Writing skill-The right word in the right place 2

August 30, 2019 at 4:14 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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Words with similar meaning, but different uses …

Criticize,     Denounce,    Reprimand,     Rebuke,      Decry,     Deprecate,      Cast aspersions on, Run someone or something down [More such words in the next list to be posted soon]

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Criticize …. a. Boris Johnson has been strongly criticized for his abrogation of the British Parliament.

b. My History teacher criticized my poor handwriting, but appreciated the many thoughtful ideas of my answer.

c. The Indian media has been criticized for its one-sided coverage of the Kashmir situation after the Abrogation of Article 370.

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Denounce .. a. Traditionally, the Pope has denounced the practice of abortion describing it as a crime as severe as murder.

b. Many intellectuals in the Islamic world have denounced the lukewarm attitude of the wealthy oil-rich countries towards the issue of rehabilitation of Syrian refugees.

c. After the Triple Talaq bill was passed, many among the Indian Muslims hailed it as a progressive step, where as some others denounced as an unnecessary interference in the matters of the community.

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Reprimand .. a. The BBCI reprimanded the coach of the Indian cricket team for the failure of the side in winning the World Cup.

b. The judge reprimanded the prosecution lawyer for his repeated failure to produce the key witness in the murder trial.

c. The man reprimanded his adolescent son for not keeping fast during the Ramadan days.

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Rebuke ..  a. The conservative mother rebuked her daughter for posting a photo in the Facebook wearing  outlandish clothes.

b. The Speaker rebuked the members of the Opposition who came rushing to the well of the house over trifling matters.

c. The wife rebuked her husband after the latter failed to curb his heavy drinking habits.

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Decry .. a. In his Friday sermons, the Imam decried the way Muslims took up guns to fight their political battles.

b. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the renowned reformer, decried the Brahmins who used ancient religious texts to defend the heinous system of Satee (widow-burning).

c. The chief guest who came to address the students on the school’s Foundation Day decried the way students had stopped reading books, and taken to mobile phones.

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Deprecate … a. In his angry comments, the Justice deprecated the habit of the lawyers of sides to seek adjournments.

b. In his blog, the diabetologist from Bengal deprecated the way Bengalis ate sweets three times a day – breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

c. A bitter argument broke out between the young man and his wife, when he deprecated modern-day TV debates terming them as banal and uncivil. The wife was furious because she worked as an anchor in a TV channel.

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Cast aspersions on ..  a. Lord Rama was filled with anguish when someone cast aspersions on  Sita’s chastity after the duo returned to Ayodhya.

b. The entire opposition angrily walked out when someone from the treasury benches cast aspersions on Mrs. Gandhi’s integrity.

c. The wife filed for divorce when the husband openly cast aspersions on her character before the neighbours.

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Run someone or something down .. a. The young singer broke into tears when her guru ran her down for the way she sang on the stage.

b. The researcher had hit upon a novel way to detect electromagnetism in solidified lava, but his jealous peers ran him down openly.

c. (to trace or discover) .. The Jew mother who survived the Nazi concentration camp finally ran her son down in an orphanage in far-off Brazil. She was over-joyed.

The Right Word in the Right Place 1

August 26, 2019 at 9:13 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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How best to use these words to add punch to your words….

Refuse, Decline, Deny, Counter, Refute, Botch, Rubbish, Dismiss, Demolish, Rip apart, Rebut

