Comprehension PYQ — Page 2

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers should be based solely on the passage. Passage: Sport is not just about winning medals or getting jobs through a sports quota. Today's generation is struggling with issues like depression and anxiety. Parents often say that their children are inactive and rarely leave the house. Sport can help tackle these problems. From sport you can learn time management, fitness, teamwork, coordination, and so much more. We need to develop a culture in which sport is seen as a way of life - a path to building a healthier, happier society. Which of the following conclusions are valid? 1. Sport is more than just games; it is a way of life. 2. Sport can help mitigate the problems of seclusion among the young. 3. Earning laurels in sport can help one secure a job on the basis of an assigned quota. 4. Standard corporate sector skills cannot be learnt through sport. Select the answer using the code given below.

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers should be based solely on the passage. Passage: Cattle from the nearby villages came to the common ground to graze, and there was still a cool freshness in the air. Hori took several deep breaths and thought of sitting down for a while, since he'd be dying of heat in the scorching 'loo' wind the rest of the day. A number of farmers were eager to lease this bit of land and had offered a good price, but Rai Sahib - God bless him - had plainly told them it was reserved for grazing and would not be relinquished for any price. If he'd been one of those selfish Zamindars, he'd have said the cattle could go to hell, that there was no reason for him to miss the chance to make a little money. But the Rai Sahib still held to the old values, feeling that any landlord who didn't look after his tenants was less than human. Which of the following statements are not correct? 1. The landholdings of Rai Sahib were currently not being used for farming. 2. Temperamentally, Rai Sahib was as greedy as other landlords. 3. It cannot be ascertained that Rai Sahib could have made some money by leasing out the grazing land. 4. It may be asserted that Rai Sahib valued his tenants and wanted to protect their livelihood. Select the answer using the code given below.

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. In a democracy, a strong opposition is required only if the Head of Government is indifferent. 2. The more aggressive the opposition, the better is the governance in a democracy. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. Higher education is a constantly evolving subject that needs to align towards new developments in all spheres of society. 2. In our country, sufficient funds are not allocated for promoting higher education. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. Corporate capitalism promotes the growth of labour force and provides more employment opportunities. 2. Poor and marginalized sections of population are benefited by corporate capitalism due to trickle-down effect. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Passage - There has been no democracy that has grown economically without corporate capitalism. It helps in modernizing the economy and enabling the transition from rural to urban, and agriculture to industry and services, which are inevitable with growth. It generates jobs — and there is no other way to fix a country’s unemployment challenge without a further impetus to private business. Big companies can operate on a large scale and become competitive both domestically and externally. A vibrant corporate capitalist base also leads to additional revenues for the State — which in turn, can be used for greater welfare for the marginalized and creating a more level playing field in terms of opportunities. Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the author of the passage?

Passage - Over the next 30 years, many countries are promising to move to net-zero carbon, implying that household emissions will have to be cut to close to nothing. A leading climate scientist reckons that, at best, half the reduction might be achieved through demand-side measures, such as behavioural changes by individuals and households. And even that would require companies and governments to provide more incentives to change through supply-side investments to make low-carbon options cheaper and more widely available. With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. Supply-side investments in companies can result in low-carbon behaviour in people. 2. People are not capable of adapting low-carbon behaviour without the involvement of Government and Companies. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Passage - Over the next 30 years, many countries are promising to move to net-zero carbon, implying that household emissions will have to be cut to close to nothing. A leading climate scientist reckons that, at best, half the reduction might be achieved through demand-side measures, such as behavioural changes by individuals and households. And even that would require companies and governments to provide more incentives to change through supply-side investments to make low-carbon options cheaper and more widely available. Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea conveyed by the passage?

Passage - It is hard to predict how changes in the climate and the atmosphere's chemistry will affect the prevalence and virulence agricultural diseases. But there is a risk that such changes will make some plant infections more common in all climatic zones, perhaps catastrophically so. Part of the problem is that centuries of selective breeding have refined the genomes of most high-value crops. They are spectacular at growing in today's conditions but genetic variations that are not immediately useful to them have been bred out. This is good for yields but bad for coping with changes. A minor disease or even an unknown one could suddenly rampage through a genetically honed crop. Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea conveyed by the passage?

