CLAT Practice Test - 16 - CLAT MCQ

India really cannot handle tension in West Asia right now. That may seem obvious: after all, any escalation in hostilities between Iran and the United States, after the latter killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, will have a huge impact across the region and beyond. It's not for nothing that ""World War 3"" trended on Twitter on Friday.

There are two primary dangers for India, other than the extremely destabilising effects of any outright war in the region. One, there are 8 million Indians living and working in West Asia, the vast majority of whom live in the Arabian Gulf. [1]Conflict would put them all # danger, as it did # the start of the 1990s, # the US went # war with Iraq and New Delhi had # arrange an airlift of more than 110,000 Indian citizens.[1]

But even if there isn't all-out conflict, heightened tensions could hurt the economies of the region, and endanger the jobs of many Indians. Already the events of the last few years, including inter-regional conflict between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, employment nationalisation drives in a number of countries and Dubai's struggles to recover from economic crisis, have hurt the diaspora.

Kerala has already begun coming to terms with the idea that many more will return. A sudden jolt would put pressure on the places Indians return to, and also endanger the $40 billion in remittances India receives from West Asia - more than 50% of all remittances to the country, a key source of foreign exchange.

Then there is the question of oil prices. Though international prices have gone up by 4% since the strike on Soleimani, analysts do not currently expect them to get much higher - presuming it is in no one's interests for that to happen and that both the US and Iran will back down from outright conflict. Yet if that presumption is wrong, India will face some difficult times. Although India does not now import much oil from Iran, it is still heavily reliant on the Strait of Hormuz - the tiny span of water through which a quarter of the world's oil and a third of its natural gas travels. Higher oil prices would automatically mean inflation in India, where analysts are already worried about rising food prices. Even if India's economy were on a more stable footing, conflict in the region would be dangerous. But the current tensions, coming as they do when the Indian economy seems poised on a precipice, should be even more alarming for policymakers.

Which one of the following CANNOT be inferred from the information given in the fifth paragraph?

India really cannot handle tension in West Asia right now. That may seem obvious: after all, any escalation in hostilities between Iran and the United States, after the latter killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, will have a huge impact across the region and beyond. It's not for nothing that ""World War 3"" trended on Twitter on Friday.

There are two primary dangers for India, other than the extremely destabilising effects of any outright war in the region. One, there are 8 million Indians living and working in West Asia, the vast majority of whom live in the Arabian Gulf. [1]Conflict would put them all # danger, as it did # the start of the 1990s, # the US went # war with Iraq and New Delhi had # arrange an airlift of more than 110,000 Indian citizens.[1]

But even if there isn't all-out conflict, heightened tensions could hurt the economies of the region, and endanger the jobs of many Indians. Already the events of the last few years, including inter-regional conflict between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, employment nationalisation drives in a number of countries and Dubai's struggles to recover from economic crisis, have hurt the diaspora.

Kerala has already begun coming to terms with the idea that many more will return. A sudden jolt would put pressure on the places Indians return to, and also endanger the $40 billion in remittances India receives from West Asia - more than 50% of all remittances to the country, a key source of foreign exchange.

Then there is the question of oil prices. Though international prices have gone up by 4% since the strike on Soleimani, analysts do not currently expect them to get much higher - presuming it is in no one's interests for that to happen and that both the US and Iran will back down from outright conflict. Yet if that presumption is wrong, India will face some difficult times. Although India does not now import much oil from Iran, it is still heavily reliant on the Strait of Hormuz - the tiny span of water through which a quarter of the world's oil and a third of its natural gas travels. Higher oil prices would automatically mean inflation in India, where analysts are already worried about rising food prices. Even if India's economy were on a more stable footing, conflict in the region would be dangerous. But the current tensions, coming as they do when the Indian economy seems poised on a precipice, should be even more alarming for policymakers.

Which of the following aptly describes the tone of the author?

India really cannot handle tension in West Asia right now. That may seem obvious: after all, any escalation in hostilities between Iran and the United States, after the latter killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, will have a huge impact across the region and beyond. It's not for nothing that ""World War 3"" trended on Twitter on Friday.

There are two primary dangers for India, other than the extremely destabilising effects of any outright war in the region. One, there are 8 million Indians living and working in West Asia, the vast majority of whom live in the Arabian Gulf. [1]Conflict would put them all # danger, as it did # the start of the 1990s, # the US went # war with Iraq and New Delhi had # arrange an airlift of more than 110,000 Indian citizens.[1]

But even if there isn't all-out conflict, heightened tensions could hurt the economies of the region, and endanger the jobs of many Indians. Already the events of the last few years, including inter-regional conflict between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, employment nationalisation drives in a number of countries and Dubai's struggles to recover from economic crisis, have hurt the diaspora.

Kerala has already begun coming to terms with the idea that many more will return. A sudden jolt would put pressure on the places Indians return to, and also endanger the $40 billion in remittances India receives from West Asia - more than 50% of all remittances to the country, a key source of foreign exchange.

Then there is the question of oil prices. Though international prices have gone up by 4% since the strike on Soleimani, analysts do not currently expect them to get much higher - presuming it is in no one's interests for that to happen and that both the US and Iran will back down from outright conflict. Yet if that presumption is wrong, India will face some difficult times. Although India does not now import much oil from Iran, it is still heavily reliant on the Strait of Hormuz - the tiny span of water through which a quarter of the world's oil and a third of its natural gas travels. Higher oil prices would automatically mean inflation in India, where analysts are already worried about rising food prices. Even if India's economy were on a more stable footing, conflict in the region would be dangerous. But the current tensions, coming as they do when the Indian economy seems poised on a precipice, should be even more alarming for policymakers.

Which of the following contains the correct sequence of missing words in the sentence [1]? (Missing words indicated by ‘#’.)

In the same week that the world marked International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (June 26, 2020), a father-son duo in Tamil Nadu who kept a shop open after COVID-19 curfew hours died in custody, allegedly after being tortured at the hands of the Thoothukudi district police.

