Current Affairs 6th Class

WHAT IS READING COMPREHENSION? Reading Comprehension is an activity your brain is constantly engaged in. Whatever you do is reading Comprehension for brain, e.g. reading newspaper, watching billboards on roadside, watching TV, talking with a person, listening to music etc. Reading a newspaper is obviously reading comprehension you would have understood. We read the news printed on the paper, we understand what it means, we analyze the news for ourselves, and sometimes we agree or disagree with the opinion expressed in the newspaper article. If it is a report we select the useful portion of news and store it in our memory to be used later. We like or dislike the subject chosen by the writer, sometimes we are made to think or question our beliefs or mindset by some articles, this is data analysis, then we remember what seems important or useful to us in the newspaper and forget much of the news in the paper every day. The same procedure happens even when you are watching hoarding on the roadside. The advertisements are the data for your brain. It is raw information that your brain understands and processes. Remember how many times you say after watching an Ad, "Oh, this is not real", "Oh! Does it happen this way, I didn't know that", "This is a good Ad". All of the above reactions when studied closely are a judgment, fact-collection, opinion formation. You don't remember everything about every Ad, only the part, appealing to you finds a place in your memory. This is Data Selection. Same for watching TV and listening to music, your mind reads information, comprehends it, processes it, selects the useful section and stores it for future, rejects the useless part. So, to make Reading Comprehension easy we can draw a flow chart of the entire process. The entire process of Reading Comprehension could be divided into 7 simple steps. But here is a need for a reckoner. Though reading comprehension is what our brain practices all the time yet we do not always perform very well when attempting a reading comprehension question, why? Because what the brain does is at an ordinary simplistic level and we are unaware of even that. But what is required of an aspiring students is a conscious, skilful, determined effort to master the art of reading comprehension. Let's illustrate all the seven steps involved in Reading Compression describing what we ordinarily do and what are the special concepts a students should keep in mind while attempting the Reading Comprehension section with some useful tips.   STEP – I Reading is the obvious important pre-requisite of the RC section. How well you read, in what manner you read a given passage, would determine the level of your comprehension and consequently the analysis of information. Reading in the right way is very important.   WHAT IS THE RIGHT WAY OF READING? As was mentioned before that all of us are constantly engaged in more...

The knowledge of Collocations is very important for proper use of English Language. If we are not able to use right collocations, a grammatically correct sentence will stand out awkward. English Collocations fall into the category of Phraseology which means a particular mode of expression, especially one characteristic of a particular speaker or subject area. It is the study of set or fixed expressions, such as idioms, phrasal verbs, and other types of multi-word lexical units (often collectively referred to as phrasemes). In this type of use the component parts of the expression take on a meaning more specific than or otherwise not predictable from the sum of their meanings when used independently. We can say Collocation is the way words are habitually used together to produce a specific meaning. This includes, among others, verbal phrases, verb compounds, noun compounds, compounds with particles and adjective-noun collocates. In addition to producing specific meaning, collocations or their initiatory parts, increase the predictability of the message and anchor it in the context of communication by signaling to the listener or reader that a specific meaning is about to be proved. There are several different types of collocations. They can be:

• Adjective Collocations
• Adverbial Collocations
• Verbal Collocations
• Genitive Collocations

  Example of seven main types of collocations: 1. adverb + adjective · 

• Invading that country was an utterly stupid thing to do.
• We entered a richly decorated room.
• Are you fully aware of the implications of your action?

2. adjective + noun

• The doctor ordered him to take regular exercise.
• The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.
• He was writhing on the ground in excruciating pain.

3. noun + noun

• Let's give Mr. Sharma a round of applause.
• The ceasefire agreement came into effect at 11 am.
• I'd like to buy two bars of soap, please.

4. noun + verb ·  

• The lion started to roar when it heard the dog barking.
• Snow was falling as our plane took off.
• The bomb went off when he started the car engine.

5. verb + noun

• The prisoner was hanged for committing murder.
• I always try to do my homework in the morning, after making my bed.
• He has been asked to give a presentation about his work.

6. verb + expression with preposition

• We had to return home because we had run out of money.
• At first her eyes filled with horror, and then she burst into tears.
• Their behaviour was enough to drive anybody to crime.

7. verb + adverb She placed her keys gently on the table and sat down. Sweety whispered softly in Raj's ear. I vaguely remember that it was growing dark when more...

