Comprehension Passage:
Directions-(Q. 1-15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words / phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
India is rushing headlong towards economic success and modernization, counting on high tech industries such as information technology and biotechnology to propel the nation to prosperity. India's recent announcement that it would no longer produce unlicensed inexpensive generic pharmaceuticals bowed to the realities of the World Trade Organisation while at the same time challenging the domestic drug industry to compete with the multinational firms. Unfortunately, its weak higher education sector constitutes the Achilles' heel of this strategy. Its systematic disinvestment in higher education in recent years has yielded neither world-class research nor very many highly trained scholars, scientists or managers to sustain high-tech development.
India's main competitors - especially China but also Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea-are investing in large and differentiated higher education systems. They are providing access to large numbers of students at the bottom of the academic system while at the same time building some research-based universities that are able to compete with the world's best institutions. The recent London Times Higher Education Supplement ranking of the world's top 200 universities included three in China, three in Hong Kong, three in South Korea, one in Taiwan, and one in India. These countries are positioning themselves for leadership in the knowledge-based economies of the coming era.
There was a time when countries could achieve economic success with cheap labour and low-tech manufacturing. Low wages still help, but contemporary large-scale development requires a sophisticated and at least partly knowledge based economy. India has chosen that path, but will find a major stumbling block in its university system.
India has significant advantages in the 21st century knowledge race. It has a large higher education sector the third largest in the world in student numbers, after China and the United States. It uses English as a primary language of higher education and research. It has a long academic tradition. Academic freedom is respected.
There are a small number of high quality institutions, departments, and centres that can form the basis of quality sector in higher education. The fact that the States, rather than the Central Government, exercise major responsibility for higher education creates a rather cumbersome structure, but the system allows for a
variety of policies and approaches.
Yet the weaknesses far outweigh the strengths. India educates approximately 10 per cent of its young people in higher education compared with more than half in the major industrialised countries and 15 percent in China. Almost all of the world's academic systems resemble a pyramid, with a small high quality tier at the top and a massive sector at the bottom. India has a tiny top tier. None of its universities occupies a solid position at the top. A few of the best universities have some excellent departments and centres, and there are a small number of outstanding undergraduate colleges. The University Grants Commission's recent major support of five universities to build on their recognised strength is a step toward recognising a differentiated academic system and fostering excellence. These universities, combined, enroll well under 1 per cent of the student population.
1. Which of the following is true in the context of the passage?
(A) The top five universities in India educate more than 10 percent of the Indian student population
(B) India's higher education sector is the largest in the world
(C) In the past, countries could progress economically through low manufacturing cost as well as low wages of labourers
(D) India has recently invested heavy sums in the higher education sector leading to world class research
(E) All are true
2. What does the phrase 'Achilles' Heel' mean as used in the passage?
(A) Weakness
(B) Quickness
(C) Low Quality
(D) Nimbleness
(E) Advantage
3. Which of the following is / are India's strength / s in terms of higher education?
1. Its system of higher education allows variations.
2. Medium of instruction for most higher learning is English.
3. It has the paraphernalia, albeit small in number, to build a high quality higher educational
sector.
(A) Only 2
(B) Only 1 and 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 2 and 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
4. Which of the following are Asian countries, other than India, doing to head towards a knowledge based economy?
1. Building competitive research based universities.
2. Investing in diverse higher education systems.
3. Providing access to higher education to a select few students.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 1 and 2
(C) Only 2 and 3
(D) Only 2
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
5. Which of the following is possibly the most appropriate title for the passage?
(A) The Future of Indian Universities
(B) Methods of Overcoming the Educational Deficit in India
(C) India and the Hunt for a Knowledge Based Economy
(D) Indian Economy Versus Chinese Economy
(E) Indian Economy and its Features
6. What did India agree to do at the behest of the World Trade Organisation?
(A) It would stop manufacturing all types of pharmaceuticals
(B) It would ask its domestic pharmaceutical companies to compete with the international ones
(C) It would buy only licensed drugs from USA
(D) It would not manufacture cheap common medicines without a license
(E) None of these
7. Which of the following is / are India's weakness / es when it comes to higher education?
1. Indian universities do not have the requisite teaching faculty to cater to the needs of the higher education sector.
2. Only five Indian universities occupy the top position very strongly, in the academic pyramid, when it comes to higher education.
3. India has the least percentage of young population taking to higher education as compared to the rest of the comparable countries.