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Refuse .. a. During Ramzan, the devout Muslim old man refused to sip even a drop of water despite the doctors warning him that his illness could worsen if didn’t take fluids.
b. The arrogant bus passenger refused to leave his seat for an elderly woman who was barely able to stand erect.
c. The Taliban fighter refused to lay down his arms even after he was cornered from all sides by the police.
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Decline .. a. The young doctor got a lucrative job offer from a premier private hospital, but, much to the amazement of his friends, declined it, because he was keen to go back to his village to serve his community.
b. As a matter of policy, India declines international help in the aftermath of devastating natural calamities.
c. The government spokesperson in Srinagar declined to give a dateline for restoration of internet services.
d. The young man’s mood became sullen, when the girl declined his offer of coffee during their first meeting.
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Deny .. a. The cashier denied his involvement in the bank fraud.
b. Pakistan has denied the allegation that it is actively aiding terrorists against India, but few believe it.
c. In a democracy, the right to freedom of speech can’t be denied to any citizen.
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Counter .. a. The BJP spokesperson countered the impression that the party is acting against the interests of the backward castes, and the minorities, but he met with limited success.
b. To counter the effect of the U.S. trade tariffs, China is actively trying to explore markets for its products in India and other Asian countries.
c. The G7 group of countries has successfully countered the devastating effect of the malaria epidemic in Africa.
d. When the prosecution exhibited the murder weapon in the court, the defense lawyer had little to counter the charges against his client.
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Rubbish .. a. The government spokesperson of Bangladesh rubbished the allegations that the government had treated the Rohingya refugees inhumanely, despite their sheer numbers, and Bangladesh’s slender resources.
b. The angry mathematics teacher rubbished the claim of the failed students that the questions were too tough. He reminded the underperformers that he had worked out the same sums multiple times in the black board.
c. When I got up at dead of night and summoned my entire family to my room to tell them that a ghost had come and grabbed my arm, my mother rubbished my version, and my father chided me for my timidity.
Refute .. a. During TV debates in India, ill-mannered participants with no sense of decency scream and use abusive language to refute the views of the opponents.
b. The U.S. spokeswoman in White House refuted the views expressed in the media that the President was selectively targeting citizens on the basis of their religion and skin colour.
c. Myanmar government has refuted the allegations that it is dragging its feet over the resettlement of the Rohingya refugees.
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Botch … a. The police moved quickly to botch the rumors that some miscreants had slaughtered a cow in front of a Jain temple, but it was too late. Angry Jains had begun to turn on some minority religious groups.
b. The RAW’s regional head in a neighbouring country had botched an intelligence operation that led to his demotion.
c. Mossad is known for its professionalism. It seldom botches its operations, although it mostly conducts them in very hostile countries.
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Dismiss .. a. When I got up during our Literature class to say that we should study Kalidasa instead of Shakespeare, my English teacher dismissed the suggestion as absolute nonsense.
b. The judge dismissed the arguments of the prosecution lawyer as untenable, because they were not backed by evidence.
c. The world media has dismissed the Bolsnaro government’s claim that the Amazon fires were due to natural causes.
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Rip apart .. a. After the minister finished his speech about the government’s success in reining in the NPAs of banks, the opposition leader ripped apart the minister’s claims by citing the statistics released by the Reserve Bank of India.
b. In the family court where the divorce proceedings were going on, the frustrated wife ripped apart the husband’s position that he had been extremely considerate towards her.
c. In the debate on Abortion rights for women, feminist lawyers ripped apart the arguments of pro-life Catholic groups.
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Rebut .. a. In the International Court of Justice, India rebutted the Pakistani contention that it had never denied consular access to Kuldip Yadav held on espionage charges.
b. The leader of the political faction rebutted media reports that he was going to float a new party.
c. Some senior BJP leaders have rebutted the Darwin’s theory of evolution.
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Current Affairs –Understanding G7

August 25, 2019 at 4:30 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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Understanding G7 …

What is G7 ..G7 is an elite club of seven most wealthy democracies of the world who share similar values with regard to human rights, equality, and economic matters.

Who are its members…Presently, the members are The United States, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Position of Russia ..Russia was co-opted as a member in 1998, when G7 was renamed as G8. However, after Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed its Crimea province, the other member punished Russia by expelling it from the elite club. G8 became G7.
Who attend the summit …G7 holds its Heads of State meetings for two days each year. The member countries take turns to host the summit. This year, it is being hosted by France at its seaside resort Biarritz. Apart from the Heads of State, the President of the European Commission, and the President of the European Council also attend the summit meeting.

