Daily Passage Test for CLAT - May 28 MCQs & solutions Free

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.

An American actress had once observed, rather caustically, that marriage is nothing but a financial contract. Indian women and their maternal families, unfortunately, would appreciate the sarcasm. This is because India, in spite its righteous claims of being a modern, knowledge-based economy, loses, as many as 20 of its daughters every single day on account of harassment related to dowry, a regressive custom that reduces marriage to an unequal, transactional compact.
Social capital — education and employment — or the lack of it is no insurance against this venomous tradition. Recently, in Ahmedabad, a woman — young, educated, with a decent job — ended her life; her family says that she could no longer cope with the ceaseless demands of money and the torture from her husband's family. At the other end of the spectrum are families in South Asia that are driven to chronic poverty on account of exorbitant dowry payments that are far higher than their incomes. Several factors are attributed to explain the endurance of this nauseating practice cutting across classes: the imbalances in prevailing inheritance laws that give miniscule rights to women, ineffective deterrents — India's Dowry Prohibition Act is one example — are among them. Bride price — the sum that the groom needs to pay to the bride in some cultures — has also been known to be a cause of friction and, often, violence.
The battle against anti-progressive customs that discriminate against women needs to be fought on multiple fronts. Existing laws must be complemented by prompt, fair investigations, with punitive action taken speedily when guilt is established. Public awareness campaigns must be invested in to expose the troubling implications of such demands. But there is also a need to open a second front: an intelligent harnessing of tradition itself as a means of empowerment. Hearteningly, women and, on some occasions, men are showing the way by harnessing orthodoxy to a liberal agenda. Earlier this month, a young Muslim woman in Murshidabad set an example to her neighbours by demanding — and receiving — 60 books as part of her mohor. Such a welcome 'transaction' seems to be gaining ground with educated couples choosing knowledge over primitiveness: in the South 24 Parganas, a teacher — he loves reading — received, much to his surprise, a gift of nearly 1,000 books in another incident.
This coupling of tradition with progress could yield encouraging results. The jaundiced notion of linking a woman's life and dignity to wealth could also be challenged without proposing radical alternative interventions that may not find wider acceptance in a conservative milieu. The challenge, for policymakers and administrators, is to nurture this flickering flame.
[Extracted with edits and revisions from an editorial published in The Telegraph]

Q. What is the primary challenge mentioned in the passage in the fight against anti-progressive customs related to women?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.

An American actress had once observed, rather caustically, that marriage is nothing but a financial contract. Indian women and their maternal families, unfortunately, would appreciate the sarcasm. This is because India, in spite its righteous claims of being a modern, knowledge-based economy, loses, as many as 20 of its daughters every single day on account of harassment related to dowry, a regressive custom that reduces marriage to an unequal, transactional compact.
Social capital — education and employment — or the lack of it is no insurance against this venomous tradition. Recently, in Ahmedabad, a woman — young, educated, with a decent job — ended her life; her family says that she could no longer cope with the ceaseless demands of money and the torture from her husband's family. At the other end of the spectrum are families in South Asia that are driven to chronic poverty on account of exorbitant dowry payments that are far higher than their incomes. Several factors are attributed to explain the endurance of this nauseating practice cutting across classes: the imbalances in prevailing inheritance laws that give miniscule rights to women, ineffective deterrents — India's Dowry Prohibition Act is one example — are among them. Bride price — the sum that the groom needs to pay to the bride in some cultures — has also been known to be a cause of friction and, often, violence.
The battle against anti-progressive customs that discriminate against women needs to be fought on multiple fronts. Existing laws must be complemented by prompt, fair investigations, with punitive action taken speedily when guilt is established. Public awareness campaigns must be invested in to expose the troubling implications of such demands. But there is also a need to open a second front: an intelligent harnessing of tradition itself as a means of empowerment. Hearteningly, women and, on some occasions, men are showing the way by harnessing orthodoxy to a liberal agenda. Earlier this month, a young Muslim woman in Murshidabad set an example to her neighbours by demanding — and receiving — 60 books as part of her mohor. Such a welcome 'transaction' seems to be gaining ground with educated couples choosing knowledge over primitiveness: in the South 24 Parganas, a teacher — he loves reading — received, much to his surprise, a gift of nearly 1,000 books in another incident.
This coupling of tradition with progress could yield encouraging results. The jaundiced notion of linking a woman's life and dignity to wealth could also be challenged without proposing radical alternative interventions that may not find wider acceptance in a conservative milieu. The challenge, for policymakers and administrators, is to nurture this flickering flame.
[Extracted with edits and revisions from an editorial published in The Telegraph]