(A) Only 1 and 2 '
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 1 and 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
8. Which of the following, according to the passage, is / are needed for economic success of a country?
1. Cheap labour
2. Educated employees
3. Research institutions to cater to development.
(A) Only 1 and 2
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 2 and 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Directions-(Q. 9-12) Choose the word/ group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/ group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
9. FOSTERING
(A) Safeguarding
(B) Neglecting
(C) Sidelining
(D) Nurturing
(E) Ignoring
10. PROPEL
(A) Drive
(B) Jettison
(C) Burst
(D) Acclimatize
(E) Modify
11. MASSIVE
(A) Lump sum
(B) Strong
(C) Little
(D) Gaping
(E) Huge
12. STUMBLING BLOCK
(A) Argument
(B) Frustration
(C) Advantage
(D) Hurdle
(E) Fallout
Directions-(Q. 13-15) Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/ group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
13. CUMBERSOME
(A) Handy
(B) Manageable
(C) Breathtaking
(D) Awkward
(E) Difficult
14. RESEMBLE
(A) Against
(B) Similar to
(C) Mirror
(D) Differ from
(E) Unfavourable to
15. DIFFERENTIATED
(A) Similar
(B) Varied
(C) Harmonized
(D) Synchronized
(E) Discriminated
Directions-(Q. 16-20) Rearrange the following six sentences (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful para- graph; then answer the questions given below them.
1. Its prevalence reflects very badly on a society that is not able to stop this evil.
2. Though elimination of child labour is an impossible task considering the current socioeconomic
scenario of these poor families, the Indian government is committed to the task of ensuring that no child remains illiterate, hungry and without medical care.
3. Therefore, unless the socioeconomic status of the poor families is improved, India has to live with child
labour.
4. The members of these households have to send their children to work, even if the future of these innocent children is ruined, as that is the only choice open for them to survive in this world.
5. Child labour is, no doubt, an evil that should be done away with at the earliest.
6. But in a society where many households may have to suffer the pangs of hunger if the children are withdrawn from work, beggars can't be choosers.
16. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 1
(B) 5
(C) 3
(D) 6
(E) 4
17. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 2
(B) 1
(C) 3
(D) 6
(E) 5
18. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 1
(B) 6
(C) 4
(D) 2
(E) 3
19. Which of the following should be the FIFTH sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 5
(B) 1
(C) 6
(D) 3
(E) 4
20. Which of the following should be the SIXTH (LAST) sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 1
(B) 3
(C) 5
(D) 4
(E) 2
Directions (Q.21-35): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain, words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
It was in the offing. With shortages mounting across the board for water as they are for energy, it was only inevitable that the Central government would be stirred into starting a Bureau of Water Efficiency (BWE), much like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that was launched some years ago.
Early reports suggest that the draft norms for various sectors consuming water will be created by the BWE soon. The alarm bells have been ringing for some years now.
Water availability per capita in India has fallen from about 5 million litres in the 1950s to 1.3 million litres in 2010-that's a staggering 75 percent drop in 50 years. Nearly 60 percent of India's aquifers have slumped to critical levels in just the last 15 years. Thanks to the rate at which borewells are being plunged in every city with no law to ban such extraction, groundwater tables have depleted alarmingly.
The BEE's efforts in the last seven years have only been cosmetic. The bureau has looked at efficiency rating systems for white goods in the domestic sector and has not paid attention to the massive consumption of energy in metals manufacture, paper and textiles. These sectors are very intense in both energy and water consumption.
But very little attention has been paid to the water and energy used per tonne of steel or cement or aluminium that we buy, and without significant changes in these areas, the overall situation is unlikely to change.
Use of water is inextricably interlinked with energy. One does not exist without the other. The BWE should steer clear of the early mistakes of BEE-of focusing on the 'softer targets' in the domestic sector.
Nearly 80 per cent of fresh water is used by agriculture, with industry coming a close second. The domestic sector's consumption of fresh water is in single digit. So, the BWE's priority should be to look at measures that will get farmers and industrialists to follow good practices in water use. Water resources have to be made, by law, an indivisible national asset. The protection and withdrawal of this resource as well as its sustainable development are of general importance and, therefore, in the public interest. This will mean that individuals and organisations may own land but not water or the other resources that lie below the first 20 meters of the surface of those lands. Drilling of borewells into such 'national assets' will have to be banned, or at the very least they must be regulated. What would be more sensible for the new water bureau to do would be to look at some of the low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly, with laws that can emanate from the Centre, without the risk of either dilution or inaction from state administrations. The other tactical approach that the BWE can adopt is to devise a policy that addresses the serious water challenge in industry segments across a swathe of companies: this will be easier-than taking on the more disparate domestic sector which hurts the water crisis less than industry.
Implementing a law is more feasible when the concentration is dense and identifiable. Industry offers this advantage more than the domestic or the commercial sector of hotels and offices.
As for agriculture, though the country's water requirement is as high as 80 per cent, the growing of water within the loop in agriculture de-risks the challenge of any perceived deficit. Rice and wheat, sugarcane are crops that need water-logging, which ensures groundwater restoration. Surface water evaporation doesn't amount to any more than 7-8 per cent and only strengthens precipitation and rainfall. Agriculture and water need is not quite as much a threat as industry and domestic sectors that account for the rest of the 20 per cent.
The primary challenge in industry and the building sector is that no conscious legal measures have been enacted that stipulate 'growing your own water' with measures that will 'put all water in a loop' in any residential or commercial building. This involves treating all used water to a grade that it can be 'upcycled' for use in flush tanks and for gardens across all our cities with the polluter owning the responsibility for treating and for reuse. The drop in fresh water demand can be dramatic with such upcyole, reuse and recycle of treated water. Water by itself, in industry and the domestic sector, is not as much a challenge as pollution of water.