What are the G7’s priorities…The G7 focuses on global environmental crises, promotion of economic and trade across the world, curbing spread of deadly infectious diseases, and other political issues
The ministers and officials of the G7 countries meet regularly at periodic intervals to exchange views on different international issues.

Criticism of G7.. The G7 club is no stranger to criticism. Many say, it is too elitist, and doesn’t represent large parts of the globe, such as Africa, and Latin America. It also excludes China although it’s the second largest economy in the world, and the country with the highest population. G7 authorities point to the fact that China is still not a ‘free’ country that cherishes liberal values, and its per capita income is still quite low.
Apart from such criticism, G7 summit meetings regularly attract massive demonstrations by environment activists, anti-globalization groups, and myriad such elements that see G7 as perpetuating world’s evils.

Its notable achievements .. G7’s initiatives to combat malaria have stopped millions of deaths due to this disease. It also has succeeded in materializing the Paris Climate Accord, although President Trump has put a spoke in the matter by threatening to pull out of it. Trump has also taken an anti-free trade stand that imperils global trade.
Every year G7 also invites other important global leaders to take part in the deliberations. This year, India’s prime mister, Mr. Modi has been invited to the Biarritz summit.
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Comprehension and Current Affairs for top students (Part 2)

August 25, 2019 at 6:51 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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Current Affairs and good English are key to success…

Read the following write-up and answer the question appearing between the paragraphs.

This week, he accused left-wing nongovernmental organizations of deliberately starting the fires, but later admitted that he had no evidence to back up the claim. “Everything indicates that people went there to film and then to set fires,” he said. “That is my feeling.”

Bolsonaro’s stance here is part of his broader nationalist politics. He and his allies have no time for lectures from foreign elites and nothing but scorn for the indigenous Amazonian communities and leftist environmental policies that they see as obstacles to economic growth. The surge in deforestation has provoked a diplomatic spat between Brazil and European countries and now may halt a free-trade deal between the European Union and South American trading bloc Mercosur.

Q16… How President Bolnaro and the people around him treat the views of foreign experts and Amazon activists in the matter of conservation of the Amazon rain forests?

Q17. .. What could be the fall-out of the European anger against Brazil over Amazon deforestation?

The putative pact requires a commitment to the Paris climate accord, which among other things calls for an end to illegal deforestation in the Amazon by 2030. But Bolsonaro may be tempted to take Trump’s path instead and pull Brazil out of the Paris agreement, which would mark a significant blow for global efforts around climate action.

Q18. What does the Paris climate accord envisage with regard to Amazon forest’s future?

Q19. What line could Bolsnaro take in respect of Brazil stand on Paris climate accrd?

“Brazil has a responsibility not only to its own citizens but also to the entire earth,” wrote American climate campaigner Bill McKibben. “Bolsonaro’s tantrums, like Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris accords, damages not just his own nation for a few years; it also imperils the entire earth for millennia to come.”

Q20. . What does Bill McKibbon feel about Boslnaro’s stand on conservation of Amazon forests?

But such an appeal won’t move Bolsonaro. “This seems to be at the heart of a lot of what the president believes. It’s not just about climate change ― it’s also about globalism, sovereignty and economic development,” Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo, told HuffPost. “For the president, it’s, if you believe in [climate change], it’s a conspiracy meant to keep Brazil from developing. … And he knows this causes agony and outrage among his international opposition.”

Q21… What is at the core of Bolsonaro’s antipathy towards climate change campaingners?

Nationalists like Trump and Bolsonaro probably see the cause of climate action as a political dead end for their base. On the other side of the Atlantic, their right-wing counterparts in Europe are a bit more attuned to the scientific reality of the threat but still exhibit deep contempt for some activists seeking to drive greater awareness.

Q22. ..How the right wing leaders of Europe differ from Bolsonaro and Trump over the idea of combating climate change?

In the United States, climate change is a fully partisan issue, largely thanks to the Republican Party’s wholesale embrace of the fossil fuel industry — the American analog to Brazil’s agribusiness lobby. But concern is widespread on the left and a key subject of debate ahead of the 2020 election. On Thursday, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders unveiled a $16.3 trillion Green New Deal platform, possibly the most radical proposal put forward so far by a candidate that would create some 20 million new jobs while dramatically restructuring American society and economy around a supposedly more sustainable future.

