0

General English -2 (NIACL Administrative Officer)

Attempted 0/40 Correct 0 Score 0

Directions: Choose the best answer from the listed choice which is nearest in meaning to the given word.

Candid

  1. Content

  2. Serene

  3. Outspoken

  4. Perplexed

  5. Pompous


Correct Option: C

Directions: Choose the antonym of the given word from the given options.

Inaccessible

  1. Avaricious

  2. Infantile

  3. False

  4. Available

  5. Average


Correct Option: D

Directions: Choose the best answer from the listed choice which is nearest in meaning to the given word.

Glitch

  1. Annoyed

  2. Peeved

  3. Anomaly

  4. Gruesome

  5. Completion


Correct Option: C

Directions: The question below has one or two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words for each blank which best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

Learning is more efficient when it is _____, it is less efficient when it is _____.

  1. fast, slow

  2. fun, drudgery

  3. rapid, turtle-slow

  4. tedious, like a joy ride

  5. None of these


Correct Option: B

Directions: The sentence below has two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

Despite a growing _______ that a lot needs to be done to help those without clean water, a ______ says that more than 34 million people die every year of water borne diseases.

  1. interest, reason

  2. recognition, report

  3. fantasy, review

  4. authority, legend

  5. turbulence, logic


Correct Option: B

Directions: The sentence below has two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

Many people believed that spices help ______ food; however nutritionists found that most spices were ______ of having any effect on growth of microbes present in the food.

  1. preserve, incapable

  2. produce, impossible

  3. save, preventive

  4. spoil, probable

  5. protect, deprived


Correct Option: A

Directions: The sentence below has two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words that best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

The two artists _______ markedly in their temperaments, one was reserved and courteous, the other _______ and boastful.

  1. changed, irritable

  2. similar, jovial

  3. differed, rude

  4. appeared, funny

  5. addressed, ill-tempered


Correct Option: C

Directions: Identify the part having an error.

  1. My neighbour along with his children

  2. are going tonight

  3. to see the Taj Mahal

  4. at Agra.

  5. No error


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

We should use "is going" instead of "are going" here. The phrase introduced by 'as well as' or 'along with' modifies the earlier word ('my neighbour' in this case).

Directions: Choose the word/phrase which best replaces the italicised part in the sentence given below. If the sentence needs no change, mark (4) as your answer.

If you had arrived earlier, you would have found me in the bus.

  1. will find

  2. have found

  3. found

  4. No improvement needed


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

The given sentence in itself is correct and needs no improvement. Hence, (4) is the correct answer.

Directions: Choose the word/phrase which best replaces the italicised part in the sentence given below. If the sentence needs no change, mark (4) as your answer.

The robber entered into the old man's room very quietly.

  1. entered in

  2. entered inside

  3. entered

  4. No improvement needed


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

Some words like 'enter' (when used as verbs) do not take any preposition. Hence, (3) is the correct answer.

Directions: The question below has one or two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words for each blank which best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

We must try to understand his momentary _____ for he has ______ more strain and anxiety than any among us.

  1. vision, forgotten

  2. aberration, undergone

  3. outcry, described

  4. senility, understood

  5. None of these


Correct Option: B

Directions: Identify the part having an error.

  1. The customer was

  2. angry at the clerk

  3. for being detained

  4. for a very long time

  5. No error


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

"Being detained" doesn't makes sense here. It implies that the clerk was confined or kept in custody by someone.

Directions: Choose the word/phrase which best replaces the italicised part in the sentence given below. If the sentence needs no change, mark (4) as your answer.

It is one and quarter hours since Harish went away.

  1. one and quarter

  2. one and quarter hour

  3. one hour and a quarter

  4. No improvement needed


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

The original sentence is correct. So, (4) is the correct answer.

Directions: Choose the word/phrase which best replaces the italicised part in the sentence given below. If the sentence needs no change, mark (4) as your answer.

Unless he does not leave this house, I will not say anything.

  1. had left

  2. left

  3. leaves

  4. No improvement needed


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

The given sentence bespeaks of a “redundancy” case as “unless” and “does not” have the same meaning. Only “unless” which is a conjunction should be used. Hence, (3) is the correct answer.

Directions: Choose the word/phrase which best replaces the italicised part in the sentence given below. If the sentence needs no change, mark (4) as your answer.

As the summer vacation approaches, the number of tourists are increasing by leaps and bound.

  1. has increased by leaps and bounds

  2. increases by leaps and bounds

  3. are increasing by leaps and bounds

  4. No improvement needed


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

The tense in both the clauses should be the same. The subordinate clause is in the simple present tense, the main clause should also be in the same tense. Hence, (2) is the correct answer.

Directions: Identify the part having an error.

  1. Fear is

  2. one of those emotions

  3. which frequently roots us

  4. to inaction

  5. No error


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

‘which frequently root us’ As we are talking about emotions in plural and fear is one example, so ‘root’ will be used.

Directions: Identify the part having an error.

  1. I warned him

  2. for the danger

  3. he was going

  4. to face during hiking

  5. No error


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

‘Of the danger’ is the correct usage. Warning a person of the situation. ‘Of’ is used for reference/relating to some context . So, we use ‘of’. 

Directions: Identify the part having an error.

  1. I am certain that none

  2. of these two books

  3. is useful to the

  4. student of 8th standard

  5. No error


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

‘I am certain that neither’ We use ‘neither’ with two.

Directions: Match the word with its opposite meaning.

Amiable

  1. Certain

  2. Definite

  3. Unfriendly

  4. Cold

  5. Obstinate


Correct Option: C

Directions: Match the word with its opposite meaning.

Marinate

  1. Professional

  2. Litany

  3. Sociable

  4. Dry

  5. Split


Correct Option: D

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

Probably the motorist saw the ____(i) lorry too _(ii) to be able to _(iii) a disaster. However, he realized that if he kept to the roadside, a probably __(iv) head on __(v) would be unavoidable. The only alternative was to take the lesser risk of leaving the road. With great care therefore, he turned sharply off the road and into the ditch by the roadside. The consequence was that, instead of being involved in a serious and probably fatal __(vi), the driver escaped with a few minor __(vii) and bruises, while the only __(viii) to his bike was a bent mud guard. By __(ix) into the roadside ditch to avoid what could have been a head on collision with the approaching lorry, he averted a ____(x) accident at the expense of a few injuries to himself and a slight damage to his bike.

Fill blank (iii).

  1. avert

  2. revert

  3. convert

  4. averse

  5. reverse


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The disaster could not be prevented as the motorist saw the lorry too late. So, avert meaning prevent/deflect is the correct answer.

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

Probably the motorist saw the ____(i) lorry too _(ii) to be able to _(iii) a disaster. However, he realized that if he kept to the roadside, a probably __(iv) head on __(v) would be unavoidable. The only alternative was to take the lesser risk of leaving the road. With great care therefore, he turned sharply off the road and into the ditch by the roadside. The consequence was that, instead of being involved in a serious and probably fatal __(vi), the driver escaped with a few minor __(vii) and bruises, while the only __(viii) to his bike was a bent mud guard. By __(ix) into the roadside ditch to avoid what could have been a head on collision with the approaching lorry, he averted a ____(x) accident at the expense of a few injuries to himself and a slight damage to his bike.

Fill blank (i).

  1. incoming

  2. oncoming

  3. down coming

  4. off coming

  5. out coming


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

'Oncoming' means approaching. So, the motorist saw the approaching lorry too late. Other options do not fit.