Not enough measures exist yet to ensure that such polluters shift the water back for reuse. If legislation can ensure that water is treated and reused for specific purposes within industry as well as in the domestic sector, this will make all the difference to the crisis on fresh water.
So is the case in industry, especially in sectors like textiles, aluminium and steel. Agriculture offers us the amusing irony of the educated urbanites dependent on cereals like rice and wheat that consume 4000 litres of water for every kilogramme, while the farmer lives on the more nutritious millets that consume less
than half the quantity. Sugarcane consumes as much as 12,000 litres of water for a kilo of cane that you buy!
A listing of such correlations of water used by every product that we use in our daily lives will make much better sense than any elaborate rating system from the newly formed BWE. Such sensitising with concerted awareness campaigns that the new Bureau drives will impact the urban consumer more than all the research findings that experts can present. What is important for us is to understand the life-cycle impact in a way that we see the connect between a product that we use and the resources it utilises up to the point where we bring the visible connect to destruction of natural resources of our ecosystems.
21. How, according to the author, can the bureau sensitise the urban consumer about careful utilisation of water?
(A) By encouraging them to consume more rice instead of millets daily and, thereby, reduce the amount of water consumption
(B) By providing them more insight into the water consumption cycle ofthe textile, aluminium and steel industries
(C) By making them aware of the linkages between water consumption for daily activities and the resource utilization and subsequent ecological destruction associated with it
(D) By publishing research findings of experts in popular media whereby people gain awareness on the impact of water misuse
(E) By conducting elaborate drives which notify the urban population about the penalties levied on misuse of water resources
22. Why, according to the author, is the water consumption for agricultural activities the least risky?
(A) The proportion of water consumed for agricultural activities is much less as compared to that consumed for domestic and industrial purposes.
(B) Most farmers are aware of the popular methods of water conservation and hence do not allow wastage
of water.
(C) Water is fairly recycled through groundwater restoration due to water-logging and surface water evaporation.
(D) Farmers in India mostly cultivate crops that require less amount of water.
(E) None of these
23. Which of the following is possibly the most appropriate title for the passage?
(A) Water Challenges in the New Millennium
(B) The Bureau of Water Efficiency vs the Bureau of Energy Efficiency
(C) Unchecked Urban Consumption of Water
(D) Challenges of the Agricultural Sector and Water Resources
(E) The Route to Conservation of Water Resources
24. What does 'low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly' mean in the context of the passage?
(A) The bureau should employ the cheapest methods possible to effectively control the current situation of improper usage of water resources.
(B) The bureau should target the industrial sector as well as the domestic sector to reduce water wastage.
(C) The bureau should target the agricultural sector only for producing quick results in reducing wastage
of water.
(D) The bureau should ensure that all the state officials concerned with the measures are actively involved.
(E) The bureau should start with adopting measures which are simple to execute and produce immediate results in reducing water wastage.
25. Which of the following, according to the author, is/are the indicationls of a water crisis?
(1) Many agrarian areas in the country are facing a drought-like situation.
(2) Almost three-fifths of the naturally available water has been reduced to a very critical level in a relatively short span of time.
(3) There has been a significant drop in the availability of water over the past fifty years.
(A) Only (B)
(B) Only (A) and (C)
(C) Only (C)
(D) Only (B) and (C)
(E) All (A), (B) and (C)
26. The author suggests that the Bureau of Water Efficiency devise a strategy or make laws to meet water challenges in the industrial segment rather than in the domestic segment because
(A) the industrial sector is the only one that is in a position to reduce its water consumption by a significant margin.
(B) there is comparatively less serious water misuse in the domestic sector.
(C) it would be easy to identify the consumption patterns in the industrial sector because of its density and visibility.
(D) the industrial sector would be capable of paying the fines levied by the Bureau for water misuse whereas the domestic sector would be in no such position.
(E) the industrial sector would be easier to manage in terms of making them understand the importance of water conservation.
27. Which of the following according to the author, is/are the step/s that the Bureau of Water Efficiency can take to ensure proper utilisation of water resources?
(1) Put in place measures that ensure proper water usage
(2) Concentrate on the water consumption patterns of the domestic sector alone
(3) Monitor carefully the activity of digging borewells
(A) Only (A) and (C)
(B) Only (A) and (B)
(C) Only (A)
(D) Only (B) and (C)
(E) All (A), (B) and (C)
28. Which of the following is true about the Bureau of Energy Efficiency in the context of the passage?
(1) It failed to pay adequate attention to industries like metal, and textiles in terms of energy consumption,
(2) It focused on rating systems for efficient use of goods in the domestic sector.
(3) It mostly focused on the energy consumption in the domestic sector.
