IAS CSAT — Comprehension previous year questions with solutions.
The need for Competition Law becomes more evident when foreign direct investment (FDI) is liberalized. The impact of FDI is not always pro-competitive. Very often FDI takes the form of a foreign corporation acquiring a domestic enterprise or establishing a joint venture with one. By making such an acquisition the foreign investor may substantially lessen competition and gain a dominant position in the relevant market, thus charging higher prices. Another scenario is where the affiliates of two separate multinational companies (MNCs) have been established in competition with one another in a particular developing economy, following the liberalization of FDI. Subsequently, the parent companies overseas merge. With the affiliate’s no longer remaining independent, competition in the host country may be virtually eliminated and the prices of the products may be artificially inflated. Most of these adverse consequences of mergers and acquisitions by MNCs can be avoided if an effective competition law is in place. Also, an economy that has implemented an effective competition law is in a better position to attract FDI than one that has not. This is not just because most MNCs are expected to be accustomed to the operation of such a law in their home countries and know how to deal with such concerns but also that MNCs expect competition authorities to ensure a level playing field between domestic and foreign firms. With reference to the passage, consider the following statements: 1. It is desirable that the impact of Foreign Direct Investment should be pro-competitive. 2. The entry of foreign investors invariably leads to the inflated prices in domestic markers. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. Invasions of exotic species into new geographic areas sometimes occur naturally and without human agency. However, human actions have increased this trickle to a flood. Human caused introductions may occur either accidentally as a consequence of human transport, or intentionally but illegally to serve some private purpose or legitimately to procure some hoped-for public benefit by bringing a pest under control, producing new agricultural products new agricultural products or providing novel recreational opportunities. Many introduced species are assimilated into communities without much obvious effect. However, some have been responsible for dramatic changes to native species and natural communities. For example, the accidental introduction of the brown tree snake Boigairregularis into Guam, an island in the Pacific, has through nest predation reduced 10 endemic forest bird species to the point of extinction. One of the major reasons for the world’s great biodiversity is the occurrence of centers of endemism so that similar habitats in different parts of the world are occupied by different groups of species that happen to have evolved there. If every species naturally had access to everywhere on the globe, we might expect a relatively small number of successful species to become dominant in each biome. The extent to which this homogenization can happen naturally is restricted by the limited powers of dispersal. By virtue of the transport opportunities offered by humans, these barriers have been breached by an ever-increasing number of exotic species. The effects of introductions have been to convert a hugely diverse range of local community compositions into something much more homogeneous. It would be wrong, however, to conclude that introducing species to a region will inevitably cause a decline in species richness there. For example, there are numerous species of plants, invertebrates and vertebrates found in continental Europe but absent from the British Isles (many because they have so far failed to recolonize after the last glaciations). Their introduction would be likely to significant detrimental effect noted above arises where aggressive species provide a novel challenge to endemic biotas ill-equipped to deal with them. How is homogenization prevented under natural conditions?
We started pitching the highest camp that has ever been made. Everything took five times as long as it would have taken in a place where there was enough air to breathe; but at last we got the tent up, and when we crawled in, it was not too bad. There was only a light wind, and inside it was not too cold for us to take off our gloves. At night most climbers take off their boots; but I prefer to keep them on. Hillary, on the other hand, took his off and laid them next to his sleeping bag. They took a long time to finish the work because
He walked several miles that day but could not get anything to eat or drink except some dry bread and some water, which he got from cottagers and farmers. As night fell, he slept under a haystack lying in a meadow. He felt frightened at first, for the wind blew awfully over the empty fields. He felt cold and hungry, and was feeling more lonely than he had ever felt before. He, however, soon fell asleep, being much tired with his long walk. When he got up next day, he was feeling terribly hungry so he purchased a loaf of bread with a few coins that he had. When the night fell, he slept
He walked several miles that day but could not get anything to eat or drink except some dry bread and some water, which he got from cottagers and farmers. As night fell, he slept under a haystack lying in a meadow. He felt frightened at first, for the wind blew awfully over the empty fields. He felt cold and hungry, and was feeling more lonely than he had ever felt before. He, however, soon fell asleep, being much tired with his long walk. When he got up next day, he was feeling terribly hungry so he purchased a loaf of bread with a few coins that he had. He soon fell asleep because
