1. What virtues does the author want to be cultivated which are an integral part of education?

Transcription

1 Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions. Paragraph 1 : The acquisition of knowledge is no longer the preserve of a few. The need for widespread literacy in modern societies as well as the development of public spheres has meant that the acquisition and communication of knowledge, including the understanding of radically different people and cultures, has to be democratized. Gathering knowledge through reading and writing and exchanging ideas is a general human need in contemporary societies. In the past, those trained to acquire, preserve, nourish and transmit knowledge had to go through rigorous protocols. They had to learn the norms of knowledge formation: proper ways of collecting and assessing evidence; drawing sound inferences from data; formulating concepts and frameworks of explanation; cultivating empathetic understanding. Paragraph 2 : It is true that some forms of knowledge gathering and transmission which were normal earlier make us uncomfortable today. The elites spoke primarily to themselves, wrote for themselves, stealthily guarded the knowledge they owned, did not allow public dissemination, and even punished anyone from outside the circle who tried to procure it. Yet, the crucial point here is the existence of fairly rigorous norms of knowledge acquisition in the past, as also an ethic of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and sharing knowledge. Great emphasis was put on intellectual virtues, and measures were put in place to check corresponding intellectual vices. Paragraph 3 : In the contemporary world of democratized knowledge acquisition, insufficient attention is paid to intellectual norms and virtues. There are many, but mainly intellectual openness is one of them. It must surely be an integral part of our education, nurtured early in our childhood and ingrained so firmly that it remains with us as long as we are intellectually active. But what is this quality of openness? Suppose a newspaper claims that the Indian economy is growing at 10%, it is incumbent upon me, the reader, with no particular beliefs of my own on this matter, to check if this is true. Not much research is needed. Relevant facts some supporting and others challenging the claim are available on the Internet. And if that information proves indecisive, it is easily obtainable from other reliable sources. Thus, one important feature of being open-minded is to refrain from making hasty or premature judgments. This intellectual virtue of hearing both sides, to be persuaded only by better evidence and argument, should be cultivated through education. Exercising intellectual caution and not getting easily swayed by hyperbole is an integral part of intellectual life. Sadly, this elementary virtue is neglected or forgotten today. Why else would rumors and fake news be as rampant and successful? Paragraph 4 : Another form of open-mindedness is even more important, crucial for knowledge of other people and cultures. Our habits of reading, listening, seeing and understanding often get locked within a particular intellectual framework, which becomes our default position. It becomes naturalized, something taken for granted. We seem unable to think, read, write without it. For example, in some cognitive frameworks, anything good (a rich man s wealth) or bad (a poor man s suffering) that happens to an individual is either a product of his own personal choice or to do with some bad karma in previous life. No place exists in this framework for any idea of systematic harms caused by one group to another, or by social, cultural and institutional biases built into the system. Such naturalized intellectual frameworks may also be influenced or defined by a particular culture, philosophy, religion or caste. So, Hindus might think about the world with their own very Hindu assumptions and Muslims and Christians with their own. And each finds it difficult to move beyond, to enlarge their respective

2 visions. This is understandable but these frameworks can be the source of many prejudices and, because they are implicit, lying in the background, can generate an invidious form of closedmindedness. Only those who have opened up their hearts and minds can overcome the limitations of deeply entrenched world views. Alas, this open-endedness is least remembered when it is most needed. No society can survive normlessness in intellectual life. Neglecting intellectual virtues may not cause immediate visible harm but it will spell disaster. 1. What virtues does the author want to be cultivated which are an integral part of education? A. Gathering knowledge through reading and writing. B. Intellectual openness to be nurtured early in our childhood. C. Acquiring rigorous norms of knowledge. D. Analyzing previous situations and making premature judgments. E. None of these. 2. What is one of the elementary features of being open-minded? A. Not to be influenced by particular religion, culture, philosophy or caste. B. To refrain from making hasty or premature judgments. C. Supporting and challenging the claim made by some other people. D. Existence of fairly rigorous norms of knowledge acquisition. E. Having ethics of reading, writing and speaking. 3. Which of the statements is true in reference to cognitive frameworks? A. Anything good or bad that happens to a person is not a part of his karma. B. These frameworks are not influenced by any particular religion, philosophy or caste. C. These are explicit set of frameworks. D. This framework does not hold any systematic harm caused by one group to another. E. None of these.

3 4. How are cognitive frameworks likely to generate unfairly discriminating forms of closed mindedness? A. As they are explicit, they are likely to become biased and result in closed mindedness. B. Since they are implicit, lying in the background, they can be source of many mindedness. C. As those who have opened their minds and hearts will not be able to overcome the limitations of the world views. D. Prevalent normlessness culture will result in closed mindedness. E. All of these. 5. What can be referred as the most appropriate title of the passage? A. Democratized Knowledge acquisition B. Need for widespread Literacy C. Cognitive framework of Active learning D. Necessity of Intellectual Virtue E. Overcoming the rituals of Caste and religion. 6. Choose the word which is most nearly the SAME in meaning as the word printed in Contemporary A. Archaic B. Vintage C. Concurrent D. Antiquated E. Antediluvian 7. Choose the word which is most nearly the SAME in meaning as the word printed in Empathetic A. Callous B. Congenial C. Savage D. Vicious E. Implacable

4 8. Choose the word which is most nearly the SAME in meaning as the word printed in Rigorous A. Lenient B. Indulgent C. Clement D. Tender E. Stringent 9. Choose the word which is the OPPOSITE in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage. Rampant A. Inhibited B. Turbulent C. Unrestrained D. Unbridled E. Rife 10. Choose the word which is the OPPOSITE in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage. Entrenched A. Ensconced B. Established C. Settled D. Embedded E. Unascertained

5 Answers : 1. B 2. B 3. D 4. B 5. D 6. C 7. B 8. E 9. A 10. E