(A) Only (A) and (C)
(B) Only (A) and (B)
(C) Only (A)
(D) Only (B) and (C)
(E) All (A), (B) and (C)
Directions (Q.29-32): Choose the word which is most similar in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
29. Cosmetic
(A) Enhancive
(B) Beauty
(C) Augmentative
(D) Superficial
(E) Aesthetic
30. Staggering
(A) Weaving
(B) Astounding
(C) Lurching
(D) Stumbling
(E) Unsteady
31. Conscious
(A) Unknown
(B) Mindful
(C) Self-aware
(D) Awake
(E) Alert
32. Dramatic
(A) Remarkable
(B) Moving
(C) Theatrical
(D) Histrionic
(E) Staged
Directions (Q.33-35): Choose the word which is in MOST OPPOSITE in meaning of the word printed in BOLD as used in the passage.
33. Intense
(A) Smooth
(B) Serious
(C) Low
(D) Diluted
(E) Jovial
34. Tactical
(A) unplanned
(B) uniform
(C) devious
(D) premeditated
(E) deformed
35. Inevitable
(A) Certain
(B) Unforeseeable
(C) Unavoidable
(D) Inescapable
(E) Predictable
Directions (36-40): Rearrange the following six sentences (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph; then answer the questions 'given below.
(A) When it comes to the number of tigers though, I think it is too small a number representing a species.
(B) These days, everywhere I go, I see hoardings saying 'Just 1411 Left'.
(C) The three being, the Caspian, Balinese and Javan.
(D) Besides the small number, we are steadily losing a fey' species of these animals as well.
(E) Normally, I would groan and grumble on seeing this figure of 1411 on my shopping bills as it sounds too much.
(F) At the end of the last century we had lost 3 out of 8 tiger species.
36. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement?
(A) A
(B) B
(C) F
(D) D
(E) E
37. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement?
(A) F
(B) D
(C) C
(D) E
(E) A
38. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement?
(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D
(E) E
39. Which of the following should be the FIFTH sentence after rearrangement?
(A) A
(B) B
(C) F
(D) D
(E) E
40. Which of the following should be the SIXTH (Last) sentence after rearrangement?
(A) E
(B) D
(C) C
(D) B
(E) A
Directions (Q. 41-45): Which of the phrases 1), 2), 3) and 4) given below each sentence should
replace the phrase printed in bold in the sentence to make it grammatically correct? If the sentence is correct as it is given and no correction is required, mark 5) as the answer.
41. Never the one to mince words when it comes speaking his mind, the captain criticised the hectic schedule of his team.
(A) comes to speaking
(B) comes and speaks
(C) comes to speak
(D) come for speak
(E) No correction required
42. Indians are far more transparent than the Americans.
(A) farther
(B) further more
(C) greater
(D) many more
(E) No correction required
43. He will not be joining the rat race, which starts around this time every year as the board exams draw a close.
(A) draw to close
(B) drawing a closure
(C) draw to a close
(D) draw a closer
(E) No correction required
44. Lights will go out around the world with hundreds of people sets to take part in the Earth Hour climate change- campaign.
(A) set to take part
(B) set to be part
(C) sets for taking part
(D) set for part
(E) No correction required
45. With nasty viral infections do the rounds in the city, you should give all it 'takes to protect yourself.
(A) coining rounds
(B) roundabout
(C) doing the rounds
(D) done rounding
(E) No correction required
Directions (Q.46-50): Each question below has two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words for each blank which best fits be meaning of the sentence as a whole.
46. Governments do not want to take a decision and resort to soft-pedalling, delay tactics and collusion, hoping that the judiciary will _____ in to relieve them of the _____ of decision-making.
(A) come, enlightenment
(B) vouch, trouble
(C) barge, pleasure
(D) step, burden
(E) vote, task
47. The most important factor is the _____ of a wealthy Indian middle class which, can now _____ to send their children abroad for education.
(A) emergence, afford
(B) advent, focus
(C) decline, manage
(D) rise, wish
(E) perception, go
48. Crores of public money is _____ on parks in the city and yet most of them are out of _____ for the public.
(A) invested, limits
(B) spent, bounds
(C) bet, reach
(D) put, areas
(E) made, boundaries
49. Rules are for those who cannot _____ them and not for the rich and influential who can _____ to ignore them.
(A) follow, demand
(B) set, opt
(C) break, suggest
(D) find, ask
(E) challenge, choose
50. Experts cannot _____ enough on the benefits of _____ more fruits and vegetables in your daily diet.
(A) pressure, involving
(B) strain, adding
(C) emphasise, contributing
(D) stress, including
(E) state, mixing
Answers:
1 (C) 26 (C)
2 (A) 27 (A)
3 (E) 28 (E)
4 (B) 29 (D)
5 (C) 30 (B)
6 (B) 31 (B)
7 (C) 32 (A)
8 (E) 33 (D)
9 (D) 34 (A)
10 (A) 35 (B)
11 (E) 36 (B)
12 (A) 37 (D)
13 (A) 38 (A)
14 (D) 39 (C)
15 (A) 40 (C)
16 (B) 41 (A)
17 (D) 42 (E)
18 (A) 43 (C)
19 (D) 44 (A)
20 (B) 45 (C)
21 (C) 46 (D)
22 (C) 47 (A)
23 (E) 48 (B)
24 (E) 49 (E)
25 (D) 50 (D)
Directions-(Q. 1-15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words / phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
India is rushing headlong towards economic success and modernization, counting on high tech industries such as information technology and biotechnology to propel the nation to prosperity. India's recent announcement that it would no longer produce unlicensed inexpensive generic pharmaceuticals bowed to the realities of the World Trade Organisation while at the same time challenging the domestic drug industry to compete with the multinational firms. Unfortunately, its weak higher education sector constitutes the Achilles' heel of this strategy. Its systematic disinvestment in higher education in recent years has yielded neither world-class research nor very many highly trained scholars, scientists or managers to sustain high-tech development.
