English Comprehension - Moderate to Advanced level.

Practice for P.O. exams.

In addition, it cites the deposition of Ram Adhar, the man who was mugged by the four convicts in the same bus before the convicts picked up the gang-rape victim and her friend from Munirka. “The incident belies the claim of the convicts that they had clean antecedents,” it reads, adding that the presumption of innocence also fails as they have now been convicted.

Quoting a previous judgment on the Rarest of Rare Test (R-R Test), the order reads that the R-R Test depends on the perception of the society and was not judge-centric. The arguments therefore for death penalty i.e. the aggravating circumstances included that the offence has been committed in an extremely brutal, grotesque and dastardly manner and aroused the intense indignation of society. Further, the act was a demonstration of exceptional depravity and extreme brutality with extreme misery being inflicted on the victim before her death and that it had a grave impact on social order which nullified the mitigating circumstances reasoned by the lawyers of the convicts.

Finally in upholding that the case fell into the category of rarest of rare, he recounted the fact that the entire intestine of the victim was perforated, splayed and cut open. The convicts pulled out her internal organs with their bare hands and rods and caused her irreparable injuries, which shows “extreme mental perversion not worthy of human condonation.” The order further elaborates on the bite marks found on various parts of the victim’s body to shows that the brutality of the crime called for extreme penalty. While adding that the increasing trend of crimes against women could only be curbed when the society knows that there will be no tolerance of such crimes and especially in cases of brutality as in this case, he held that the criminal justice system must instill confidence in the people, especially women. Finally, he held that the ghastly act classified as rare of rarest case for which the convicts be punished under Section 302 to be “hanged by neck until they are dead.”

The following is an excerpt from "Why the Delhi gangrape convicts were given the death penalty" an article written by Shonali Ghosal which appeared in Tehelka.

Answers to Cloze Test 1

Here are the answers to Cloze Test 1

1 – e – Surrounded

2 – d – Imprinted

3 – e – Cloth

4 – a – Legend

5 – a – Ripped

6 – e – Shelter

7 – d – Into

8 – a – Gutted

9 – c – Swatches

10 – a – Fascination

I hope you did well on the test.

   

Cloze Test 001

This Cloze Test was given to me by a student! I am grateful and truly obliged to him for his generosity. 
 

                                                                                                    My Time: 2 min 43 sec                                                                                                                


Almost everything about the shroud of Turin is ___(1)___ by mystery - its age, its authenticity and even the identity of the bearded man with the deep-set eyes whose image is ___(2)___ on the 14-foot length of the yellow linen still believed by many Catholics to be the burial ___(3)___ of Jesus.

Now to add to the ___(4)___, there is also the mystery of the fire that ___(5)___ through the 17th century baroque chapel built to ___(6)___ the shroud and that spread ___(7)___ the upper floors of the neighboring Royal Palace on the night of April 12. The shroud itself was saved but the chapel was ___(8___, just weeks before the scaffolding was to come down after a three year restoration.

Whether it dates back to the middle ages, as carbon dating done on tiny ___(9)___ of the shroud concluded in 1988, or to the time of Jesus, the centuries old ___(10)___ with the shroud has only increased since the fire.

1. a. Covered	b. Expelled	c. Painted	d. Flanked	e. Surrounded
2. a. Soiled	b. Photographed	c. Reflected	d. Imprinted	e. Adhered
3. a. Grave	b. Mound	c. Rite	d. Song	e. Cloth
4. a. Legend	b. Story	c. Fable	d. Fiction	e. Fuel
5. a. Ripped	b. Devastated	c. Annihilated	d. Exasperated	e. Pervaded
6. a. Shelter	b. Reside	c. Refuge	d. Relish	e. House
7. a. Over	b. About	c. Aside	d. Into	e. Out
8. a. Gutted	b. Inflamed	c. Drowned	d. Attacked	e. Invaded
9. a. Pieces	b. Rags	c. Swatches	d. Samples	e. Models
10 a Fascination	b. Attachment	c. Affection	d. Affectation	e. Expectation

Speed Test 002

Link to original article http://goo.gl/klW0b                                          My Time: 2 min 17 sec

Days after tech tycoon Azim Premji officially announced he’d signed the Giving Pledge, the Indian billionaire made his biggest philanthropic donation ever: Premji, ranked as India’s third richest person with a fortune of over $13 billion, announced Friday that he is donating $2.2 billion, or a 12% stake, in his IT outsourcer Wipro, to a trust to fund his education-focused Azim Premji Foundation.

The donation of 295.5 million shares brings down Premji’s stake in Wipro from 70% to 58% and increases the charitable trust’s holding in the company to close to 20%. The billionaire’s latest act of charity comes on top of an initial $125 million worth of shares in Wipro that he had earmarked to start the Foundation in 2001, followed by his gifting shares worth $2 billion to the trust three years ago which had made him Asia’s

most generous philanthropist.

With this new endowment, Premji, often referred to as India’s Bill Gates earlier for his tech wealth and now for his charity, joins the ranks of the world’s top five givers. Having donated $4.4 billion thus far, he’s given away more than Carlos Slim Helu, the world’s richest person, who’s gifted $4 billion to his foundation. “ This is a magnanimous, magnificent gesture. But I’m not surprised because Azim is a philanthropist at heart, “ said biotech pioneer Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Premji’s close friend.

Lately, Premji has emerged as one of the most outspoken and active among India’s wealthy on the issue of giving back. Last year in June, he co-hosted a philanthropy meet with Bill Gates in Bangalore which was attended by several of the country’s richest businesspeople. Recently, Premji caused a stir when he said that he supported a government proposal to tax the super-rich. In comparison to some of his fellow billionaires in India who splash out on palace-like homes and expensive toys, Premji’s lifestyle is modest; last year it is believed he traded his modest Toyota car for a Mercedes Benz but a second-hand one.