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. For achieving inclusive growth there is-a critical need to rethink the-role of the State. The early debate among economists about the size of the Government can be misleading. The need of the hour is to have an enabling Government. India is too large and complex a nation for the State to be able to deliver all that is needed. Asking the Government to produce all the essential goods, create all the necessary jobs, and keep a curb on the prices of all goods is to lead to a large cumbersome bureaucracy and widespread corruption. The aim must be to stay with the objective of inclusive growth that was laid down by the founding fathers of the nation and also to take a more modern view of what the State can realistically deliver. This is what leads to the idea of an enabling State, that is, a Government that does not try to directly deliver to the citizens everything that they need. Instead, it (1) creates an enabling ethos for the market so that individual enterprise can flourish and citizens can, for the most part, provide for the needs of one another, and (2) steps in to help those who do not manage to do well for themselves, for there will always be individuals, no matter what the system, who need support and help. Hence we need a Government that, when it comes to the market, sets effective, incentive-compatible rules and remains on the sidelines with minimal interference, and, at the same time, plays an important role in directly helping the poor by ensuring that they get basic education and health services and receive adequate nutrition and food. Why is the State unable to deliver ‘all that is needed’? 1. It does not have sufficient bureaucracy. 2. It does not promote inclusive growth.
He walked several miles that day but could not get anything to eat or drink except some dry bread and some water, which he got from cottagers and farmers. As night fell, he slept under a haystack lying in a meadow. He felt frightened at first, for the wind blew awfully over the empty fields. He felt cold and hungry, and was feeling more lonely than he had ever felt before. He, however, soon fell asleep, being much tired with his long walk. When he got up next day, he was feeling terribly hungry so he purchased a loaf of bread with a few coins that he had. With reference to the passage, consider the, following statements: 1. He was walking through the countryside. 2. The cottagers and farmers gave him enough food so that he could sleep at night without feeling hungry. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should-be based on the passage only. Now India’s children have a right to receive at least eight years of education, the gnawing question is whether’ it will remain ‘on paper’ or ‘become a reality. One hardly needs a reminder that this right is different from the others enshrined in the Constitution, that the beneficiary—a six year old child cannot demand it, nor can she or height a legal battle when the right is denied or violated. In all cases, it is the adult society which must act on behalf of the child. In another peculiarity, where a child’s right to education is denied, no compensation offered later can be adequate or relevant. This is so because childhood does not last. If a legal battle fought on behalf of a child is eventually won, it may be of little use to the boy or girl because the opportunity missed at school during childhood cannot serve the same purpose later in life. This may be painfully true for girls because our society permits them only a short childhood, if at all. The Right to Education (RTE) has become law at a point in India’s history when the ghastly practice of female infanticide has resurfaced in the form of foeticide. This is ‘symptomatic of a deeper turmoil’ in society which compounding the traditional obstacles to the education of girls. ‘Tenacious prejudice against the intellectual potential of girls runs across our cultural diversity and the system of education has not been able to address it.’’ Which one of the following statements conveys the inference of the passage?
The concept of ‘creative society’ refers to a phase of development of a society in which a large number of potential contradictions become articulate and active. This is most evident when oppressed social groups get politically mobilised and demand their rights. The upsurge of the peasants and tribals, the movements for regional autonomy and self-determination, the environmental movements, and the women’s movements in the developing countries are signs of emergence of creative society in contemporary times. The forms of social movements and their intensity may vary from country to country and place to place within a country. But the very presence of movements for social transformation in various spheres of a society indicates the emergence of a creative society in a country. With reference to the passage. Consider the following statements: 1. To be a creative society, it is essential to have a variety of social movements. 2. To be a creative society, it is imperative to have potential contradictions and conflicts. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. A country under foreign domination seeks escape from the present in dreams of a vanished age, and finds consolation in visions of past greatness. That is a foolish and dangerous pastime in which many of us indulge. An equally questionable practice for us in India is to imagine that we are still spiritually great though we have come down, in the world in other respects. Spiritual or any other greatness cannot be founded on lack of freedom and opportunity, or on starvation and misery. Many western writers have encouraged that notion that Indians are other-worldly. I suppose the poor and unfortunate in every country become to some extent other-worldly, unless they become revolutionaries, for this world is evidently not meant for them. So also subject peoples. As a man grows to maturity he is not entirely engrossed in, or satisfied with, the external objective world. He seeks also some inner meaning, some psychological and physical satisfactions. So also with peoples and civilizations as they mature and grow adult. Every civilization and every people exhibit these parallel streams of an external life and an internal life. Where they meet or keep close to each other, there is an equilibrium and stability. When they diverge conflict arises and the crises that torture the mind and spirit. Consider the following assumptions: 1. A country under foreign domination cannot indulge in spiritual pursuit. 2. Poverty is an impediment in the spiritual pursuit. 3. Subject peoples may become other-wordly. With reference to the passage, which of the above assumptions is/are valid?