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

Probably the motorist saw the ____(i) lorry too _(ii) to be able to _(iii) a disaster. However, he realized that if he kept to the roadside, a probably __(iv) head on __(v) would be unavoidable. The only alternative was to take the lesser risk of leaving the road. With great care therefore, he turned sharply off the road and into the ditch by the roadside. The consequence was that, instead of being involved in a serious and probably fatal __(vi), the driver escaped with a few minor __(vii) and bruises, while the only __(viii) to his bike was a bent mud guard. By __(ix) into the roadside ditch to avoid what could have been a head on collision with the approaching lorry, he averted a ____(x) accident at the expense of a few injuries to himself and a slight damage to his bike.

Fill blank (ii).

  1. much

  2. little

  3. soon

  4. late

  5. often


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

As the passage talks of an accident, no other option fits in. As the motorist did not see the lorry in time, there was an accident.

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

Probably the motorist saw the ____(i) lorry too _(ii) to be able to _(iii) a disaster. However, he realized that if he kept to the roadside, a probably __(iv) head on __(v) would be unavoidable. The only alternative was to take the lesser risk of leaving the road. With great care therefore, he turned sharply off the road and into the ditch by the roadside. The consequence was that, instead of being involved in a serious and probably fatal __(vi), the driver escaped with a few minor __(vii) and bruises, while the only __(viii) to his bike was a bent mud guard. By __(ix) into the roadside ditch to avoid what could have been a head on collision with the approaching lorry, he averted a ____(x) accident at the expense of a few injuries to himself and a slight damage to his bike.

Fill blank (iv).

  1. slight

  2. fatalistic

  3. fatal

  4. mild

  5. fantastic


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

The use of words 'head on' indicates that the disaster could be fatal. Moreover later it is given 'lesser risk' was to leave the road. So, slight and mild are out of context with head on. Collision cannot be fantastic. Fatalistic means acceptance of events as fate and is out of context. Fatal means deadly or lethal. It fits the context and is correct.

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

Probably the motorist saw the ____(i) lorry too _(ii) to be able to _(iii) a disaster. However, he realized that if he kept to the roadside, a probably __(iv) head on __(v) would be unavoidable. The only alternative was to take the lesser risk of leaving the road. With great care therefore, he turned sharply off the road and into the ditch by the roadside. The consequence was that, instead of being involved in a serious and probably fatal __(vi), the driver escaped with a few minor __(vii) and bruises, while the only __(viii) to his bike was a bent mud guard. By __(ix) into the roadside ditch to avoid what could have been a head on collision with the approaching lorry, he averted a ____(x) accident at the expense of a few injuries to himself and a slight damage to his bike.

Fill blank (v).

  1. collision

  2. collusion

  3. collation

  4. collapse

  5. coalition


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Collision means a crash or impact. It is correct as it fits in the context.

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

Probably the motorist saw the ____(i) lorry too _(ii) to be able to _(iii) a disaster. However, he realized that if he kept to the roadside, a probably __(iv) head on __(v) would be unavoidable. The only alternative was to take the lesser risk of leaving the road. With great care therefore, he turned sharply off the road and into the ditch by the roadside. The consequence was that, instead of being involved in a serious and probably fatal __(vi), the driver escaped with a few minor __(vii) and bruises, while the only __(viii) to his bike was a bent mud guard. By __(ix) into the roadside ditch to avoid what could have been a head on collision with the approaching lorry, he averted a ____(x) accident at the expense of a few injuries to himself and a slight damage to his bike.

Fill blank (vi).

  1. bump

  2. collusion

  3. failure

  4. accident

  5. contingency


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

As the passage talks about a collision, accident is the correct answer. The motorist swerved the car and avoided a fatal accident.

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

Probably the motorist saw the ____(i) lorry too _(ii) to be able to _(iii) a disaster. However, he realized that if he kept to the roadside, a probably __(iv) head on __(v) would be unavoidable. The only alternative was to take the lesser risk of leaving the road. With great care therefore, he turned sharply off the road and into the ditch by the roadside. The consequence was that, instead of being involved in a serious and probably fatal __(vi), the driver escaped with a few minor __(vii) and bruises, while the only __(viii) to his bike was a bent mud guard. By __(ix) into the roadside ditch to avoid what could have been a head on collision with the approaching lorry, he averted a ____(x) accident at the expense of a few injuries to himself and a slight damage to his bike.

Fill blank (vii).

  1. wounds

  2. cuts

  3. incisions

  4. scars

  5. stabs


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

 With bruises, only cuts will be correct.

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

Probably the motorist saw the ____(i) lorry too _(ii) to be able to _(iii) a disaster. However, he realized that if he kept to the roadside, a probably __(iv) head on __(v) would be unavoidable. The only alternative was to take the lesser risk of leaving the road. With great care therefore, he turned sharply off the road and into the ditch by the roadside. The consequence was that, instead of being involved in a serious and probably fatal __(vi), the driver escaped with a few minor __(vii) and bruises, while the only __(viii) to his bike was a bent mud guard. By __(ix) into the roadside ditch to avoid what could have been a head on collision with the approaching lorry, he averted a ____(x) accident at the expense of a few injuries to himself and a slight damage to his bike.

Fill blank (x).

  1. intense

  2. gigantic

  3. pressing

  4. serious

  5. solemn


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Serious accident means 'having serious consequences'. So, it makes sense here.

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

Probably the motorist saw the ____(i) lorry too _(ii) to be able to _(iii) a disaster. However, he realized that if he kept to the roadside, a probably __(iv) head on __(v) would be unavoidable. The only alternative was to take the lesser risk of leaving the road. With great care therefore, he turned sharply off the road and into the ditch by the roadside. The consequence was that, instead of being involved in a serious and probably fatal __(vi), the driver escaped with a few minor __(vii) and bruises, while the only __(viii) to his bike was a bent mud guard. By __(ix) into the roadside ditch to avoid what could have been a head on collision with the approaching lorry, he averted a ____(x) accident at the expense of a few injuries to himself and a slight damage to his bike.

Fill blank (viii).

  1. damage

  2. wreck

  3. harm

  4. outrage

  5. injury


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The passage here talks of the damage to the bike. No other word is suitable in this context.

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

Probably the motorist saw the ____(i) lorry too _(ii) to be able to _(iii) a disaster. However, he realized that if he kept to the roadside, a probably __(iv) head on __(v) would be unavoidable. The only alternative was to take the lesser risk of leaving the road. With great care therefore, he turned sharply off the road and into the ditch by the roadside. The consequence was that, instead of being involved in a serious and probably fatal __(vi), the driver escaped with a few minor __(vii) and bruises, while the only __(viii) to his bike was a bent mud guard. By __(ix) into the roadside ditch to avoid what could have been a head on collision with the approaching lorry, he averted a ____(x) accident at the expense of a few injuries to himself and a slight damage to his bike.

Fill blank (ix).

  1. swerving

  2. jumping

  3. mowing

  4. ascending

  5. accelerating


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The motorist had changed the direction of the bike or turned aside sharply from the course he was on.

According to the context, an avocation would mean

Directions: Read the following passsage and answer the given question.