Premji’s hometown of Bangalore, known as India’s tech capital, can now be regarded as the country’s philanthropy capital as well. Other large-hearted residents of this city who have earned billion dollar fortunes such as the founders of Infosys N.R. Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani and S.Goplakrishnan, are all notable givers. Premji’s friend Mazumdar-Shaw who donates half the dividends she gets annually from her firm Biocon has disclosed to Forbes that she’s pledged to give away 75% of her wealth: “ Azim has set a trend for others to emulate.”

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Q 1 In which city does Azim Premji live?
Q 2 What is the name of Kiran Majumdar Shaw's company?
Q 3 How much of her income from dividends from her company does Kiran M. Shaw donates?
Q 4 Including this present donation how many times has Azim Premji donated to his charity?







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Azim Premji Donates $2.3 Billion After Signing Giving Pledge,  Forbes.com, By Naazneen Karmali, Forbes Staff     2/23/2013


                                                   http://goo.gl/klW0b

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Note: 1. I took a long time to read this article. Anything around 2 min is good for this article. I took a lot more than that. 

Practice Article 2

This is a slightly difficult article but I expect a similar article in the P.O. exams, especially in SBI PO. Read it twice and time your second attempt.

Anything around 4 min is good for this article.

I have taken this article from WSJ India Real Time and you can access the original article from the link given here or at the end of the article. The link is this

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Data show there is a very real threat that India’s economic growth could slip below 5% this fiscal year.

Industrial production shrank in December for the second month in a row; grain production estimates point to a decline in output because of drought, and food inflation is already high; the trade deficit expanded in January, raising fears that India’s current account deficit could hit record highs.

Last year through March, India’s current account deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product reached 4.2%. The situation has worsened this year, with the ratio at 4.7% in the first half and as high as 5.4% for the second quarter through September.

The central bank said India’s trade deficit to GDP ratio rose to 11.7% in the nine months through December from 10.1% a year earlier. The trend continued in January, when exports grew a modest 0.8% in dollar terms and imports accelerated. In January India’s trade deficit touched 20 billion dollars, the second highest of the year.

With weakening economic growth, India’s non-oil imports have fallen. But the depreciating rupee and rising oil prices have resulted in a surge in oil imports, leading to a spurt in the trade deficit. India’s current account deficit to GDP ratio for the year may well be in the vicinity of 5% or even above as India’s economic growth slows.

Such a high current account deficit poses a big challenge for the economy and could lead to a downgrade in India’s sovereign rating. Many have blamed high gold imports for the worsening current account deficit, but data show gold imports for the first nine months were lower than the previous year.

The trade deficit and slower growth in services exports were the real culprits. Weak external demand combined with high imports of oil and oil products have resulted in a deterioration of the trade balance.

The likely fall in the savings rate is another concern. The current account deficit goes up if an economy invests more than it saves domestically, and that is what is happening in India.

The savings rate last year fell to 30.8% of GDP from 34% the previous year and a peak of 36.8% in 2007-08. This year, the savings rate might well drop below 30%.

The current account deficit needs to be financed by foreign capital flows. But foreign direct investment has slowed to a trickle as investors appeared unnerved by a sense of policy paralysis in India and concerns over governance. However, foreign investment inflows, which are more volatile in nature, have risen and helped finance the deficit. But an excessive dependence on FII inflows would lead to increased volatility of the rupee, which is already showing signs of weakness.

India needs to aggressively pursue policies that will help manage the deficit. These include diligently sticking to the fiscal consolidation roadmap, which includes cutting down subsidies; improving the business environment so that foreign investors feel more comfortable; and taking measures to arrest and then reverse the decline in savings.

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Ouch, India’s Economic Woes, By Kunal Kumar Kundu , The Wall Street Journal - India Real Time, February 22, 2013, 9:30 AM

                                                    http://goo.gl/Zqe4a

Speed Test 001

Link to original article http://goo.gl/NCJJn                                           My Time: 1 min 21 sec


Mumbai (PTI): One of the game’s all-time greats, Sachin Tendulkar, on Sunday 23 December announced his retirement from one-day cricket, bringing to an end a glorious 23-year-old career in the format during which he rewrote numerous batting records.

“I have decided to retire from the One-Day format of the game. I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup wining Indian team. The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest,” the 39-year-old said in a statement released by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) on Sunday.

“I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future. I am eternally grateful to all my well wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years,” he added.

Tendulkar, considered the most complete batsman in modern cricket and one who was considered next only to the legendary Sir Donald Bradman, retires from the ODI format at the top of the run-getters’ list.

Tendulkar goes out after amassing 18,426 runs in 463 one-dayers at an average of 44.83. The diminutive right-hander has an astonishing 49 hundreds in the format, including a double hundred — the first in this form of the game.

Tendulkar made his ODI debut against Pakistan way back in 1989 and, interestingly, he is quitting the scene just ahead of another series against the arch-rivals.
The Mumbaikar, who made himself unavailable for Twenty20 after playing just one game in 2006, will now remain active in only the Test arena.

The brightest moment of his ODI career came last year when he finally became part of a World Cup winning Indian team after five previous appearances.


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Q1 In how many World Cups did Sachin play?
Q2 What is the age of Sachin when he declares his retirement as noted in the article ?
Q3 Sachin is compared to which other batsmen, in this article?



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           Little Master Sachin Tendulkar announces one-day retirement, Tehelka (PTI)
                                                       http://goo.gl/NCJJn