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. A country under foreign domination seeks escape from the present in dreams of a vanished age, and finds consolation in visions of past greatness. That is a foolish and dangerous pastime in which many of us indulge. An equally questionable practice for us in India is to imagine that we are still spiritually great though we have come down, in the world in other respects. Spiritual or any other greatness cannot be founded on lack of freedom and opportunity, or on starvation and misery. Many western writers have encouraged that notion that Indians are other-worldly. I suppose the poor and unfortunate in every country become to some extent other-worldly, unless they become revolutionaries, for this world is evidently not meant for them. So also subject peoples. As a man grows to maturity he is not entirely engrossed in, or satisfied with, the external objective world. He seeks also some inner meaning, some psychological and physical satisfactions. So also with peoples and civilizations as they mature and grow adult. Every civilization and every people exhibit these parallel streams of an external life and an internal life. Where they meet or keep close to each other, there is an equilibrium and stability. When they diverge conflict arises and the crises that torture the mind and spirit. According to the passage, the torture of the mind and spirit is caused
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. Ecosystems provide people with a variety of goods and services; food, clean water, clean air, flood control, soil stabilization, pollination, climate regulation, spiritual fulfilment and aesthetic enjoyment, to name just a few. Most of these benefits either are irreplaceable or the technology necessary to replace them is prohibitively expensive. For example, potable fresh water can be provided by desalinating sea-water, but only great cost. The rapidly expanding human population has greatly modified the Earth’s ecosystems to meet their increased requirements of some of the goods and services, particularly food, fresh water, timber, fiber and fuel. These modifications have contributed substantially to human well being and economic development. The benefits have not been equally distributed. Some people have actually been harmed by these changes. Moreover, short-term increases in some ecosystem goods and services have come at the cost of the long-term degradation of others. For example, efforts to increase the production of food and fibre have decreased the ability of some ecosystems to provide clean water, regulate flooding and support biodiversity. With reference to the passage, consider the following statements. Expanding human’ population has an adverse effect on: 1. Spiritual fulfillment 2. Aesthetic enjoyment 3. Potable fresh water 4. Production of food and fibre 5. Biodiversity. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should-be based on the passage only. Now India’s children have a right to receive at least eight years of education, the gnawing question is whether’ it will remain ‘on paper’ or ‘become a reality. One hardly needs a reminder that this right is different from the others enshrined in the Constitution, that the beneficiary—a six year old child cannot demand it, nor can she or height a legal battle when the right is denied or violated. In all cases, it is the adult society which must act on behalf of the child. In another peculiarity, where a child’s right to education is denied, no compensation offered later can be adequate or relevant. This is so because childhood does not last. If a legal battle fought on behalf of a child is eventually won, it may be of little use to the boy or girl because the opportunity missed at school during childhood cannot serve the same purpose later in life. This may be painfully true for girls because our society permits them only a short childhood, if at all. The Right to Education (RTE) has become law at a point in India’s history when the ghastly practice of female infanticide has resurfaced in the form of foeticide. This is ‘symptomatic of a deeper turmoil’ in society which compounding the traditional obstacles to the education of girls. ‘Tenacious prejudice against the intellectual potential of girls runs across our cultural diversity and the system of education has not been able to address it.’ Which one of the following statements conveys the key message of the passage?
