Practice Section 8 question answer - general english mcq Online Quiz (set-1) For All Competitive Exams
DIRECTIONS:
Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.
PASSAGE
In the second week of August 1998, just a few days after the incidents of bombing the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam, a high-powered, brainstorming session was held near Washington D.C., to discuss various aspects of terrorism. The meeting was attended by ten of America's leading experts in various fields such as germ and chemical warfare, public health, disease control and also by the doctors and the law-enforcing officers. Being asked to describe the horror of possible bio-attack, one of the experts narrated the following gloomy scenario.
A culprit in a crowded business centre or in a busy shopping mall of a town empties a test tube containing some fluid, which in turn creates an unseen cloud of germ of a dreaded disease like anthrax capable of inflicting a horrible death within 5 days on any one who inhales it. At first 500, or so victims feel that they have mild influenza which may recede after a day or two. Then the symptoms return again and their lungs start filling with fluid. They rush to local hospitals for treatment, but the panic-stricken people may find that the medicare services run quickly out of drugs due to excessive demand. But no one would be able to realise that a terrorist attack has occurred. One cannot deny the possibility that the germ involved would be of contagious variety capable of causing an epidemic. The meeting concluded that such attacks, apart from causing immediate human tragedy, would have dire long-term effects on the political and social fabric of a country by way of ending people's trust on the competence of the government.
The experts also said that the bombs used in Kenya and Tanzania were of the old-fashion variety and involved quantities of high explosives, but new terrorism will prove to be more deadly and probably more elusive than hijacking an aeroplane or a gelignite of previous decades. According to Bruce Hoffman, an American specialist on political violence, old terrorism generally had a specific manifesto - to overthrow a colonial power or the capitalist system and so on. These terrorists were not shy about planting a bomb or hijacking an aircraft and they set some limit to their brutality. Killing so many innocent people might turn their natural supporters off. Political terrorists want a lot of people watching but not a lot of people dead. "Old terrorism sought to change the world while the new sort is often practised by those who believe that the world has gone beyond redemption", he added. Hoffman says, "New terrorism has no long-term agenda but is ruthless in its short-term intentions. It is often just a cacophonous cry of protest or an outburst of religious intolerance or a protest against the West in general and the US in particular. Its perpetrators may be religious fanatics or diehard opponent of a government and see no reason to show restraint. They are simply intent on inflicting the maximum amount of pain on the victim."
Q-1) Choose the word which is most OPPOSITE in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage
gloomy
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
The meaning of the word ‘gloomy’ as mentioned in the passage is ‘nearly dark’; ‘not well lit’. Hence the word ‘gloomy’ and ‘bright’ are antonymous.
DIRECTIONS:
Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.
PASSAGE
An independent, able and upright judiciary is the hallmark of a free democratic country. Therefore, the process of judicial appointments is of vital importance. At present, on account of the Supreme Court's last advisory opinion, the role of the executive and its interference in the appointment of judges is minimal, which, in light of our previous experience, is most welcome. However, there is a strong demand for a National Judicial Commission on the ground of wider participation in the appointment process and for greater transparency. The composition, the role and the procedures of the proposed National Judicial Commission, must be clearly spelt out, lest it be a case of jumping from the frying-pan into the fire.
Recently, there has been a lively debate in England on the subject. A judicial commission has been proposed but there are not many takers for that proposal. In the paper issued this month by the Lord Chancellor's Department on judicial appointments, the Lord Chancellor has said, "I want every vacancy on the Bench to be filled by the best person available. Appointments must and will be made on merit, irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, religion or disability. These are not mere words. They are firm principles. I will not tolerate any form of discrimination."
At present, there are hardly any persons from the ethnic minorities manning the higher judiciary and so far not a single woman has made it to the House of Lords. The most significant part of Lord Chancellor's paper is the requirement that "allegations of professional misconduct made in the course of consultations about a candidate for judicial office must be specific and subject to disclosure to the candidate". This should go a long way in ensuring that principles of natural justice and fair play are not jettisoned in the appointment process, which is not an uncommon phenomenon.