Arkady Bronnikov pulls out a fistful of black and white photos from his overstuffed valise and, like a proud parent, passes them around.
This one's my favourite. The work on him is really artistic, Mr. Bronnikov says admiringly of the snapshot in his hand.
The photograph shows a Russian convict bald, and naked to the waist. To the delight of Mr. Bronnikov, the man's torso is covered with tattoos.
As Russia's leading expert on tattoo iconography, Mr. Bronnikov can tell the prisoner's story from looking at the designs on his body. The huge spider in a web that is drawn on his skull reveals, in prison tattoo code, that he is a drug addict. Also, he is a repeat offender: The onion domes of a Russian church fan across his shoulder blades, each of the seven cupolas representing a different stay in prison. Above the church, across the back of his neck, the convict has stencilled, in Russian, "Not just anyone can hold his head this high".
He's the pakhan, the king of thieves in his prison, Mr. Bronnikov explains.
For nearly 30 years, Mr. Bronnikov, a criminologist, has analysed the language of tattoos among Soviet convicts. As a colonel in the secretive Interior Ministry, Mr. Bronnikov had access to thousands of prisoners in remote labour camps. Nearly everybody who does time gets tattooed (women, too, but less elaborately). Most are tattooed voluntarily. Forcibly tattooed are the so-called insulted men who have been raped in prison.
Across Russia and in the other former Soviet republics, convicts use the same symbols. The images document the prisoner's crimes, sentences and, most importantly, his position in the rigid hierarchy that runs convict life and, in some cases, the prisons, themselves.
The more tattoos a convict gets, the more sentences he has served, the more respect he gets in prison, says the 66-year old Mr. Bronnikov. The tattoos show that he isn't afraid of pain.
When Mr. Bronikov began as a criminologist in the late 1950s, he was struck by the blue and black symbols turning up on suspects and, occasionally, on an unidentified corpse. As a hobby, he started collecting photographs of such tattoos. The avocation quickly became a subject of scholarship.
Working in the Perm region, Mr. Bronnikov was virtually surrounded by thugs. This Ural province is the penal capital of the former Soviet Union, with more than 30 labour camps and a convict population exceeding 100,000. As a lecturer at the regional police academy, Mr. Bronnikov persuaded his students, many of them prison wardens, to provide him with photos of the best tattoos in their camps.
Mr. Bronnikov now has more than 20,000 photos and has published books on what they mean. He has helped solve criminal cases around the country by studying tattoos to identify culprits and corpses. In the mid 1970s, Mr. Bronnikov assisted in the search for a child molester in the Volga town of Yeshevsk. One of the man's victims recalled markings on the criminal's hands and chest that suggested to police he was an ex-convict. A young girl's description and the telltale tattoos got the suspect nabbed quickly and then convicted.
Although 17th century Russian courts favoured branding and tattooing the faces of criminals, Soviet prisoners began to tattoo one another in the 1950s. Discreet symbols on the chest and shoulder have evolved into elabourate murals, with prisoners sporting hundreds of drawings on their bodies.
Interned in Correctional Labour Colony 29 on the outskirts of Prem, Andrei Mysnik is serving a 15 year sentence for killing a policeman in Leningrad in 1981. As an old-timer in the zone, the vast network of labour camps, Mr. Mysnik has an impressive array of tattoos.
He opens his fist and points to two rows of tattoos etched across his knuckles. The beetle is a good luck charm in burglary, the 30-year old Mr. Mysnik's speciality. The black and white diamond indicates that Mr. Mysnik has spend half his life in prison. As he looks down to explain the images, the words do not wake become visible; they are tattooed on his eyelids.
Mr. Mysnik's favourite tattoo extends across his slender back: a prehistoric scene, with pterodactyls and tar pits and, in the middle, a dinosaur biting another on the neck. "This is the criminal world to me", Mr. Mysnik says. One way or the other, you get nailed.
Still, the pain does deter even the most macho convict from covering his body, all at once, with meaningful pictures. Tattoos are created by instilling pigment in the skin with thousands of needle pricks. In the camps, the process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few years, depending on the artist and his ambition, says Mr. Bronnikov. Because of prison conditions, tattoo artists have to improvise with materials and equipment. For instance, they will draw a picture on a wooden plank, place needles along the lines of the design, cover the needles with ink and stamp the whole tableau on the prisoner's body. Another method is to slice the image onto the skin with a razor and daub that cut with indelible ink.

  1. a minor occupation

  2. another occupation

  3. a profession

  4. a divine calling


Correct Option: A

According to the text, a repeat offender, in tattoo language, is symbolised by

Directions: Read the following passsage and answer the given question.

Arkady Bronnikov pulls out a fistful of black and white photos from his overstuffed valise and, like a proud parent, passes them around.
This one's my favourite. The work on him is really artistic, Mr. Bronnikov says admiringly of the snapshot in his hand.
The photograph shows a Russian convict bald, and naked to the waist. To the delight of Mr. Bronnikov, the man's torso is covered with tattoos.
As Russia's leading expert on tattoo iconography, Mr. Bronnikov can tell the prisoner's story from looking at the designs on his body. The huge spider in a web that is drawn on his skull reveals, in prison tattoo code, that he is a drug addict. Also, he is a repeat offender: The onion domes of a Russian church fan across his shoulder blades, each of the seven cupolas representing a different stay in prison. Above the church, across the back of his neck, the convict has stencilled, in Russian, "Not just anyone can hold his head this high".
He's the pakhan, the king of thieves in his prison, Mr. Bronnikov explains.
For nearly 30 years, Mr. Bronnikov, a criminologist, has analysed the language of tattoos among Soviet convicts. As a colonel in the secretive Interior Ministry, Mr. Bronnikov had access to thousands of prisoners in remote labour camps. Nearly everybody who does time gets tattooed (women, too, but less elaborately). Most are tattooed voluntarily. Forcibly tattooed are the so-called insulted men who have been raped in prison.
Across Russia and in the other former Soviet republics, convicts use the same symbols. The images document the prisoner's crimes, sentences and, most importantly, his position in the rigid hierarchy that runs convict life and, in some cases, the prisons, themselves.
The more tattoos a convict gets, the more sentences he has served, the more respect he gets in prison, says the 66-year old Mr. Bronnikov. The tattoos show that he isn't afraid of pain.
When Mr. Bronikov began as a criminologist in the late 1950s, he was struck by the blue and black symbols turning up on suspects and, occasionally, on an unidentified corpse. As a hobby, he started collecting photographs of such tattoos. The avocation quickly became a subject of scholarship.
Working in the Perm region, Mr. Bronnikov was virtually surrounded by thugs. This Ural province is the penal capital of the former Soviet Union, with more than 30 labour camps and a convict population exceeding 100,000. As a lecturer at the regional police academy, Mr. Bronnikov persuaded his students, many of them prison wardens, to provide him with photos of the best tattoos in their camps.
Mr. Bronnikov now has more than 20,000 photos and has published books on what they mean. He has helped solve criminal cases around the country by studying tattoos to identify culprits and corpses. In the mid 1970s, Mr. Bronnikov assisted in the search for a child molester in the Volga town of Yeshevsk. One of the man's victims recalled markings on the criminal's hands and chest that suggested to police he was an ex-convict. A young girl's description and the telltale tattoos got the suspect nabbed quickly and then convicted.
Although 17th century Russian courts favoured branding and tattooing the faces of criminals, Soviet prisoners began to tattoo one another in the 1950s. Discreet symbols on the chest and shoulder have evolved into elabourate murals, with prisoners sporting hundreds of drawings on their bodies.
Interned in Correctional Labour Colony 29 on the outskirts of Prem, Andrei Mysnik is serving a 15 year sentence for killing a policeman in Leningrad in 1981. As an old-timer in the zone, the vast network of labour camps, Mr. Mysnik has an impressive array of tattoos.
He opens his fist and points to two rows of tattoos etched across his knuckles. The beetle is a good luck charm in burglary, the 30-year old Mr. Mysnik's speciality. The black and white diamond indicates that Mr. Mysnik has spend half his life in prison. As he looks down to explain the images, the words do not wake become visible; they are tattooed on his eyelids.
Mr. Mysnik's favourite tattoo extends across his slender back: a prehistoric scene, with pterodactyls and tar pits and, in the middle, a dinosaur biting another on the neck. "This is the criminal world to me", Mr. Mysnik says. One way or the other, you get nailed.
Still, the pain does deter even the most macho convict from covering his body, all at once, with meaningful pictures. Tattoos are created by instilling pigment in the skin with thousands of needle pricks. In the camps, the process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few years, depending on the artist and his ambition, says Mr. Bronnikov. Because of prison conditions, tattoo artists have to improvise with materials and equipment. For instance, they will draw a picture on a wooden plank, place needles along the lines of the design, cover the needles with ink and stamp the whole tableau on the prisoner's body. Another method is to slice the image onto the skin with a razor and daub that cut with indelible ink.