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. A species that exerts an influence out of proportion to its abundance in an ecosystem is called a keystone species. The keystone species may influence both the species richness of communities and the flow of energy and materials through ecosystems. The sea star Pisaster the flow of energy and materials through ecosystems. The sea star Pisaster ochraceus, which lives in rocky intertidal ecosystems on the Pacific coast of North America, is also an example of a keystone species. Its preferred prey is the mussel Mytilus Californians. In the absence of sea-stars, these mussels crowd out other competitors in a broad belt of the intertidal zone. By consuming mussels, sea star creates bare spaces that are taken over by a variety of other species. A study at the University of Washington demonstrated the influence of Pisaster on species richness by removing sea stars from selected parts of the intertidal zone repeatedly over a period of five years. Two major changes occurred in the areas from which sea stars were removed. First, the lower edge of the mussel bed extended farther down into the intertidal zone, showing that sea stars are able to eliminate mussels completely where they are covered with water most of the time. Second, and more dramatically, 28 species of animals and algae disappeared from the sea star removal zone. Eventually only Mytilus, the dominant competitor, occupied the entire substratum. Through its effect on competitive relationships, predation by Pisaster largely determines which species live in these rocky intertidal ecosystems. Which of the following is/are implied by the passage? 1. Mussels are always hard competitors for sea stars. 2. Sea stars of the Pacific coast have reached the climax of their evolution. 3. Sea stars constitute an important component in the energy flow in intertidal ecosystem. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A moral act must be our own act; must spring from our own will. If we act mechanically, these is no moral content in our act. Such action would be moral, If we think it proper to act like a machine and do so. For, in doing so, we use our discrimination. We should bear in mind the distinction between acting mechanically and acting intentionally. It may be moral of a king to pardon a culprit. But the messenger carrying out the order of pardon plays only a mechanical part in the king’s moral act. But if the messenger were to carry out the king’s order considering it to be his duty, his action would be a moral one. How can a man understand morality who does not use his own intelligence and power of thought, but let’s himself be swept along like a log of wood by a current? Sometimes a. man defies convention and acts on his own with a view to absolute good. Which of the following statements is the nearest definition of moral action, according to the writer?
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should-be based on the passage only. Now India’s children have a right to receive at least eight years of education, the gnawing question is whether’ it will remain ‘on paper’ or ‘become a reality. One hardly needs a reminder that this right is different from the others enshrined in the Constitution, that the beneficiary—a six year old child cannot demand it, nor can she or height a legal battle when the right is denied or violated. In all cases, it is the adult society which must act on behalf of the child. In another peculiarity, where a child’s right to education is denied, no compensation offered later can be adequate or relevant. This is so because childhood does not last. If a legal battle fought on behalf of a child is eventually won, it may be of little use to the boy or girl because the opportunity missed at school during childhood cannot serve the same purpose later in life. This may be painfully true for girls because our society permits them only a short childhood, if at all. The Right to Education (RTE) has become law at a point in India’s history when the ghastly practice of female infanticide has resurfaced in the form of foeticide. This is ‘symptomatic of a deeper turmoil’ in society which compounding the traditional obstacles to the education of girls. ‘Tenacious prejudice against the intellectual potential of girls runs across our cultural diversity and the system of education has not been able to address it.’’ With reference to the passage, consider the following statements: 1. When children are denied education, adult society does not act on behalf of them. 2. Right to Education as a law cannot be enforced in the country. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. A species that exerts an influence out of proportion to its abundance in an ecosystem is called a keystone species. The keystone species may influence both the species richness of communities and the flow of energy and materials through ecosystems. The sea star Pisaster the flow of energy and materials through ecosystems. The sea star Pisaster ochraceus, which lives in rocky intertidal ecosystems on the Pacific coast of North America, is also an example of a keystone species. Its preferred prey is the mussel Mytilus Californians. In the absence of sea-stars, these mussels crowd out other competitors in a broad belt of the intertidal zone. By consuming mussels, sea star creates bare spaces that are taken over by a variety of other species. A study at the University of Washington demonstrated the influence of Pisaster on species richness by removing sea stars from selected parts of the intertidal zone repeatedly over a period of five years. Two major changes occurred in the areas from which sea stars were removed. First, the lower edge of the mussel bed extended farther down into the intertidal zone, showing that sea stars are able to eliminate mussels completely where they are covered with water most of the time. Second, and more dramatically, 28 species of animals and algae disappeared from the sea star removal zone. Eventually only Mytilus, the dominant competitor, occupied the entire substratum. Through its effect on competitive relationships, predation by Pisaster largely determines which species live in these rocky intertidal ecosystems. Consider the following assumptions: 1. The food chains/food web in an influenced ecosystem are keystone species. 2. The presence of keystone species is a specific characteristic of aquatic ecosystems. 3. If the keystone species is completely removed from an ecosystem, it will lead to the collapse of the ecosystem. With reference to the passage, which of the above assumptions is/are valid?