Q-2) Which of the following words is SIMILAR in meaning as the word jettison as used in the passage?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
The meaning of the word ‘jettison’ as mentioned in the passage is ‘to abandon or reject something that is not wanted’. Hence the words ‘jettison’ and ‘sacrifice’ are synonymous.
DIRECTIONS:
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below. Certain words/phrases are printed in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.
PASSAGE
Stuck with the development dilemma? Stay away from management courses. Seriously, one of the biggest complaints that organisations have about management courses is that they fail to impact the participants' on-the-job behaviour. Some management trainers stress the need for follow-up and reinforcement on the job. Some go so far as briefing the participants' managers on what behaviour they should be reinforcing back on the job. Other include a follow-up training day to review the progress of the participants. None of this is really going far enough.
The real problem is that course promoters view development as something which primarily, takes place in a classroom. A course is an event and events are, by definition limited in time. When you talk about follow-up after a course, it is seen as a nice idea, but not as an essential part of the participants' development programme. Any rational, empowered individual should be able to take what has been learnt in a course and transfer it to the work place - or so the argument goes. Another negative aspect of the course mindset is that, primarily, development is thought to be about skill-acquisition.
So, it is felt that the distinction between taking the course and behaving differently in the work place parallels the distinction between skill-acquisition and skill-application. But can such a sharp distinction be maintained? Skills are really acquired only in the context of applying them on the job, finding them effective and, therefore, reinforcing them.
The problem with courses is that they are events, while development is an on-going process which, involves, within a complex environment, continual interaction, regular feedback and adjustment. As we tend to equate development with a one-off event, it is difficult to get seriously motivated about the followup. Anyone paying for a course tends to look at follow-up as an unnecessary and rather costly frill.
Q-3) The word ‘mindset’ here means
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
a (fixed) attitude of mind
DIRECTIONS:
Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.
PASSAGE
In the second week of August 1998, just a few days after the incidents of bombing the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam, a high-powered, brainstorming session was held near Washington D.C., to discuss various aspects of terrorism. The meeting was attended by ten of America's leading experts in various fields such as germ and chemical warfare, public health, disease control and also by the doctors and the law-enforcing officers. Being asked to describe the horror of possible bio-attack, one of the experts narrated the following gloomy scenario.
A culprit in a crowded business centre or in a busy shopping mall of a town empties a test tube containing some fluid, which in turn creates an unseen cloud of germ of a dreaded disease like anthrax capable of inflicting a horrible death within 5 days on any one who inhales it. At first 500, or so victims feel that they have mild influenza which may recede after a day or two. Then the symptoms return again and their lungs start filling with fluid. They rush to local hospitals for treatment, but the panic-stricken people may find that the medicare services run quickly out of drugs due to excessive demand. But no one would be able to realise that a terrorist attack has occurred. One cannot deny the possibility that the germ involved would be of contagious variety capable of causing an epidemic. The meeting concluded that such attacks, apart from causing immediate human tragedy, would have dire long-term effects on the political and social fabric of a country by way of ending people's trust on the competence of the government.
The experts also said that the bombs used in Kenya and Tanzania were of the old-fashion variety and involved quantities of high explosives, but new terrorism will prove to be more deadly and probably more elusive than hijacking an aeroplane or a gelignite of previous decades. According to Bruce Hoffman, an American specialist on political violence, old terrorism generally had a specific manifesto - to overthrow a colonial power or the capitalist system and so on. These terrorists were not shy about planting a bomb or hijacking an aircraft and they set some limit to their brutality. Killing so many innocent people might turn their natural supporters off. Political terrorists want a lot of people watching but not a lot of people dead. "Old terrorism sought to change the world while the new sort is often practised by those who believe that the world has gone beyond redemption", he added. Hoffman says, "New terrorism has no long-term agenda but is ruthless in its short-term intentions. It is often just a cacophonous cry of protest or an outburst of religious intolerance or a protest against the West in general and the US in particular. Its perpetrators may be religious fanatics or diehard opponent of a government and see no reason to show restraint. They are simply intent on inflicting the maximum amount of pain on the victim."
