Reading Comprhension-Contextual Meaning

            Reading Comprehension-Contextual Meaning                         

One of the difficulties that readers in general and students in particular face while encountering unfamiliar passages is the complexity of vocabulary. Good vocabulary, inter alia, is the most vital aspect to our familiarity with a whole variety of ideas and concepts. Although the level of interest and enthusiasm is high, some people dare not approach a highly worded passage as the verbosity adds to their problems. For an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the passage, we must develop our vocabulary. Before that, it is reasonable to explore the plethora of techniques to guess the meaning of a word from its context. Let's see how best we get the meaning of an unknown word, from the context or by linking up the words surrounding the 'key word'.

We, human beings, have the power and ability to imagine and anticipate the content and its flow in a running text. This postulate forms the basis of our learning process. The headline or the title of the passage is the window to our imagination. It allows, within the scope of the scientific reasoning, and helps us to guess the subject matter, the main argument of the author, main points, possible secondary ideas, flow of thought and finally the conclusion. This concept can be checked for its aptness by understanding the strength of celebrated authors and the title they give for a carefully written text. For instance, the plays of Shakespeare have a protagonist and his famous tragic plays center around a great man(King Lear is a king of a vast empire, Macbeth is a strong commander of army, Hamlet is a prince) and the titles for his most important pays have been purposely titled after their Main Character. The title of a poem, in its partial role and scope, addresses and introduces the content and gist of the text, to its smart readers. Avaricious readers look deeper and longer into the title and this practice promotes a wider and enhanced appreciation of the beauty of the poem. Let us consider the titles of John Keats, his major odes for understanding this point. Ode to the nightingale-the nifty and canny reader could easily envisage the main idea of the poem that the poet has seen a nightingale and while addressing it he turns philosophical and presents his ideas. The poems of Thomas Grey, specifically the poem with a clear title, "Elegy written in a country churchyard" provide enough details to investigate the content, unambiguous details of the poem. Mahatma Gandhiji's autobiography "My experiments with truth" is a direct clue to the focus and elucidation of the book. Therefore, anticipation of the content through the title or introduction is very helpful.     

Now, we move ahead to see and master the techniques of getting the meaning from the context.

                                        Exercise

Instruction: Read the given passage and guess the meanings of the words from the context.

Each of these passages has faults of its own, but, quite apart from a avoidable ugliness; two qualities are common to all of them. The first is staleness of imagery; the other is lack of precision. The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not. This mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English prose, and especially of any kind of political writing. As soon as certain topics are raised, the concrete melts into the abstract and no one seems able to think of turns of speech that are not hackneyed: prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated henhouse. I list below, with notes and examples, various of the tricks by means of which the work of prose construction is habitually dodged.

The words in bold might have been new and problematic for a section of readers here. Please look at them again and see the words surrounding. What do you understand? You need not know the background, subject matter, argumentation, logic, structure and stylistics or such things to guess the meaning from the context. A commonsense based, systematic and careful examination is enough to draw the complete meaning from the text. While you exercise expected prudence and work with a subtle and sharp mind, it would be simpler for getting the meaning and understanding the text.