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. For achieving inclusive growth there is-a critical need to rethink the-role of the State. The early debate among economists about the size of the Government can be misleading. The need of the hour is to have an enabling Government. India is too large and complex a nation for the State to be able to deliver all that is needed. Asking the Government to produce all the essential goods, create all the necessary jobs, and keep a curb on the prices of all goods is to lead to a large cumbersome bureaucracy and widespread corruption. The aim must be to stay with the objective of inclusive growth that was laid down by the founding fathers of the nation and also to take a more modern view of what the State can realistically deliver. This is what leads to the idea of an enabling State, that is, a Government that does not try to directly deliver to the citizens everything that they need. Instead, it (1) creates an enabling ethos for the market so that individual enterprise can flourish and citizens can, for the most part, provide for the needs of one another, and (2) steps in to help those who do not manage to do well for themselves, for there will always be individuals, no matter what the system, who need support and help. Hence we need a Government that, when it comes to the market, sets effective, incentive-compatible rules and remains on the sidelines with minimal interference, and, at the same time, plays an important role in directly helping the poor by ensuring that they get basic education and health services and receive adequate nutrition and food. According to passage: 1. The objective of inclusive growth was laid down by the founding fathers of the nation. 2. Need of the hour is to have an enabling Government. 3. The Government should engage III maximum interference in market processes. 4. There is a need to change the size of the Government. Which of the statements given above are correct?
I opened the bag and packed the boots in; and then, just as I was going to close it, a horrible idea occurred to me. Had I packed my toothbrush? I don't know how it is, but I never do know whether I've packed my toothbrush. My toothbrush is a thing that haunts me when I'm travelling, and makes my life a misery. I dream that I haven't packed it, and wake up in a cold perspiration, and get out of bed and hunt for it. And, in the morning, I pack it before I have used it, and it is always -the last, thing I turn out of the bag; and then I repack and forget it, and have to rush upstairs for it at the last moment and carry it to the railway station, wrapped up in my pocket-handkerchief. His toothbrush is finally
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. A species that exerts an influence out of proportion to its abundance in an ecosystem is called a keystone species. The keystone species may influence both the species richness of communities and the flow of energy and materials through ecosystems. The sea star Pisaster the flow of energy and materials through ecosystems. The sea star Pisaster ochraceus, which lives in rocky intertidal ecosystems on the Pacific coast of North America, is also an example of a keystone species. Its preferred prey is the mussel Mytilus Californians. In the absence of sea-stars, these mussels crowd out other competitors in a broad belt of the intertidal zone. By consuming mussels, sea star creates bare spaces that are taken over by a variety of other species. A study at the University of Washington demonstrated the influence of Pisaster on species richness by removing sea stars from selected parts of the intertidal zone repeatedly over a period of five years. Two major changes occurred in the areas from which sea stars were removed. First, the lower edge of the mussel bed extended farther down into the intertidal zone, showing that sea stars are able to eliminate mussels completely where they are covered with water most of the time. Second, and more dramatically, 28 species of animals and algae disappeared from the sea star removal zone. Eventually only Mytilus, the dominant competitor, occupied the entire substratum. Through its effect on competitive relationships, predation by Pisaster largely determines which species live in these rocky intertidal ecosystems. With reference to the passage, consider the following statements: 1. Mussels-are generally the dominant species in intertidal ecosystems. 2. The survival of sea stars is generally determined by the abundance of mussels. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. For achieving inclusive growth there is-a critical need to rethink the-role of the State. The early debate among economists about the size of the Government can be misleading. The need of the hour is to have an enabling Government. India is too large and complex a nation for the State to be able to deliver all that is needed. Asking the Government to produce all the essential goods, create all the necessary jobs, and keep a curb on the prices of all goods is to lead to a large cumbersome bureaucracy and widespread corruption. The aim must be to stay with the objective of inclusive growth that was laid down by the founding fathers of the nation and also to take a more modern view of what the State can realistically deliver. This is what leads to the idea of an enabling