  1. a huge spider in a web

  2. a beetle on the knuckles

  3. a church

  4. a Russian church with several onion domes


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

The line 'The onion domes of a Russian church fan...' suggests the answer. 

The tattoos, according to the prisoner's ultimate opinion, show that the prisoner

Directions: Read the following passsage and answer the given question.

Arkady Bronnikov pulls out a fistful of black and white photos from his overstuffed valise and, like a proud parent, passes them around.
This one's my favourite. The work on him is really artistic, Mr. Bronnikov says admiringly of the snapshot in his hand.
The photograph shows a Russian convict bald, and naked to the waist. To the delight of Mr. Bronnikov, the man's torso is covered with tattoos.
As Russia's leading expert on tattoo iconography, Mr. Bronnikov can tell the prisoner's story from looking at the designs on his body. The huge spider in a web that is drawn on his skull reveals, in prison tattoo code, that he is a drug addict. Also, he is a repeat offender: The onion domes of a Russian church fan across his shoulder blades, each of the seven cupolas representing a different stay in prison. Above the church, across the back of his neck, the convict has stencilled, in Russian, "Not just anyone can hold his head this high".
He's the pakhan, the king of thieves in his prison, Mr. Bronnikov explains.
For nearly 30 years, Mr. Bronnikov, a criminologist, has analysed the language of tattoos among Soviet convicts. As a colonel in the secretive Interior Ministry, Mr. Bronnikov had access to thousands of prisoners in remote labour camps. Nearly everybody who does time gets tattooed (women, too, but less elaborately). Most are tattooed voluntarily. Forcibly tattooed are the so-called insulted men who have been raped in prison.
Across Russia and in the other former Soviet republics, convicts use the same symbols. The images document the prisoner's crimes, sentences and, most importantly, his position in the rigid hierarchy that runs convict life and, in some cases, the prisons, themselves.
The more tattoos a convict gets, the more sentences he has served, the more respect he gets in prison, says the 66-year old Mr. Bronnikov. The tattoos show that he isn't afraid of pain.
When Mr. Bronikov began as a criminologist in the late 1950s, he was struck by the blue and black symbols turning up on suspects and, occasionally, on an unidentified corpse. As a hobby, he started collecting photographs of such tattoos. The avocation quickly became a subject of scholarship.
Working in the Perm region, Mr. Bronnikov was virtually surrounded by thugs. This Ural province is the penal capital of the former Soviet Union, with more than 30 labour camps and a convict population exceeding 100,000. As a lecturer at the regional police academy, Mr. Bronnikov persuaded his students, many of them prison wardens, to provide him with photos of the best tattoos in their camps.
Mr. Bronnikov now has more than 20,000 photos and has published books on what they mean. He has helped solve criminal cases around the country by studying tattoos to identify culprits and corpses. In the mid 1970s, Mr. Bronnikov assisted in the search for a child molester in the Volga town of Yeshevsk. One of the man's victims recalled markings on the criminal's hands and chest that suggested to police he was an ex-convict. A young girl's description and the telltale tattoos got the suspect nabbed quickly and then convicted.
Although 17th century Russian courts favoured branding and tattooing the faces of criminals, Soviet prisoners began to tattoo one another in the 1950s. Discreet symbols on the chest and shoulder have evolved into elabourate murals, with prisoners sporting hundreds of drawings on their bodies.
Interned in Correctional Labour Colony 29 on the outskirts of Prem, Andrei Mysnik is serving a 15 year sentence for killing a policeman in Leningrad in 1981. As an old-timer in the zone, the vast network of labour camps, Mr. Mysnik has an impressive array of tattoos.
He opens his fist and points to two rows of tattoos etched across his knuckles. The beetle is a good luck charm in burglary, the 30-year old Mr. Mysnik's speciality. The black and white diamond indicates that Mr. Mysnik has spend half his life in prison. As he looks down to explain the images, the words do not wake become visible; they are tattooed on his eyelids.
Mr. Mysnik's favourite tattoo extends across his slender back: a prehistoric scene, with pterodactyls and tar pits and, in the middle, a dinosaur biting another on the neck. "This is the criminal world to me", Mr. Mysnik says. One way or the other, you get nailed.
Still, the pain does deter even the most macho convict from covering his body, all at once, with meaningful pictures. Tattoos are created by instilling pigment in the skin with thousands of needle pricks. In the camps, the process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few years, depending on the artist and his ambition, says Mr. Bronnikov. Because of prison conditions, tattoo artists have to improvise with materials and equipment. For instance, they will draw a picture on a wooden plank, place needles along the lines of the design, cover the needles with ink and stamp the whole tableau on the prisoner's body. Another method is to slice the image onto the skin with a razor and daub that cut with indelible ink.

  1. has served in many prisons

  2. is not afraid of pain

  3. has a sense of art

  4. has a creative mind


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

'The tattoos show that he isn't afraid of pain.'

That Arkady Bronnikov has done exhaustive research on the topic is evident from which of the following phrases used by the author?

I. fistful of black and white photos II. had access to thousands of prisoners III. overstuffed valise IV. 20,000 photos and published books

Directions: Read the following passsage and answer the given question.