India's main competitors - especially China but also Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea-are investing in large and differentiated higher education systems. They are providing access to large numbers of students at the bottom of the academic system while at the same time building some research-based universities that are able to compete with the world's best institutions. The recent London Times Higher Education Supplement ranking of the world's top 200 universities included three in China, three in Hong Kong, three in South Korea, one in Taiwan, and one in India. These countries are positioning themselves for leadership in the knowledge-based economies of the coming era.
There was a time when countries could achieve economic success with cheap labour and low-tech manufacturing. Low wages still help, but contemporary large-scale development requires a sophisticated and at least partly knowledge based economy. India has chosen that path, but will find a major stumbling block in its university system.
India has significant advantages in the 21st century knowledge race. It has a large higher education sector the third largest in the world in student numbers, after China and the United States. It uses English as a primary language of higher education and research. It has a long academic tradition. Academic freedom is respected.
There are a small number of high quality institutions, departments, and centres that can form the basis of quality sector in higher education. The fact that the States, rather than the Central Government, exercise major responsibility for higher education creates a rather cumbersome structure, but the system allows for a
variety of policies and approaches.
Yet the weaknesses far outweigh the strengths. India educates approximately 10 per cent of its young people in higher education compared with more than half in the major industrialised countries and 15 percent in China. Almost all of the world's academic systems resemble a pyramid, with a small high quality tier at the top and a massive sector at the bottom. India has a tiny top tier. None of its universities occupies a solid position at the top. A few of the best universities have some excellent departments and centres, and there are a small number of outstanding undergraduate colleges. The University Grants Commission's recent major support of five universities to build on their recognised strength is a step toward recognising a differentiated academic system and fostering excellence. These universities, combined, enroll well under 1 per cent of the student population.
1. Which of the following is true in the context of the passage?
(A) The top five universities in India educate more than 10 percent of the Indian student population
(B) India's higher education sector is the largest in the world
(C) In the past, countries could progress economically through low manufacturing cost as well as low wages of labourers
(D) India has recently invested heavy sums in the higher education sector leading to world class research
(E) All are true
2. What does the phrase 'Achilles' Heel' mean as used in the passage?
(A) Weakness
(B) Quickness
(C) Low Quality
(D) Nimbleness
(E) Advantage
3. Which of the following is / are India's strength / s in terms of higher education?
1. Its system of higher education allows variations.
2. Medium of instruction for most higher learning is English.
3. It has the paraphernalia, albeit small in number, to build a high quality higher educational
sector.
(A) Only 2
(B) Only 1 and 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 2 and 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
4. Which of the following are Asian countries, other than India, doing to head towards a knowledge based economy?
1. Building competitive research based universities.
2. Investing in diverse higher education systems.
3. Providing access to higher education to a select few students.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 1 and 2
(C) Only 2 and 3
(D) Only 2
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
5. Which of the following is possibly the most appropriate title for the passage?
(A) The Future of Indian Universities
(B) Methods of Overcoming the Educational Deficit in India
(C) India and the Hunt for a Knowledge Based Economy
(D) Indian Economy Versus Chinese Economy
(E) Indian Economy and its Features
6. What did India agree to do at the behest of the World Trade Organisation?
(A) It would stop manufacturing all types of pharmaceuticals
(B) It would ask its domestic pharmaceutical companies to compete with the international ones
(C) It would buy only licensed drugs from USA
(D) It would not manufacture cheap common medicines without a license
(E) None of these
7. Which of the following is / are India's weakness / es when it comes to higher education?
1. Indian universities do not have the requisite teaching faculty to cater to the needs of the higher education sector.
2. Only five Indian universities occupy the top position very strongly, in the academic pyramid, when it comes to higher education.
3. India has the least percentage of young population taking to higher education as compared to the rest of the comparable countries.