State, that is, a Government that does not try to directly deliver to the citizens everything that they need. Instead, it (1) creates an enabling ethos for the market so that individual enterprise can flourish and citizens can, for the most part, provide for the needs of one another, and (2) steps in to help those who do not manage to do well for themselves, for there will always be individuals, no matter what the system, who need support and help. Hence we need a Government that, when it comes to the market, sets effective, incentive-compatible rules and remains on the sidelines with minimal interference, and, at the same time, plays an important role in directly helping the poor by ensuring that they get basic education and health services and receive adequate nutrition and food. According to the passage, the strategy of inclusive growth can be effected by focusing on
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. A country under foreign domination seeks escape from the present in dreams of a vanished age, and finds consolation in visions of past greatness. That is a foolish and dangerous pastime in which many of us indulge. An equally questionable practice for us in India is to imagine that we are still spiritually great though we have come down, in the world in other respects. Spiritual or any other greatness cannot be founded on lack of freedom and opportunity, or on starvation and misery. Many western writers have encouraged that notion that Indians are other-worldly. I suppose the poor and unfortunate in every country become to some extent other-worldly, unless they become revolutionaries, for this world is evidently not meant for them. So also subject peoples. As a man grows to maturity he is not entirely engrossed in, or satisfied with the external objective world. He seeks also some inner meaning, some psychological and physical satisfactions. So also with peoples and civilizations as they mature and grow adult. Every civilization and every people exhibit these parallel streams of an external life and an internal life. Where they meet or keep close to each other, there is an equilibrium and stability. When they diverge conflict arises and the crises that torture the mind and spirit. The passage thematically centers on
Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should-be based on the passage only. Now India’s children have a right to receive at least eight years of education, the gnawing question is whether’ it will remain ‘on paper’ or ‘become a reality. One hardly needs a reminder that this right is different from the others enshrined in the Constitution, that the beneficiary—a six year old child cannot demand it, nor can she or height a legal battle when the right is denied or violated. In all cases, it is the adult society which must act on behalf of the child. In another peculiarity, where a child’s right to education is denied, no compensation offered later can be adequate or relevant. This is so because childhood does not last. If a legal battle fought on behalf of a child is eventually won, it may be of little use to the boy or girl because the opportunity missed at school during childhood cannot serve the same purpose later in life. This may be painfully true for girls because our society permits them only a short childhood, if at all. The Right to Education (RTE) has become law at a point in India’s history when the ghastly practice of female infanticide has resurfaced in the form of foeticide. This is ‘symptomatic of a deeper turmoil’ in society which compounding the traditional obstacles to the education of girls. ‘Tenacious prejudice against the intellectual potential of girls runs across our cultural diversity and the system of education has not been able to address it.’’ According to the passage, what could be the traditional obstacles to the education of girls? 1. Inability of parents to fight a legal battle when the Right to Education is denied to their children. 2. The traditional way of thinking about girl’s role in society. 3. The prejudice against the intellectual potential of girls. 4. Improper system of education. Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
A moral act must be our own act; must spring from our own will. If we act mechanically, these is no moral content in our act. Such action would be moral, If we think it proper to act like a machine and do so. For, in doing so, we use our discrimination. We should bear in mind the distinction between acting mechanically and acting intentionally. It may be moral of a king to pardon a culprit. But the messenger carrying out the order of pardon plays only a mechanical part in the king’s moral act. But if the messenger were to carry out the king’s order considering it to be his duty, his action would be a moral one. How can a man understand morality who does not use his own intelligence and power of thought, but let’s himself be swept along like a log of wood by a current? Sometimes a. man defies convention and acts on his own with a view to absolute good. Which of the following statements best describe/describes the thought of the writer? 1. A moral act calls for using our discretion. 2. Man should react to a situation immediately. 3. Man must do his duty. 4. Man should be able to defy convention in order to be moral. Select the correct answer from the codes given below: