Verbal Ability · Comprehension · UPSC Civil Service

Which of the following statements best reflect the most logical and rational inferences that can be made from the passage?

1. The current methods of food distribution are solely responsible for the loss and wastage of food.

2. Land productivity is adversely affected by the prevailing trend of food loss and wastage.

3. Reduction in the loss and wastage of food results in lesser carbon footprint.

4. Post-harvest technologies to prevent or reduce the loss and wastage of food are not available.

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

1. The food distribution mechanism needs to be reimagined and made effective to reduce the loss and wastage of food.

2. Ensuring the reduction of wastage and loss of food is a social and moral responsibility of all citizens.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are valid?

Which of the following statements best reflects/reflect the most logical and rational inference/inferences that can be made from the passage?

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

1. Fiscal policies of governments are solely responsible for higher prices.

2. Higher prices do not affect the long-term government bonds.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are valid?

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?

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

1. India needs a new generation of urban professionals with knowledge relevant to modern urban practice.

2. Indian universities at present have no capacity or potential to impart training in systems approach.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct?

Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea of the above passage?

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

1. Internet is not inclusive enough.

2. Internet can adversely affect the quality of politics in a country.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are valid?

Which one of the following statements best reflects the thinking of the author about the science?

Which of the following is/are emphatically conveyed by the author of the passage?

1. Without science, mankind could not have continued to exist till today.
2. It is the science that will ultimately determine the destiny of mankind.

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

1. The horrors of modern life are the inevitable result of the progress of science.
2. The aspect of truth likely to be overlooked is that science is what man has made it.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct?

When we meet other people while we travel, we learn to differentiate between

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :

1. Travel leads to an understanding of humans.

2. Travel helps those who wish to learn fundamental common values.

3. A person with long experience in travel can resolve differences amongst people.

Which of the assumptions given above are valid?

Which of the following statements best reflects/reflect the most logical and rational inference/inferences that can be made from the passage?

1. In conventional classroom learning, the central goal is duration of learning rather than attainment of competency.

2. Conventional classrooms encourage one-size-fits-all approach and stamp out all differentiation.

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

1. As a large number of workers in our country are employed in unorganized sector, India does not need to change its present conventional classroom system of education.

2. Even with its present conventional classroom system of education, India produces sufficient number of skilled workers to fully realize the benefits of demographic dividend.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are valid?

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

1. The adolescent does not feel comfortable with his parents because they tend to be dominating and assertive.

2. The adolescent of modern times does not have much respect for parents.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are valid?

Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea of the above passage?

(a) Parents in general may not be of much help when children are on their way to becoming adults.

(b) When children reach adolescence, involvement of parents in their lives is unnecessary.

(c) Modern-day nuclear families are not capable of bringing up children properly.

(d) In modern societies, adolescents tend to be stubborn, disobedient and careless.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical, rational and practical suggestion implied by the passage?

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

1. Giant icebergs have a bearing on primary productivity and food chains of the Southern Ocean.

2. Melting of giant icebergs can produce climate change effects and impact world fisheries.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are valid?

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical, rational and practical message conveyed by the passage?

Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the above passage?

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical and rational message conveyed by the above passage?

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

1. The author of the passage believes that flowers are creations of Nature’s luxury.

2. The author of the passage does not believe in the usefulness of flowers except as things of beauty.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are valid?

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

1. Collection, processing and segregation of municipal waste should be with government agencies.

2. Resource recovery and recycling require technological inputs that can be best handled by private sector enterprises.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct?

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

1. Organic farming is inherently unsafe for both farmers and consumers.

2. Farmers and consumers need to be educated about eco-friendly food.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct ?

Food consumption patterns have changed substantially in India over the past few decades. This has resulted in the disappearance of many nutritious foods such as millets. While food grain production has increased over five times since independence, it has not sufficiently addressed the issue of malnutrition. For long, the agriculture sector focussed on increasing food production particularly staples, which led to lower production and consumption of indigenous traditional crops/grains, fruits and other vegetables, impacting food and nutrition security in the process. Further, intensive, monoculture agriculture practices can perpetuate the food and nutrition security problem by degrading the quality of land, water and food derived through them.

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

1. To implement the Sustainable Development Goals and to achieve zero-hunger goal, monoculture agriculture practices are inevitable even if they do not address malnutrition.

2. Dependence on a few crops has negative consequences for human health and the ecosystem.

3. Government policies regarding food planning need to incorporate nutritional security.

4. For the present monoculture agriculture practices, farmers receive subsidies in various ways and government offers remunerative prices for grains and therefore they do not tend to consider crop diversity.