According to reports, a baton was inserted into the anus of one man. The Chinese army’s use of iron rods and nail-studded clubs in 2020 will be remembered by a generation. But we will soon forget what happened in Thoothukudi, as if it was a momentary aberration rather than part of systemic police violence in India.

The police in the same district had, on May 22, 2018, shot dead 13 people, who were among a crowd that had demonstrated for 100 days without violence, seeking closure of Vedanta’s highly polluting Sterlite Copper Unit. In two years, no one has been charged, and police impunity seems to continue.

The persistence of inhuman treatment makes it apparent that India is determined to protect violence by the police. India is one of only nine countries that have yet to ratify the 1987 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). The others include Sudan, Brunei and Haiti.

Just before the 2010 visit to India of US President Barack Obama, the Lok Sabha passed the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, as a hesitant and wholly inadequate first step towards India’s UNCAT ratification. Despite the change of government, the lip service has continued. In 2017, when India presented its third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to the UN Human Rights Council, no exclusive anti-torture Bill was mentioned, but rather the Law Commission’s ongoing examination of changes to existing criminal laws.

In 2010 itself, a Rajya Sabha multi-party select committee had substantially improved the Lok Sabha’s Bill, but as of 2017, when senior advocate Ashwani Kumar (who chaired the select committee) prayed that the Supreme Court nudge the government to pass the Bill, the court ignored his cause – and the cause of the people of India.

Under the worse-than-colonial Indian State, one-sixth of the world’s population is vulnerable to arbitrary police violence. Not all the one-sixth, however, but more likely the 39% of them that are Dalit, Muslim or Adivasi. A disproportionate 53% of Indian prisoners are from this demography. As a mirror to that, US Blacks were 12% of the adult population but 33% of sentenced prisoners, according to the Pew Research Centre.

Choose the correct synonyms for the words in the following order - “Aberration, Impunity, Apparent”.

In the same week that the world marked International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (June 26, 2020), a father-son duo in Tamil Nadu who kept a shop open after COVID-19 curfew hours died in custody, allegedly after being tortured at the hands of the Thoothukudi district police.

According to reports, a baton was inserted into the anus of one man. The Chinese army’s use of iron rods and nail-studded clubs in 2020 will be remembered by a generation. But we will soon forget what happened in Thoothukudi, as if it was a momentary aberration rather than part of systemic police violence in India.

The police in the same district had, on May 22, 2018, shot dead 13 people, who were among a crowd that had demonstrated for 100 days without violence, seeking closure of Vedanta’s highly polluting Sterlite Copper Unit. In two years, no one has been charged, and police impunity seems to continue.

The persistence of inhuman treatment makes it apparent that India is determined to protect violence by the police. India is one of only nine countries that have yet to ratify the 1987 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). The others include Sudan, Brunei and Haiti.

Just before the 2010 visit to India of US President Barack Obama, the Lok Sabha passed the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, as a hesitant and wholly inadequate first step towards India’s UNCAT ratification. Despite the change of government, the lip service has continued. In 2017, when India presented its third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to the UN Human Rights Council, no exclusive anti-torture Bill was mentioned, but rather the Law Commission’s ongoing examination of changes to existing criminal laws.

In 2010 itself, a Rajya Sabha multi-party select committee had substantially improved the Lok Sabha’s Bill, but as of 2017, when senior advocate Ashwani Kumar (who chaired the select committee) prayed that the Supreme Court nudge the government to pass the Bill, the court ignored his cause – and the cause of the people of India.

Under the worse-than-colonial Indian State, one-sixth of the world’s population is vulnerable to arbitrary police violence. Not all the one-sixth, however, but more likely the 39% of them that are Dalit, Muslim or Adivasi. A disproportionate 53% of Indian prisoners are from this demography. As a mirror to that, US Blacks were 12% of the adult population but 33% of sentenced prisoners, according to the Pew Research Centre.

As per the author, which of the following groups is/are vulnerable to arbitrary police violence?

In the same week that the world marked International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (June 26, 2020), a father-son duo in Tamil Nadu who kept a shop open after COVID-19 curfew hours died in custody, allegedly after being tortured at the hands of the Thoothukudi district police.

According to reports, a baton was inserted into the anus of one man. The Chinese army’s use of iron rods and nail-studded clubs in 2020 will be remembered by a generation. But we will soon forget what happened in Thoothukudi, as if it was a momentary aberration rather than part of systemic police violence in India.

The police in the same district had, on May 22, 2018, shot dead 13 people, who were among a crowd that had demonstrated for 100 days without violence, seeking closure of Vedanta’s highly polluting Sterlite Copper Unit. In two years, no one has been charged, and police impunity seems to continue.

The persistence of inhuman treatment makes it apparent that India is determined to protect violence by the police. India is one of only nine countries that have yet to ratify the 1987 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). The others include Sudan, Brunei and Haiti.

Just before the 2010 visit to India of US President Barack Obama, the Lok Sabha passed the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, as a hesitant and wholly inadequate first step towards India’s UNCAT ratification. Despite the change of government, the lip service has continued. In 2017, when India presented its third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to the UN Human Rights Council, no exclusive anti-torture Bill was mentioned, but rather the Law Commission’s ongoing examination of changes to existing criminal laws.

In 2010 itself, a Rajya Sabha multi-party select committee had substantially improved the Lok Sabha’s Bill, but as of 2017, when senior advocate Ashwani Kumar (who chaired the select committee) prayed that the Supreme Court nudge the government to pass the Bill, the court ignored his cause – and the cause of the people of India.

Under the worse-than-colonial Indian State, one-sixth of the world’s population is vulnerable to arbitrary police violence. Not all the one-sixth, however, but more likely the 39% of them that are Dalit, Muslim or Adivasi. A disproportionate 53% of Indian prisoners are from this demography. As a mirror to that, US Blacks were 12% of the adult population but 33% of sentenced prisoners, according to the Pew Research Centre.