Q. Which of the following statements is ACCURATE according to the passage?

(i) India's Dowry Prohibition Act is rarely effective because thorough and impartial investigations in dowry-related cases are infrequent.
(ii) Combining tradition with progress can be exemplified by the exchange of books instead of wealth as dowry.
(iii) The issue of dowry has escalated, leading to an alarming rise in mortality and morbidity among Indian women.

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.

An American actress had once observed, rather caustically, that marriage is nothing but a financial contract. Indian women and their maternal families, unfortunately, would appreciate the sarcasm. This is because India, in spite its righteous claims of being a modern, knowledge-based economy, loses, as many as 20 of its daughters every single day on account of harassment related to dowry, a regressive custom that reduces marriage to an unequal, transactional compact.
Social capital — education and employment — or the lack of it is no insurance against this venomous tradition. Recently, in Ahmedabad, a woman — young, educated, with a decent job — ended her life; her family says that she could no longer cope with the ceaseless demands of money and the torture from her husband's family. At the other end of the spectrum are families in South Asia that are driven to chronic poverty on account of exorbitant dowry payments that are far higher than their incomes. Several factors are attributed to explain the endurance of this nauseating practice cutting across classes: the imbalances in prevailing inheritance laws that give miniscule rights to women, ineffective deterrents — India's Dowry Prohibition Act is one example — are among them. Bride price — the sum that the groom needs to pay to the bride in some cultures — has also been known to be a cause of friction and, often, violence.
The battle against anti-progressive customs that discriminate against women needs to be fought on multiple fronts. Existing laws must be complemented by prompt, fair investigations, with punitive action taken speedily when guilt is established. Public awareness campaigns must be invested in to expose the troubling implications of such demands. But there is also a need to open a second front: an intelligent harnessing of tradition itself as a means of empowerment. Hearteningly, women and, on some occasions, men are showing the way by harnessing orthodoxy to a liberal agenda. Earlier this month, a young Muslim woman in Murshidabad set an example to her neighbours by demanding — and receiving — 60 books as part of her mohor. Such a welcome 'transaction' seems to be gaining ground with educated couples choosing knowledge over primitiveness: in the South 24 Parganas, a teacher — he loves reading — received, much to his surprise, a gift of nearly 1,000 books in another incident.
This coupling of tradition with progress could yield encouraging results. The jaundiced notion of linking a woman's life and dignity to wealth could also be challenged without proposing radical alternative interventions that may not find wider acceptance in a conservative milieu. The challenge, for policymakers and administrators, is to nurture this flickering flame.
[Extracted with edits and revisions from an editorial published in The Telegraph]

Q. Which figure of speech is exemplified by the sentence "Social capital — education and employment — or the lack of it is no insurance against this venomous tradition"?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.

