Question : Comprehension:
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
Before the advent of soap, the primary cleansing agent in ancient India was taken from soap nuts (reetha) from the plant Sapindus saponaria. The literal translation of Sapindus is sap = soap and indus = India. In other words, soap from India!

The nut was used in ancient China as well and its usage spread from India to Middle Asia and then Europe. Soap nuts are boiled to soften them up, and then crushed to filter out the essence which contains the all-important cleansing chemicals. It lathers but in small quantities. Ancient India also used shikai or shikakai (a variant of the acacia plant) as a hair and body cleanser.

The skincare routines of ancient Indians involved the addition of a variety of herbs such as turmeric, tulsi (holy basil), neem (bark and leaves), lotus petals and sandalwood paste amongst others which were common ingredients in their skincare creams.

Another worth mentioning soap in skin care is the Aleppo soap, which originated from the Syrian city of Aleppo. This is considered one of the purest soaps as it is made with all natural ingredients. Aleppo soap does not dry out the skin. It also moisturises and nourishes the skin and is purported to benefit a host of skin problems such as eczema, skin breakouts, inflammatory skin conditions, insect bites, and skin infections. However, the exact origin of the soap is lost in time with the earliest written record dating as far back as the 8th Century AD. After the Crusades, European nations adopted Aleppo soap and started producing their own variations. However, the ancient city of Aleppo thrived on trade for thousands of years, famous for being the endpoint of the illustrious Silk Road trade route that bridged the East and the West.

Generations of merchant families and manufacturers made the unique soap for thousands of years and the formulation has remained surprisingly unchanged in all this time retaining its original form. Olive oil, sweet bay (laurel) oil, sodium hydroxide and water are the main ingredients of this soap. Bay (Laurus nobilis) has remarkable antibacterial and antifungal properties, and could explain some of the benefits of this soap in conditions such as acne, insect bites and skin infections.

Question:
The main theme of the passage is:

Option 1: natural soaps for skin care in ancient times

Option 2: origin of the Aleppo soap

Option 3: history of soap in India

Option 4: kinds of ingredients in soap making

Question : Comprehension:
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
Before the advent of soap, the primary cleansing agent in ancient India was taken from soap nuts (reetha) from the plant Sapindus saponaria. The literal translation of Sapindus is sap = soap and indus = India. In other words, soap from India!

The nut was used in ancient China as well and its usage spread from India to Middle Asia and then Europe. Soap nuts are boiled to soften them up, and then crushed to filter out the essence which contains the all-important cleansing chemicals. It lathers but in small quantities. Ancient India also used shikai or shikakai (a variant of the acacia plant) as a hair and body cleanser.

The skincare routines of ancient Indians involved the addition of a variety of herbs such as turmeric, tulsi (holy basil), neem (bark and leaves), lotus petals and sandalwood paste amongst others which were common ingredients in their skincare creams.

Another worth mentioning soap in skin care is the Aleppo soap, which originated from the Syrian city of Aleppo. This is considered one of the purest soaps as it is made with all natural ingredients. Aleppo soap does not dry out the skin. It also moisturises and nourishes the skin and is purported to benefit a host of skin problems such as eczema, skin breakouts, inflammatory skin conditions, insect bites, and skin infections. However, the exact origin of the soap is lost in time with the earliest written record dating as far back as the 8th Century AD. After the Crusades, European nations adopted Aleppo soap and started producing their own variations. However, the ancient city of Aleppo thrived on trade for thousands of years, famous for being the endpoint of the illustrious Silk Road trade route that bridged the East and the West.

Generations of merchant families and manufacturers made the unique soap for thousands of years and the formulation has remained surprisingly unchanged in all this time retaining its original form. Olive oil, sweet bay (laurel) oil, sodium hydroxide and water are the main ingredients of this soap. Bay (Laurus nobilis) has remarkable antibacterial and antifungal properties, and could explain some of the benefits of this soap in conditions such as acne, insect bites and skin infections.

Question:
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

Option 1: Olive oil, sweet bay (laurel) oil, sodium hydroxide, and water are the main ingredients of this soap.

Option 2: Aleppo soap is beneficial in a number of skin problems, like eczema, skin breakouts, etc.

Option 3: The ancient city of Aleppo thrived on the trade of their creams for thousands of years.

Option 4: After the Crusades, European nations adopted Aleppo soap and started producing their own variations.

Question : Comprehension:
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
Before the advent of soap, the primary cleansing agent in ancient India was taken from soap nuts (reetha) from the plant Sapindus saponaria. The literal translation of Sapindus is sap = soap and indus = India. In other words, soap from India!

The nut was used in ancient China as well and its usage spread from India to Middle Asia and then Europe. Soap nuts are boiled to soften them up and then crushed to filter out the essence which contains the all-important cleansing chemicals. It lathers but in small quantities. Ancient India also used shikai or shikakai (a variant of the acacia plant) as a hair and body cleanser.

The skincare routines of ancient Indians involved the addition of a variety of herbs such as turmeric, tulsi (holy basil), neem (bark and leaves), lotus petals and sandalwood paste amongst others which were common ingredients in their skincare creams.

Another worth mentioning soap in skin care is the Aleppo soap, which originated from the Syrian city of Aleppo. This is considered one of the purest soaps as it is made with all natural ingredients. Aleppo soap does not dry out the skin. It also moisturises and nourishes the skin and is purported to benefit a host of skin problems such as eczema, skin breakouts, inflammatory skin conditions, insect bites, and skin infections. However, the exact origin of the soap is lost in time with the earliest written record dating as far back as the 8th Century AD. After the Crusades, European nations adopted Aleppo soap and started producing their own variations. However, the ancient city of Aleppo thrived on trade for thousands of years, famous for being the endpoint of the illustrious Silk Road trade route that bridged the East and the West.