Which of the following statements given below is not in conformity to the passage as given above?

In the same week that the world marked International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (June 26, 2020), a father-son duo in Tamil Nadu who kept a shop open after COVID-19 curfew hours died in custody, allegedly after being tortured at the hands of the Thoothukudi district police.

According to reports, a baton was inserted into the anus of one man. The Chinese army’s use of iron rods and nail-studded clubs in 2020 will be remembered by a generation. But we will soon forget what happened in Thoothukudi, as if it was a momentary aberration rather than part of systemic police violence in India.

The police in the same district had, on May 22, 2018, shot dead 13 people, who were among a crowd that had demonstrated for 100 days without violence, seeking closure of Vedanta’s highly polluting Sterlite Copper Unit. In two years, no one has been charged, and police impunity seems to continue.

The persistence of inhuman treatment makes it apparent that India is determined to protect violence by the police. India is one of only nine countries that have yet to ratify the 1987 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). The others include Sudan, Brunei and Haiti.

Just before the 2010 visit to India of US President Barack Obama, the Lok Sabha passed the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, as a hesitant and wholly inadequate first step towards India’s UNCAT ratification. Despite the change of government, the lip service has continued. In 2017, when India presented its third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to the UN Human Rights Council, no exclusive anti-torture Bill was mentioned, but rather the Law Commission’s ongoing examination of changes to existing criminal laws.

In 2010 itself, a Rajya Sabha multi-party select committee had substantially improved the Lok Sabha’s Bill, but as of 2017, when senior advocate Ashwani Kumar (who chaired the select committee) prayed that the Supreme Court nudge the government to pass the Bill, the court ignored his cause – and the cause of the people of India.

Under the worse-than-colonial Indian State, one-sixth of the world’s population is vulnerable to arbitrary police violence. Not all the one-sixth, however, but more likely the 39% of them that are Dalit, Muslim or Adivasi. A disproportionate 53% of Indian prisoners are from this demography. As a mirror to that, US Blacks were 12% of the adult population but 33% of sentenced prisoners, according to the Pew Research Centre.

Which of the following situations of police brutality as per the author will always be remembered?

In the same week that the world marked International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (June 26, 2020), a father-son duo in Tamil Nadu who kept a shop open after COVID-19 curfew hours died in custody, allegedly after being tortured at the hands of the Thoothukudi district police.

According to reports, a baton was inserted into the anus of one man. The Chinese army’s use of iron rods and nail-studded clubs in 2020 will be remembered by a generation. But we will soon forget what happened in Thoothukudi, as if it was a momentary aberration rather than part of systemic police violence in India.

The police in the same district had, on May 22, 2018, shot dead 13 people, who were among a crowd that had demonstrated for 100 days without violence, seeking closure of Vedanta’s highly polluting Sterlite Copper Unit. In two years, no one has been charged, and police impunity seems to continue.

The persistence of inhuman treatment makes it apparent that India is determined to protect violence by the police. India is one of only nine countries that have yet to ratify the 1987 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). The others include Sudan, Brunei and Haiti.

Just before the 2010 visit to India of US President Barack Obama, the Lok Sabha passed the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, as a hesitant and wholly inadequate first step towards India’s UNCAT ratification. Despite the change of government, the lip service has continued. In 2017, when India presented its third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to the UN Human Rights Council, no exclusive anti-torture Bill was mentioned, but rather the Law Commission’s ongoing examination of changes to existing criminal laws.

In 2010 itself, a Rajya Sabha multi-party select committee had substantially improved the Lok Sabha’s Bill, but as of 2017, when senior advocate Ashwani Kumar (who chaired the select committee) prayed that the Supreme Court nudge the government to pass the Bill, the court ignored his cause – and the cause of the people of India.

Under the worse-than-colonial Indian State, one-sixth of the world’s population is vulnerable to arbitrary police violence. Not all the one-sixth, however, but more likely the 39% of them that are Dalit, Muslim or Adivasi. A disproportionate 53% of Indian prisoners are from this demography. As a mirror to that, US Blacks were 12% of the adult population but 33% of sentenced prisoners, according to the Pew Research Centre.

Which events took place in the year 2017 as described in the above passage?

The day following Thanksgiving—commonly referred to as Black Friday—has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the United States. National chain stores traditionally offer limited money-saving special deals on a wide variety of goods in an effort to lure shoppers into stores while offering similar deals online. It is believed by many that the term Black Friday derives from the concept that businesses operate at a financial loss, or are “in the red,” until the day after Thanksgiving, when massive sales finally allow them to turn a profit, or put them “in the black.” However, this is untrue. A more accurate explanation of the term dates back to the early 1960s, when police officers in Philadelphia began using the phrase “Black Friday” to describe the chaos that resulted when large numbers of suburban tourists came into the city to begin their holiday shopping and, in some years, attend Saturday’s annual Army-Navy football game. The huge crowds created a headache for the police, who worked longer shifts than usual as they dealt with traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting, and other issues. Within a few years, the term Black Friday had taken root in Philadelphia. City merchants attempted to put a prettier face on the day by calling it “Big Friday.” The phrase “Black Friday”, to signify a positive boost in retail sales, didn’t grow nationwide until the late 1980s, when merchants started to spread the red-to-black profit narrative. Black Friday was described as the day stores began to turn a profit for the year and as the biggest shopping day in the United States. In truth, most stores saw their largest sales on the Saturday before Christmas.

In recent years, Black Friday has been joined by other shopping holidays, including Small Business Saturday, which encourages shoppers to visit local retailers, and Cyber Monday, which promotes shopping online. Historically, Black Friday has yet another connotation, one unrelated to shopping. In 1869 Wall Street financiers Jay Gould and Jim Fisk attempted to corner the nation’s gold market at the New York Gold Exchange by buying as much of the precious metal as they could, with the intent of sending prices skyrocketing. On Friday, September 24, intervention by President Ulysses S. Grant caused their plan to fall apart. The stock market instantly plummeted, sending thousands of Americans into bankruptcy.