Arkady Bronnikov pulls out a fistful of black and white photos from his overstuffed valise and, like a proud parent, passes them around.
This one's my favourite. The work on him is really artistic, Mr. Bronnikov says admiringly of the snapshot in his hand.
The photograph shows a Russian convict bald, and naked to the waist. To the delight of Mr. Bronnikov, the man's torso is covered with tattoos.
As Russia's leading expert on tattoo iconography, Mr. Bronnikov can tell the prisoner's story from looking at the designs on his body. The huge spider in a web that is drawn on his skull reveals, in prison tattoo code, that he is a drug addict. Also, he is a repeat offender: The onion domes of a Russian church fan across his shoulder blades, each of the seven cupolas representing a different stay in prison. Above the church, across the back of his neck, the convict has stencilled, in Russian, "Not just anyone can hold his head this high".
He's the pakhan, the king of thieves in his prison, Mr. Bronnikov explains.
For nearly 30 years, Mr. Bronnikov, a criminologist, has analysed the language of tattoos among Soviet convicts. As a colonel in the secretive Interior Ministry, Mr. Bronnikov had access to thousands of prisoners in remote labour camps. Nearly everybody who does time gets tattooed (women, too, but less elaborately). Most are tattooed voluntarily. Forcibly tattooed are the so-called insulted men who have been raped in prison.
Across Russia and in the other former Soviet republics, convicts use the same symbols. The images document the prisoner's crimes, sentences and, most importantly, his position in the rigid hierarchy that runs convict life and, in some cases, the prisons, themselves.
The more tattoos a convict gets, the more sentences he has served, the more respect he gets in prison, says the 66-year old Mr. Bronnikov. The tattoos show that he isn't afraid of pain.
When Mr. Bronikov began as a criminologist in the late 1950s, he was struck by the blue and black symbols turning up on suspects and, occasionally, on an unidentified corpse. As a hobby, he started collecting photographs of such tattoos. The avocation quickly became a subject of scholarship.
Working in the Perm region, Mr. Bronnikov was virtually surrounded by thugs. This Ural province is the penal capital of the former Soviet Union, with more than 30 labour camps and a convict population exceeding 100,000. As a lecturer at the regional police academy, Mr. Bronnikov persuaded his students, many of them prison wardens, to provide him with photos of the best tattoos in their camps.
Mr. Bronnikov now has more than 20,000 photos and has published books on what they mean. He has helped solve criminal cases around the country by studying tattoos to identify culprits and corpses. In the mid 1970s, Mr. Bronnikov assisted in the search for a child molester in the Volga town of Yeshevsk. One of the man's victims recalled markings on the criminal's hands and chest that suggested to police he was an ex-convict. A young girl's description and the telltale tattoos got the suspect nabbed quickly and then convicted.
Although 17th century Russian courts favoured branding and tattooing the faces of criminals, Soviet prisoners began to tattoo one another in the 1950s. Discreet symbols on the chest and shoulder have evolved into elabourate murals, with prisoners sporting hundreds of drawings on their bodies.
Interned in Correctional Labour Colony 29 on the outskirts of Prem, Andrei Mysnik is serving a 15 year sentence for killing a policeman in Leningrad in 1981. As an old-timer in the zone, the vast network of labour camps, Mr. Mysnik has an impressive array of tattoos.
He opens his fist and points to two rows of tattoos etched across his knuckles. The beetle is a good luck charm in burglary, the 30-year old Mr. Mysnik's speciality. The black and white diamond indicates that Mr. Mysnik has spend half his life in prison. As he looks down to explain the images, the words do not wake become visible; they are tattooed on his eyelids.
Mr. Mysnik's favourite tattoo extends across his slender back: a prehistoric scene, with pterodactyls and tar pits and, in the middle, a dinosaur biting another on the neck. "This is the criminal world to me", Mr. Mysnik says. One way or the other, you get nailed.
Still, the pain does deter even the most macho convict from covering his body, all at once, with meaningful pictures. Tattoos are created by instilling pigment in the skin with thousands of needle pricks. In the camps, the process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few years, depending on the artist and his ambition, says Mr. Bronnikov. Because of prison conditions, tattoo artists have to improvise with materials and equipment. For instance, they will draw a picture on a wooden plank, place needles along the lines of the design, cover the needles with ink and stamp the whole tableau on the prisoner's body. Another method is to slice the image onto the skin with a razor and daub that cut with indelible ink.

  1. I and II

  2. II and III

  3. I, III and IV

  4. II, III and IV


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

I, III and IV give the required answer.

Those convicts who are voluntarily tattooed include

I. prisoners in labour camps II. women convicts III. insulted men IV. burglars

Directions: Read the following passsage and answer the given question.

Arkady Bronnikov pulls out a fistful of black and white photos from his overstuffed valise and, like a proud parent, passes them around.
This one's my favourite. The work on him is really artistic, Mr. Bronnikov says admiringly of the snapshot in his hand.
The photograph shows a Russian convict bald, and naked to the waist. To the delight of Mr. Bronnikov, the man's torso is covered with tattoos.
As Russia's leading expert on tattoo iconography, Mr. Bronnikov can tell the prisoner's story from looking at the designs on his body. The huge spider in a web that is drawn on his skull reveals, in prison tattoo code, that he is a drug addict. Also, he is a repeat offender: The onion domes of a Russian church fan across his shoulder blades, each of the seven cupolas representing a different stay in prison. Above the church, across the back of his neck, the convict has stencilled, in Russian, "Not just anyone can hold his head this high".
He's the pakhan, the king of thieves in his prison, Mr. Bronnikov explains.
For nearly 30 years, Mr. Bronnikov, a criminologist, has analysed the language of tattoos among Soviet convicts. As a colonel in the secretive Interior Ministry, Mr. Bronnikov had access to thousands of prisoners in remote labour camps. Nearly everybody who does time gets tattooed (women, too, but less elaborately). Most are tattooed voluntarily. Forcibly tattooed are the so-called insulted men who have been raped in prison.
Across Russia and in the other former Soviet republics, convicts use the same symbols. The images document the prisoner's crimes, sentences and, most importantly, his position in the rigid hierarchy that runs convict life and, in some cases, the prisons, themselves.
The more tattoos a convict gets, the more sentences he has served, the more respect he gets in prison, says the 66-year old Mr. Bronnikov. The tattoos show that he isn't afraid of pain.
When Mr. Bronikov began as a criminologist in the late 1950s, he was struck by the blue and black symbols turning up on suspects and, occasionally, on an unidentified corpse. As a hobby, he started collecting photographs of such tattoos. The avocation quickly became a subject of scholarship.
Working in the Perm region, Mr. Bronnikov was virtually surrounded by thugs. This Ural province is the penal capital of the former Soviet Union, with more than 30 labour camps and a convict population exceeding 100,000. As a lecturer at the regional police academy, Mr. Bronnikov persuaded his students, many of them prison wardens, to provide him with photos of the best tattoos in their camps.
Mr. Bronnikov now has more than 20,000 photos and has published books on what they mean. He has helped solve criminal cases around the country by studying tattoos to identify culprits and corpses. In the mid 1970s, Mr. Bronnikov assisted in the search for a child molester in the Volga town of Yeshevsk. One of the man's victims recalled markings on the criminal's hands and chest that suggested to police he was an ex-convict. A young girl's description and the telltale tattoos got the suspect nabbed quickly and then convicted.
Although 17th century Russian courts favoured branding and tattooing the faces of criminals, Soviet prisoners began to tattoo one another in the 1950s. Discreet symbols on the chest and shoulder have evolved into elabourate murals, with prisoners sporting hundreds of drawings on their bodies.
Interned in Correctional Labour Colony 29 on the outskirts of Prem, Andrei Mysnik is serving a 15 year sentence for killing a policeman in Leningrad in 1981. As an old-timer in the zone, the vast network of labour camps, Mr. Mysnik has an impressive array of tattoos.
He opens his fist and points to two rows of tattoos etched across his knuckles. The beetle is a good luck charm in burglary, the 30-year old Mr. Mysnik's speciality. The black and white diamond indicates that Mr. Mysnik has spend half his life in prison. As he looks down to explain the images, the words do not wake become visible; they are tattooed on his eyelids.
Mr. Mysnik's favourite tattoo extends across his slender back: a prehistoric scene, with pterodactyls and tar pits and, in the middle, a dinosaur biting another on the neck. "This is the criminal world to me", Mr. Mysnik says. One way or the other, you get nailed.
Still, the pain does deter even the most macho convict from covering his body, all at once, with meaningful pictures. Tattoos are created by instilling pigment in the skin with thousands of needle pricks. In the camps, the process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few years, depending on the artist and his ambition, says Mr. Bronnikov. Because of prison conditions, tattoo artists have to improvise with materials and equipment. For instance, they will draw a picture on a wooden plank, place needles along the lines of the design, cover the needles with ink and stamp the whole tableau on the prisoner's body. Another method is to slice the image onto the skin with a razor and daub that cut with indelible ink.

  1. I and II

  2. II and III

  3. I, II and IV

  4. I, III and IV


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

I, II and IV give the required answer.

Bronnikov managed to collect so much information regarding tattoos because of all of the following factors, except

Directions: Read the following passsage and answer the given question.