Generations of merchant families and manufacturers made the unique soap for thousands of years and the formulation has remained surprisingly unchanged in all this time retaining its original form. Olive oil, sweet bay (laurel) oil, sodium hydroxide and water are the main ingredients of this soap. Bay (Laurus nobilis) has remarkable antibacterial and antifungal properties and could explain some of the benefits of this soap in conditions such as acne, insect bites and skin infections.

Question:
Which of the following things did people in ancient India use for body and hair wash?

Option 1: Shikakai

Option 2: Neem bark

Option 3: Soap nuts (reetha)

Option 4: Sandalwood paste

Question : Comprehension:
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
Before the advent of soap, the primary cleansing agent in ancient India was taken from soap nuts (reetha) from the plant Sapindus saponaria. The literal translation of Sapindus is sap = soap and indus = India. In other words, soap from India!

The nut was used in ancient China as well and its usage spread from India to Middle Asia and then Europe. Soap nuts are boiled to soften them up, and then crushed to filter out the essence which contains the all-important cleansing chemicals. It lathers but in small quantities. Ancient India also used shikai or shikakai (a variant of the acacia plant) as a hair and body cleanser.

The skincare routines of ancient Indians involved the addition of a variety of herbs such as turmeric, tulsi (holy basil), neem (bark and leaves), lotus petals and sandalwood paste amongst others which were common ingredients in their skincare creams.

Another worth mentioning soap in skin care is the Aleppo soap, which originated from the Syrian city of Aleppo. This is considered one of the purest soaps as it is made with all natural ingredients. Aleppo soap does not dry out the skin. It also moisturises and nourishes the skin and is purported to benefit a host of skin problems such as eczema, skin breakouts, inflammatory skin conditions, insect bites, and skin infections. However, the exact origin of the soap is lost in time with the earliest written record dating as far back as the 8th Century AD. After the Crusades, European nations adopted Aleppo soap and started producing their own variations. However, the ancient city of Aleppo thrived on trade for thousands of years, famous for being the endpoint of the illustrious Silk Road trade route that bridged the East and the West.

Generations of merchant families and manufacturers made the unique soap for thousands of years and the formulation has remained surprisingly unchanged in all this time retaining its original form. Olive oil, sweet bay (laurel) oil, sodium hydroxide and water are the main ingredients of this soap. Bay (Laurus nobilis) has remarkable antibacterial and antifungal properties, and could explain some of the benefits of this soap in conditions such as acne, insect bites and skin infections.

Question:
In Aleppo soap, which ingredient has the antibacterial and antifungal properties?

Option 1: Holy basil

Option 2: Lotus petals

Option 3: Olive oil

Option 4: Bay oil

Question : Comprehension:

Read the following passage and answer the questions given that follow.

An excavation of ancient Babylon revealed evidence that Babylonians were making soap around 2800 B.C. This is the first concrete evidence we have of a soap-like substance. The early soap makers were Babylonians, Mesopotamians, and Egyptians, as well as the ancient Greeks and Romans. All of them made soap by mixing fat, oils, and salts. Soap wasn't made and used for bathing and personal hygiene but was rather produced for cleaning cooking utensils or goods or was used for medicine purposes. The early references to soap making were for the use of soap in cleaning wool and cotton used in textile manufacture, which was used medicinally for at least 5000 years.
Soap is a product for cleaning made from natural ingredients that may include both plant and animal products, including items such as animal fat, such as tallow, or vegetable oil, such as castor, olive, or coconut oil. Soap supposedly got its name from Mount Sapo in Rome. The word 'sapo', Latin for soap, first appeared in Pliny the Elder's Historia Naturalis. The first soap was made by the Babylonians around 2800 B.C.
Soap-making history goes back many thousands of years. In the early beginnings of soap making, it was an exclusive technique used by small groups of soap makers. The demand for soap was high, but it was very expensive, and there was a monopoly on soap production in many areas. Back then, plant byproducts and animal and vegetable oils were the main ingredients in soap. The price of soap was significantly reduced in 1791 when a Frenchman by the name of LeBlanc discovered a chemical process that allowed soap to be made cheaply and sold for significantly less money. More than 20 years later, another Frenchman identified relationships between glycerin, fats, and acid—what marked the beginning of modern soap-making. With the discovery of another method of making soap, soap became even less expensive. Since that time, there have been no major discoveries, and the same processes are used for the soap making we use and enjoy today.
Advances came as the science of chemistry developed because more was understood about the ingredients. In the mid-nineteenth century, soap for bathing became a separate commodity from laundry soap, with milder soaps being packaged, sold, and made available for personal use. Liquid hand soaps were invented in the 1970s, and this invention keeps soaps in the public eye.
Today, there are many different kinds of soaps made for a vast array of purposes. Soap is available for personal, commercial, and industrial use. There is handmade, homemade, and commercially produced soap; there is soap used to wash clothes, dishes, and cars; there is soap used for your pet; there is soap for your carpet; and there is also soap for your child.

Question:-

Soap became less expensive in the early 19th century because:

Option 1: a chemical process of soap making had been discovered

Option 2: soap was manufactured by small groups of soap makers

Option 3: the monopoly on soap making was curtailed

Option 4: the ingredients of soap had become cheaper