Tense is the form taken by a verb to indicate time and continuance or completeness of action. The continuance or completeness of action is denoted by four subcategories. (a) Simple Tense: It is used for habitual or routine actions in the Present Tense, action which is over in the Past Tense & action to happen in the Future Tense. (b) Continuous Tense: The action is incomplete or continuous or going on. (c) Perfect Tense: The action is complete, finished or perfect with respect to a certain point of time. (d) Perfect Continuous Tense: The action is going on continuously over a long period of time and is yet to be finished.

The different tenses and the verb forms used in each tense is given below :

  3. The simple Present tense is used (A) To express a habitual action. For example: I get up every day at five o'clock. (B) To express general truths.                                       For example: Fortune favours the brave. (C) In vivid narrative, as substitute for the simple past. For example: Immediately the Sultan hurries to his capital. (D) To indicate a future event that is part of a fixed programme or time table. For example:  The train leaves at 5:20 am. Note: We can also use will leave in place of leaves. (E)  It is used to introduce quotations. For example: Keats says, 'A thing of beauty is a joy forever'. (F) In exclamatory sentences beginning with here and there to express what is actually taking place in the present. For example: Here comes the bus! (G) When two actions of the future are being talked about, one dependent on the other, the former action is represented by present simple and the latter by future simple. For example: We shall go when the child comes back home. 4. The present continuous tense is used (I) For an action going on at the time of speaking. For example: The boys are playing cricket in the ground. (II) For a temporary action that may not be actually happening at the time of speaking but was happening in the recent past and is still happening in recent future. For example: I am reading Sidney Sheldon now a days. (Ill) To express changing or developing situations. For example: India is progressing day by day. (IV) For an action that is planned or arranged to take place in the near future. For example: I am going to cinema tonight. Note: But it is not good to use the present continuous for slightly distant future. So, don't say (a) I am going to cinema next week. Rather, use the future simple. So, it is better if you say (b) I will go to cinema next week. (V) When the reference is to a particularly obstinate habit, the present continuous is used instead of present simple. An adverb like always, continually, constantly is also used. For example: It is no use scolding more...

VOICES In grammar, the quality of a verb that indicates whether its subject acts (active voice) or is acted upon (passive Voice). Compare the following sentences ·   Ram helps Hari. ·   Hari is helped by Ram. While both sentences express the same meaning, there is a difference in their construction, the difference of Voice. In sentence I, the subject Ram is the doer of the action and thus it is in Active voice, the verb is in the Active Voice. In sentence II, the subject is Hari to whom the action is done and thus the verb is in the Passive Voice allowing are some examples of active and passive voice sentences     Following are the rules for transformation of voice. 1. When changing a passive voice sentence to an Active voice sentence if the agent is absent in the given sentence you can use any vague agents such as someone, they, people etc. e.g., 2. My pen has been stolen. (Passive) 3. Someone has stolen my pen. (Active) 4. I was asked my name. (Passive) 5. They asked me my name. (Active) 6. English is spoken all over the world. (Passive) 7. People speak English all over the world. (Active)     NARRATION Narration refers to a speech. The word narration comes the Latin word 'Narrat? that means relating or telling something to somebody Narration is of two types: (a)  Direct Narration   (b) Indirect Narration   (a) Direct Narration: In Direct Narration, we just quote the exact words of a speaker without making any change in it. Here we use comma quotation for the Reported Speech. Farid said, "I read the Holy Quran everyday" (The Reported Speech) Nancy said to me, "I am beautiful." (The Reporting Verb) Sujata said, "I want a pen." Nancy said to Kona, "I must leave the place now" (The Reported Verb) (b) Indirect Narration: But in the Indirect Narration, we modify the speech of a speaker in our own way in order to report it to other person or people. Here we leave out the comma quotation ("?..") and use 'that' as conjunction and we must change the persons. Farid said that she read the Holy Quran everyday Nancy told me that she was beautiful. Sujata said that she wanted a pen. Nancy told Kona that she had to leave the place then. Note: The use of 'that' as conjunction after the Reporting Verb in the Reported Speech is optional.   NECESSARY CHANGES IN TENSES                 Note: 'Past Perfect Tense 'and Past Perfect Continuous Tast Tense in the Reported Speech do not undergo any change with the exception of persons.   NECESSARY CHANGES IN WORDS   He said, "I went to the theatre last night." He said that he had gone to the theatre the night before. He said, "I am more...