Which of the above assumptions are valid?

Scientists studied the vernal window transition period from winter to the growing season. They found that warmer winters with less snow resulted in a longer lag time between spring events and a more protracted vernal window. This change in the spring timetable has ecological, social and economic consequences for agriculture, fisheries and tourism. As the ice melts earlier, the birds don't return, causing a delay, or lengthening in springtime ecological events.

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

1. Global warming is causing spring to come early and for longer durations.

2. Early spring and longer period of spring is not good for bird populations.

Which of the above assumptions is/are correct?

A global analysis of nitrogen use efficiency a measure of the amount of nitrogen a plant takes in to grow versus what is left behind as pollution says that using too much fertilizers will lead to increased pollution of waterways and the air. Currently, the global average for nitrogen use efficiency is approximately 0.4, meaning 40 per cent of the total nitrogen added to cropland goes into the harvested crop while 60 per cent is lost to the environment, says a study. More than half of the world's population is nourished by food grown with fertilizers containing synthetic nitrogen, which is needed to produce high crop yields. Plants take the nitrogen they need to grow, and the excess is left in the ground, water and air. This results in significant emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse and ozone depleting gas, and other forms of nitrogen pollution, including eutrophication of lakes and rivers and contamination of river water.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical, rational and crucial message implied by the passage?

Along with sustainable lifestyles, climate justice is regarded as a significant principle in environmental parlance. Both the principles have bearings on political and economic choices of the nation. So far, in our climate change summits or compacts, both the principles have eluded consensus among nations. Justice, in the judicial sense, is well defined. However, in the context of climate change, it has scientific as well as socio-political connotations. The crucial question in the next few years will be how resources, technologies and regulations are used to support the victims of climate change. Justice in climate is not confined to actions relating to mitigation, but includes the wider notion of support for adaptation to climate change and compensation for loss and damage.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical, rational and crucial message conveyed by the passage?

Sourcing food from non-agricultural lands (uncultivated systems such as forests, wetlands, pastures, etc) in addition to agricultural lands enables a systemic approach to food consumption. It allows rural and tribal communities to sustain themselves for the whole year and steer clear of natural disasters and season-induced shortfalls of agricultural food. Since the productivity of trees is often more resilient to adverse weather conditions than annual crops, forest foods often provide a safety net during periods of food shortages caused by crop failure; forest foods also make important contributions during seasonal crop production gaps.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical and rational message conveyed by the author of the passage?

While awareness on use/misuse and abuse of antibiotics is common knowledge, as is the impact of dosing poultry with antibiotics, the environmental impact of antibiotics-manufacturing companies not treating their waste has scarcely been discussed at any length or seriousness thus far. Pollution from antibiotics factories is fuelling the rise of drug-resistant infections. The occurrence of drug-resistant bacteria surrounding the pharma manufacturing plants is well known.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical and practical message conveyed by the passage?

Benefits of good quality school education accrue only when students complete and leave school after having acquired the gateway skills. Like one learns to walk before running, similarly one picks up advanced skills only after picking the basic foundational skills. The advent of the knowledge economy poses new challenges, and one of the severe consequences of having an uneducated workforce will be our inability to keep pace with the global economy. Without a strong learning foundation at the primary level, there can be no improvement in higher education or skill development.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage?

The paradox of choice is illustrated by the story of Buridan's ass. Jean Buridan, the 14^th century philosopher, wrote about free will and the inability to choose due to numerous choices and uncertainties. In the story, a donkey stands between two equally appealing stacks of hay. Unable to decide which to eat, it starves to death. Changes in technology and innovations such as smart phones and tablets only exacerbate our glut of choices. Constant connectivity and overconsumption of real-time data and social media can leave little room for self-reflection and rest, making decisions more difficult. Life is about choices. Many people are overwhelmed with attractive life choices, yet find themselves unhappy and anxious.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical message implied by the above passage?

Household finance in India is unique. We have a tendency to invest heavily in physical assets such as gold and property. Steps to encourage the financialization of savings are critical. A populace accustomed to traditional processes will not simply jump into financialization. Hurdles to change include onerous bureaucracy, a scepticism of organized financial institutions, a lack of basic information about which of the myriad basic information about which of the myriad services and providers is best for each family, and how (and even if) one can make the transition between them if necessary.

Regarding the financialization of household savings, which of the following statements best reflect the solutions that are implied by the passage?

