Directions : Answer the questions based on the following passage : It should be remembered that the Nationalist Movement in India, like all nationalist movements, was essentially a bourgeois movement. It represented the natural historical stage of development, and to consider it or to criticize it as a working class movement is wrong. Gandhi represented that movement, and the Indian masses in relation to that movement to a supreme degree, and he became the voice of Indian people to that extent. The main contribution of Gandhi to India and the Indian masses has been through the powerful movements that he launched through the National Congress. Through nation-wide action, he sought to mould the millions and largely succeeded in doing so. He changed them from a demoralized, timid, and hopeless mass, bullied and crushed by every dominant interest and incapable of resistance, to people with self-respect and self-reliance, resisting tyranny, and capable of united action and sacrifice for a larger cause. Gandhi made people think of political and economic issues, and every village and every bazaar hummed with arguments and debates on the new ideas and hopes that filled the people. In case of very exceptional person, like Gandhi, the question of personality becomes especially important in order to understand and appraise him. To us, he represented the spirit and honour of India, the yearning of her sorrowing millions to be rid of their innumerable burdens. An insult to him by the British Government or others was an insult to India and her people.
What do you understand by the phrase “to be rid of ” ?
Released/freed from something
The phrase appears near the end of the passage, where Gandhi is said to represent “the yearning of her sorrowing millions to be rid of their innumerable burdens.”
To be rid of something means to be free of it or released from it, usually something unwanted. In context, the millions of India longed to be freed from their many burdens, which is why the phrase is paired with words like “yearning” and “sorrowing”.
Being tied to something is the opposite meaning, describing a burden that remains attached. Increasing something and including something both suggest adding, which contradicts the sense of release; nobody yearns to increase or include their burdens.
Released/freed from something option is correct.
Similar Questions
Answer Question based on either English passage :
Despite its extraordinary name `ergonomics' is not just something which has been dreamed up by boffins to confuse busy businessmen. It is a practical science which can make and is making a valuable contribution to industry. Research being carried out in this field can increase efficiency, improve product design and make employees more contented.
Broadly, ergonomics is the study of the relationship between man and his working environment. It involves designing or redesigning machines and equipments so that due regard is given to the capabilities and limitations -- physical and psychological -- of the human beings who have to use or operate them.
In contrast to the more common, traditional policy of `fitting the man to the machine' by selecting and training the best man for each particular job, the ergonomist endeavours to fit the machine to the man-any man.
He accepts people, in fact, as he finds them with all their quirks and idiosyncracies, and tries to establish their capabilities as machine operators. He then attempts to allocate to the human operator the functions each can perform best. His object is to enable a person of ordinary abilities to carry out his tasks safely and efficiently, with a minimum of instruction.
The ergonomist himself needs a knowledge of a number of sciences and techniques in order to carry out his work.
The given passage states that Mahatma Gandhi largely succeeded in .................. .
What did Mahatma Gandhi represent ?
The main contribution of Gandhi to India has been ................. .
What, do you think, is the correct meaning of the term “bourgeois” ?
The object of an ergonomist is ............
What is the more common or traditional policy ?
Ergonomics is the study of ..............
What do you understand by `boffins' ?
An ergonomist himself needs a knowledge of ........................
Important Questions from Reading Comprehension
What is the meaning of ‘intrigued’?
What are ice shelves?
What are icebergs?
When the iceberg turns upside down, it appears ________.
The use of science in its simple form has helped man to ____________