As the name suggests, these questions ask you to choose the appropriate words and complete the sentence. These questions not only test your vocabulary, but also you’re understanding and analytical skills. You have been solving fill in the blank questions sincey our school days. This is why, at first sight, they look pretty simple. But beware, they can often get tricky. FIBs are asked in various exams to test the vocabulary and comprehension skills. If your vocabulary is good, and you know how to judiciously employ words, this section should be quite straightforward to you. But fill in the blanks are sometimes asked in a more complex manner: they test not only your vocabulary, but aIso your grammar. We will look at such questions in more depth later on along with some other types.   TYPES OF FIBs   (A) VOCABULARY BASED These questions will ask you to fill the blank with appropriate words. One or more incomplete sentences will be given to you and your job is to complete those sentences from the given options. These are the most common types of fill in the blank questions and are frequently asked in many exams. Sometimes there can be more than one blank, and in those cases, you will have to pick an option which will have the words that satisfy all the empty blanks. How To Solve (i) Read the entire statement(s), i.e. the complete and the incomplete ones. (ii) Try to understand the context or the subject of the statement. (iii) Analyze what word would logically fit in the statement. (iv) If you are unable to predict what should be there, have a look at all the options given to you, and if it still looks a bit complicated, then fit in all the options to the statement and see which option seems most appropriate. (v) Select the option which is most apt for the given statement. Make sure that option abides the context of the statement. Ensure that the selected option has words that fit all the blanks (in case of multiple blanks)   (B) PARAGRAPH STYLE a short paragraph will be given, which will have multiple blanks. Each blank will be numbered identifying the number of the question. For each blank, options will be provided below the paragraph. This pattern is an extended form of the vocabulary-type question, as in this pattern, a string of statements is given. this type of questions have an added trait that all the sentences are framed on a common theme and hence, if one does not follow the author's drift, the connotation of the words would be difficult to figure out. Your approach to solving both these types would be pretty similar. These questions are framed more so test your ability to really understand what you read, as the entire passage is formed on the same subject. So, most often, if you are good at reading comprehension, you would be able to cruise through this type. How to Solve (1) more...

ADJECTIVES Adjectives are the words that describe the qualities of a noun or pronoun in a given sentence.   CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

Tell which sentence is correct                          

(a) Flowers are plucked freshly.                                   (b) Flowers are plucked fresh. Sentence b is correct as, adjective is correctly used with a verb when some quality of the subject rather than verb is to be expressed. Here, fresh describes the word Flowers (a noun) and not plucked (a verb).   RULES REGARDING DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES:

This and that are used with the singular nouns and these and those are used with plural nouns

For example: (a) This mango is sour. (b) These mangoes are sour. (c) That boy is industrious (d) Those boys are industrious.

This and these indicate something near to the speaker while that and those indicate something distant to the speaker.

For example: (a) This girl sings. (b) These girls sing. (c) That girl sings. (d) Those girls sing.   RULES REGARDING DISTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES:

Each is used when reference is made to the individuals forming any group. Each is also used when the number of the group is limited and definite.

For example: (a) I was in Shimla for five days and it rained each day. Every is used when reference is made to total group or when the number is indefinite. For example: (a) Every seat was taken. (b) I go for a movie every week. (c) Leap year falls in every fourth year.

Each, either, neither and every are always followed by the singular noun.

For example: (a) Each boy must take his turn. (b) Every word of it is false. (c) Neither accusation is true.   RULES REGARDING ADJECTIVES OF QUANTITY:

Some is used in affirmative sentences to express quantity or degree.

For example: I shall buy some bananas. Any is used in the negative or interrogative sentences to express quantity or degree. For example: (a) I shall not buy any bananas. (b) Have you bought any bananas? But some is an exception to the above rule. Some is used in interrogative sentences, which are commands or requests. For example: Will you please lend me some money?

Few is used for countable objects and little is used for non-countable objects.

Little means not much. So use of the word little has a negative meaning.                          

For example: (a) There is little hope of his recovery. (b) He has little appreciation of hard work. A little means some though not much. So, use of a little has a positive meaning. For example: (a) There is a little hope of his recovery. (b) He has a little appreciation of hard work. The little means not much but all there is. For example: (a) The little information he had was quite reliable. (b) The little knowledge of management he possessed was not sufficient to stand him in good stead.

Few mean not many so use of the word few has a negative meaning.

For example: Few men are free from faults. A few more...