1. A flexible environment is needed to develop solutions.

2. Households need customised solutions.

3. Innovations in financial technology are required.

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Pharmaceutical patents grant protection to the patentee for the duration of the patent term. The patentees enjoy the liberty to determine the prices of medicines, which is time-limited to the period of monopoly, but could be unaffordable to the public. Such patent protection offered to the patentees is believed to benefit the public over the longer term through innovations and research and development (R&D), although it comes at a cost, in the nature of higher prices for the patented medicine. The patent regime and price protection - through a legally validated high price for the medicine during the currency of the patent - provide the patentee with a legitimate mechanism to get returns on the costs incurred in innovation and research.

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

1. Patent protection given to patentees puts a huge burden on public's purchasing power in accessing patented medicines.

2. Dependence on other countries for pharmaceutical products is a huge burden for developing and poor countries.

3. Providing medicines to the public at affordable prices is a key goal during the public health policy design in many countries.

4. Governments need to find an appropriate balance between the rights of patentees and the requirements of the patients.

Which of the above assumptions are valid?

India should ensure the growth of the digital economy while keeping personal data of citizens secure and protected. No one will innovate in a surveillance-oriented environment or in a place where an individual's personal information is compromised. The ultimate control of data must reside with the individuals who generate it; they should be enabled to use, restrict or monetise it as they wish. Therefore, data protection laws should enable the right kind of innovation - one that is user-centric and privacy protecting.

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

1. Protection of privacy is not just a right, but it has value to the economy.

2. There is a fundamental link between privacy and innovation.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

In India, while the unemployment rate is a frequently used measure of poor performance of the economy, under conditions of rising school and college enrolment, it paints an inaccurate picture. The reported unemployment rate is dominated by the experience of younger Indians who face higher employment challenges and exhibit greater willingness to wait for the right job than their older peers. The unemployment challenge is greater for people with secondary or higher education, and rising education levels inflate unemployment challenges.

Which one of the following statements most likely reflects as to what the author of the passage intends to say?

"Science by itself is not enough, there must be a force and discipline outside the sciences to coordinate them and point to a goal. It is not possible to run a course aright when the goal itself has not been rightly placed. What science needs is philosophy the analysis of scientific method and the coordination of scientific purposes and results; without this, any science must be superficial. Government suffers, precisely like science, for lack of philosophy. Philosophy bears to science the same relationship which statesmanship bears to politics : movement guided by total knowledge and perspective, as against aimless and individual seeking. Just as the pursuit of knowledge becomes scholasticism when divorced from the actual needs of men and life, so the pursuit of politics becomes a destructive bedlam when divorced from science and philosophy."

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most rational, logical and practical message conveyed by the passage?

"The last end of the state is not to dominate men, nor to restrain them by fear; rather it is so to free each man from fear that he may live and act with full security and without injury to himself or his neighbour. The end of the state, I repeat, is not to make rational beings into brute beasts and machines. It is to enable their bodies and their minds to function safely. It is to lead men to live by, and to exercise, a free reason; that they may not waste their strength in hatred, anger and guile, nor act unfairly toward one another."

Based on the above passage, which one of the following terms best expresses the ultimate goal of the state?

Unsustainability in production pattern is due to which of the following ?

1. Heavy dependence on fossil fuels

2. Limited availability of resources 

3. Expansion of recycling

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Consider the following statements :

Developed countries can support developing countries' transition to sustainable human development by

1. making clean energy sources available at low cost

2. providing loans for improving their public transport at nominal interest rates

3. encouraging them to change their production and consumption patterns

Which of the statements given above is / are correct?

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

Unless the forces and tendencies which are responsible for destroying the country's environment are checked in the near future and afforestation of denuded areas is taken up on a massive scale, the harshness of the climatic conditions and soil erosion by wind and water will increase to such an extent that agriculture, which is the mainstay of our people, will gradually become impossible. The desert countries of the world and our own desert areas in Rajasthan are a grim reminder of the consequences of large-scale deforestation. Pockets of desert-like landscape are now appearing in other parts of the country including the Sutlej-Ganga Plains and the Deccan Plateau. Where only a few decades back there used to be lush green forests with perennial streams and springs, there is only brown earth, bare of vegetation, without any water in the streams and springs except in the rainy season.

According to the passage given above, deforestation and denudation will ultimately lead to which of the following?

