Geography

Gorges, canyons, and meanders are all landforms related to rivers and flowing water. Tributaries are also related to rivers, making them the most similar option. Deltas are river landforms but differ more in formation, while moraines and mountains are unrelated to river features.

Sial, Sima, and Mantle are terms related to the Earth's layers. 'Sial' refers to the continental crust, 'Sima' to the oceanic crust, and 'Mantle' is the layer beneath the crust. The 'Core' is another major layer of the Earth, making option A the closest correct answer among the given choices.

Hokkaido, Honshu, and Shikoku are three of the main islands of Japan. Kyushu is another main Japanese island, making it the similar word among the options. Madagascar, Shanghai, and Sikiang are unrelated geographically or categorically.

An isthmus is a narrow strip of land that connects two larger land areas, which matches the definition given in the question. The other options do not fit this description.

Thiruvananthapuram (also spelled Tiruvanantapuram) and Calicut (Kozhikode) are both cities in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Hyderabad is the capital of Telangana, and Bangalore (Bengaluru) is the capital of Karnataka. Since both Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut are in Kerala, they belong to the same group. Hyderabad and Bangalore belong to different states. Therefore, the odd one out is Calicut (option C), as it is the only city in Kerala that is not a state capital, unlike Thiruvananthapuram (capital of Kerala), Hyderabad (capital of Telangana), and Bangalore (capital of Karnataka).

Trade winds are global winds that blow from east to west near the equator, roughly between 0° and 30° latitude in both hemispheres. They are caused by the Hadley cell circulation and the Coriolis effect, resulting in winds that blow towards the west. Westerlies, or western winds, blow from the west towards the east, so they move in the opposite direction. Therefore, the correct answer to the question about winds blowing towards the west is 'Trade winds'.

Basha Dam is being constructed on the Indus River in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Therefore, option D correctly identifies the river and location, while the other options list different rivers.

The equator does not pass through Saudi Arabia, Italy, or Japan. Therefore, the correct answer is 'None' as none of the listed countries lie on the equator.

Monsoons are caused by the seasonal reversal of winds due to differential heating of land and sea, which leads to changes in wind direction and brings heavy rainfall.

Antarctica is located at the South Pole, which is the southernmost point on Earth, making option B the correct answer.