Staleness- is the author negative or positive? He might be negative as the words before are negative (avoidable ugliness). So, the meaning could be something out-dated, worn, and bad. Yes, the synonyms of the words Staleness is sourness, decay, mustiness, flatness or even lack of originality. You have another word- imagery too here. What is image? A symbol, a view. So, imagery must be a symbol, some representation by the poet to give his readers an idea, a view on his concept or feelings. Again, the word precision is introduced as lacking it(lack of precision). So, the word is positive, right? And, remember you are learning words or anything for the first tie here and the constant source of knowledge is innovation and thinking. The word precise (meaning accurate) is familiar to you and it came to you in several situations in life and in science. Hence, the word, precision means accuracy. The synonyms for the word precision are exactitude, perfection, correctness and exactness. Then the word- inadvertently comes. Look up in the situation (The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else) and you hit it now on the head. He says something else but purposely? No- he doesn't. So, the word means something done in mistake. You guess it as something that might be carelessly done too. This is the meaning of the word-inadvertently. The synonyms for the word inadvertently are, accidentally, unconsciously, involuntarily, mistakably, carelessly etc. Indifferent- does it mean not different, we mean similar? No, it isn't. The context says something for us-" he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not". This means he said something just like that, no feel behind. Hence, the meaning could be without interest. Thinking again? The guess often goes wrong and you need to revisit and redo the test of contextual scope. So, the meaning for the word indifferent is lack of interest. The synonyms for the word indifferent are-dull, apathetic, unresponsive, uncaring, cold, unmoved etc. Look at the word-hackneyed. See the words that come after (prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning) or see the words that come before (As soon as certain topics are raised, the concrete melts into the abstract and no one seems able to think of turns of speech that are not hackneyed). What do you get now? Is the word suggesting some freshness or say originality? No-you would say. There is a mention of "concrete melts into abstract" and it gives a clue that the meaning is lack of newness. The meaning of the word hackneyed is without freshness. The synonyms are- trite cliché, common, every day, worn out, repetitive, dull, insipid etc. Well, does it mean that the words indifferent and hackneyed are more or less similar? Yes-although they are very much synonyms. You should better, at this juncture, know that although there are synonyms for words, each word is unique and has a certain clear, special meaning. Fine then! Now, we move to the word-prefabricated. You could see that pre-means before and fabrication(fabric is cloth anyway!). The context tells us that (more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated henhouse)the word could mean it is something done before. You are absolutely correct! The meaning of the word prefabricated is made-up. Let's check our sensitive understanding-is this word positive or negative in its connotation? Negative-you say. It is correct and the synonyms for the word prefabricated are-assembled, manufactured, made, cooked up, produced etc. the last word in the passage is dodged. And, you are very eager to give the answer. Consider the words that come with it-(various of the tricks by means of which the work of prose construction is habitually dodged). The word is negative as it tells that something is tried to be avoided. Rightfully, the meaning of the word dodged- is escape the blow. The synonyms are-ducked, darted, avoided, sidestepped etc.

How do you feel at the end of this exercise, confident? Be that always and more proactive.

                            Test-Contextual vocabulary

Instruction: Please read the given textual information and guess the meanings from the context and words that surround the words in bold. Check the meanings with the help a standard, user-friendly dictionary.

1. While the Maldives government’s decision to lift a state of emergencyafter less than a week is indeed a welcome move, it is yet to convincingly explain why it took the extreme step in the first place. The Abdulla Yameen administration’s claim that the emergency was meant to “protect the people” in the wake of security challenges seems to be a convenient excuse, given the political crisis that is brewing in the Indian Ocean nation. The declaration of emergency was not an isolated incident, but the latest in a series of steps the government has taken over the past few months to bolster President Yameen’s authority. Recently, the government sacked the Defence Minister and police chiefs. It also arrested the Vice-President, Ahmed Adeeb, in connection with a blast on the presidential boat on September 28. According to the government, the blast was an attempt on the President’s life, a claim that international investigators have rejected. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation probed the blast and said it found no evidence that it was caused by a bomb. But the government sticks to its narrative, and says the emergency was lifted after investigators made “important progress” in an inquiry into the blast. And it shows no inclination to stop the purge. One of the immediate decisions the ruling party took was to vote out the Prosecutor General, Muhthaz Muhsin, without explaining why he was sacked.

Ever since Mr. Yameen became President through a controversial election in 2013, the country’s democracy has faced tough challenges. President Yameen, half-brother of former dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, has adopted a confrontational approach towards the opposition and showed little respect to the right to dissent. The imprisonment of Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected President, after a controversial trial has created fissures in the country’s polity which are actually weakening the state. Despite widespread international condemnation and a ruling by a UN panel that Mr. Nasheed’s arrest was illegal, the government showed no readiness to ease its stand. But in the case of the emergency, maybe in a sign of weakness, the government bowed to international pressure and domestic resistance. It is worth noting that the decision to lift the emergency came two days before a planned protest by the country’s main opposition, the Maldivian Democratic Party. President Yameen should use this opportunity to reach out to the opposition. Instead of the confrontationist approach, the government should adopt a consensus-building policy, engage the political opposition and act like a healthy democratic administration. Such a move would only strengthen institutions in the Maldives, putting it in a better position to address the security challenges. Otherwise, the complex mix of a divided society, a fractured polity and an authoritarian state will further destabilise the archipelago nation.

Source: (The Hindu-Editorial)

1. On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that involves one of the most serious threats to women’s reproductive freedom since Roe v. Wade. The lawsuit, whole woman's health Vs Cole, is a challenge to a 2013, Texas law that requires abortion clinics to meet the same building, equipment and staffing standards as ambulatory surgical centers — a costly and medically unnecessary standard. It also requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic.  The fallacious rationale of the law is to protect women’s health, but the law does nothing of the kind. Its entire purpose — like that of similar laws around the country — is to end legal abortion services. At an anti-abortion rally before he signed the Texas bill, known as H.B. 2, Rick Perry, then the Governor,said that an “ideal world” is one without abortion. “Until then,” he said, “we will continue to pass laws to ensure that abortions are as rare as possible under existing law.”