(A) Only 1 and 2 '
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 1 and 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
8. Which of the following, according to the passage, is / are needed for economic success of a country?
1. Cheap labour
2. Educated employees
3. Research institutions to cater to development.
(A) Only 1 and 2
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 2 and 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Directions-(Q. 9-12) Choose the word/ group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/ group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
9. FOSTERING
(A) Safeguarding
(B) Neglecting
(C) Sidelining
(D) Nurturing
(E) Ignoring
10. PROPEL
(A) Drive
(B) Jettison
(C) Burst
(D) Acclimatize
(E) Modify
11. MASSIVE
(A) Lump sum
(B) Strong
(C) Little
(D) Gaping
(E) Huge
12. STUMBLING BLOCK
(A) Argument
(B) Frustration
(C) Advantage
(D) Hurdle
(E) Fallout
Directions-(Q. 13-15) Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/ group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
13. CUMBERSOME
(A) Handy
(B) Manageable
(C) Breathtaking
(D) Awkward
(E) Difficult
14. RESEMBLE
(A) Against
(B) Similar to
(C) Mirror
(D) Differ from
(E) Unfavourable to
15. DIFFERENTIATED
(A) Similar
(B) Varied
(C) Harmonized
(D) Synchronized
(E) Discriminated
Directions-(Q. 16-20) Rearrange the following six sentences (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful para- graph; then answer the questions given below them.
1. Its prevalence reflects very badly on a society that is not able to stop this evil.
2. Though elimination of child labour is an impossible task considering the current socioeconomic
scenario of these poor families, the Indian government is committed to the task of ensuring that no child remains illiterate, hungry and without medical care.
3. Therefore, unless the socioeconomic status of the poor families is improved, India has to live with child
labour.
4. The members of these households have to send their children to work, even if the future of these innocent children is ruined, as that is the only choice open for them to survive in this world.
5. Child labour is, no doubt, an evil that should be done away with at the earliest.
6. But in a society where many households may have to suffer the pangs of hunger if the children are withdrawn from work, beggars can't be choosers.
16. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 1
(B) 5
(C) 3
(D) 6
(E) 4
17. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 2
(B) 1
(C) 3
(D) 6
(E) 5
18. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 1
(B) 6
(C) 4
(D) 2
(E) 3
19. Which of the following should be the FIFTH sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 5
(B) 1
(C) 6
(D) 3
(E) 4
20. Which of the following should be the SIXTH (LAST) sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 1
(B) 3
(C) 5
(D) 4
(E) 2
Directions (Q.21-35): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain, words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
It was in the offing. With shortages mounting across the board for water as they are for energy, it was only inevitable that the Central government would be stirred into starting a Bureau of Water Efficiency (BWE), much like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that was launched some years ago.
Early reports suggest that the draft norms for various sectors consuming water will be created by the BWE soon. The alarm bells have been ringing for some years now.
Water availability per capita in India has fallen from about 5 million litres in the 1950s to 1.3 million litres in 2010-that's a staggering 75 percent drop in 50 years. Nearly 60 percent of India's aquifers have slumped to critical levels in just the last 15 years. Thanks to the rate at which borewells are being plunged in every city with no law to ban such extraction, groundwater tables have depleted alarmingly.
The BEE's efforts in the last seven years have only been cosmetic. The bureau has looked at efficiency rating systems for white goods in the domestic sector and has not paid attention to the massive consumption of energy in metals manufacture, paper and textiles. These sectors are very intense in both energy and water consumption.
But very little attention has been paid to the water and energy used per tonne of steel or cement or aluminium that we buy, and without significant changes in these areas, the overall situation is unlikely to change.
Use of water is inextricably interlinked with energy. One does not exist without the other. The BWE should steer clear of the early mistakes of BEE-of focusing on the 'softer targets' in the domestic sector.
Nearly 80 per cent of fresh water is used by agriculture, with industry coming a close second. The domestic sector's consumption of fresh water is in single digit. So, the BWE's priority should be to look at measures that will get farmers and industrialists to follow good practices in water use. Water resources have to be made, by law, an indivisible national asset. The protection and withdrawal of this resource as well as its sustainable development are of general importance and, therefore, in the public interest. This will mean that individuals and organisations may own land but not water or the other resources that lie below the first 20 meters of the surface of those lands. Drilling of borewells into such 'national assets' will have to be banned, or at the very least they must be regulated. What would be more sensible for the new water bureau to do would be to look at some of the low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly, with laws that can emanate from the Centre, without the risk of either dilution or inaction from state administrations. The other tactical approach that the BWE can adopt is to devise a policy that addresses the serious water challenge in industry segments across a swathe of companies: this will be easier-than taking on the more disparate domestic sector which hurts the water crisis less than industry.
Implementing a law is more feasible when the concentration is dense and identifiable. Industry offers this advantage more than the domestic or the commercial sector of hotels and offices.
As for agriculture, though the country's water requirement is as high as 80 per cent, the growing of water within the loop in agriculture de-risks the challenge of any perceived deficit. Rice and wheat, sugarcane are crops that need water-logging, which ensures groundwater restoration. Surface water evaporation doesn't amount to any more than 7-8 per cent and only strengthens precipitation and rainfall. Agriculture and water need is not quite as much a threat as industry and domestic sectors that account for the rest of the 20 per cent.
The primary challenge in industry and the building sector is that no conscious legal measures have been enacted that stipulate 'growing your own water' with measures that will 'put all water in a loop' in any residential or commercial building. This involves treating all used water to a grade that it can be 'upcycled' for use in flush tanks and for gardens across all our cities with the polluter owning the responsibility for treating and for reuse. The drop in fresh water demand can be dramatic with such upcyole, reuse and recycle of treated water. Water by itself, in industry and the domestic sector, is not as much a challenge as pollution of water.