Which of the following is true for the Black Friday?

The day following Thanksgiving—commonly referred to as Black Friday—has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the United States. National chain stores traditionally offer limited money-saving special deals on a wide variety of goods in an effort to lure shoppers into stores while offering similar deals online. It is believed by many that the term Black Friday derives from the concept that businesses operate at a financial loss, or are “in the red,” until the day after Thanksgiving, when massive sales finally allow them to turn a profit, or put them “in the black.” However, this is untrue. A more accurate explanation of the term dates back to the early 1960s, when police officers in Philadelphia began using the phrase “Black Friday” to describe the chaos that resulted when large numbers of suburban tourists came into the city to begin their holiday shopping and, in some years, attend Saturday’s annual Army-Navy football game. The huge crowds created a headache for the police, who worked longer shifts than usual as they dealt with traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting, and other issues. Within a few years, the term Black Friday had taken root in Philadelphia. City merchants attempted to put a prettier face on the day by calling it “Big Friday.” The phrase “Black Friday”, to signify a positive boost in retail sales, didn’t grow nationwide until the late 1980s, when merchants started to spread the red-to-black profit narrative. Black Friday was described as the day stores began to turn a profit for the year and as the biggest shopping day in the United States. In truth, most stores saw their largest sales on the Saturday before Christmas.

In recent years, Black Friday has been joined by other shopping holidays, including Small Business Saturday, which encourages shoppers to visit local retailers, and Cyber Monday, which promotes shopping online. Historically, Black Friday has yet another connotation, one unrelated to shopping. In 1869 Wall Street financiers Jay Gould and Jim Fisk attempted to corner the nation’s gold market at the New York Gold Exchange by buying as much of the precious metal as they could, with the intent of sending prices skyrocketing. On Friday, September 24, intervention by President Ulysses S. Grant caused their plan to fall apart. The stock market instantly plummeted, sending thousands of Americans into bankruptcy.

From the first statement it could be inferred that:

The day following Thanksgiving—commonly referred to as Black Friday—has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the United States. National chain stores traditionally offer limited money-saving special deals on a wide variety of goods in an effort to lure shoppers into stores while offering similar deals online. It is believed by many that the term Black Friday derives from the concept that businesses operate at a financial loss, or are “in the red,” until the day after Thanksgiving, when massive sales finally allow them to turn a profit, or put them “in the black.” However, this is untrue. A more accurate explanation of the term dates back to the early 1960s, when police officers in Philadelphia began using the phrase “Black Friday” to describe the chaos that resulted when large numbers of suburban tourists came into the city to begin their holiday shopping and, in some years, attend Saturday’s annual Army-Navy football game. The huge crowds created a headache for the police, who worked longer shifts than usual as they dealt with traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting, and other issues. Within a few years, the term Black Friday had taken root in Philadelphia. City merchants attempted to put a prettier face on the day by calling it “Big Friday.” The phrase “Black Friday”, to signify a positive boost in retail sales, didn’t grow nationwide until the late 1980s, when merchants started to spread the red-to-black profit narrative. Black Friday was described as the day stores began to turn a profit for the year and as the biggest shopping day in the United States. In truth, most stores saw their largest sales on the Saturday before Christmas.

In recent years, Black Friday has been joined by other shopping holidays, including Small Business Saturday, which encourages shoppers to visit local retailers, and Cyber Monday, which promotes shopping online. Historically, Black Friday has yet another connotation, one unrelated to shopping. In 1869 Wall Street financiers Jay Gould and Jim Fisk attempted to corner the nation’s gold market at the New York Gold Exchange by buying as much of the precious metal as they could, with the intent of sending prices skyrocketing. On Friday, September 24, intervention by President Ulysses S. Grant caused their plan to fall apart. The stock market instantly plummeted, sending thousands of Americans into bankruptcy.

Which of the following phrase from the passage, is most apt to represent a poor economic condition?

The day following Thanksgiving—commonly referred to as Black Friday—has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the United States. National chain stores traditionally offer limited money-saving special deals on a wide variety of goods in an effort to lure shoppers into stores while offering similar deals online. It is believed by many that the term Black Friday derives from the concept that businesses operate at a financial loss, or are “in the red,” until the day after Thanksgiving, when massive sales finally allow them to turn a profit, or put them “in the black.” However, this is untrue. A more accurate explanation of the term dates back to the early 1960s, when police officers in Philadelphia began using the phrase “Black Friday” to describe the chaos that resulted when large numbers of suburban tourists came into the city to begin their holiday shopping and, in some years, attend Saturday’s annual Army-Navy football game. The huge crowds created a headache for the police, who worked longer shifts than usual as they dealt with traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting, and other issues. Within a few years, the term Black Friday had taken root in Philadelphia. City merchants attempted to put a prettier face on the day by calling it “Big Friday.” The phrase “Black Friday”, to signify a positive boost in retail sales, didn’t grow nationwide until the late 1980s, when merchants started to spread the red-to-black profit narrative. Black Friday was described as the day stores began to turn a profit for the year and as the biggest shopping day in the United States. In truth, most stores saw their largest sales on the Saturday before Christmas.

In recent years, Black Friday has been joined by other shopping holidays, including Small Business Saturday, which encourages shoppers to visit local retailers, and Cyber Monday, which promotes shopping online. Historically, Black Friday has yet another connotation, one unrelated to shopping. In 1869 Wall Street financiers Jay Gould and Jim Fisk attempted to corner the nation’s gold market at the New York Gold Exchange by buying as much of the precious metal as they could, with the intent of sending prices skyrocketing. On Friday, September 24, intervention by President Ulysses S. Grant caused their plan to fall apart. The stock market instantly plummeted, sending thousands of Americans into bankruptcy.