Arkady Bronnikov pulls out a fistful of black and white photos from his overstuffed valise and, like a proud parent, passes them around.
This one's my favourite. The work on him is really artistic, Mr. Bronnikov says admiringly of the snapshot in his hand.
The photograph shows a Russian convict bald, and naked to the waist. To the delight of Mr. Bronnikov, the man's torso is covered with tattoos.
As Russia's leading expert on tattoo iconography, Mr. Bronnikov can tell the prisoner's story from looking at the designs on his body. The huge spider in a web that is drawn on his skull reveals, in prison tattoo code, that he is a drug addict. Also, he is a repeat offender: The onion domes of a Russian church fan across his shoulder blades, each of the seven cupolas representing a different stay in prison. Above the church, across the back of his neck, the convict has stencilled, in Russian, "Not just anyone can hold his head this high".
He's the pakhan, the king of thieves in his prison, Mr. Bronnikov explains.
For nearly 30 years, Mr. Bronnikov, a criminologist, has analysed the language of tattoos among Soviet convicts. As a colonel in the secretive Interior Ministry, Mr. Bronnikov had access to thousands of prisoners in remote labour camps. Nearly everybody who does time gets tattooed (women, too, but less elaborately). Most are tattooed voluntarily. Forcibly tattooed are the so-called insulted men who have been raped in prison.
Across Russia and in the other former Soviet republics, convicts use the same symbols. The images document the prisoner's crimes, sentences and, most importantly, his position in the rigid hierarchy that runs convict life and, in some cases, the prisons, themselves.
The more tattoos a convict gets, the more sentences he has served, the more respect he gets in prison, says the 66-year old Mr. Bronnikov. The tattoos show that he isn't afraid of pain.
When Mr. Bronikov began as a criminologist in the late 1950s, he was struck by the blue and black symbols turning up on suspects and, occasionally, on an unidentified corpse. As a hobby, he started collecting photographs of such tattoos. The avocation quickly became a subject of scholarship.
Working in the Perm region, Mr. Bronnikov was virtually surrounded by thugs. This Ural province is the penal capital of the former Soviet Union, with more than 30 labour camps and a convict population exceeding 100,000. As a lecturer at the regional police academy, Mr. Bronnikov persuaded his students, many of them prison wardens, to provide him with photos of the best tattoos in their camps.
Mr. Bronnikov now has more than 20,000 photos and has published books on what they mean. He has helped solve criminal cases around the country by studying tattoos to identify culprits and corpses. In the mid 1970s, Mr. Bronnikov assisted in the search for a child molester in the Volga town of Yeshevsk. One of the man's victims recalled markings on the criminal's hands and chest that suggested to police he was an ex-convict. A young girl's description and the telltale tattoos got the suspect nabbed quickly and then convicted.
Although 17th century Russian courts favoured branding and tattooing the faces of criminals, Soviet prisoners began to tattoo one another in the 1950s. Discreet symbols on the chest and shoulder have evolved into elabourate murals, with prisoners sporting hundreds of drawings on their bodies.
Interned in Correctional Labour Colony 29 on the outskirts of Prem, Andrei Mysnik is serving a 15 year sentence for killing a policeman in Leningrad in 1981. As an old-timer in the zone, the vast network of labour camps, Mr. Mysnik has an impressive array of tattoos.
He opens his fist and points to two rows of tattoos etched across his knuckles. The beetle is a good luck charm in burglary, the 30-year old Mr. Mysnik's speciality. The black and white diamond indicates that Mr. Mysnik has spend half his life in prison. As he looks down to explain the images, the words do not wake become visible; they are tattooed on his eyelids.
Mr. Mysnik's favourite tattoo extends across his slender back: a prehistoric scene, with pterodactyls and tar pits and, in the middle, a dinosaur biting another on the neck. "This is the criminal world to me", Mr. Mysnik says. One way or the other, you get nailed.
Still, the pain does deter even the most macho convict from covering his body, all at once, with meaningful pictures. Tattoos are created by instilling pigment in the skin with thousands of needle pricks. In the camps, the process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few years, depending on the artist and his ambition, says Mr. Bronnikov. Because of prison conditions, tattoo artists have to improvise with materials and equipment. For instance, they will draw a picture on a wooden plank, place needles along the lines of the design, cover the needles with ink and stamp the whole tableau on the prisoner's body. Another method is to slice the image onto the skin with a razor and daub that cut with indelible ink.

  1. his access to thousands of prisoners in remote labour camps as a colonel in the secretive Interior Ministry

  2. being a criminologist for nearly 30 years in Soviet Russia

  3. his interest to reform Soviet prison conditions and labour camps

  4. having many prison wardens as his students who provided him photos of the tattoos in their camps


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

Option (3) is nowhere mentioned in the passage.

From the tattoos etched on the body of the convict, one can identify

I. the prisons that he has been in II. the crimes committed by him III. his position in the hierarchy of convict life IV. the sentence served by him

Directions: Read the following passsage and answer the given question.

Arkady Bronnikov pulls out a fistful of black and white photos from his overstuffed valise and, like a proud parent, passes them around.
This one's my favourite. The work on him is really artistic, Mr. Bronnikov says admiringly of the snapshot in his hand.
The photograph shows a Russian convict bald, and naked to the waist. To the delight of Mr. Bronnikov, the man's torso is covered with tattoos.
As Russia's leading expert on tattoo iconography, Mr. Bronnikov can tell the prisoner's story from looking at the designs on his body. The huge spider in a web that is drawn on his skull reveals, in prison tattoo code, that he is a drug addict. Also, he is a repeat offender: The onion domes of a Russian church fan across his shoulder blades, each of the seven cupolas representing a different stay in prison. Above the church, across the back of his neck, the convict has stencilled, in Russian, "Not just anyone can hold his head this high".
He's the pakhan, the king of thieves in his prison, Mr. Bronnikov explains.
For nearly 30 years, Mr. Bronnikov, a criminologist, has analysed the language of tattoos among Soviet convicts. As a colonel in the secretive Interior Ministry, Mr. Bronnikov had access to thousands of prisoners in remote labour camps. Nearly everybody who does time gets tattooed (women, too, but less elaborately). Most are tattooed voluntarily. Forcibly tattooed are the so-called insulted men who have been raped in prison.
Across Russia and in the other former Soviet republics, convicts use the same symbols. The images document the prisoner's crimes, sentences and, most importantly, his position in the rigid hierarchy that runs convict life and, in some cases, the prisons, themselves.
The more tattoos a convict gets, the more sentences he has served, the more respect he gets in prison, says the 66-year old Mr. Bronnikov. The tattoos show that he isn't afraid of pain.
When Mr. Bronikov began as a criminologist in the late 1950s, he was struck by the blue and black symbols turning up on suspects and, occasionally, on an unidentified corpse. As a hobby, he started collecting photographs of such tattoos. The avocation quickly became a subject of scholarship.
Working in the Perm region, Mr. Bronnikov was virtually surrounded by thugs. This Ural province is the penal capital of the former Soviet Union, with more than 30 labour camps and a convict population exceeding 100,000. As a lecturer at the regional police academy, Mr. Bronnikov persuaded his students, many of them prison wardens, to provide him with photos of the best tattoos in their camps.
Mr. Bronnikov now has more than 20,000 photos and has published books on what they mean. He has helped solve criminal cases around the country by studying tattoos to identify culprits and corpses. In the mid 1970s, Mr. Bronnikov assisted in the search for a child molester in the Volga town of Yeshevsk. One of the man's victims recalled markings on the criminal's hands and chest that suggested to police he was an ex-convict. A young girl's description and the telltale tattoos got the suspect nabbed quickly and then convicted.
Although 17th century Russian courts favoured branding and tattooing the faces of criminals, Soviet prisoners began to tattoo one another in the 1950s. Discreet symbols on the chest and shoulder have evolved into elabourate murals, with prisoners sporting hundreds of drawings on their bodies.
Interned in Correctional Labour Colony 29 on the outskirts of Prem, Andrei Mysnik is serving a 15 year sentence for killing a policeman in Leningrad in 1981. As an old-timer in the zone, the vast network of labour camps, Mr. Mysnik has an impressive array of tattoos.
He opens his fist and points to two rows of tattoos etched across his knuckles. The beetle is a good luck charm in burglary, the 30-year old Mr. Mysnik's speciality. The black and white diamond indicates that Mr. Mysnik has spend half his life in prison. As he looks down to explain the images, the words do not wake become visible; they are tattooed on his eyelids.
Mr. Mysnik's favourite tattoo extends across his slender back: a prehistoric scene, with pterodactyls and tar pits and, in the middle, a dinosaur biting another on the neck. "This is the criminal world to me", Mr. Mysnik says. One way or the other, you get nailed.
Still, the pain does deter even the most macho convict from covering his body, all at once, with meaningful pictures. Tattoos are created by instilling pigment in the skin with thousands of needle pricks. In the camps, the process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few years, depending on the artist and his ambition, says Mr. Bronnikov. Because of prison conditions, tattoo artists have to improvise with materials and equipment. For instance, they will draw a picture on a wooden plank, place needles along the lines of the design, cover the needles with ink and stamp the whole tableau on the prisoner's body. Another method is to slice the image onto the skin with a razor and daub that cut with indelible ink.