Q-4) What could be the probable consequences of bio attacks, as mentioned in the passage?
- several deaths
- political turmoil
- social unrest
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Bio-attack will result in several deaths which will lead to political turmoil creating social unrest.
DIRECTIONS:
Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.
PASSAGE
In the second week of August 1998, just a few days after the incidents of bombing the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam, a high-powered, brainstorming session was held near Washington D.C., to discuss various aspects of terrorism. The meeting was attended by ten of America's leading experts in various fields such as germ and chemical warfare, public health, disease control and also by the doctors and the law-enforcing officers. Being asked to describe the horror of possible bio-attack, one of the experts narrated the following gloomy scenario.
A culprit in a crowded business centre or in a busy shopping mall of a town empties a test tube containing some fluid, which in turn creates an unseen cloud of germ of a dreaded disease like anthrax capable of inflicting a horrible death within 5 days on any one who inhales it. At first 500, or so victims feel that they have mild influenza which may recede after a day or two. Then the symptoms return again and their lungs start filling with fluid. They rush to local hospitals for treatment, but the panic-stricken people may find that the medicare services run quickly out of drugs due to excessive demand. But no one would be able to realise that a terrorist attack has occurred. One cannot deny the possibility that the germ involved would be of contagious variety capable of causing an epidemic. The meeting concluded that such attacks, apart from causing immediate human tragedy, would have dire long-term effects on the political and social fabric of a country by way of ending people's trust on the competence of the government.
The experts also said that the bombs used in Kenya and Tanzania were of the old-fashion variety and involved quantities of high explosives, but new terrorism will prove to be more deadly and probably more elusive than hijacking an aeroplane or a gelignite of previous decades. According to Bruce Hoffman, an American specialist on political violence, old terrorism generally had a specific manifesto - to overthrow a colonial power or the capitalist system and so on. These terrorists were not shy about planting a bomb or hijacking an aircraft and they set some limit to their brutality. Killing so many innocent people might turn their natural supporters off. Political terrorists want a lot of people watching but not a lot of people dead. "Old terrorism sought to change the world while the new sort is often practised by those who believe that the world has gone beyond redemption", he added. Hoffman says, "New terrorism has no long-term agenda but is ruthless in its short-term intentions. It is often just a cacophonous cry of protest or an outburst of religious intolerance or a protest against the West in general and the US in particular. Its perpetrators may be religious fanatics or diehard opponent of a government and see no reason to show restraint. They are simply intent on inflicting the maximum amount of pain on the victim."
Q-5) According to the author of the passage, the root cause of terrorism is
- religious fanaticism
- socio-political changes in countries
- the enormous population growth
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
‘Religious intolerance’, as cited in the last paragraph, stands behind terrorism.
DIRECTIONS:
Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.
PASSAGE
In the second week of August 1998, just a few days after the incidents of bombing the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam, a high-powered, brainstorming session was held near Washington D.C., to discuss various aspects of terrorism. The meeting was attended by ten of America's leading experts in various fields such as germ and chemical warfare, public health, disease control and also by the doctors and the law-enforcing officers. Being asked to describe the horror of possible bio-attack, one of the experts narrated the following gloomy scenario.