1. Depletion of soil resource

2. Shortage of land for the common man

3. Lack of water for cultivation

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

"In simple matters like shoe-making, we think only a specially trained person will serve our purpose, but in politics, we presume that everyone who knows how to get votes knows how to administer a State. When we are ill, we call for a trained physician, whose degree is a guarantee of specific preparation and technical competence–we do not ask for the handsomest physician, or the most eloquent one : well then, when the whole State is ill should we not look for the service and guidance of the wisest and the best?"

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

The poverty line is quite unsatisfactory when it comes to grasping the extent of poverty in India. It is not only because of its extremely narrow definition of 'who is poor' and the debatable methodology used to count the poor, but also because of a more fundamental assumption underlying it. It exclusively relies on the notion of poverty as insufficient income or insufficient purchasing power. One can better categorize it by calling it income poverty. If poverty is ultimately about deprivations affecting human well-being, then income poverty is only one aspect of it. Poverty of a life, in our view, lies not merely in the impoverished state in which the person actually lives, but also in the lack of real opportunity given by social constraints as well as personal circumstances–to choose other types of living. Even the relevance of low incomes, meagre possessions, and other aspects of what are standardly seen as economic poverty relate ultimately to their role in curtailing capabilities, i.e., their role in severely restricting the choices people have to lead variable and valued lives.

Why is the methodology adopted in India to count the 'poor' debatable?

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

The poverty line is quite unsatisfactory when it comes to grasping the extent of poverty in India. It is not only because of its extremely narrow definition of 'who is poor' and the debatable methodology used to count the poor, but also because of a more fundamental assumption underlying it. It exclusively relies on the notion of poverty as insufficient income or insufficient purchasing power. One can better categorize it by calling it income poverty. If poverty is ultimately about deprivations affecting human well-being, then income poverty is only one aspect of it. Poverty of a life, in our view, lies not merely in the impoverished state in which the person actually lives, but also in the lack of real opportunity given by social constraints as well as personal circumstances–to choose other types of living. Even the relevance of low incomes, meagre possessions, and other aspects of what are standardly seen as economic poverty relate ultimately to their role in curtailing capabilities, i.e., their role in severely restricting the choices people have to lead variable and valued lives.

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

The poverty line is quite unsatisfactory when it comes to grasping the extent of poverty in India. It is not only because of its extremely narrow definition of 'who is poor' and the debatable methodology used to count the poor, but also because of a more fundamental assumption underlying it. It exclusively relies on the notion of poverty as insufficient income or insufficient purchasing power. One can better categorize it by calling it income poverty. If poverty is ultimately about deprivations affecting human well-being, then income poverty is only one aspect of it. Poverty of a life, in our view, lies not merely in the impoverished state in which the person actually lives, but also in the lack of real opportunity given by social constraints as well as personal circumstances–to choose other types of living. Even the relevance of low incomes, meagre possessions, and other aspects of what are standardly seen as economic poverty relate ultimately to their role in curtailing capabilities, i.e., their role in severely restricting the choices people have to lead variable and valued lives.

What does the author mean by 'poverty of a life'?

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

1. Development of agricultural technology is confined to developed countries.

2. Agricultural technology is not adapted in developing countries.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

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?

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?

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

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With reference to the passage, the following assumptions have been made:

1. Only species that have the ability to overcome environmental catastrophes will survive and perpetuate.

2. More than 90% of the species on the earth are in the danger of getting extinct due to drastic changes in the environment.

3. Darwin's theory explains all the natural phenomena.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

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

With steady economic growth, higher literacy and increasing skill levels, the number of Indian middle-class families has gone up exponentially. Direct results of the affluence have been changes in dietary patterns and energy consumption levels. People have moved to a higher protein-based diet like milk products, fish and meat, all of which need significantly more water to produce than cereal-based diets. Increasing use of electronic and electric machines/gadgets and motor vehicles needs more and more energy and generation of energy needs water.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage?

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

For two or three generations past, ever-increasing numbers of individuals have been living as workers merely, not as human beings. An excessive amount of labour is rule today in every circle of society, with the result that man's spiritual element cannot thrive. He finds it very difficult to spend his little leisure in serious activities. He does not want to think; or he cannot even if he wants to. He seeks not self-improvement, but entertainment which would enable him to be mentally idle and to forget his usual activities. Therefore, the so-called culture of our age is dependant more on cinema than on theatre, more on newspapers, magazines and crime stories than on serious literature.