Not enough measures exist yet to ensure that such polluters shift the water back for reuse. If legislation can ensure that water is treated and reused for specific purposes within industry as well as in the domestic sector, this will make all the difference to the crisis on fresh water.
So is the case in industry, especially in sectors like textiles, aluminium and steel. Agriculture offers us the amusing irony of the educated urbanites dependent on cereals like rice and wheat that consume 4000 litres of water for every kilogramme, while the farmer lives on the more nutritious millets that consume less
than half the quantity. Sugarcane consumes as much as 12,000 litres of water for a kilo of cane that you buy!
A listing of such correlations of water used by every product that we use in our daily lives will make much better sense than any elaborate rating system from the newly formed BWE. Such sensitising with concerted awareness campaigns that the new Bureau drives will impact the urban consumer more than all the research findings that experts can present. What is important for us is to understand the life-cycle impact in a way that we see the connect between a product that we use and the resources it utilises up to the point where we bring the visible connect to destruction of natural resources of our ecosystems.
21. How, according to the author, can the bureau sensitise the urban consumer about careful utilisation of water?
(A) By encouraging them to consume more rice instead of millets daily and, thereby, reduce the amount of water consumption
(B) By providing them more insight into the water consumption cycle ofthe textile, aluminium and steel industries
(C) By making them aware of the linkages between water consumption for daily activities and the resource utilization and subsequent ecological destruction associated with it
(D) By publishing research findings of experts in popular media whereby people gain awareness on the impact of water misuse
(E) By conducting elaborate drives which notify the urban population about the penalties levied on misuse of water resources
22. Why, according to the author, is the water consumption for agricultural activities the least risky?
(A) The proportion of water consumed for agricultural activities is much less as compared to that consumed for domestic and industrial purposes.
(B) Most farmers are aware of the popular methods of water conservation and hence do not allow wastage
of water.
(C) Water is fairly recycled through groundwater restoration due to water-logging and surface water evaporation.
(D) Farmers in India mostly cultivate crops that require less amount of water.
(E) None of these
23. Which of the following is possibly the most appropriate title for the passage?
(A) Water Challenges in the New Millennium
(B) The Bureau of Water Efficiency vs the Bureau of Energy Efficiency
(C) Unchecked Urban Consumption of Water
(D) Challenges of the Agricultural Sector and Water Resources
(E) The Route to Conservation of Water Resources
24. What does 'low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly' mean in the context of the passage?
(A) The bureau should employ the cheapest methods possible to effectively control the current situation of improper usage of water resources.
(B) The bureau should target the industrial sector as well as the domestic sector to reduce water wastage.
(C) The bureau should target the agricultural sector only for producing quick results in reducing wastage
of water.
(D) The bureau should ensure that all the state officials concerned with the measures are actively involved.
(E) The bureau should start with adopting measures which are simple to execute and produce immediate results in reducing water wastage.
25. Which of the following, according to the author, is/are the indicationls of a water crisis?
(1) Many agrarian areas in the country are facing a drought-like situation.
(2) Almost three-fifths of the naturally available water has been reduced to a very critical level in a relatively short span of time.
(3) There has been a significant drop in the availability of water over the past fifty years.
(A) Only (B)
(B) Only (A) and (C)
(C) Only (C)
(D) Only (B) and (C)
(E) All (A), (B) and (C)
26. The author suggests that the Bureau of Water Efficiency devise a strategy or make laws to meet water challenges in the industrial segment rather than in the domestic segment because
(A) the industrial sector is the only one that is in a position to reduce its water consumption by a significant margin.
(B) there is comparatively less serious water misuse in the domestic sector.
(C) it would be easy to identify the consumption patterns in the industrial sector because of its density and visibility.
(D) the industrial sector would be capable of paying the fines levied by the Bureau for water misuse whereas the domestic sector would be in no such position.
(E) the industrial sector would be easier to manage in terms of making them understand the importance of water conservation.
27. Which of the following according to the author, is/are the step/s that the Bureau of Water Efficiency can take to ensure proper utilisation of water resources?
(1) Put in place measures that ensure proper water usage
(2) Concentrate on the water consumption patterns of the domestic sector alone
(3) Monitor carefully the activity of digging borewells
(A) Only (A) and (C)
(B) Only (A) and (B)
(C) Only (A)
(D) Only (B) and (C)
(E) All (A), (B) and (C)
28. Which of the following is true about the Bureau of Energy Efficiency in the context of the passage?
(1) It failed to pay adequate attention to industries like metal, and textiles in terms of energy consumption,
(2) It focused on rating systems for efficient use of goods in the domestic sector.
(3) It mostly focused on the energy consumption in the domestic sector.