  1. I and II

  2. II and III

  3. III and IV

  4. All of these


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

All of these can be identified.

Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?

Directions: Read the following passsage and answer the given question.

Arkady Bronnikov pulls out a fistful of black and white photos from his overstuffed valise and, like a proud parent, passes them around.
This one's my favourite. The work on him is really artistic, Mr. Bronnikov says admiringly of the snapshot in his hand.
The photograph shows a Russian convict bald, and naked to the waist. To the delight of Mr. Bronnikov, the man's torso is covered with tattoos.
As Russia's leading expert on tattoo iconography, Mr. Bronnikov can tell the prisoner's story from looking at the designs on his body. The huge spider in a web that is drawn on his skull reveals, in prison tattoo code, that he is a drug addict. Also, he is a repeat offender: The onion domes of a Russian church fan across his shoulder blades, each of the seven cupolas representing a different stay in prison. Above the church, across the back of his neck, the convict has stencilled, in Russian, "Not just anyone can hold his head this high".
He's the pakhan, the king of thieves in his prison, Mr. Bronnikov explains.
For nearly 30 years, Mr. Bronnikov, a criminologist, has analysed the language of tattoos among Soviet convicts. As a colonel in the secretive Interior Ministry, Mr. Bronnikov had access to thousands of prisoners in remote labour camps. Nearly everybody who does time gets tattooed (women, too, but less elaborately). Most are tattooed voluntarily. Forcibly tattooed are the so-called insulted men who have been raped in prison.
Across Russia and in the other former Soviet republics, convicts use the same symbols. The images document the prisoner's crimes, sentences and, most importantly, his position in the rigid hierarchy that runs convict life and, in some cases, the prisons, themselves.
The more tattoos a convict gets, the more sentences he has served, the more respect he gets in prison, says the 66-year old Mr. Bronnikov. The tattoos show that he isn't afraid of pain.
When Mr. Bronikov began as a criminologist in the late 1950s, he was struck by the blue and black symbols turning up on suspects and, occasionally, on an unidentified corpse. As a hobby, he started collecting photographs of such tattoos. The avocation quickly became a subject of scholarship.
Working in the Perm region, Mr. Bronnikov was virtually surrounded by thugs. This Ural province is the penal capital of the former Soviet Union, with more than 30 labour camps and a convict population exceeding 100,000. As a lecturer at the regional police academy, Mr. Bronnikov persuaded his students, many of them prison wardens, to provide him with photos of the best tattoos in their camps.
Mr. Bronnikov now has more than 20,000 photos and has published books on what they mean. He has helped solve criminal cases around the country by studying tattoos to identify culprits and corpses. In the mid 1970s, Mr. Bronnikov assisted in the search for a child molester in the Volga town of Yeshevsk. One of the man's victims recalled markings on the criminal's hands and chest that suggested to police he was an ex-convict. A young girl's description and the telltale tattoos got the suspect nabbed quickly and then convicted.
Although 17th century Russian courts favoured branding and tattooing the faces of criminals, Soviet prisoners began to tattoo one another in the 1950s. Discreet symbols on the chest and shoulder have evolved into elabourate murals, with prisoners sporting hundreds of drawings on their bodies.
Interned in Correctional Labour Colony 29 on the outskirts of Prem, Andrei Mysnik is serving a 15 year sentence for killing a policeman in Leningrad in 1981. As an old-timer in the zone, the vast network of labour camps, Mr. Mysnik has an impressive array of tattoos.
He opens his fist and points to two rows of tattoos etched across his knuckles. The beetle is a good luck charm in burglary, the 30-year old Mr. Mysnik's speciality. The black and white diamond indicates that Mr. Mysnik has spend half his life in prison. As he looks down to explain the images, the words do not wake become visible; they are tattooed on his eyelids.
Mr. Mysnik's favourite tattoo extends across his slender back: a prehistoric scene, with pterodactyls and tar pits and, in the middle, a dinosaur biting another on the neck. "This is the criminal world to me", Mr. Mysnik says. One way or the other, you get nailed.
Still, the pain does deter even the most macho convict from covering his body, all at once, with meaningful pictures. Tattoos are created by instilling pigment in the skin with thousands of needle pricks. In the camps, the process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few years, depending on the artist and his ambition, says Mr. Bronnikov. Because of prison conditions, tattoo artists have to improvise with materials and equipment. For instance, they will draw a picture on a wooden plank, place needles along the lines of the design, cover the needles with ink and stamp the whole tableau on the prisoner's body. Another method is to slice the image onto the skin with a razor and daub that cut with indelible ink.

  1. Tattoos represent the penal code for Russian convicts.

  2. Russia's leading expert on tattoo iconography can interpret any Russian prisoner's life story by looking at the tattoos on his body.

  3. Tattoos are a way of life in Russia and help Russian convicts bring out the art in them.

  4. The language of tattoos is very complex and cannot be analysed except by an expert.


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

The lines 'As Russia's leading expert on tattoo iconography, Mr. Bronnikov can tell the prisoner's story..' and '...Mr. Bronnikov, a criminologist, has analysed the language of tattoos among Soviet convicts...' suggest the answer.

Which of the following questions cannot be answered by reading the passage?

Directions: Read the following passsage and answer the given question.

