be noted that both “while” and “even though” are
conjunctions which mean in spite of the fact that. However,
the last two expressions are incorrect owing to their meanings which do not
comply with the statement. In the case of second one, the verb “might”
cannot replace “has been” as there is surety in the sentence. The last
expression is incomplete as it lacks the use of the subject. Hence option (c)
is the correct choice.
English Language Notes for Competitive E...