(A) Only (A) and (C)
(B) Only (A) and (B)
(C) Only (A)
(D) Only (B) and (C)
(E) All (A), (B) and (C)
Directions (Q.29-32): Choose the word which is most similar in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
29. Cosmetic
(A) Enhancive
(B) Beauty
(C) Augmentative
(D) Superficial
(E) Aesthetic
30. Staggering
(A) Weaving
(B) Astounding
(C) Lurching
(D) Stumbling
(E) Unsteady
31. Conscious
(A) Unknown
(B) Mindful
(C) Self-aware
(D) Awake
(E) Alert
32. Dramatic
(A) Remarkable
(B) Moving
(C) Theatrical
(D) Histrionic
(E) Staged
Directions (Q.33-35): Choose the word which is in MOST OPPOSITE in meaning of the word printed in BOLD as used in the passage.
33. Intense
(A) Smooth
(B) Serious
(C) Low
(D) Diluted
(E) Jovial
34. Tactical
(A) unplanned
(B) uniform
(C) devious
(D) premeditated
(E) deformed
35. Inevitable
(A) Certain
(B) Unforeseeable
(C) Unavoidable
(D) Inescapable
(E) Predictable
Directions (36-40): Rearrange the following six sentences (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph; then answer the questions 'given below.
(A) When it comes to the number of tigers though, I think it is too small a number representing a species.
(B) These days, everywhere I go, I see hoardings saying 'Just 1411 Left'.
(C) The three being, the Caspian, Balinese and Javan.
(D) Besides the small number, we are steadily losing a fey' species of these animals as well.
(E) Normally, I would groan and grumble on seeing this figure of 1411 on my shopping bills as it sounds too much.
(F) At the end of the last century we had lost 3 out of 8 tiger species.
36. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement?
(A) A
(B) B
(C) F
(D) D
(E) E
37. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement?
(A) F
(B) D
(C) C
(D) E
(E) A
38. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement?
(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D
(E) E
39. Which of the following should be the FIFTH sentence after rearrangement?
(A) A
(B) B
(C) F
(D) D
(E) E
40. Which of the following should be the SIXTH (Last) sentence after rearrangement?
(A) E
(B) D
(C) C
(D) B
(E) A
Directions (Q. 41-45): Which of the phrases 1), 2), 3) and 4) given below each sentence should
replace the phrase printed in bold in the sentence to make it grammatically correct? If the sentence is correct as it is given and no correction is required, mark 5) as the answer.
41. Never the one to mince words when it comes speaking his mind, the captain criticised the hectic schedule of his team.
(A) comes to speaking
(B) comes and speaks
(C) comes to speak
(D) come for speak
(E) No correction required
42. Indians are far more transparent than the Americans.
(A) farther
(B) further more
(C) greater
(D) many more
(E) No correction required
43. He will not be joining the rat race, which starts around this time every year as the board exams draw a close.
(A) draw to close
(B) drawing a closure
(C) draw to a close
(D) draw a closer
(E) No correction required
44. Lights will go out around the world with hundreds of people sets to take part in the Earth Hour climate change- campaign.
(A) set to take part
(B) set to be part
(C) sets for taking part
(D) set for part
(E) No correction required
45. With nasty viral infections do the rounds in the city, you should give all it 'takes to protect yourself.
(A) coining rounds
(B) roundabout
(C) doing the rounds
(D) done rounding
(E) No correction required
Directions (Q.46-50): Each question below has two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words for each blank which best fits be meaning of the sentence as a whole.
46. Governments do not want to take a decision and resort to soft-pedalling, delay tactics and collusion, hoping that the judiciary will _____ in to relieve them of the _____ of decision-making.
(A) come, enlightenment
(B) vouch, trouble
(C) barge, pleasure
(D) step, burden
(E) vote, task
47. The most important factor is the _____ of a wealthy Indian middle class which, can now _____ to send their children abroad for education.
(A) emergence, afford
(B) advent, focus
(C) decline, manage
(D) rise, wish
(E) perception, go
48. Crores of public money is _____ on parks in the city and yet most of them are out of _____ for the public.
(A) invested, limits
(B) spent, bounds
(C) bet, reach
(D) put, areas
(E) made, boundaries
49. Rules are for those who cannot _____ them and not for the rich and influential who can _____ to ignore them.
(A) follow, demand
(B) set, opt
(C) break, suggest
(D) find, ask
(E) challenge, choose
50. Experts cannot _____ enough on the benefits of _____ more fruits and vegetables in your daily diet.
(A) pressure, involving
(B) strain, adding
(C) emphasise, contributing
(D) stress, including
(E) state, mixing
Answers:
1 (C) 26 (C)
2 (A) 27 (A)
3 (E) 28 (E)
4 (B) 29 (D)
5 (C) 30 (B)
6 (B) 31 (B)
7 (C) 32 (A)
8 (E) 33 (D)
9 (D) 34 (A)
10 (A) 35 (B)
11 (E) 36 (B)
12 (A) 37 (D)
13 (A) 38 (A)
14 (D) 39 (C)
15 (A) 40 (C)
16 (B) 41 (A)
17 (D) 42 (E)
18 (A) 43 (C)
19 (D) 44 (A)
20 (B) 45 (C)
21 (C) 46 (D)
22 (C) 47 (A)
23 (E) 48 (B)
24 (E) 49 (E)
25 (D) 50 (D)
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