A culprit in a crowded business centre or in a busy shopping mall of a town empties a test tube containing some fluid, which in turn creates an unseen cloud of germ of a dreaded disease like anthrax capable of inflicting a horrible death within 5 days on any one who inhales it. At first 500, or so victims feel that they have mild influenza which may recede after a day or two. Then the symptoms return again and their lungs start filling with fluid. They rush to local hospitals for treatment, but the panic-stricken people may find that the medicare services run quickly out of drugs due to excessive demand. But no one would be able to realise that a terrorist attack has occurred. One cannot deny the possibility that the germ involved would be of contagious variety capable of causing an epidemic. The meeting concluded that such attacks, apart from causing immediate human tragedy, would have dire long-term effects on the political and social fabric of a country by way of ending people's trust on the competence of the government.
The experts also said that the bombs used in Kenya and Tanzania were of the old-fashion variety and involved quantities of high explosives, but new terrorism will prove to be more deadly and probably more elusive than hijacking an aeroplane or a gelignite of previous decades. According to Bruce Hoffman, an American specialist on political violence, old terrorism generally had a specific manifesto - to overthrow a colonial power or the capitalist system and so on. These terrorists were not shy about planting a bomb or hijacking an aircraft and they set some limit to their brutality. Killing so many innocent people might turn their natural supporters off. Political terrorists want a lot of people watching but not a lot of people dead. "Old terrorism sought to change the world while the new sort is often practised by those who believe that the world has gone beyond redemption", he added. Hoffman says, "New terrorism has no long-term agenda but is ruthless in its short-term intentions. It is often just a cacophonous cry of protest or an outburst of religious intolerance or a protest against the West in general and the US in particular. Its perpetrators may be religious fanatics or diehard opponent of a government and see no reason to show restraint. They are simply intent on inflicting the maximum amount of pain on the victim."
Q-6) Choose the word which is most OPPOSITE in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage
cacophonous
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
The meaning of the word ‘cacophony’ as mentioned in the passage is ‘a mixture of loud unpleasant sounds’. Hence the words ‘cacophonous’ and ‘melodious’ are antonymous.
DIRECTIONS:
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words in the passage are printed in bold to help you to locate them easily while answering some of the questions.
PASSAGE
Capitalism is a great slave, but a pathetic master. This truth, unfortunately, gets lost in our chase for the elusive dream especially in the West, the land that has been marketed as the land of dreams the great Western dream. Its the dream of being independent masters of our lives, of making big bucks and of being happy even if that happiness is being bought by money which all of them chase out there. No doubt, the West, on its part, has been fairly successful in creating material comforts aplenty. It has improved the living standard of its average citizen.
However, it has been achieved as a result of more than 200 years of unbridled growth and exploitation. And that is what has made the rest of the world mindlessly chase Westernism, not necessarily happiness or an ideal form of society. All because the shop window looks very impressive and it has been marketed very well. But a deep look inside the shop tells a different tale. A different world lies behind, a world that is not quite visible to the starry-eyed millions for whom the Western way of life seems to be the ultimate dream. Thus, we have Indians dreaming to become or to get married to an NRI and Indian middle-class fathers dreaming of their sons reaching the Bay area and landing tech jobs, unmindful of the second class life they end up leading in the West. What goes unseen and almost unheard is that the West also happens to be the land that is rich amongst the top in terms of the number of divorces per thousand, the number of single parent families per thousand, the number of old people in old age homes, the number of suicides, homicides, and of course, the number of colleges school shortcuts. And why not After all, such societies are constantly driven towards higher profits and materialism. Expectedly, this materialism comes at a cost that the world is paying today.
This is the reason why we have Milionis dying of curable diseases in Africa and other underdeveloped countries, while the rich grow richer. Their growth will be reduced if they were to start thinking of the poor. So what do they do to justify their greed for more? They most shrewdly propagate and market a ridiculously primitive law of the jungle for our 21st-century civilian, the Law of Survival of the Fittest The interesting thing about material things is that they only give an illusion of happiness however such happiness is always momentary in nature. Ergo, at this juncture, you feel you are the happiest person in the world, after buying your new car or flat-screen TV, and just a few days later, these are the very possessions that cease to make you happy. While you chase the bigger car and spend that extra bit of the wealth, you intercept someones share of the daily bread and also sacrifice those who have the maximum power to make you happy family, emotions and love. Prolonged abstinence in feeling emotions finally destroys bliss and you don't even realize when you have become a dry-eyed cripple.., and then you land up in a sermon workshop to find out the real meaning of life or whatever these workshops are capable of explaining. The truth is that such workshops are also driven by merchants who cash in on the dejected state of the people, a state created by their own fictional dreams.
