1
UPSC Civil Service Prelims Paper II 2022 (CSAT)
MCQ (Single Correct Answer)
+2.5
-0.83
Change Language

Read the following passage and answer the items that follow the passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only.

In some places in the world, the productivity of staples such as rice and wheat has reached a plateau. Neither new strains nor fancy agrochemicals are raising the yields. Nor is there much unfarmed land left that is suitable to be brought under the plough. If global temperature continues to rise, some places will become unsuitable for farming. Application of technology can help overcome these problems. Agricultural technology is changing fast. Much of this change is brought about by affluent farmers in the West/Americas. Techniques developed in the West are being adapted in some places to make tropical crops more productive. Technology is of little use if it is not adapted. In the developing world, that applies as much to existing farming techniques as it does to the latest advances in genetic modification. Extending to the smallholders and subsistence farmers of Africa and Asia the best of today's agricultural practices, in such simple matters as how much fertilizers to apply and when, would lead to a greatly increased availability of food for humanity. So would things like better roads and storage facilities, to allow for the carriage of surpluses to markets and reduce wastage.

Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :

1. Poor countries need to bring about change in their existing farming techniques.

2. Developed countries have better infrastructure and they waste less food.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

A
1 only
B
2 only
C
Both 1 and 2
D
Neither 1 nor 2
2
UPSC Civil Service Prelims Paper II 2022 (CSAT)
MCQ (Single Correct Answer)
+2.5
-0.83
Change Language

Read the following passage and answer the items that follow the passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only.

In some places in the world, the productivity of staples such as rice and wheat has reached a plateau. Neither new strains nor fancy agrochemicals are raising the yields. Nor is there much unfarmed land left that is suitable to be brought under the plough. If global temperature continues to rise, some places will become unsuitable for farming. Application of technology can help overcome these problems. Agricultural technology is changing fast. Much of this change is brought about by affluent farmers in the West/Americas. Techniques developed in the West are being adapted in some places to make tropical crops more productive. Technology is of little use if it is not adapted. In the developing world, that applies as much to existing farming techniques as it does to the latest advances in genetic modification. Extending to the smallholders and subsistence farmers of Africa and Asia the best of today's agricultural practices, in such simple matters as how much fertilizers to apply and when, would lead to a greatly increased availability of food for humanity. So would things like better roads and storage facilities, to allow for the carriage of surpluses to markets and reduce wastage.

Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

1. Growing enough food for future generations will be a challenge.

2. Corporate farming is a viable option for food security in poor countries.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

A
1 only
B
2 only
C
Both 1 and 2
D
Neither 1 nor 2
3
UPSC Civil Service Prelims Paper II 2022 (CSAT)
MCQ (Single Correct Answer)
+2.5
-0.83
Change Language

Read the following passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Natural selection cannot anticipate future environments on the earth. Therefore, the set of existing organisms can never be fully prepared for environmental catastrophes that await life. An outcome of this is the extinction of those species which cannot overcome environmental adversity. This failure to survive, in modern terms, can be attributed to the genomes which are unable to withstand geological vagaries or biological mishaps (infections, diseases and so on). In biological evolution on the earth, extinction of species has been a major feature. The earth may presently have up to ten million species, yet more than 90% of species that have ever lived on the earth are now extinct. Once again, the creationist doctrines fail to satisfactorily address why a divine creator will firstly bother to create millions of species and then allow them to perish. The Darwinian explanation for extinct life is once again simple, elegant and at once convincing–organisms go extinct as a function of environmental or biological assaults for which their inheritance deems them ill-equipped. Therefore, the so-called Darwinian theory of evolution is not a theory at all. Evolution happens-this is a fact. The mechanism of evolution (Darwin proposed natural selection) is amply supported by scientific data. Indeed, to date no single zoological, botanical, geological, paleontological, genetic or physical evidence has refuted either of the central two main Darwinian ideas. If religion is not taken into consideration, Darwinian laws are acceptable just like the laws proposed by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and Einstein–sets of natural laws that explain natural phenomena in the universe.

According to the passage, natural selection cannot anticipate future environments on the earth as

1. species not fully prepared to face the environmental changes that await them will face extinction

2. all the existing species would get extinct as their genomes will not withstand biological mishaps

3. inability of the genome to withstand environmental changes would result in extinction

4. extinction of species is a common feature

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

A
1, 2 and 3
B
2, 3 and 4
C
1, 3 and 4
D
1, 2 and 4
4
UPSC Civil Service Prelims Paper II 2022 (CSAT)
MCQ (Single Correct Answer)
+2.5
-0.83
Change Language

Read the following passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Natural selection cannot anticipate future environments on the earth. Therefore, the set of existing organisms can never be fully prepared for environmental catastrophes that await life. An outcome of this is the extinction of those species which cannot overcome environmental adversity. This failure to survive, in modern terms, can be attributed to the genomes which are unable to withstand geological vagaries or biological mishaps (infections, diseases and so on). In biological evolution on the earth, extinction of species has been a major feature. The earth may presently have up to ten million species, yet more than 90% of species that have ever lived on the earth are now extinct. Once again, the creationist doctrines fail to satisfactorily address why a divine creator will firstly bother to create millions of species and then allow them to perish. The Darwinian explanation for extinct life is once again simple, elegant and at once convincing–organisms go extinct as a function of environmental or biological assaults for which their inheritance deems them ill-equipped. Therefore, the so-called Darwinian theory of evolution is not a theory at all. Evolution happens-this is a fact. The mechanism of evolution (Darwin proposed natural selection) is amply supported by scientific data. Indeed, to date no single zoological, botanical, geological, paleontological, genetic or physical evidence has refuted either of the central two main Darwinian ideas. If religion is not taken into consideration, Darwinian laws are acceptable just like the laws proposed by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and Einstein–sets of natural laws that explain natural phenomena in the universe.

The passage suggests that Darwinian theory of evolution is not a theory at all because
A
it does not satisfy the creationist doctrine
B
extinction is a function of environment and biological assaults
C
there are no evidences to refute it
D
existence of organisms is attributed to a creator
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