Which of the following word, would a police officers in Philadelphia not use, in order to describe the scene at Black Friday?

The day following Thanksgiving—commonly referred to as Black Friday—has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the United States. National chain stores traditionally offer limited money-saving special deals on a wide variety of goods in an effort to lure shoppers into stores while offering similar deals online. It is believed by many that the term Black Friday derives from the concept that businesses operate at a financial loss, or are “in the red,” until the day after Thanksgiving, when massive sales finally allow them to turn a profit, or put them “in the black.” However, this is untrue. A more accurate explanation of the term dates back to the early 1960s, when police officers in Philadelphia began using the phrase “Black Friday” to describe the chaos that resulted when large numbers of suburban tourists came into the city to begin their holiday shopping and, in some years, attend Saturday’s annual Army-Navy football game. The huge crowds created a headache for the police, who worked longer shifts than usual as they dealt with traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting, and other issues. Within a few years, the term Black Friday had taken root in Philadelphia. City merchants attempted to put a prettier face on the day by calling it “Big Friday.” The phrase “Black Friday”, to signify a positive boost in retail sales, didn’t grow nationwide until the late 1980s, when merchants started to spread the red-to-black profit narrative. Black Friday was described as the day stores began to turn a profit for the year and as the biggest shopping day in the United States. In truth, most stores saw their largest sales on the Saturday before Christmas.

In recent years, Black Friday has been joined by other shopping holidays, including Small Business Saturday, which encourages shoppers to visit local retailers, and Cyber Monday, which promotes shopping online. Historically, Black Friday has yet another connotation, one unrelated to shopping. In 1869 Wall Street financiers Jay Gould and Jim Fisk attempted to corner the nation’s gold market at the New York Gold Exchange by buying as much of the precious metal as they could, with the intent of sending prices skyrocketing. On Friday, September 24, intervention by President Ulysses S. Grant caused their plan to fall apart. The stock market instantly plummeted, sending thousands of Americans into bankruptcy.

The statement that Black Friday is the biggest shopping day in the United States, is:

DEAR TED:

I was delighted to find from your letters that you are having a pretty good time in spite of the newspaper and kodak creatures. I guess that nuisance is now pretty well abated. Every now and then they will do something horrid; but I think you can ignore them entirely.

I shall be interested to hear how you get on, first of all with your studies, in which you seem to have started well, and next with football. I expected that you would find it hard to compete with the other candidates for the position of end, as they are mostly heavier than you; especially since you went off in weight owing to the excitement of your last weeks of holiday in the summer.

So it is about the polo club. In my day we looked with suspicion upon all freshman societies, and the men who tried to get them up or were prominent in them rarely amounted to much in the class afterwards; and it has happened that I have heard rather unfavorably of the polo club. But it may be mere accident that I have thus heard unfavorably about it, and in thirty years the attitude of the best fellows in college to such a thing as a freshman club may have changed so absolutely that my experience can be of no value. Exercise your own best judgment and form some idea of what the really best fellows in the class think on the subject. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the men who are merely undeveloped are really the best fellows, no matter how pleasant and agreeable they are or how popular. Popularity is a good thing, but it is not something for which to sacrifice studies or athletics or good standing in any way; and sometimes to seek it overmuch is to lose it. I do not mean this as applying to you, but as applying to certain men who still have a great vogue at first in the class, and of whom you will naturally tend to think pretty well.

In all these things I can only advise you in a very general way. You are on the ground. You know the men and the general college sentiment. You have gone in with the serious purpose of doing decently and honorably; of standing well in your studies; of showing that in athletics you mean business up to the extent of your capacity, and of getting the respect and liking of your classmates so far as they can be legitimately obtained. As to the exact methods of carrying out these objects, I must trust to you.

What does the word ‘abated’ mean?

DEAR TED:

I was delighted to find from your letters that you are having a pretty good time in spite of the newspaper and kodak creatures. I guess that nuisance is now pretty well abated. Every now and then they will do something horrid; but I think you can ignore them entirely.

I shall be interested to hear how you get on, first of all with your studies, in which you seem to have started well, and next with football. I expected that you would find it hard to compete with the other candidates for the position of end, as they are mostly heavier than you; especially since you went off in weight owing to the excitement of your last weeks of holiday in the summer.

So it is about the polo club. In my day we looked with suspicion upon all freshman societies, and the men who tried to get them up or were prominent in them rarely amounted to much in the class afterwards; and it has happened that I have heard rather unfavorably of the polo club. But it may be mere accident that I have thus heard unfavorably about it, and in thirty years the attitude of the best fellows in college to such a thing as a freshman club may have changed so absolutely that my experience can be of no value. Exercise your own best judgment and form some idea of what the really best fellows in the class think on the subject. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the men who are merely undeveloped are really the best fellows, no matter how pleasant and agreeable they are or how popular. Popularity is a good thing, but it is not something for which to sacrifice studies or athletics or good standing in any way; and sometimes to seek it overmuch is to lose it. I do not mean this as applying to you, but as applying to certain men who still have a great vogue at first in the class, and of whom you will naturally tend to think pretty well.

In all these things I can only advise you in a very general way. You are on the ground. You know the men and the general college sentiment. You have gone in with the serious purpose of doing decently and honorably; of standing well in your studies; of showing that in athletics you mean business up to the extent of your capacity, and of getting the respect and liking of your classmates so far as they can be legitimately obtained. As to the exact methods of carrying out these objects, I must trust to you.

According to the passage, what is Ted’s disadvantage in the sport?

DEAR TED:

I was delighted to find from your letters that you are having a pretty good time in spite of the newspaper and kodak creatures. I guess that nuisance is now pretty well abated. Every now and then they will do something horrid; but I think you can ignore them entirely.