Q23. … In what way Brazil under Bolsonaro and the U.S. under Trump look alike with regard to their approach to climate change?

Q24. .. What plan Bernie Sanders has unveiled to ensure a more sustainable future for mericans?

“We need a president who has the courage, the vision, and the record to face down the greed of fossil fuel executives and the billionaire class who stand in the way of climate action,” the plan’s call to action declares, taking aim at Trump and his allies. “We need a president who welcomes their hatred.” [Source: Washington Post Worldview]

Current Affairs -How the World Bank, IMF, and the ITO came into being

August 24, 2019 at 3:28 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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World Bank, IMF, and ITO (present day WTO) when, how and why they came into being?

Circumstances leading to their formation … Towards the fag end of World War 2, the economies of the western warring nations such as France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain etc. were in pitiable shape. Japanese and Russian economies had also taken very bad hits. Only the U.S. had emerged unscathed and strangely much stronger because of the following reasons.

  1. It did not suffer aggression on its soil due to geographical reasons and
  2. It became the supplier of arms and ammunition to the allied side, thanks to its highly developed industrial base. Such war related supplies brought the U.S. export opportunities, and huge profits. In rest of the war-ravaged countries unemployment was at its highest, inflation had soared, and there was shortage of every type of goods. The economies were clearly hurtling in a downward spiral. Life of the common people had become insufferably hard. The governments in Europe and elsewhere clearly understood something urgent had to be done urgently to reverse this trend and put the economies back in the process of reconstruction path.
    With this looming crisis in the background, representatives of nearly 44 nations led by Britain, France, Japan etc. met at the Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods in New Hampshire in the United States. Since this conference (popularly known as the Bretton Woods Conference) was held under the aegis of the United Nations, it is also known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference.

What happened in the conference?

A sense of doom and despair had gripped the delegates who had assembled in the Washington Hotel. Economies in their countries were in a shambles. They had become too anemic to stand on their feet again on their own. Blood had to be transfused to the World Economic Order which had hemorrhaged so severely due to the War. How could it be done?

  1. Factories, infrastructure, housing and farms destroyed in the war had to be rebuilt. For this, long term loan with concessional rate of interest had to be given to the governments and private corporate bodies.
  2.  In trying to provide resources for the war front, many nations had stretched themselves beyond their capacities. Their financial systems had fallen into total disarray. Neither austerity measures, nor any fresh fiscal measure could resurrect them. These nations desperately needed huge injection of cash to bring about a semblance of orderliness, so that normal economic activities could resume.

     3. The international trading system was reeling under high protectionist import duties. Each and every country               wanted to limit its imports, and increase its exports, so that foreign exchange reserves could go up.

What resulted from this competitive selfishness in import-export policy created barriers and bottlenecks for international trade. With reduced global trade, production activities in most countries began to plummet.

Therefore, something had to be done quickly enough to pull down these self-defeating, protectionist policy measures with regard to import and export. Boosting global trade was the key for revival of production and trade activities. This panacea was relevant for both small and big countries affected by the War.

To address the first problem of extending long term loans to rebuild factories, roads, ports etc., it was decided to float a new institution called the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). This organization was later renamed World Bank.

To provide emergency cash assistance to distressed nations for reviving their factories, banks, farms etc., so that they could regain their vitality, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was formed.

To address the issue of removal of impediments to global trade, the International Trade Organization was mooted. However, it was born later as a still-born baby, thanks to the policy clash between member nations.

Its intended role was played later by the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT). (GATT is not a UN body.) The present day World Trade Organization (WTO) is the latest avatar of GATT.

Thus, the United Nations-sponsored effort to reinvigorate the war-stricken world economy had three planks to stand on

a. the World Bank
b. the IMF and
c. the ITO.

By 1945 the two organizations, the World Bank and the IMF came into existence.