The passage is based on the idea that, 

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

For two or three generations past, ever- increasing numbers of individuals have been living as workers merely, not as human beings. An excessive amount of labour is rule today in every circle of society, with the result that man's spiritual element cannot thrive. He finds it very difficult to spend his little leisure in serious activities. He does not want to think; or he cannot even if he wants to. He seeks not self-improvement, but entertainment which would enable him to be mentally idle and to forget his usual activities. Therefore, the so-called culture of our age is dependant more on cinema than on theatre, more on newspapers, magazines and crime stories than on serious literature.

Man does not seek self-improvement because he

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

The demographic dividend, which has begun in India and is expected to last another few decades, is a great window of opportunity. The demographic dividend is basically a swelling in the working age population, which conversely means that the relative ratio of very young and very old will, for a while, be on the decline. From the experience of Ireland and China, we know that this can be a source of energy and an engine of economic growth. The demographic dividend tends to raise a nation's savings rate since in any nation, it is the working age population that is the main saver. And since the savings rate is an important driver of growth, this should help elevate our growth rate. However, the benefits of demographic dividend depend on the quality of the working age population. And this implies bringing back the importance of education, acquisition of skills and human capital.

Which of the following would invariably happen in a country, when the demographic dividend has begun to operate?

1. The number of illiterate people will decrease.

2. The ratio of very old and very young will decrease for a while.

3. Population growth rate will quickly stabilize.

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

The demographic dividend, which has begun in India and is expected to last another few decades, is a great window of opportunity. The demographic dividend is basically a swelling in the working age population, which conversely means that the relative ratio of very young and very old will, for a while, be on the decline. From the experience of Ireland and China, we know that this can be a source of energy and an engine of economic growth. The demographic dividend tends to raise a nation's savings rate since in any nation, it is the working age population that is the main saver. And since the savings rate is an important driver of growth, this should help elevate our growth rate. However, the benefits of demographic dividend depend on the quality of the working age population. And this implies bringing back the importance of education, acquisition of skills and human capital.

With reference to the passage, which of the following inferences can be drawn?

1. Demographic dividend is an essential condition for a country to rapidly increase its economic growth rate.

2. Promotion of higher education is an essential condition for a country for its rapid economic growth.

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

In an economic organization, allowing mankind to benefit by the productivity of machines should lead to a very good life of leisure, and much leisure is apt to be tedious except to those who have intelligent activities and interests. If a leisured population is to be happy, it must be an educated population, and must be educated with a view to enjoyment as well as to the direct usefulness of technical knowledge.

Which of the following statements best reflects the underlying tone of the passage?

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

If presents bring less thrill now that we are grown up, perhaps it is because we have too much already; or perhaps it is because we have lost the fullness of the joy of giving, and with it the fullness of the joy of receiving. Children's fears are poignant, their miseries are acute, but they do not look too forward nor too far backward. Their joys are clear and complete, because they have not yet learnt always to add 'but' to every proposition. Perhaps we are too cautious, too anxious, too sceptical. Perhaps some of our cares would shrink if we thought less about them and entered with more single- minded enjoyment into the happiness that come our way.

With reference to the passage, which one of the following statements is correct?

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

If presents bring less thrill now that we are grown up, perhaps it is because we have too much already; or perhaps it is because we have lost the fullness of the joy of giving, and with it the fullness of the joy of receiving. Children's fears are poignant, their miseries are acute, but they do not look too forward nor too far backward. Their joys are clear and complete, because they have not yet learnt always to add 'but' to every proposition. Perhaps we are too cautious, too anxious, too sceptical. Perhaps some of our cares would shrink if we thought less about them and entered with more single- minded enjoyment into the happiness that come our way.

The author of the passage is against

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

"The social order is a sacred right which is the basis of all other rights. Nevertheless, this right does not come from nature, and must therefore be founded on conventions."

With reference to the above passage, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Conventions are the sources of rights of man.

2. Rights of man can be exercised only when there is a social order.

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

How best can the problems of floods and droughts be addressed so that the losses are minimal and the system becomes resilient? In this context, one important point that needs to be noted is that India gets 'too much' water (about 75% of annual precipitation) during 120 days (June to September) and 'too little' for the remaining 245 days. This skewed water availability has to be managed and regulated for its consumption throughout the year.

Which one of the following best reflects the practical, rational and lasting solution?

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

India faces a challenging immediate future in energy and climate policy-making. The problems are multiple: sputtering fossil fuel production capabilities; limited access to electricity and modern cooking fuel for the poorest; rising fuel imports in an unstable global energy context; continued electricity pricing and governance challenges leading to its costly deficits or surplus supply; and not least, growing environmental contestation around land, water and air. But all is not bleak: growing energy efficiency programmes; integrated urbanisation and transport policy discussion; inroads to enhancing energy access and security; and bold renewable energy initiatives, even if not fully conceptualised, suggest the promise of transformation.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the passage given above?

