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New Reading exercise posted at the reading club blog today June 29.
Visit: http://the-reading-club.blogspot.in/

Match Up Exercise June 29

Read the sentences carefully and then through contextual analysis match the usage of the highlighted word with its meaning.

	Usage of highlighted word		Meaning
A	This new form blends religious and spiritual aphorisms with the rhetoric of land struggles, human rights, justice, and development for the poor.	1	To condemn openly as being evil
B	In 1958, when we lodged our protest and subsequently when the aggression was denounced in Parliament, we were still not sure about our rights in Aksai Chin.	2	Tumultuous; stormy
C	The book lucidly takes one through the life and tempestuous political career of Mamata Banerjee.	3	in a clear manner
D	The book lucidly takes one through the life and tempestuous political career of Mamata Banerjee.	4	a kind of railway in which carriages are pulled uphill by cable etc.
E	Unfortunately, that morning the funicular developed a snag and the ride was cancelled.	5	A brief statement of a principle.
F	Unfortunately, that morning the funicular developed a snag and the ride was cancelled.	6	Abrupt and curt in manner or speech; blunt
G	One hopes The Hindu will continue its very useful column “This Day That Age” and not emulate those contemporaries who revel in dumbing down.	7	to give rise to; evoke
H	Interviews with people in the know elicited some details.	8	Bitter and sharp in language or tone
I	R.K. Nehru regretted the Prime Minister's brusque rejection of China's “Note” of May 16, 1959, which spoke of the undesirability of either side facing two fronts.	9	To take great pleasure or delight
J	Their main concern was that quiet talks should be continued, that the exchange of acrimonious notes should be reduced and that further military movements on both sides should be stopped until this question was settled.	10	An unforeseen or hidden obstacle

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New Reading exercise posted at the reading club blog.
Visit: http://the-reading-club.blogspot.in/

Critical Reasoning Exercise June 27

For answers of this exercise and more CR and passage based exercises visit: http://the-reading-club.blogspot.in/

In the following passage there are four sentences that are not part of the original writing and hence disrupt the flow. Read the passage carefully and identify these sentences.

Unmanned U.S. aircraft now routinely fly over Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. Their cameras record the presence of men in motion. A commander sitting in a base thousands of kilometres away gives the kill order. The U.S. President had previously been over lists of alleged terrorists and marked off those who can be killed. This is the “kill list”. If only one person is to be killed, the execution is called a “personality strike”. There are a wide variety of drone shapes, sizes, configurations, and characteristics. If the drone kills more than one person, it is called a “signature strike”.

On September 30, 2011, two U.S. Predator drones fired Hellfire missiles at a car in Yemen's al-Jawf province. The missiles destroyed the car. Among the four dead were two U.S. citizens, the cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and the editor of Al Qaeda's English language magazine Inspire, Samir Khan. Two weeks later, on October 14, another U.S. drone fired at a group who were on their way to dinner. Among the 10 dead were 16-year-old Abdul Rahman al-Awlaki, the son of the cleric, and his 17-year-old cousin Abdulrahman.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) estimates that between 2001 and 2012, the U.S. launched about a hundred drone strikes in Yemen, killing between 317 and 826 people. The civilian casualty is estimated to be anywhere between 58 and 138, of them 24 being children. These are all very poor numbers, as the Bureau acknowledges. The U.S. has not released any firm data; indeed the U.S. continues to have an ambiguous attitude regarding its assassination policy. Many people have mistakenly used the term Unmanned Aerial System, or Unmanned Air Vehicle System, as these designations were in provisional use at one time or another. It takes credit for the killings, but does not take responsibility for the programme itself.

In a stinging 29-page report in 2010, former United Nations special representative on extrajudicial executions Philip Alston asked the major powers to lay out the legal limits to extrajudicial assassinations. In a statement that accompanied the report, Alston described the political problem for the U.S.: “I'm particularly concerned that the United States seems oblivious to this fact when it asserts an ever-expanding entitlement for itself to target individuals across the globe. But this strongly asserted but ill-defined licence to kill without accountability is not an entitlement which the United States or other states can have without doing grave damage to the rules designed to protect the right to life and prevent extrajudicial executions.” The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is a British not-for-profit news organisation backed by a number of prominent journalists. In the quiet rooms of the U.N., such language is rare: it asserted that the continual U.S. use of drones was not only a violation of current norms but a threat to the architecture of conflict resolution and the rules of war.