An American actress had once observed, rather caustically, that marriage is nothing but a financial contract. Indian women and their maternal families, unfortunately, would appreciate the sarcasm. This is because India, in spite its righteous claims of being a modern, knowledge-based economy, loses, as many as 20 of its daughters every single day on account of harassment related to dowry, a regressive custom that reduces marriage to an unequal, transactional compact.
Social capital — education and employment — or the lack of it is no insurance against this venomous tradition. Recently, in Ahmedabad, a woman — young, educated, with a decent job — ended her life; her family says that she could no longer cope with the ceaseless demands of money and the torture from her husband's family. At the other end of the spectrum are families in South Asia that are driven to chronic poverty on account of exorbitant dowry payments that are far higher than their incomes. Several factors are attributed to explain the endurance of this nauseating practice cutting across classes: the imbalances in prevailing inheritance laws that give miniscule rights to women, ineffective deterrents — India's Dowry Prohibition Act is one example — are among them. Bride price — the sum that the groom needs to pay to the bride in some cultures — has also been known to be a cause of friction and, often, violence.
The battle against anti-progressive customs that discriminate against women needs to be fought on multiple fronts. Existing laws must be complemented by prompt, fair investigations, with punitive action taken speedily when guilt is established. Public awareness campaigns must be invested in to expose the troubling implications of such demands. But there is also a need to open a second front: an intelligent harnessing of tradition itself as a means of empowerment. Hearteningly, women and, on some occasions, men are showing the way by harnessing orthodoxy to a liberal agenda. Earlier this month, a young Muslim woman in Murshidabad set an example to her neighbours by demanding — and receiving — 60 books as part of her mohor. Such a welcome 'transaction' seems to be gaining ground with educated couples choosing knowledge over primitiveness: in the South 24 Parganas, a teacher — he loves reading — received, much to his surprise, a gift of nearly 1,000 books in another incident.
This coupling of tradition with progress could yield encouraging results. The jaundiced notion of linking a woman's life and dignity to wealth could also be challenged without proposing radical alternative interventions that may not find wider acceptance in a conservative milieu. The challenge, for policymakers and administrators, is to nurture this flickering flame.
[Extracted with edits and revisions from an editorial published in The Telegraph]

Q. Which of the following options expresses a meaning opposite to the word 'radical' as it is used in the passage?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.

An American actress had once observed, rather caustically, that marriage is nothing but a financial contract. Indian women and their maternal families, unfortunately, would appreciate the sarcasm. This is because India, in spite its righteous claims of being a modern, knowledge-based economy, loses, as many as 20 of its daughters every single day on account of harassment related to dowry, a regressive custom that reduces marriage to an unequal, transactional compact.
Social capital — education and employment — or the lack of it is no insurance against this venomous tradition. Recently, in Ahmedabad, a woman — young, educated, with a decent job — ended her life; her family says that she could no longer cope with the ceaseless demands of money and the torture from her husband's family. At the other end of the spectrum are families in South Asia that are driven to chronic poverty on account of exorbitant dowry payments that are far higher than their incomes. Several factors are attributed to explain the endurance of this nauseating practice cutting across classes: the imbalances in prevailing inheritance laws that give miniscule rights to women, ineffective deterrents — India's Dowry Prohibition Act is one example — are among them. Bride price — the sum that the groom needs to pay to the bride in some cultures — has also been known to be a cause of friction and, often, violence.
The battle against anti-progressive customs that discriminate against women needs to be fought on multiple fronts. Existing laws must be complemented by prompt, fair investigations, with punitive action taken speedily when guilt is established. Public awareness campaigns must be invested in to expose the troubling implications of such demands. But there is also a need to open a second front: an intelligent harnessing of tradition itself as a means of empowerment. Hearteningly, women and, on some occasions, men are showing the way by harnessing orthodoxy to a liberal agenda. Earlier this month, a young Muslim woman in Murshidabad set an example to her neighbours by demanding — and receiving — 60 books as part of her mohor. Such a welcome 'transaction' seems to be gaining ground with educated couples choosing knowledge over primitiveness: in the South 24 Parganas, a teacher — he loves reading — received, much to his surprise, a gift of nearly 1,000 books in another incident.
This coupling of tradition with progress could yield encouraging results. The jaundiced notion of linking a woman's life and dignity to wealth could also be challenged without proposing radical alternative interventions that may not find wider acceptance in a conservative milieu. The challenge, for policymakers and administrators, is to nurture this flickering flame.
[Extracted with edits and revisions from an editorial published in The Telegraph]

Q. What does the author describe as 'sarcasm' in the passage?