Arkady Bronnikov pulls out a fistful of black and white photos from his overstuffed valise and, like a proud parent, passes them around.
This one's my favourite. The work on him is really artistic, Mr. Bronnikov says admiringly of the snapshot in his hand.
The photograph shows a Russian convict bald, and naked to the waist. To the delight of Mr. Bronnikov, the man's torso is covered with tattoos.
As Russia's leading expert on tattoo iconography, Mr. Bronnikov can tell the prisoner's story from looking at the designs on his body. The huge spider in a web that is drawn on his skull reveals, in prison tattoo code, that he is a drug addict. Also, he is a repeat offender: The onion domes of a Russian church fan across his shoulder blades, each of the seven cupolas representing a different stay in prison. Above the church, across the back of his neck, the convict has stencilled, in Russian, "Not just anyone can hold his head this high".
He's the pakhan, the king of thieves in his prison, Mr. Bronnikov explains.
For nearly 30 years, Mr. Bronnikov, a criminologist, has analysed the language of tattoos among Soviet convicts. As a colonel in the secretive Interior Ministry, Mr. Bronnikov had access to thousands of prisoners in remote labour camps. Nearly everybody who does time gets tattooed (women, too, but less elaborately). Most are tattooed voluntarily. Forcibly tattooed are the so-called insulted men who have been raped in prison.
Across Russia and in the other former Soviet republics, convicts use the same symbols. The images document the prisoner's crimes, sentences and, most importantly, his position in the rigid hierarchy that runs convict life and, in some cases, the prisons, themselves.
The more tattoos a convict gets, the more sentences he has served, the more respect he gets in prison, says the 66-year old Mr. Bronnikov. The tattoos show that he isn't afraid of pain.
When Mr. Bronikov began as a criminologist in the late 1950s, he was struck by the blue and black symbols turning up on suspects and, occasionally, on an unidentified corpse. As a hobby, he started collecting photographs of such tattoos. The avocation quickly became a subject of scholarship.
Working in the Perm region, Mr. Bronnikov was virtually surrounded by thugs. This Ural province is the penal capital of the former Soviet Union, with more than 30 labour camps and a convict population exceeding 100,000. As a lecturer at the regional police academy, Mr. Bronnikov persuaded his students, many of them prison wardens, to provide him with photos of the best tattoos in their camps.
Mr. Bronnikov now has more than 20,000 photos and has published books on what they mean. He has helped solve criminal cases around the country by studying tattoos to identify culprits and corpses. In the mid 1970s, Mr. Bronnikov assisted in the search for a child molester in the Volga town of Yeshevsk. One of the man's victims recalled markings on the criminal's hands and chest that suggested to police he was an ex-convict. A young girl's description and the telltale tattoos got the suspect nabbed quickly and then convicted.
Although 17th century Russian courts favoured branding and tattooing the faces of criminals, Soviet prisoners began to tattoo one another in the 1950s. Discreet symbols on the chest and shoulder have evolved into elabourate murals, with prisoners sporting hundreds of drawings on their bodies.
Interned in Correctional Labour Colony 29 on the outskirts of Prem, Andrei Mysnik is serving a 15 year sentence for killing a policeman in Leningrad in 1981. As an old-timer in the zone, the vast network of labour camps, Mr. Mysnik has an impressive array of tattoos.
He opens his fist and points to two rows of tattoos etched across his knuckles. The beetle is a good luck charm in burglary, the 30-year old Mr. Mysnik's speciality. The black and white diamond indicates that Mr. Mysnik has spend half his life in prison. As he looks down to explain the images, the words do not wake become visible; they are tattooed on his eyelids.
Mr. Mysnik's favourite tattoo extends across his slender back: a prehistoric scene, with pterodactyls and tar pits and, in the middle, a dinosaur biting another on the neck. "This is the criminal world to me", Mr. Mysnik says. One way or the other, you get nailed.
Still, the pain does deter even the most macho convict from covering his body, all at once, with meaningful pictures. Tattoos are created by instilling pigment in the skin with thousands of needle pricks. In the camps, the process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few years, depending on the artist and his ambition, says Mr. Bronnikov. Because of prison conditions, tattoo artists have to improvise with materials and equipment. For instance, they will draw a picture on a wooden plank, place needles along the lines of the design, cover the needles with ink and stamp the whole tableau on the prisoner's body. Another method is to slice the image onto the skin with a razor and daub that cut with indelible ink.

  1. How do prisoners manage to tattoo themselves in prison?

  2. Is there any evidence of hair growth on the tattooed areas?

  3. How long does it take to finish one tattoo?

  4. Have tattoos on convicts proved useful to the authorities?


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

There is no mention of hair growth on tattoed areas.

Mysnik's statement "One way or the other, you get nailed" would mean

Directions: Read the following passsage and answer the given question.

Arkady Bronnikov pulls out a fistful of black and white photos from his overstuffed valise and, like a proud parent, passes them around.
This one's my favourite. The work on him is really artistic, Mr. Bronnikov says admiringly of the snapshot in his hand.
The photograph shows a Russian convict bald, and naked to the waist. To the delight of Mr. Bronnikov, the man's torso is covered with tattoos.
As Russia's leading expert on tattoo iconography, Mr. Bronnikov can tell the prisoner's story from looking at the designs on his body. The huge spider in a web that is drawn on his skull reveals, in prison tattoo code, that he is a drug addict. Also, he is a repeat offender: The onion domes of a Russian church fan across his shoulder blades, each of the seven cupolas representing a different stay in prison. Above the church, across the back of his neck, the convict has stencilled, in Russian, "Not just anyone can hold his head this high".
He's the pakhan, the king of thieves in his prison, Mr. Bronnikov explains.
For nearly 30 years, Mr. Bronnikov, a criminologist, has analysed the language of tattoos among Soviet convicts. As a colonel in the secretive Interior Ministry, Mr. Bronnikov had access to thousands of prisoners in remote labour camps. Nearly everybody who does time gets tattooed (women, too, but less elaborately). Most are tattooed voluntarily. Forcibly tattooed are the so-called insulted men who have been raped in prison.
Across Russia and in the other former Soviet republics, convicts use the same symbols. The images document the prisoner's crimes, sentences and, most importantly, his position in the rigid hierarchy that runs convict life and, in some cases, the prisons, themselves.
The more tattoos a convict gets, the more sentences he has served, the more respect he gets in prison, says the 66-year old Mr. Bronnikov. The tattoos show that he isn't afraid of pain.
When Mr. Bronikov began as a criminologist in the late 1950s, he was struck by the blue and black symbols turning up on suspects and, occasionally, on an unidentified corpse. As a hobby, he started collecting photographs of such tattoos. The avocation quickly became a subject of scholarship.
Working in the Perm region, Mr. Bronnikov was virtually surrounded by thugs. This Ural province is the penal capital of the former Soviet Union, with more than 30 labour camps and a convict population exceeding 100,000. As a lecturer at the regional police academy, Mr. Bronnikov persuaded his students, many of them prison wardens, to provide him with photos of the best tattoos in their camps.
Mr. Bronnikov now has more than 20,000 photos and has published books on what they mean. He has helped solve criminal cases around the country by studying tattoos to identify culprits and corpses. In the mid 1970s, Mr. Bronnikov assisted in the search for a child molester in the Volga town of Yeshevsk. One of the man's victims recalled markings on the criminal's hands and chest that suggested to police he was an ex-convict. A young girl's description and the telltale tattoos got the suspect nabbed quickly and then convicted.
Although 17th century Russian courts favoured branding and tattooing the faces of criminals, Soviet prisoners began to tattoo one another in the 1950s. Discreet symbols on the chest and shoulder have evolved into elabourate murals, with prisoners sporting hundreds of drawings on their bodies.
Interned in Correctional Labour Colony 29 on the outskirts of Prem, Andrei Mysnik is serving a 15 year sentence for killing a policeman in Leningrad in 1981. As an old-timer in the zone, the vast network of labour camps, Mr. Mysnik has an impressive array of tattoos.
He opens his fist and points to two rows of tattoos etched across his knuckles. The beetle is a good luck charm in burglary, the 30-year old Mr. Mysnik's speciality. The black and white diamond indicates that Mr. Mysnik has spend half his life in prison. As he looks down to explain the images, the words do not wake become visible; they are tattooed on his eyelids.
Mr. Mysnik's favourite tattoo extends across his slender back: a prehistoric scene, with pterodactyls and tar pits and, in the middle, a dinosaur biting another on the neck. "This is the criminal world to me", Mr. Mysnik says. One way or the other, you get nailed.
Still, the pain does deter even the most macho convict from covering his body, all at once, with meaningful pictures. Tattoos are created by instilling pigment in the skin with thousands of needle pricks. In the camps, the process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few years, depending on the artist and his ambition, says Mr. Bronnikov. Because of prison conditions, tattoo artists have to improvise with materials and equipment. For instance, they will draw a picture on a wooden plank, place needles along the lines of the design, cover the needles with ink and stamp the whole tableau on the prisoner's body. Another method is to slice the image onto the skin with a razor and daub that cut with indelible ink.

  1. punished

  2. sentenced

  3. caught

  4. exposed


Correct Option: C
- Hide questions