Grammar forms an important part in the English section of any examination. The typical kind of questions can be categorized as follows: (a) Fill in the blanks b) Identifying errors in sentences and c) Correcting the sentences. The questions can be handled easily and you can score well if your basics are clear. Many of us can communicate well verbally but when it comes to answering grammar-based questions, we commit mistakes. Grammar is not a set of rules but in reality a mere description of the language i.e. used by all of us. This chapter will help you to understand how language and components of language work. It is oriented towards making you more confident users of English by giving you an insight into the correct usage. The material provided is user friendly with adequate examples and 'practice exercises'. If you make a concentrated effort, it will not only prepare you for the forthcoming competitive exams but also fine-tune your communication skills. READING: To supplement your efforts, you should build up reading habits. This can be of any kind - magazines, newspapers or novels. But, one should consciously look at the usage. Good reading habits will definitely build up your understanding of grammatical usage and help you in being successful in competitive exams.   NOUNS A Noun is a word used as a name of a person, place or thing. There are five kinds of Noun - (a) Proper Noun             (b) Common Noun (c) Collective Noun         (d) Abstract Noun (e) Material Noun.   FOLLOWING ARE CERTAIN RULES OF GRAMMAR REGARDING NOUNS THAT WOULD BE USEFUL IN A COMPETITIVE EXAMS:  

Proper nouns are sometimes used as common nouns.

For example: (a) Amitabh is Gandhiji of our class. (Incorrect) (b) Amitabh is the Gandhiji of our class. (Correct) Here Gandhiji does not mean Mahatma Gandhi. The word here stands for the possessor of the qualities that Gandhiji is most known for - truth and non-violence. Thus Gandhiji is being used as a metaphorical common noun. Some nouns have the same form both in singular as well as in plural.   FOLLOWING ARE RULES REGARDING THE NUMBER OF THE NOUN:

For example:

(a) Deer was caught. (b) Deer were caught. Here, the singular and plural form of the noun Deer is same. Like Deer there are other nouns that have the same form in singular as well as plural form. For example: sheep, deer, apparatus, species, series hundred, dozen, hair etc. Preceding adjectives and articles decide whether the word is used in the singular form or plural form. For example: (a) He paid eight hundred rupees for this pair of shoes. (b) India again lost the series. Nouns denoting large numbers are used both in singular and plural form  

For example:

(a) Three hundred people attended the function. (b) Hundreds of people attended the party: In sentence (a), 'hundred' is preceded by number 'three'. So 'hundred' will take no plural form. Word 'three hundred' indicates plurality. But in sentence (b), more...

SPELLING English spelling is an intriguing part of learning English. Max Muller went one step farther and summed up the dilemma of those learning English. "English spelling is a national misfortune to England and international misfortune to the rest of the world." Various scholars and linguists have suggested a number of ways to learn spelling such as Dictionary method, Dictation method, Play way method, Old drill method and so on. Without going into the merits and demerits of any methods we may agree to the sound advice of Tomlinson that 'Caught rather than taught' is the best way to leam spellings. In other words a student can solve the problem just by reading constantly and preparing a list of words that spell a danger for a student. There are many reasons for poor spellings. A five among them are poor memory weak retention power and less of reading activity therefore, correct spellings need constant writing practice, usage and power of recollection. The more a student recollects a word, the more capability he acquires to avoid error in spelling words.   PUNCTUATION Punctuation is a system in which marks are used in writing to indicate pauses and division of sentences. The meaning of written communication is made clear to the readers by the use of these marks. In fact punctuation is the right use of putting in marks or stops in writing. The following are the principal marks of punctuation.

• Comma (,)
• Apstrophe (')
• Semi Colon (;)
• Colon (:)
• Dash and Parenthesis. (-)
• Quotation marks (Inverted Commas) (“ ")
• Hyphen (-)
• End marks—

(a) Full stop (.) (b) Question Marks (?) (c) Exclamatory marks (!)   Besides punctuation marks the students are required to know to the use of: (a) Capital letters (b) How to write numerals? A word jumble is a word puzzle that gives you a group of scrambled letters and requires you to unscramble them to make a real word. For example, if you were given the letters "m-o-c-t-e-r-u-p" you could unscramble, or un-jumble if you will, those letters to reveal the word computer.   TIPS ON SOLVING A WORD JUMBLED

• There are many hints, tips, and tricks that can help you to solve a jumbled word.
• The first trick is to look for any letters that appear frequently together. These include consonants such "ch," "sh," or "ph." They can also include vowel consonant combinations like "qu."
• Another trick is to separate the consonants from the vowels and look at them separately. Sometime looking at them away from one another makes the word become more obvious.
• You can also write the letters down like the numbers on the face of a clock. For some, displaying the letters in this way can help them to see the word clearly.
• Lastly, do a great deal of reading. Reading will help to improve your vocabulary. Therefore, make sure you read anytime you can.

  REARRANGEMENT OF JUMBLED WORDS When solving jumbled sentences or more...

