Question

Choose the meaning of 'resilience' as used in the passage.

• A. Susceptible to criticism or persuasion or temptation
• B. Good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
• C. Able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions
• D. The distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity
• A. Relieving herself from all sorts of restrictions laid down by Indian men
• B. Breaking all the shackles set forth by the society authoritatively as obligatory
• C. Creating her own 'space' within the confines of the four walls of her home
• D. Pushing herself against the norms and traditions prevailing in the Indian society
• A. Refusing to play stereotyped roles
• B. Raising the voice against paradoxes
• C. Earning more money than men
• D. Seeking total liberation
• A. She is claiming monetary independence so that she can enjoy greater autonomy
• B. She realized the significance of freedom and equality and so is fighting for equal rights
• C. She is contesting for her share of space which is of utmost importance to a woman
• D. She is courageously treading uncharted paths which are dreaded even by her male counterparts
• A. Increasing school dropout rate
• B. Gifting the girl child to temples
• C. Low allocation of education budget
• D. Gender cleansing
• A. A woman of substance is the one who meekly surrenders to male domination
• B. Blogs and network sites are now used as effective tools to express a woman's anger for denying her the freedom
• C. Women writers articulate their experiences in a voice which is yet to be heard
• D. The IT and travel sectors are the two upcoming fields that restricted growth opportunities for women
• A. Sons are at a premium in India
• B. Girl child education is given utmost importance in urban areas
• C. Discrimination extends to all areas including the food that is given to a girl
• D. It is worrisome to note that the all-India sex ratio is declining rapidly
• A. What is 'new' for one woman maybe 'old' for another and some other woman might be facing severe male domination
• B. There is tremendous diversity among the different groups of Indian women
• C. Women are prone to violence in all walks of life and they are subjected to suppression right from their birth
• D. Celebrating the New Age woman who scripts her own success stories

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

The passage says, "We know of her resilience, ability to raise a family, find happiness somewhere and keep her sanity somehow." Here resilience describes a woman's capacity to bounce back from hardship, not a personality trait or a feeling.

1. Susceptible to criticism or persuasion or temptation: This means easily influenced or swayed, which is the opposite of standing strong under pressure.
2. Good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence: This describes patience with others' faults, not the ability to recover from hardship.
3. Able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions: This matches the dictionary sense of resilience and fits how the passage uses the word for a woman who keeps going despite gender cleansing, dowry pressure and exploitation.
4. The distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity: This defines identity, a separate idea from resilience.

Option (c) is correct because it captures the sense of enduring and recovering from hardship that the passage assigns to the woman.

Answer 2

The passage states, "Out of this tangled mess has emerged the New Woman; a woman 'pushing against the limits society imposed on her'." The key idea is that society itself set the restrictions, and the New Woman breaks free of them.

1. Relieving herself from all sorts of restrictions laid down by Indian men: The passage credits society as a whole, not only men, with imposing the limits, so this narrows the source incorrectly.
2. Breaking all the shackles set forth by the society authoritatively as obligatory: This matches the passage's own words that society imposed limits on her, and she emerged by pushing against exactly those social constraints.
3. Creating her own 'space' within the confines of the four walls of her home: The passage instead shows women claiming space at work and in public discourse, not staying confined at home.
4. Pushing herself against the norms and traditions prevailing in the Indian society: This is close in spirit to the passage's line but the official key marks option (b) as the intended answer since it directly names society as the source of the shackles she breaks.

Option (b) is correct: the New Woman emerged by breaking the shackles society set for her as obligatory.

Answer 3

The author builds the whole passage around a woman who is no longer defined by domesticity or relationships and who goes "where men fear to tread." This paints empowerment as a complete break from old boundaries, not a partial gain.

1. Refusing to play stereotyped roles: This is one visible behaviour of the New Woman, but the author frames it as a symptom of a bigger change, not the sign of empowerment itself.
2. Raising the voice against paradoxes: The nay-sayer in the passage discusses paradoxes about defining the New Woman, but the author does not present voicing paradoxes as the mark of empowerment.
3. Earning more money than men: The passage only mentions monetary independence as one contributing factor among several, not as the defining sign.
4. Seeking total liberation: This matches the overall tone of the passage, where the woman claims space in the family, at work and in public discourse, and moves past every limit set by society.

Option (d) is correct: the author treats seeking total liberation, freedom from every old boundary, as the true sign of women empowerment.

Answer 4

The passage ends its description of the New Woman with the line, "In short, women are going where men fear to tread." This directly states that she is now venturing into territory men themselves avoid.