But by then its really too late. By then, you have made profits out of arms, and engineered wars to keep that industry alive. You've sold guns across counters at supermarkets and made more profits. You've lobbied that guns should be made accessible to the common man, and all for the sake of profits. This makes you realize one day that they are your own children who are in the line of fire against the school goes who opens fire at his schoolmates. This is the society that finally creates an emotionless monster, who gets satisfaction in killing innocent adults and children alike for no cause, no reason and for none, for himself It is the utter destruction of spiritualism and the total focus on endless self-gratification. Where so many single parent families and divorces exist, it is impossible to bring up children or influence dies killers, any better.
Q-7) Who does the author hold responsible for the shooting spree in schools and colleges?
- Lack of love and emotion in society in general.
- Increased focus on self-gratification even when it comes to the cost of innocent lives.
- Deteriorating social structure leading to the break up of families resulting in a lack of moral development in children.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
DIRECTIONS:
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words in the passage are printed in bold to help you to locate them easily while answering some of the questions.
PASSAGE
Capitalism is a great slave, but a pathetic master. This truth, unfortunately, gets lost in our chase for the elusive dream especially in the West, the land that has been marketed as the land of dreams the great Western dream. Its the dream of being independent masters of our lives, of making big bucks and of being happy even if that happiness is being bought by money which all of them chase out there. No doubt, the West, on its part, has been fairly successful in creating material comforts aplenty. It has improved the living standard of its average citizen.
However, it has been achieved as a result of more than 200 years of unbridled growth and exploitation. And that is what has made the rest of the world mindlessly chase Westernism, not necessarily happiness or an ideal form of society. All because the shop window looks very impressive and it has been marketed very well. But a deep look inside the shop tells a different tale. A different world lies behind, a world that is not quite visible to the starry-eyed millions for whom the Western way of life seems to be the ultimate dream. Thus, we have Indians dreaming to become or to get married to an NRI and Indian middle-class fathers dreaming of their sons reaching the Bay area and landing tech jobs, unmindful of the second class life they end up leading in the West. What goes unseen and almost unheard is that the West also happens to be the land that is rich amongst the top in terms of the number of divorces per thousand, the number of single parent families per thousand, the number of old people in old age homes, the number of suicides, homicides, and of course, the number of colleges school shortcuts. And why not After all, such societies are constantly driven towards higher profits and materialism. Expectedly, this materialism comes at a cost that the world is paying today.
This is the reason why we have Milionis dying of curable diseases in Africa and other underdeveloped countries, while the rich grow richer. Their growth will be reduced if they were to start thinking of the poor. So what do they do to justify their greed for more? They most shrewdly propagate and market a ridiculously primitive law of the jungle for our 21st-century civilian, the Law of Survival of the Fittest The interesting thing about material things is that they only give an illusion of happiness however such happiness is always momentary in nature. Ergo, at this juncture, you feel you are the happiest person in the world, after buying your new car or flat-screen TV, and just a few days later, these are the very possessions that cease to make you happy. While you chase the bigger car and spend that extra bit of the wealth, you intercept someones share of the daily bread and also sacrifice those who have the maximum power to make you happy family, emotions and love. Prolonged abstinence in feeling emotions finally destroys bliss and you don't even realize when you have become a dry-eyed cripple.., and then you land up in a sermon workshop to find out the real meaning of life or whatever these workshops are capable of explaining. The truth is that such workshops are also driven by merchants who cash in on the dejected state of the people, a state created by their own fictional dreams.