Passage - It is hard to predict how changes in the climate and the atmosphere's chemistry will affect the prevalence and virulence agricultural diseases. But there is a risk that such changes will make some plant infections more common in all climatic zones, perhaps catastrophically so. Part of the problem is that centuries of selective breeding have refined the genomes of most high-value crops. They are spectacular at growing in today's conditions but genetic variations that are not immediately useful to them have been bred out. This is good for yields but bad for coping with changes. A minor disease or even an unknown one could suddenly rampage through a genetically honed crop. With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. Global climate change can result in the migration of several plant diseases to new areas. 2. Scientific understanding of the wild relatives of our present crops would enable us to strengthen food security. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Passage - In our country, handlooms are equated with a culture that ensures a continuity of tradition. This idea has become part of the public policy-framing and provides a legitimate basis for the State to support the sector. But the notion of tradition as a single, linear entity is being strongly contested today. The narratives dominant in defining culture/tradition in a particular way are seen to have emerged as the identities and histories of large sections. The discounted and, at times, forcibly stifled identities are fighting for their rightful place in history. Against this backdrop, when we promote handloom as a traditional industry, it is not surprising that large sections of our population choose to ignore it. Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical and rational message conveyed by the author of the passage?

Passage - In only 50 years, the world's consumption of raw materials has nearly quadrupled, to more than 100 billion tons. Less than 9% of this is reused. Batteries of old vehicles contain materials such as lithium, cobalt, manganese and nickel that are pricey and can be hard to obtain. Supply chains are long and complicated. Buyers' risks are being aggravated by their suppliers' poor environmental and labour standards. Reusing materials makes sense. Once batteries reach the ends of their lives, they should go back to a factory where their ingredients can be recovered and put into new batteries. Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical, rational and pragmatic message conveyed by the passage?

Passage - In only 50 years, the world's consumption of raw materials has nearly quadrupled, to more than 100 billion tons. Less than 9% of this is reused. Batteries of old vehicles contain materials such as lithium, cobalt, manganese and nickel that are pricey and can be hard to obtain. Supply chains are long and complicated. Buyers' risks are being aggravated by their suppliers' poor environmental and labour standards. Reusing materials makes sense. Once batteries reach the ends of their lives, they should go back to a factory where their ingredients can be recovered and put into new batteries. With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. Automobile factories are examples of the circular economy. 2. Economic growth is compatible with circular use of mineral resources. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Passage - Each State in India faces a distinctive set of challenges regarding the impact of warming but also offers its own set of opportunities for reducing emissions depending on its natural resources. For example, coastal States need to take action to protect their shores from sea level rise, districts that are drier need to prepare for variable monsoon precipitation. Himalayan regions have their own unique challenges, and selected parts of peninsular India and offshore areas offer great opportunities for harnessing wind power. These various aspects need to be considered for developing clear and sustainable goals for the future. With reference to the passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. Green energy production can be linked to/integrated with the climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. 2. Effects of climate change are much more severe in coastal and mountainous regions. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Passage - Each State in India faces a distinctive set of challenges regarding the impact of warming but also offers its own set of opportunities for reducing emissions depending on its natural resources. For example, coastal States need to take action to protect their shores from sea level rise, districts that are drier need to prepare for variable monsoon precipitation. Himalayan regions have their own unique challenges, and selected parts of peninsular India and offshore areas offer great opportunities for harnessing wind power. These various aspects need to be considered for developing clear and sustainable goals for the future. Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical, rational and pragmatic message conveyed by the author of the passage?

Passage - A single number for inflation is an aggregate across different commodities and services- the price rise differs for different services - the price rise differs for different items of consumption. So, the single number is arrived at by assigning weights to different commodities and services. For WPI, the weights in production are used; for CPI, the consumption basket is used. But people are not homogeneous. The consumption basket is vastly different for the poor, the middle classes, and the rich. Hence, the CPI is different for each of these classes and a composite index requires averaging the baskets. Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical, rational and crucial message conveyed by the passage?

Passage - ‘A network of voluntary associations stands as a buffer between the relatively powerless individual and the potentially powerful State.’ Which one of the following statements reflects the best explanation of the above passage?

