Comprehension Passage for SBI Clerk/IDBI Executive 2018

Directions (Q. 1-15): Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

When a person commits a terrible act, more than the punishment prescribed by the state or the community, it is the punishment meted out by the person’s own mind that is more difficult to bear. This would, of course, not apply to psychopaths, who are considered to be constitutionally devoid of a conscience and feel no remorse for their actions, however terrible these may be. But for the majority of human beings, the existence of a conscience that defines their morality, value systems and adult behaviour can pretty much be taken for granted, even if some are more conscientious than others, and some are more sophistically adept at rationalising their ethically dodgy acts.

In his extraordinary, even if at times ponderous, 1866 novel Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky takes us through the workings of the mind of Raskolnikov as he agonises, rationalises and eventually rages deliriously on committing an avoidable crime. Among other things, the book is also, arguably, among the finest and most authentic narratives describing the emotions of guilt and shame, uncluttered by psychological references (Freud was only 10 years old at the time) and can take the involved reader down several bylanes of the mind.

Guilt and shame are emotions that all of us have experienced. We usually feel guilty when we are uncomfortable with something we have done or contemplated doing; something that goes against our inherent sense of what is right. It could range from some banal, quotidian act of omission or commission, to a more serious misdemeanour that may have more severe consequences. The guilt turns to shame when we realise that our act has resulted in other people judging us unfavourably and even, perhaps, taking action on this judgement. Put differently, guilt is related to our own judgement of ourselves and shame is experienced when we are judged by others in our social environment. Guilt can be rationalised, but shame has to be lived down.Generally, all the emotions we experience, even guilt and shame, can serve a constructive purpose as well. When we experience guilt at some action or behaviour, it’s an indicator that some thing we are thinking of or doing is dissonant with our internal moral compass. And when we feel shame, we know that the impact of our action has disturbed our social environment beyond a certain threshold. This knowledge enables us to take counter-measures to reverse the damage we have inadvertently caused to ourselves or those we love. But, when guilt and shame take over our minds, and are disproportionate to the transgression, it can assume pathological proportions, as it tends to do in some of us who are more ‘guilt-prone’ either on account of hardwiring or adverse life experiences.

There are a variety of reasons why people feel guilt. The most common of these is misinformation, which is the basis for the completely unnecessary masturbatory guilt experienced by hundreds of thousands of poorly informed teenagers in our country, which if unresolved, usually ends up causing severe sexual anxieties later. Another is relationship guilt that many people go through owing to their feeling they are unable to do the ‘right thing’ in a relationship whether or not they are required to, as in not having the wherewithal to rescue an abused mother from the clutches of an alcoholic father, or not being able to afford quality education for one’s child and so on. Sometimes we experience sacrificial guilt when someone we love has made tremendous sacrifices to enhance our lives and we are unable to reciprocate in the manner they want us to, and at other times people feel guilty on account of the demands made on them by their religious faith.

But, probably the most distressing of all forms of guilt is what is called survivor guilt that refers to the intense guilt experienced by those who have survived catastrophes -natural calamities, man-made disasters, accidents or acts of violence – in which others, particularly loved ones, have perished or been severely traumatised. And the hardest form of guilt to deal with is the delusional guilt that those undergoing clinical depression often experience, which may necessitate the judicious administration of medication and psychotherapy.Usually when guilt is experienced, one tends to punish oneself and attempt in some way to compensate for the act of omission or commission. If the guilt we experience is ‘normal’, we do this and we move on.

1. In the case of Psychopaths, trace the correct statement, as mentioned in the given passage.

(A) A criminal of heinous crime, he is devoid of a conscience.

(B) He has a sense of guilt which he often feels after doing the criminal act.

(C) He has no regret for his criminal act.

1) Only (A) and (C)

2) Only (B) and (C)

3) Only (A) and (B)

4) All (A), (B) and (C)

5) Only (A)

2. Which of the following is the novel Crime and Punishment all about?

1) It is about the modus operandi of a criminal.

2) It is about the workings of the mind of a criminal.

3) It is about the emotions of guilt and shame.

4) Only 2) and 3)

5) Only 1) and 3)

3. When a person commits a crime and the punishment thereof is prescribed neither by the state nor by the community, who decides the punishment for such criminal acts?

(A) The punishment is decided by psychopaths or experts in criminology.

(B) The punishment is decided by the criminal’s own mind.

(C) The punishment is decided by none other than the victim herself/himself.

1) Only (A)

2) Only (B)

3) Only (C)

4) Only (A) and (B)

5) Either (A) or (C)

4. Which of the following is correct about guilt and shame? Give your answer in the context of the given passage.

1) We all experience the emotions of guilt and shame.

2) Guilt turns to shame when we realise that other people will judge us unfavourably or may punish us for such acts of ours.

3) We usually feel guilty when we are uncomfortable with something we have already done or want to do.

4) We never feel ashamed of for the act of revenge.

5) All except 4) above

5. Why do we feel guilt? Select the correct option.

(A) The reason of feeling guilt varies from man to man. There is no specific reason assigned to it.

(B) The most common reason for feeling guilt is misinformation.

(C) We feel guilt only when our misdeeds are detected by others.

1) Only (A)

2) Only (B)

3) Only (C)

4) Both (A) and (B)

5) Both (B) and (C)

6. What are the different situations when one feels guilt?

(A) When a near and dear one is misbehaved with by others and the other person is unable to help him

(B) To survive a catastrophe in which some loved ones have perished is the most difficult situation

(C) When someone is unable to reciprocate the sacrifice done by others in the manner he expects

1) Only (A) and (B)

2) Only (B) and (C)

3) Only (A) and (C)

4) All (A), (B) and (C)

5) Only (A)

7. Which of the following is incorrect in the context of the passage?

1) We feel ashamed when we think that our actions have disturbed our social environment beyond a certain limit.

2) Guilt indicates that something we are thinking or doing is not in accordance with the set moral standard.

3) Guilt and shame do not always leave harmful effects.

4) Our feeling of guilt and shame enables us to take counter-measures to reverse the damage we have inadvertently caused to ourselves.

5) All the above are correct

8. What does a man do when he experiences guilt?

1) He tries to punish himself so that he can compensate for the mistakes made by him.

2) He tries to punish those who aided in the crime.

3) He tries to evade punishment.

4) Only 1) and 2)

5) All 1), 2) and 3)

9. Which of the following is the most difficult form of guilt to deal with?

1) Sacrificial guilt

2) Survivor guilt

3) Delusional guilt

4) Relationship guilt

5) Behavioural guilt

Directions (Q. 10-12): Choose the word/group of words which is MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

10. Remorse

1) restore

2) reform

3) revive

4) repudiate

5) regret

11. Misdemeanour

1) anguish

2) misjudge

3) crime

4) conduct

5) misunderstand

12. Rescue

1) set free

2) resent

3) repeal

4) dwell

5) abrogate

Directions (Q. 13-15): Choose the word/group of words which is MOST OPPOSITE in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

13. Quotidian

1) prudent

2) serious

3) faulty

4) shrewd

5) unsatisfactory

14. Dissonant

1) prominent

2) elegant

3) different

4) agreement

5) discriminate

15. Inadvertently

1) specially

2) probably

3) apparently

4) skilfully

5) wilfully

Answers :-

1. 1
2. 4
3. 2
4. 5
5. 2
6. 2
7. 5
8. 1
9. 3
10. 5
11. 3
12. 1
13. 2
14. 4
15. 5