I shall be interested to hear how you get on, first of all with your studies, in which you seem to have started well, and next with football. I expected that you would find it hard to compete with the other candidates for the position of end, as they are mostly heavier than you; especially since you went off in weight owing to the excitement of your last weeks of holiday in the summer.

So it is about the polo club. In my day we looked with suspicion upon all freshman societies, and the men who tried to get them up or were prominent in them rarely amounted to much in the class afterwards; and it has happened that I have heard rather unfavorably of the polo club. But it may be mere accident that I have thus heard unfavorably about it, and in thirty years the attitude of the best fellows in college to such a thing as a freshman club may have changed so absolutely that my experience can be of no value. Exercise your own best judgment and form some idea of what the really best fellows in the class think on the subject. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the men who are merely undeveloped are really the best fellows, no matter how pleasant and agreeable they are or how popular. Popularity is a good thing, but it is not something for which to sacrifice studies or athletics or good standing in any way; and sometimes to seek it overmuch is to lose it. I do not mean this as applying to you, but as applying to certain men who still have a great vogue at first in the class, and of whom you will naturally tend to think pretty well.

In all these things I can only advise you in a very general way. You are on the ground. You know the men and the general college sentiment. You have gone in with the serious purpose of doing decently and honorably; of standing well in your studies; of showing that in athletics you mean business up to the extent of your capacity, and of getting the respect and liking of your classmates so far as they can be legitimately obtained. As to the exact methods of carrying out these objects, I must trust to you.

Which of the following will be most appropriate inference of Ted about Polo club?

DEAR TED:

I was delighted to find from your letters that you are having a pretty good time in spite of the newspaper and kodak creatures. I guess that nuisance is now pretty well abated. Every now and then they will do something horrid; but I think you can ignore them entirely.

I shall be interested to hear how you get on, first of all with your studies, in which you seem to have started well, and next with football. I expected that you would find it hard to compete with the other candidates for the position of end, as they are mostly heavier than you; especially since you went off in weight owing to the excitement of your last weeks of holiday in the summer.

So it is about the polo club. In my day we looked with suspicion upon all freshman societies, and the men who tried to get them up or were prominent in them rarely amounted to much in the class afterwards; and it has happened that I have heard rather unfavorably of the polo club. But it may be mere accident that I have thus heard unfavorably about it, and in thirty years the attitude of the best fellows in college to such a thing as a freshman club may have changed so absolutely that my experience can be of no value. Exercise your own best judgment and form some idea of what the really best fellows in the class think on the subject. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the men who are merely undeveloped are really the best fellows, no matter how pleasant and agreeable they are or how popular. Popularity is a good thing, but it is not something for which to sacrifice studies or athletics or good standing in any way; and sometimes to seek it overmuch is to lose it. I do not mean this as applying to you, but as applying to certain men who still have a great vogue at first in the class, and of whom you will naturally tend to think pretty well.

In all these things I can only advise you in a very general way. You are on the ground. You know the men and the general college sentiment. You have gone in with the serious purpose of doing decently and honorably; of standing well in your studies; of showing that in athletics you mean business up to the extent of your capacity, and of getting the respect and liking of your classmates so far as they can be legitimately obtained. As to the exact methods of carrying out these objects, I must trust to you.

What is the general advice given by father ?

DEAR TED:

I was delighted to find from your letters that you are having a pretty good time in spite of the newspaper and kodak creatures. I guess that nuisance is now pretty well abated. Every now and then they will do something horrid; but I think you can ignore them entirely.

I shall be interested to hear how you get on, first of all with your studies, in which you seem to have started well, and next with football. I expected that you would find it hard to compete with the other candidates for the position of end, as they are mostly heavier than you; especially since you went off in weight owing to the excitement of your last weeks of holiday in the summer.

So it is about the polo club. In my day we looked with suspicion upon all freshman societies, and the men who tried to get them up or were prominent in them rarely amounted to much in the class afterwards; and it has happened that I have heard rather unfavorably of the polo club. But it may be mere accident that I have thus heard unfavorably about it, and in thirty years the attitude of the best fellows in college to such a thing as a freshman club may have changed so absolutely that my experience can be of no value. Exercise your own best judgment and form some idea of what the really best fellows in the class think on the subject. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the men who are merely undeveloped are really the best fellows, no matter how pleasant and agreeable they are or how popular. Popularity is a good thing, but it is not something for which to sacrifice studies or athletics or good standing in any way; and sometimes to seek it overmuch is to lose it. I do not mean this as applying to you, but as applying to certain men who still have a great vogue at first in the class, and of whom you will naturally tend to think pretty well.

In all these things I can only advise you in a very general way. You are on the ground. You know the men and the general college sentiment. You have gone in with the serious purpose of doing decently and honorably; of standing well in your studies; of showing that in athletics you mean business up to the extent of your capacity, and of getting the respect and liking of your classmates so far as they can be legitimately obtained. As to the exact methods of carrying out these objects, I must trust to you.

Which of the following not necessarily passes someone off for a best fellow?

I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin. How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? I feel yet parched with horror, nor can I reflect on that terrible moment without shuddering and agony, that faintly reminds me of the anguish of the recognition. The trial, the presence of the Magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body, I exclaimed, "Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor -" The human frame could no longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions. A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death; my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William,of Justine, and of Clerval.Sometimes I entreated my attendants to assist me in the destruction of the fiend by whom I was tormented;and, at others,I felt the fingers of the monster already grasping my neck,and screamed aloud with agony and terror. Fortunately, as I spoke my native language, Mr. Kirwin alone understand me;but my gestures and bitter cries were sufficient to affright the other witnesses. Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of their doting parents; how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture?

Describe the emotions of the narrator as can be sensed from the above passage.

I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin. How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? I feel yet parched with horror, nor can I reflect on that terrible moment without shuddering and agony, that faintly reminds me of the anguish of the recognition. The trial, the presence of the Magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body, I exclaimed, "Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor -" The human frame could no longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions. A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death; my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William,of Justine, and of Clerval.Sometimes I entreated my attendants to assist me in the destruction of the fiend by whom I was tormented;and, at others,I felt the fingers of the monster already grasping my neck,and screamed aloud with agony and terror. Fortunately, as I spoke my native language, Mr. Kirwin alone understand me;but my gestures and bitter cries were sufficient to affright the other witnesses. Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of their doting parents; how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture?

What does the use of phrases such as ‘parched with horror', 'shuddering and agony’, ’I gasped for breath' suggest to the reader?

I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin. How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? I feel yet parched with horror, nor can I reflect on that terrible moment without shuddering and agony, that faintly reminds me of the anguish of the recognition. The trial, the presence of the Magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body, I exclaimed, "Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor -" The human frame could no longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions. A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death; my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William,of Justine, and of Clerval.Sometimes I entreated my attendants to assist me in the destruction of the fiend by whom I was tormented;and, at others,I felt the fingers of the monster already grasping my neck,and screamed aloud with agony and terror. Fortunately, as I spoke my native language, Mr. Kirwin alone understand me;but my gestures and bitter cries were sufficient to affright the other witnesses. Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of their doting parents; how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture?

The narrator's ravings could have been taken as an admission of guilt of being responsible for the death Henry Clerval, but for the fact that

I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin. How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? I feel yet parched with horror, nor can I reflect on that terrible moment without shuddering and agony, that faintly reminds me of the anguish of the recognition. The trial, the presence of the Magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body, I exclaimed, "Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor -" The human frame could no longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions. A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death; my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William,of Justine, and of Clerval.Sometimes I entreated my attendants to assist me in the destruction of the fiend by whom I was tormented;and, at others,I felt the fingers of the monster already grasping my neck,and screamed aloud with agony and terror. Fortunately, as I spoke my native language, Mr. Kirwin alone understand me;but my gestures and bitter cries were sufficient to affright the other witnesses. Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of their doting parents; how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture?

The word 'machination' means:

I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin. How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? I feel yet parched with horror, nor can I reflect on that terrible moment without shuddering and agony, that faintly reminds me of the anguish of the recognition. The trial, the presence of the Magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body, I exclaimed, "Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor -" The human frame could no longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions. A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death; my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William,of Justine, and of Clerval.Sometimes I entreated my attendants to assist me in the destruction of the fiend by whom I was tormented;and, at others,I felt the fingers of the monster already grasping my neck,and screamed aloud with agony and terror. Fortunately, as I spoke my native language, Mr. Kirwin alone understand me;but my gestures and bitter cries were sufficient to affright the other witnesses. Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of their doting parents; how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture?

The narrator appears to make several references to his own suffering, but ignores the suffering undergone by those he claimed to have murdered, or others bereaved by the deaths. Considering this, the style of the passage may best be described as:

No man likes to acknowledge that he has made a mistake in the option of his profession, and every man, worthy of the name, will row long against wind and tide before he allows himself to cry out, “I am baffled!” and submits to be floated passively back to land. From the first week of my residence in X— l felt my occupation irksome. The thing itself—the work of copying and translating business-letters—was a dry and tedious task enough, but had that been all, I should long have borne with the nuisance; I am not of an impatient nature, and influenced by the double desire of getting my living and justifying to myself and others the resolution I had taken to become a tradesman, I should not have whispered, even inwardly, that I longed for liberty. But this was not all; the antipathy which had sprung up between myself and my employer excluded me from every glimpse of the sunshine of life; and I began to feel like a plant growing in humid darkness out of the slimy walls of a well.

Antipathy is the only word which can express the feeling Edward Crimsworth had for me—a feeling, in a great measure, involuntary, and which was liable to be excited by every, the most trifling movement, look, or word of mine. My southern accent annoyed him; the degree of education evinced in my language irritated him; my punctuality, industry, and accuracy, fixed his dislike, and gave it the high flavour and poignant relish of envy; he feared that I too should one day make a successful tradesman. Had I been in anything inferior to him, he would not have hated me so thoroughly, but I knew all that he knew, and, what was worse, he suspected that I kept the padlock of silence on mental wealth in which he was no sharer. If he could have once placed me in a ridiculous or mortifying position, he would have forgiven me much, but I was guarded by three faculties—Caution, Tact, Observation; and prowling and prying as was Edward’s malignity, it could never baffle the lynx-eyes of these, my natural sentinels. Day by day did his malice watch my tact, hoping it would sleep, and prepared to steal snake-like on its slumber; but tact, if it be genuine, never sleeps.

I had received my first quarter’s wages, and was returning to my lodgings. Thoughts, not varied but strong occupied my mind; two voices spoke within me; again and again they uttered the same monotonous phrases. One said: “William, your life is intolerable.” The other: “What can you do to alter it?” I walked fast, for it was a cold, frosty night in January; as I approached my lodgings, I turned from a general view of my affairs to the particular speculation as to whether my fire would be out; looking towards the window of my sitting-room, I saw no cheering red gleam.

Which of the following best summarizes the passage?

No man likes to acknowledge that he has made a mistake in the option of his profession, and every man, worthy of the name, will row long against wind and tide before he allows himself to cry out, “I am baffled!” and submits to be floated passively back to land. From the first week of my residence in X— l felt my occupation irksome. The thing itself—the work of copying and translating business-letters—was a dry and tedious task enough, but had that been all, I should long have borne with the nuisance; I am not of an impatient nature, and influenced by the double desire of getting my living and justifying to myself and others the resolution I had taken to become a tradesman, I should not have whispered, even inwardly, that I longed for liberty. But this was not all; the antipathy which had sprung up between myself and my employer excluded me from every glimpse of the sunshine of life; and I began to feel like a plant growing in humid darkness out of the slimy walls of a well.