In our country, handlooms are equated with a culture that ensures a continuity of tradition. This idea has become part of the public policy-framing and provides a legitimate basis for the State to support the sector. But the notion of tradition as a single, linear entity is being strongly contested today. The narratives dominant in defining culture/tradition in a particular way are seen to have emerged as the identities and histories of large sections. The discounted and, at times, forcibly stifled identities are fighting for their rightful place in history. Against this backdrop, when we promote handloom as a traditional industry, it is not surprising that large sections of our population choose to ignore it. With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. There is no need for the State to be involved in any manner in the handloom sector. 2. Handloom products are no longer appealing and attractive in the rapidly changing modern world. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Directions: Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answer to these items should be based on the passages only. Passage - In our country, regrettably, teaching and learning for the examination have been our forte but the new demands of society and the future of work require critical and independent thinking, learning through doing, asking questions from multiple disciplinary perspectives on the same issue, using evidence for building arguments, and reflecting and articulation. Higher education should not ‘either be a mere servant of the government policy or a passive respondent to public mood.’ Higher learning is all about how to think rather than what to think. Teaching has to be re-invented. Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea conveyed by the passage?

Directions: Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answer to these items should be based on the passages only. Passage - ‘A good statesman, like any other sensible. human being, learns more from his opponents than from his fervent supporters. For his supporters will push him to disaster unless his opponents show him where the dangers are. So if he is wise he will often pray to be delivered from his friends, because they will ruin him. But, though it hurts, he ought also to pray never to be left without opponents; for they keep him on the path of reason and good sense. The national unity of free people depends upon a sufficiently even balance of political power to make it impracticable for the administration to be arbitrary and for opposition to be revolutionary and irreconcilable.’ Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the author of the passage?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the item that follow the passage. Your answer should be based on the passage only. Passage - If there is inequality in the pattern of population growth, there is greater inequality in food production and utilization. As societies become wealthier, their consumption of animal products increases. This means that a greater proportion of such basic foodstuff as grains and legumes that could feed humans directly is instead being converted into feed for poultry and large farm animals. Yet this conversion of plant-based food into animal food for humans is far from efficient. Only 16% of the calories fed to chickens are recovered by us when we eat them. This conversion rate goes down to five to seven per cent in large animals that are fed grain to add fat and some protein before slaughter. With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: 1. The food manufacturing and processing industries in every country should align their objectives and processes in accordance with the changing needs of the societies. 2. Wealthier societies tend to incur great loss of calories of food materials due to indirect utilization of their agricultural produce. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the item that follow the passage. Your answer should be based on the passage only. Passage - If there is inequality in the pattern of population growth, there is greater inequality in food production and utilization. As societies become wealthier, their consumption of animal products increases. This means that a greater proportion of such basic foodstuff as grains and legumes that could feed humans directly is instead being converted into feed for poultry and large farm animals. Yet this conversion of plant-based food into animal food for humans is far from efficient. Only 16% of the calories fed to chickens are recovered by us when we eat them. This conversion rate goes down to five to seven per cent in large animals that are fed grain to add fat and some protein before slaughter. Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the item that follow the passage. Your answer should be based on the passage only. Passage - Maintaining an ecosystem just to conserve biodiversity will affect its commercial potential as well as the livelihoods dependent on the ecosystem. There is also a conflict between using an ecosystem only for livelihoods, for commercial exploitation, or strictly for conservation. Deforestation caused due to commercial exploitation will lead to indirect harm like floods, siltation problems and microclimatic instability, apart from adversely affecting livelihoods dependent on forests. These conflicts are particularly acute in developing countries where the dependence of people on the ecosystem is significant, and commercial exploitation has the potential to boost national income. Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the author of the passage?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the item that follow the passage. Your answer should be based on the passage only. Passage - If the social inequality is the most acutely felt social problem in India, insecurity, more than poverty, is the most acutely felt economic problem. Besides those below the official poverty line, even those just over the poverty line are subject to multiple economic insecurities of various kinds (due to wealth and/or health risks, market fluctuations, job-related uncertainties). Many Government policies are actually intended towards mitigating these insecurities. Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the passage?