The BIJ collected data not only from Yemen but also from Pakistan and Somalia. In Pakistan, U.S. drones have killed between 2,462 and 3,145 people, among whom 482 to 830 were civilians (including 175 children). The numbers of those injured are upwards of 3,000. After the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit in Chicago, the U.S. struck in Waziristan about seven times (by June 3). In Somalia, the U.S. conducted a handful of drone strikes, with deaths reported in the hundreds (among them three children). The BIJ's method is eclectic; it uses news reports and speeches. These are, therefore, not exact numbers, only indications of a trend. With no information forthcoming from the U.S., there is no way to have better figures.

The first public admission of extrajudicial executions came with the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011, and the first public admission of the use of drones came from President Barack Obama in an Internet interview on January 30 this year. Of the drone attacks, Obama said, “This is a targeted, focussed effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists who are trying to go in and harm Americans, hit American facilities, American bases and so on.” He said geographical conditions necessitated these attacks. These  Unmanned Aircraft Systems range in cost from a few thousand dollars to tens of millions of dollars, with aircraft ranging from less than one pound to over 40,000 pounds. According to him, the alleged terrorists are in a region in Pakistan that is not amenable to a simply military operation. “Obviously a lot of these strikes have been in the FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas] and going after Al Qaeda suspects who are up in very tough terrain along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.” The key phrase in his statement was that he had a “list of active terrorists” who could be killed by the unmanned drones.

Match up Exercise June 24

Read the sentences carefully and then through contextual analysis match the usage of the highlighted word with its meaning.

	Usage of highlighted word		Meaning
A	Overawed as the BJP and its spiritual mentor are by Mr. Modi, they also know that his hegemony cannot be questioned and a party led by him will be a one-man show.	1	To make fun, mock
B	Then unprovoked, he swung at Nitish Kumar, lampooning Bihar’s caste preoccupations and contrasting its backwardness with Gujarat’s material superiority.	2	Grandiloquent, pompous speech or writing. (using lofty words or ideas)
C	He also showed that despite Gujarat’s bombastic claim as a red hot destination for Foreign Direct Investment, it was unsung Maharashtra that was the leader in this department.	3	the dominance or leadership of one social group or nation over others
D	Building in a lack of capacity and making the process as arduous as possible, whether deliberately or through benign neglect, allows many opportunities for rent extraction and out-of-turn favours.	4	To increase, enlarge, or intensify
E	There is something odd about the escalating row around Narendra Modi’s prime ministerial ambitions.	5	To make clean, bright, or fresh again; renovate.
F	Ironically, the oft refurbished, state-of-the-art disaster management cell is on the fifth floor.	6	Demanding great effort or labor; difficult
G	It was on his suggestion that the court desisted from offering its own opinion on the SIT’s findings, though critics have read into this a judicial reluctance to comment on Mr. Modi’s culpability.	7	An organized, often officially encouraged massacre or persecution of a minority group
H	Mr. Modi first vanquished Nitin Gadkari who had mistakenly assumed that his dominion as party chief extended to Chhote Sardar.	8	To put down or suppress forcibly and completely
I	A further complication awaits Mr. Modi. He is not out of the woods on the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom though the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team has filed a closure report in the case.	9	To defeat or conquer in battle; subjugate.
J	Internally, there is already considerable unease over his intolerance — evident in the way he quashed Mr. Joshi for the rest of the party to watch and learn a lesson from.	10	a state of guilt

Cloze Test June 21

Read the paragraph carefully and then identify which word has been replaced from which blank. The list of words has been provided below.

By returning a verdict for a coalition of mainstream parties in Sunday’s poll, viewed widely as a __1__ on Athens’ continuation in the eurozone, the Greeks have shown they have not lost hope in the politics of moderation. In an encouraging show of __2__ this time, traditional rivals — the rightwing New Democracy (ND) and the Pasok socialists — are putting their heads together to provide what everyone hopes will be a stable government. There are already signs that Europe’s leaders are __3__ to ease the terms of the Greek bailout. Sunday’s elections, the second in as many months, saw a __4__ in support for the radical left — a 10 per cent rise in vote share over the May polls. For the first time since Greece’s return to democracy in the 1970s, the far-right has also been catapulted into Parliament. The erosion of the political middle-ground in Greece mirrors what has been happening elsewhere in Europe as the continent __5__ with the harshest economic crisis since the Great Depression. While ND was in power in the early years after Athens joined the eurozone and enjoyed a credit boom, it failed to undertake crucial reforms that were needed to check __6__ tax evasion and other administrative lapses. Greece made headlines when it came to light that its growth figures were inflated in order to show compliance with European Union stipulations. When the debt crisis __7__ Greece in 2010, the incumbent socialists were blamed both for the country’s bloated public sector and for the extremely __8__ bailout conditions imposed on Greece by its European and international partners.