The fact is, first-trimester abortions, which account for the overwhelming majority of all abortions, are already among the safest medical procedures available. What endangers women’s health is when legal abortions are made harder or impossible to obtain, because women will be forced to wait until later in their pregnancies, when there is a higher risk of complications, or they will turn to illegal and dangerous methods. Despite all this, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the law in June. Texas does not have to show that the law actually protects women’s health,the court said, so long as it could give “any conceivable rationale” for its passage.

Source: (Editorial-New York Times) 

1. Long ago there were two countries whose destinies were intertwined by history. Britain’s rule helped make India into a modern nation. India’s wealth and military manpower sustained Britain as a superpower. Admiration and rationality, as well as condescension and racism, characterised a complex relationship which seemed so intimate that many expected it to continue in some form after the sun set on empire.

But those two countries no longer exist. The still mighty Britain that emerged from the war against Germany and Japan has become the modest and puzzled United Kingdom of today, while in India the valuable, if very different, legacies of Gandhi and Nehru have lost potency as political change has brought to the fore men and ideas marginal in 1947, when independence was achieved. Given this alteration in circumstances, it is odd that so much hyperbole, on both sides, should accompany the Indian prime minister’s visit to London.

As Narendra Modi and David Cameron leap from crag to crag of ever more outrageous flattery, one might wish that the affair could have been pitched on a somewhat lower level. Mr Modi insists this is “a huge moment for our two nations”, while Mr Cameron, announcing that 2017 will be a UK-India year of Culture, claims that “the great partnership between India and the UK extends beyond economic ties to the boards of the Bard and the beaches of Bollywood”. This image of a relationship cemented by cricket, Shakespeare, Madame Tussauds and a joint liking for a good curry is not entirely false, but it is misleading.

The mundane truth is that this trip is basically about seeking advantage in the day-to-day politics of both countries. Mr Modi has been whirling around the world in the 18 months since he took office seeking to woo the 35 million-strong Indian diaspora. He wants their support, and to attract more of their investment and skills back to India. But he especially wants to stand tall in the eyes of the public at home who see him dazzling Indian audiences abroad – audiences that, because of their distance from the politics of the subcontinent, are much less concerned about the issues that preoccupy his critics and opponents at home. He is building up brand India, and they respond to that.

Source: (Editorial-The Guardian)

1. The Pacific Ocean, especially around the equator and the tropics, is one of the most sensitive regions of the world, and also one of the most volatile.

Developments in the ocean can bring misery to millions around the globe, resulting in devastating floods thousands of kilometres away, upsetting the delicate south-west monsoon system in the South Asian sub-continent, causing severe drought, and even impacting the hurricane season in the North Atlantic.

Consequently, weather scientists have been monitoring the fluctuations in the sea surface temperature — known as the El Ni?o Southern Oscillation or ENSO – over the tropical Pacific Ocean for the past 60 years. When the waters in the ocean are cooler than the average, the event is called La Ni?a, but when they are warmer, an El Ni?o develops, playing havoc with weather systems in the sub-continent, Africa, California and other parts of the globe.

Experts have since early this year noted strong bursts of winds emerging from the west in equatorial and tropical Pacific Ocean, replacing the easterly trade winds. Satellites and ocean buoys have also picked up the movement of warm ocean waters from the western Pacific headings eastwards, resulting in an El Ni?o watch being issued on March 6.

Ominously, recent days have seen a monster Kelvin wave bubbling under the Pacific Ocean, with its tip nosing up to the surface. While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, part of the US Department of Commerce, had predicted a 50 per cent chance of El Nino developing later this year, other researchers are now estimating a 70 to 80 per cent probability of the emergence of El Nino.

Some have warned that the ‘monster’ El Nino this year could be more powerful than the one that occurred in 1997-98; if the prognostication proves to be right, 2015 can turn out to be the warmest year in living memory. The massive release of thermal energy in the Pacific Ocean during an El Nino event can have a devastating impact on global weather patterns, even upsetting the south-west monsoon, on which the lives of millions of farmers is dependent.

The early warnings of a monster El Nino event have already triggered off a rise in the price of agricultural commodities including wheat and sugar. For the global economy, just about recovering from the 2008 financial crisis, this can indeed be one of the most depressing forecasts for 2015.

Source: (Editorial Times-Khaleej Times)

That's all for to-day friends! Have  a great learning and refreshing time!!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------? Prepared by M V L Narasimham Naresh