Antipathy is the only word which can express the feeling Edward Crimsworth had for me—a feeling, in a great measure, involuntary, and which was liable to be excited by every, the most trifling movement, look, or word of mine. My southern accent annoyed him; the degree of education evinced in my language irritated him; my punctuality, industry, and accuracy, fixed his dislike, and gave it the high flavour and poignant relish of envy; he feared that I too should one day make a successful tradesman. Had I been in anything inferior to him, he would not have hated me so thoroughly, but I knew all that he knew, and, what was worse, he suspected that I kept the padlock of silence on mental wealth in which he was no sharer. If he could have once placed me in a ridiculous or mortifying position, he would have forgiven me much, but I was guarded by three faculties—Caution, Tact, Observation; and prowling and prying as was Edward’s malignity, it could never baffle the lynx-eyes of these, my natural sentinels. Day by day did his malice watch my tact, hoping it would sleep, and prepared to steal snake-like on its slumber; but tact, if it be genuine, never sleeps.

I had received my first quarter’s wages, and was returning to my lodgings. Thoughts, not varied but strong occupied my mind; two voices spoke within me; again and again they uttered the same monotonous phrases. One said: “William, your life is intolerable.” The other: “What can you do to alter it?” I walked fast, for it was a cold, frosty night in January; as I approached my lodgings, I turned from a general view of my affairs to the particular speculation as to whether my fire would be out; looking towards the window of my sitting-room, I saw no cheering red gleam.

The main purpose of the opening sentence of the passage is to

No man likes to acknowledge that he has made a mistake in the option of his profession, and every man, worthy of the name, will row long against wind and tide before he allows himself to cry out, “I am baffled!” and submits to be floated passively back to land. From the first week of my residence in X— l felt my occupation irksome. The thing itself—the work of copying and translating business-letters—was a dry and tedious task enough, but had that been all, I should long have borne with the nuisance; I am not of an impatient nature, and influenced by the double desire of getting my living and justifying to myself and others the resolution I had taken to become a tradesman, I should not have whispered, even inwardly, that I longed for liberty. But this was not all; the antipathy which had sprung up between myself and my employer excluded me from every glimpse of the sunshine of life; and I began to feel like a plant growing in humid darkness out of the slimy walls of a well.

Antipathy is the only word which can express the feeling Edward Crimsworth had for me—a feeling, in a great measure, involuntary, and which was liable to be excited by every, the most trifling movement, look, or word of mine. My southern accent annoyed him; the degree of education evinced in my language irritated him; my punctuality, industry, and accuracy, fixed his dislike, and gave it the high flavour and poignant relish of envy; he feared that I too should one day make a successful tradesman. Had I been in anything inferior to him, he would not have hated me so thoroughly, but I knew all that he knew, and, what was worse, he suspected that I kept the padlock of silence on mental wealth in which he was no sharer. If he could have once placed me in a ridiculous or mortifying position, he would have forgiven me much, but I was guarded by three faculties—Caution, Tact, Observation; and prowling and prying as was Edward’s malignity, it could never baffle the lynx-eyes of these, my natural sentinels. Day by day did his malice watch my tact, hoping it would sleep, and prepared to steal snake-like on its slumber; but tact, if it be genuine, never sleeps.

I had received my first quarter’s wages, and was returning to my lodgings. Thoughts, not varied but strong occupied my mind; two voices spoke within me; again and again they uttered the same monotonous phrases. One said: “William, your life is intolerable.” The other: “What can you do to alter it?” I walked fast, for it was a cold, frosty night in January; as I approached my lodgings, I turned from a general view of my affairs to the particular speculation as to whether my fire would be out; looking towards the window of my sitting-room, I saw no cheering red gleam.

During the course of the first paragraph, the narrator’s focus shifts from

No man likes to acknowledge that he has made a mistake in the option of his profession, and every man, worthy of the name, will row long against wind and tide before he allows himself to cry out, “I am baffled!” and submits to be floated passively back to land. From the first week of my residence in X— l felt my occupation irksome. The thing itself—the work of copying and translating business-letters—was a dry and tedious task enough, but had that been all, I should long have borne with the nuisance; I am not of an impatient nature, and influenced by the double desire of getting my living and justifying to myself and others the resolution I had taken to become a tradesman, I should not have whispered, even inwardly, that I longed for liberty. But this was not all; the antipathy which had sprung up between myself and my employer excluded me from every glimpse of the sunshine of life; and I began to feel like a plant growing in humid darkness out of the slimy walls of a well.

Antipathy is the only word which can express the feeling Edward Crimsworth had for me—a feeling, in a great measure, involuntary, and which was liable to be excited by every, the most trifling movement, look, or word of mine. My southern accent annoyed him; the degree of education evinced in my language irritated him; my punctuality, industry, and accuracy, fixed his dislike, and gave it the high flavour and poignant relish of envy; he feared that I too should one day make a successful tradesman. Had I been in anything inferior to him, he would not have hated me so thoroughly, but I knew all that he knew, and, what was worse, he suspected that I kept the padlock of silence on mental wealth in which he was no sharer. If he could have once placed me in a ridiculous or mortifying position, he would have forgiven me much, but I was guarded by three faculties—Caution, Tact, Observation; and prowling and prying as was Edward’s malignity, it could never baffle the lynx-eyes of these, my natural sentinels. Day by day did his malice watch my tact, hoping it would sleep, and prepared to steal snake-like on its slumber; but tact, if it be genuine, never sleeps.

I had received my first quarter’s wages, and was returning to my lodgings. Thoughts, not varied but strong occupied my mind; two voices spoke within me; again and again they uttered the same monotonous phrases. One said: “William, your life is intolerable.” The other: “What can you do to alter it?” I walked fast, for it was a cold, frosty night in January; as I approached my lodgings, I turned from a general view of my affairs to the particular speculation as to whether my fire would be out; looking towards the window of my sitting-room, I saw no cheering red gleam.

What does the narrator mean by the term "cheering red gleam"?