A) rampant   B) inclined    C) sagacity     D) stringent     E) gripped      
F) referendum      G) surge     H) grapples

Match up Exercise June 21

Read the sentences carefully and then through contextual analysis match the usage of the highlighted word with its meaning.

	Usage of highlighted word		Meaning
A	But caught between resurgent Islamists led by the Muslim Brotherhood and vestiges of the Mubarak regime, the Egyptian people risk losing their hard-fought democratic gains made over the last 16 months.	1	disgrace or public shame; dishonour
B	It's welcome that euro-zone bulwark Germany has shown the willingness to grant the Greeks more time to meet their fiscal targets.	2	So intricate or entangled as to make escape impossible
C	Otherwise the ignominies will continue to pour in from rating agencies like Standard and Poor's and Fitch, which can only mean more trouble in the days ahead as investment freezes up.	3	A visible trace, or sign of something that once existed but exists no more.
D	He may have been a bit miffed with the grand old party in the past, but he has never let that get in the way of his functioning effectively in whatever portfolio he has been given.	4	Something serving as a defense or safeguard
E	There are chances of UPA’s Mulayam and Mamata hectoring the Congress with 22 and 20 Lok Sabha seats respectively?	5	aroused to impatience or anger, annoyed
F	These goals are also inextricably linked to the issues of poverty eradication, social development, food security and nutrition.	6	marked by repeated turns or bends
G	The move will also add to the pressure on students who already have to face a slew of stringent tests before they can gain entry into one of these highly regarded institutions.	7	excessively precise and attentive to detail; fussy
H	If they plump for secular Nitish, they will be widely applauded but will likely spend five more years in the opposition.	8	A large number
I	The BJP clearly needs to add around 3% to its average national voteshare of 22.58% to come close to 190-200 Lok Sabha seats on its own and not rely excessively on pernickety allies to form an NDA-3 government.	9	To give full support or praise
J	Once they finish their tortuous, drawn-out deliberations over who they will back as President, the BJP’s leaders will have to come to terms with the question: Modi or Nitish?	10	To intimidate or dominate

Match up Exercise June 18

Read the sentences carefully and then through contextual analysis match the usage of the highlighted word with its meaning.

	Usage of highlighted word		Meaning
A	'Son of Shanghai' would be an even more poignant human document, capturing the benign face of new urbania and the not-always-peaceful coexistence of sophistication and squalor.	1	noisy or rough, especially in resisting restraint or control
B	. 'Son of Shanghai' would be an even more poignant human document, capturing the benign face of new urbania and the not-always-peaceful coexistence of sophistication and squalor.	2	To approve and give formal sanction to; confirm
C	What is more easily apparent, though, is that he enjoys public adulation and affection of the kind previously unheard of in the country.	3	suitable to the circumstances; appropriate
D	Understandably, this argument hasn't cut much ice. The very need for a quota within a quota is itself an indictment of the reservation system, which is way past its expiry date.	4	Ill-will, bitterness, complain, resentment
E	Our many-towered housing complex has risen from the scabrous remains of a long-dead textile industry	5	to make or become less severe or harsh; moderate
F	This could be politically expedient for the SP and Trinamool, both having won massive victories in UP and West Bengal in the last one year.	6	Profoundly moving; touching
G	But with a crumbling Centre and obstreperous regional allies, will any government be able to function and govern effectively?	7	A filthy, dirty condition or quality.
H	Ever since India ratified the United Nations Convention on the rights of PWDs in 2007, the formulation of a comprehensive law became imperative.	8	Covered with scales or small projections and rough to the touch
I	It is hardly surprising that these four laws in themselves have not mitigated the sense of apathy and bureaucratic red tape that hamper the creation of an enabling environment.	9	an accusation of wrongdoing
J	Some have seen in its actions and pronouncements a grudge against the Pakistan People's Party government, especially against President Asif Ali Zardari.	10	Excessive flattery or admiration