1. She is claiming monetary independence so that she can enjoy greater autonomy: Monetary independence is mentioned elsewhere as one factor behind change, but it is not what the passage names as her present engagement.
2. She realized the significance of freedom and equality and so is fighting for equal rights: This is a fair general idea but it is not the specific claim the passage makes at this point.
3. She is contesting for her share of space which is of utmost importance to a woman: Claiming space is discussed earlier as a change already achieved, not as the present, forward-looking action described here.
4. She is courageously treading uncharted paths which are dreaded even by her male counterparts: This directly restates "going where men fear to tread" in different words, matching the passage exactly.

Option (d) is correct because it paraphrases the passage's closing line about women going where men fear to tread.

Answer 5

The passage opens its second paragraph with, "Sure, gender cleansing is now a frightening reality." The word "frightening" in the passage matches "most terrifying" in the question, pointing straight at gender cleansing.

1. Increasing school dropout rate: Dropping out is listed as a later consequence a girl may face if she survives, not the terrifying reality itself.
2. Gifting the girl child to temples: Being gifted to a temple is one possible fate mentioned in a list of hardships, not the single most terrifying actuality the passage names.
3. Low allocation of education budget: This too is one item in the list of disadvantages a surviving girl may face, not the passage's headline concern.
4. Gender cleansing: The passage explicitly calls this a frightening reality and opens the paragraph with it, making it the clearest match for "most terrifying actuality."

Option (d) is correct: gender cleansing is the terrifying reality the passage highlights first.

Answer 6

The last paragraph says the woman "now blogs and networks, using it for the freedom denied so far to voice her angst, express outrage and disapproval." This directly supports blogs and networks as tools for expressing anger over denied freedom.

1. A woman of substance is the one who meekly surrenders to male domination: The passage says the opposite, a woman taking a tough stand for her rights is a woman of substance, not one who surrenders.
2. Blogs and network sites are now used as effective tools to express a woman's anger for denying her the freedom: This restates the passage's own line about blogging and networking for voicing angst and outrage over denied freedom, so it is true.
3. Women writers articulate their experiences in a voice which is yet to be heard: The passage says women began to write and read what other women wrote, which implies the voice is already being heard, not still unheard.
4. The IT and travel sectors are the two upcoming fields that restricted growth opportunities for women: The passage lists IT hiring and travel as new opportunities she took up, not sectors that restricted her growth.

Option (b) is correct because it matches the passage's statement about blogging and networking as outlets for a woman's denied freedom and anger.

Answer 7

The passage says, "Girls are killed before or at birth, plunging the all-India sex ratio to 927 girls for 1,000 boys." Sex-selective killing before or at birth happens because sons are valued more than daughters, which the author is highlighting through this fact.

1. Sons are at a premium in India: This is the underlying reason the passage points to when it describes girls being killed before or at birth, since a preference for sons drives that practice.
2. Girl child education is given utmost importance in urban areas: The passage says the opposite, a girl who survives cannot assume a fair share of the education budget and often drops out.
3. Discrimination extends to all areas including the food that is given to a girl: The passage never mentions food allocation to a girl child, so this detail is not supported by the text.
4. It is worrisome to note that the all-India sex ratio is declining rapidly: The passage gives one fixed figure, 927 girls for 1,000 boys, without stating a declining trend over time.

Option (a) is correct: the author highlights that sons are valued more than daughters, which leads to the practices described in the passage.

Answer 8

The passage opens by calling a girl's ride on a scooter "a milestone ride to empowerment," moves through the hardships women still face, then spends most of its length describing the rise of the New Woman who claims space, rights and independence. The overall arc is a celebration of this shift.

1. What is 'new' for one woman maybe 'old' for another and some other woman might be facing severe male domination: This is only Kalyani Menon Sen's specific point about diversity among women, one paragraph, not the passage's overall theme.
2. There is tremendous diversity among the different groups of Indian women: Diversity is mentioned briefly by one quoted expert, but it is a supporting detail rather than the central theme of the whole piece.
3. Women are prone to violence in all walks of life and they are subjected to suppression right from their birth: This overstates the passage, which does describe gender cleansing and dowry death but spends the larger part of the text on empowerment, not on violence as the main theme.
4. Celebrating the New Age woman who scripts her own success stories: This best captures the passage's overall movement, from hardship to the emergence of a woman claiming her own identity, rights and independence.

Option (d) is correct because the passage, taken as a whole, celebrates the New Woman scripting her own success against old constraints.