But by then its really too late. By then, you have made profits out of arms, and engineered wars to keep that industry alive. You've sold guns across counters at supermarkets and made more profits. You've lobbied that guns should be made accessible to the common man, and all for the sake of profits. This makes you realize one day that they are your own children who are in the line of fire against the school goes who opens fire at his schoolmates. This is the society that finally creates an emotionless monster, who gets satisfaction in killing innocent adults and children alike for no cause, no reason and for none, for himself It is the utter destruction of spiritualism and the total focus on endless self-gratification. Where so many single parent families and divorces exist, it is impossible to bring up children or influence dies killers, any better.
Q-8) What does the author mean by shop window of the West when he suggests looking Inside the shop?
- The sprawling supermarkets have been making profits out of inhuman activities.
- To look closely at the existing societal structure rather than superficially appreciating the delusive dazzle.
- To study their marketing techniques closely.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
DIRECTIONS:
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words in the passage are printed in bold to help you to locate them easily while answering some of the questions.
PASSAGE
Capitalism is a great slave, but a pathetic master. This truth, unfortunately, gets lost in our chase for the elusive dream especially in the West, the land that has been marketed as the land of dreams the great Western dream. Its the dream of being independent masters of our lives, of making big bucks and of being happy even if that happiness is being bought by money which all of them chase out there. No doubt, the West, on its part, has been fairly successful in creating material comforts aplenty. It has improved the living standard of its average citizen.
However, it has been achieved as a result of more than 200 years of unbridled growth and exploitation. And that is what has made the rest of the world mindlessly chase Westernism, not necessarily happiness or an ideal form of society. All because the shop window looks very impressive and it has been marketed very well. But a deep look inside the shop tells a different tale. A different world lies behind, a world that is not quite visible to the starry-eyed millions for whom the Western way of life seems to be the ultimate dream. Thus, we have Indians dreaming to become or to get married to an NRI and Indian middle-class fathers dreaming of their sons reaching the Bay area and landing tech jobs, unmindful of the second class life they end up leading in the West. What goes unseen and almost unheard is that the West also happens to be the land that is rich amongst the top in terms of the number of divorces per thousand, the number of single parent families per thousand, the number of old people in old age homes, the number of suicides, homicides, and of course, the number of colleges school shortcuts. And why not After all, such societies are constantly driven towards higher profits and materialism. Expectedly, this materialism comes at a cost that the world is paying today.
This is the reason why we have Milionis dying of curable diseases in Africa and other underdeveloped countries, while the rich grow richer. Their growth will be reduced if they were to start thinking of the poor. So what do they do to justify their greed for more? They most shrewdly propagate and market a ridiculously primitive law of the jungle for our 21st-century civilian, the Law of Survival of the Fittest The interesting thing about material things is that they only give an illusion of happiness however such happiness is always momentary in nature. Ergo, at this juncture, you feel you are the happiest person in the world, after buying your new car or flat-screen TV, and just a few days later, these are the very possessions that cease to make you happy. While you chase the bigger car and spend that extra bit of the wealth, you intercept someones share of the daily bread and also sacrifice those who have the maximum power to make you happy family, emotions and love. Prolonged abstinence in feeling emotions finally destroys bliss and you don't even realize when you have become a dry-eyed cripple.., and then you land up in a sermon workshop to find out the real meaning of life or whatever these workshops are capable of explaining. The truth is that such workshops are also driven by merchants who cash in on the dejected state of the people, a state created by their own fictional dreams.
But by then its really too late. By then, you have made profits out of arms, and engineered wars to keep that industry alive. You've sold guns across counters at supermarkets and made more profits. You've lobbied that guns should be made accessible to the common man, and all for the sake of profits. This makes you realize one day that they are your own children who are in the line of fire against the school goes who opens fire at his schoolmates. This is the society that finally creates an emotionless monster, who gets satisfaction in killing innocent adults and children alike for no cause, no reason and for none, for himself It is the utter destruction of spiritualism and the total focus on endless self-gratification. Where so many single parent families and divorces exist, it is impossible to bring up children or influence dies killers, any better.