Analogy is a comparison between one thing and another, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification. In verbal analogy question a pair of words/phrases is given. You have to determine the exact relationship among these words/phrases. The relationship is always precise and unambiguous. Then from among the given alternatives you have to choose a pair of words that best exemplifies the relationship of the original pair. We understand analogy as the act of matching one set of relationships with another set of relationships. For example, the analogy "I feel like fish out of water" means I am out of my comfort zone. Here, I match myself to fish, and water to my current environment. The purpose of an analogy is to provide insight that would otherwise not be readily or vividly apparent. Saying "I feel like a fish out of water" Succinctly conveys an image and a feeling that may not be easily summarized using direct description. It is most useful when the connection it indicates is unexpected. The purpose of Classification is to divide into groups based on essential characteristics. A cherry tree and a peach tree have similar flowers and fruit, and so are taxonomically in the rose family. It is most useful in identifying patterns and groupings and most interesting when one is seeking the delineation of boundaries between groups. In this part, a word and its related word is given, and then another word with four options are given. Such that we have to find out the related word from the option. E.g.:- Phone: Cellphone :: Computer ::__?__ (a) Speaker                         (b) Keyboard        (c) Theatre                          (d) Laptop In this (d) Laptop is the answer. Since Cellphone is the derivative of Phone like this Laptop is the derivative of Computer. 'Analogy' means' Similarity'. In this type of questions, two objects related in some way are given and another similar relationship has to be identified.     TYPES OF QUESTIONS: (i) ____ : ____ :: ____ : ?       I            II          III     IV In this type, objects I and II, related in some way are given and object III is also given. We have to find out object IV from the alternative provided which bears the same relationship with the object III as objects I and II are related. (ii)           ____ : ____ ::  ? : ?     I          II        III   IV In this type, we have to find the pair of objects as objects III & IV which bears the same relationship as objects I & II are related.     ANTONYM RELATIONSHIP Example 1: Deep : Shallow :: Freedom : ___ (a) Democracy                  (b) Convict (c) Prison                             (d) Discipline Solution: (c) 'Deep' is the antonym of 'Shallow' while 'Freedom? is the antonym of 'prison'.    Some more examples are given below: Best                       :               Worst Save                      :               Kill Initial                     :               Final Lend                     :               Borrow Import                  :               Export Zenith                   :               Nadir Dawn                    :               Dusk Flood               more...

Synonym is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language, for example shut is a synonym of close. A person or thing so closely associated with a particular quality or idea that the mention of their name calls it to mind. Romantic poet is a synonym of William Wods worth or John Keats. Antonym is a word opposite in meaning to another (e.g. bad and good). This section tests widely and exhaustively one's knowledge of the language and word power, but goes beyond that to test your ability to remember words with similar meanings or opposite meanings. Or, alternately, to discover the similarity or proximity between the meaning of the given word with one of those in the options. These exercises can get confusing sometimes because more than one option may appear as the right answer or none of them may look like the right answer. For such questions a student may consider the following strategies.   Type 1: Choosing the correct synonym of the given word In this type of questions, generally a word is given, follow by four or five alternatives. The candidate is required to choose the word which is nearest in meaning to the given word.   Example 1: Choose the correct synonym of the given word: IMPLICATE (a) Include                          (b) Entreat     (c) Suggest                          (d) Imply Solution: The word 'Implicate' my be used in sentence as: The man implicated him flasely in the case. Clearly, the word means 'involve' or 'include'. Hence, the answer is (a).     Example 2: Choose the word which best expresses the meaning of the given word: DILIGENT (a) Intelligent                  (b) Difficult      (c) Laborious                      (d) Quick Solution: 'Diligent' means 'hard-working' So, another word for it could be 'Laborious'. Hence the answer is (c). What are Antonyms? A word which is opposite in meaning to the given word is called its Antonym. The word 'Autonomy? means 'Independence.' So, its antonym would be 'Dependence.' Type 2: Choosing the Correct Antonym of the given word In this type of questions, generally a word is given, followed by four or five alternatives. The candidate is required to choose the word which is nearest to the opposite in meaning of the given word.   Example 3: Choose the correct antonym of the given word: OBSCURE (a) Pedantic                        (b) Implicti       (c) Explicit                            (d) Obnoxious Solution: 'Obscure? means ?secret?. So, the antonym would be 'Explict.' Hence, the answer is (c). STRATEGY 1 If you do not know the meaning of the given word, think of a context in which you might have used it, that may help you to figure out the meaning, for example, in the question find the word nearest in meaning to   MAGNIFY (a) Forgive                          (b) diminish (c) swell                               (d) extract   Now if you do not know what magnify means think of a magnifying glass and what it does. It expands or makes more...