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Current Affairs & Comprehension together

August 24, 2019 at 7:27 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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Current Affairs and good English are key to success…

Read the following write-up and answer the question appearing between the paragraphs.

President Trump and leaders of the other Group of Seven nations will meet at the seaside French town of Biarritz this weekend for a ritzy get-together that hopes to be defined by its eco-friendliness. Summit attendees will be made aware of local reforestation plans that help offset the event’s carbon footprint; they can drink water from “environmentally responsible” bottles, pedal around on hydrogen-powered bikes, hop on trams that run on renewable energy, and dine on food sourced from local and sustainable supply chains.

Question 1.. Where is Biarritz?

Q2. What is it in the news?

Q3. What arrangements the hosts have made in Biarrtz to underline the importance of sustainable living?

If it all feels a bit cosmetic, it should. In the form of Trump, the G-7 is playing host to the world’s climate denier in chief, a president who has called global warming a hoax and, since taking office, worked assiduously to roll back U.S. environmental protections. Then there’s the backdrop to the proceedings: By the end of the summer, some 440 billion tons of ice will have calved off Greenland’s ice sheet — the consequence of record heat waves. And when the planet isn’t melting, it’s ablaze.

Q4. Why is the author of the article critical of the presence of President Trump in the summit?

Q5. Why does the author say that the planet is ‘ablaze’?

This week, global attention fell on the Amazon rainforest, where widespread fires led to the city of Sao Paulo — the largest metropolis in the Western hemisphere — being cloaked in dark smoke. Videos uploaded on social media showed vast stretches of devastation, with animals scurrying for shelter within the charred husk of the forest. Online hashtags urging action and prayers for the Amazon went viral, proliferated by Hollywood celebrities, French President Emmanuel Macron and others.

Q6. How have the Amazon fires affected Sao Paulo?

Q7. What is happening inside the Amazon forest?

Q8. How are the celebrities of the world reacting to the fire?

“According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the fires have led to a clear spike in carbon monoxide emissions as well as planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions, posing a threat to human health and aggravating global warming,” noted Andrew Freedman of the Capital Weather Gang.

Q9. What is Andrew Freedman’s observation of the situation?

“The Amazon rainforest serves as the lungs of the planet, taking in carbon dioxide, storing it in soils and producing oxygen. Scientists agree that it is one of the world’s great defenses against climate change,” wrote my colleague Terrence McCoy. “In Brazil, it has suffered 74,155 fires since January, the space research institute reported. That’s up 85 percent from last year and significantly higher than the 67,790 blazes at this point in 2016, when there were severe drought conditions in the region associated with a strong El Niño event.”

Q10. .. What Terrence McCoy writes about the ramifications of the Amazon fires?

Q11. How the number of fires increased or decreased in the last few years?

In this instance, climactic conditions don’t explain the surge in fires. Instead, many point to the government of far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who came to power vowing to end or loosen up protections for forested areas inhabited by indigenous people in favor of the country’s powerful agribusiness industry. Some of the blazes were probably started by emboldened cattle ranchers or farmers seeking to clear new land for cultivation or pasture. In the space of little more than a year, critics argue, Bolsonaro has reignited the “arc of fire” that ravaged the Amazon rainforest in the 1970s and ’80s.

Q12. What policy President Bolsonaro adopted in respect of the Amazon forest lands?

Q13. Apart from natural causes, who else are suspected to be behind the fires? What could be the purpose?

“I cannot remember any other big fire episode like this one,” Vitor Gomes, an environmental scientist at the Federal University of Para, told my colleagues. “It is also sharply overlapped with the increased deforestation. Attributing the whole episode to natural causes only is practically impossible.”

Bolsonaro, though, is contemptuous of his domestic opponents and international critics. He has dismissed the findings of his own government’s scientific agencies as “lies” and advised those concerned about global warming to eat and defecate less, because that would collectively bring down emissions. [Source: Washington Post Worldview]

Q14 .. What are Votor Gomes views on the cause of the fire?

Q15. How does President Bolsonaro react to the views expressed by the scientists about the cause of fire?

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