Q-9) According to the passage, which of the following is a reason for poverty and hunger in underdeveloped countries?
- Mindlessly chasing the West way of living.
- They have fallen prey to the j idea of happiness through material comforts rather than love and emotional bond.
- They do not have marketing techniques as good as western countries.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
DIRECTIONS:
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words in the passage are printed in bold to help you to locate them easily while answering some of the questions.
PASSAGE
Capitalism is a great slave, but a pathetic master. This truth, unfortunately, gets lost in our chase for the elusive dream especially in the West, the land that has been marketed as the land of dreams the great Western dream. Its the dream of being independent masters of our lives, of making big bucks and of being happy even if that happiness is being bought by money which all of them chase out there. No doubt, the West, on its part, has been fairly successful in creating material comforts aplenty. It has improved the living standard of its average citizen.
However, it has been achieved as a result of more than 200 years of unbridled growth and exploitation. And that is what has made the rest of the world mindlessly chase Westernism, not necessarily happiness or an ideal form of society. All because the shop window looks very impressive and it has been marketed very well. But a deep look inside the shop tells a different tale. A different world lies behind, a world that is not quite visible to the starry-eyed millions for whom the Western way of life seems to be the ultimate dream. Thus, we have Indians dreaming to become or to get married to an NRI and Indian middle-class fathers dreaming of their sons reaching the Bay area and landing tech jobs, unmindful of the second class life they end up leading in the West. What goes unseen and almost unheard is that the West also happens to be the land that is rich amongst the top in terms of the number of divorces per thousand, the number of single parent families per thousand, the number of old people in old age homes, the number of suicides, homicides, and of course, the number of colleges school shortcuts. And why not After all, such societies are constantly driven towards higher profits and materialism. Expectedly, this materialism comes at a cost that the world is paying today.
This is the reason why we have Milionis dying of curable diseases in Africa and other underdeveloped countries, while the rich grow richer. Their growth will be reduced if they were to start thinking of the poor. So what do they do to justify their greed for more? They most shrewdly propagate and market a ridiculously primitive law of the jungle for our 21st-century civilian, the Law of Survival of the Fittest The interesting thing about material things is that they only give an illusion of happiness however such happiness is always momentary in nature. Ergo, at this juncture, you feel you are the happiest person in the world, after buying your new car or flat-screen TV, and just a few days later, these are the very possessions that cease to make you happy. While you chase the bigger car and spend that extra bit of the wealth, you intercept someones share of the daily bread and also sacrifice those who have the maximum power to make you happy family, emotions and love. Prolonged abstinence in feeling emotions finally destroys bliss and you don't even realize when you have become a dry-eyed cripple.., and then you land up in a sermon workshop to find out the real meaning of life or whatever these workshops are capable of explaining. The truth is that such workshops are also driven by merchants who cash in on the dejected state of the people, a state created by their own fictional dreams.
But by then its really too late. By then, you have made profits out of arms, and engineered wars to keep that industry alive. You've sold guns across counters at supermarkets and made more profits. You've lobbied that guns should be made accessible to the common man, and all for the sake of profits. This makes you realize one day that they are your own children who are in the line of fire against the school goes who opens fire at his schoolmates. This is the society that finally creates an emotionless monster, who gets satisfaction in killing innocent adults and children alike for no cause, no reason and for none, for himself It is the utter destruction of spiritualism and the total focus on endless self-gratification. Where so many single parent families and divorces exist, it is impossible to bring up children or influence dies killers, any better.
Q-10) Why do the starry-eyed millions harbour a wish to become an NRI?
- They are driven towards higher profits and materialism.
- They appreciate the western way of life as it appears to them.
- They have become emotionless and have lost any attachment to the motherland.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)