In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option, in the questions that follow, to fill in each blank. A dance which is created or choreographed and performed according (1)___________ the tenets of the Natya Shastra is called a classical dance. The two broad (2)____________ of classical dancing are the tandava and the lasya. Power and force are typical of the tandava; grace and delicacy of the lasya. Tandava is (3)_______________ with Shiva, and lasya with Parvati. Dance which is pure movement is called nritta, and dance which is (4)_______________ in nature is called nritya. A dancer, in the classical tradition, has to have years of training before he or she can begin to perform on the stage. The four main (5)_____________ of classical dancing in India are : Bharat Natyam, Kathakali, Manipuri, Kathak .Bharat Natyam is the oldest and most popular dance-form of India.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 2.
- (a)options
- (b)aspects
- (c)criteria
- (d)display
Answer
Why
Correct — B. The frame is 'The two broad ____ of classical dancing are the tandava and the lasya'. It wants a plural noun meaning a large division or facet of something, and broad aspects is the collocation English uses.
The next sentence confirms the reading: power and force belong to one, grace and delicacy to the other. Those are two faces of a single art, which is what an aspect is, so option (b) fits.
Why the others are wrong
- (a)options — options implies a choice between alternatives. Nobody is choosing between tandava and lasya — the passage is classifying an art form, not offering a menu.
- (c)criteria — criteria are standards used to judge or decide something. Tandava and lasya are not tests applied to dance; they are the two modes the passage goes on to describe.
- (d)display — display is singular, so 'The two broad display' fails on number before meaning is even weighed, and a display is a show rather than a division.
Concept
Vocabulary-in-context blanks are settled by the words around the gap, not by which option sounds most learned.
Two clues sit on either side of this one. Two broad demands a plural noun that names large parts of a whole, and the sentence after the blank spells those parts out — power and force against grace and delicacy.
An aspect is a particular part or feature of something, or a way of viewing it. That is precisely what tandava and lasya are here.
Number agreement alone removes one candidate before meaning is considered, so when the frame says two, check singular against plural first.
Key facts
- An aspect is a particular part or feature of something, or a way of viewing it.
- The passage assigns power and force to the tandava, and grace and delicacy to the lasya.
- Criteria is the plural of criterion and means standards for judging, not parts of a thing.
Study next
Common traps
- Picking criteria because it looks academic and is correctly plural.
- Reading two broad as offering a choice and reaching for options.
Noun-choice blanks recur across these cloze sets — also asked 19 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.23, where equipment is keyed over baggage, outfit and arsenal, and Q.25 of that passage, where rendition is keyed.
Within this passage the same skill returns at Q.25, where the blank takes schools.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.