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

There are reports that some of the antibiotics sold in the market are fed to poultry and other livestock as growth promoters. Overusing these substances can create superbugs, pathogens that are resistant to multiple drugs and could be passed along humans. Mindful of that, some farming companies have stopped using the drugs to make chickens gain weight faster. Since Denmark banned antibiotic growth promoters in the 1990s, the major pork exporter says it is producing more pigs - and the animals get fewer diseases.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the passage given above?

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

Policymakers and media have placed the blame for skyrocketing food prices on a variety of factors, including high fuel prices, bad weather in key food producing countries, and the diversion of land to non-food production. Increased emphasis, however, has been placed on a surge in demand for food from the most populous emerging economics. It seems highly probable that mass consumption in these countries could be well poised to create a food crisis.

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

1. Oil producing countries are one of the reasons for high food prices.

2. If there is a food crisis in the world in the near future, it will be in the emerging economies.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

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

A central message of modern development economics is the importance of income growth, by which is meant growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In theory, rising GDP creates employment and investment opportunities. As incomes grow in a country where the level of GDP was once low, households, communities, and governments are increasingly able to set aside some funds for the production of things that make for a good life. Today GDP has assumed such a significant place in the development lexicon, that if someone mentions "economic growth", we know they mean growth in GDP.

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

1. Rising GDP is essential for a country to be a developed country.

2. Rising GDP guarantees a reasonable distribution of income to all households.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

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

Researchers simulated street lighting on artificial grassland plots containing pea-aphids, sap-sucking insects, at night. These were exposed to two different types of light - a white light similar to newer commercial LED lights and an amber light similar to sodium street lamps. The low intensity amber light was shown to inhibit, rather than induce, flowering in a wild plant of the pea family which is a source of food for the pea-aphids in grasslands. The number of aphids was also significantly suppressed under the light treatment due to the limited amount of food available.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most critical inference that can be made from the passage given above?

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

Approximately 80 percent of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals, including birds and mammals, but the main pollinators are insects. Pollination is responsible for providing us with a wide variety of food, as well as many plant-derived medicines. At least one-third of the world’s agricultural crops depend upon pollination. Bees are the most dominant taxa when it comes to pollination and they are crucial to more than four hundred crops. Pollination is an essential service that is the result of intricate relationships between plants and animals, and the reduction or loss of either affects the survival of both. Effective pollination requires resources, such as refuges of pristine natural vegetation.

On the basis of the passage given above, the following assumptions have been made:

1. Sustainable production of India’s cereal food grains is impossible without the diversity of pollinating animals.

2. Monoculture of horticultural crops hampers the survival of insects.

3. Pollinators become scarce in cultivated areas devoid of natural vegetation.

4. ​Diversity in insects induces diversity of plants.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

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

A study conducted on the impacts of climate change over the Cauvery basin of Tamil Nadu using regional climate models showed an increasing trend for maximum and minimum temperatures, and a decrease in the number of rainy days. These climatic shifts will have an impact on the hydrological cycles in the region, lead to more run-off and less recharge, and affect the groundwater tables. Further, there has been an increase in the frequency of droughts in the State. This has driven farmers to increase dependency on groundwater resources to secure their crops.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage given above?

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

Researchers were able to use stem cells to gauge the neurotoxic effects of the environmental pollutant Bisphenol A (BPA). They used a combination of biochemical and cell-based assays to examine the gene expression profile during the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells upon treatment with BPA, a compound known to diabetes, and heart  diseases, cause developmental abnormalities in humans. They were able to detect and measure BPA toxicity towards the proper specification of primary germ layers, such as endoderm and ectoderm, and the establishment of neural progenitor cells.

On the basis of the passage given above, the following assumptions have been made :

1. BPA may alter embryonic development in vivo.

2. Biochemical and cell-based assays are useful in finding out treatments for pollution-induced diseases.

3. Embryonic stem cells could serve as a model to evaluate the physiological effects of environmental pollutants.

Which of the above assumptions are valid?

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

With respect to what are called denominations of religion, if everyone is left to be a judge of his own religion, there is no such thing as religion that is wrong but if they are to be a judge of each other’s religion, there is no such thing as a religion that is right, and therefore all the world is right or all the world is wrong in the matter of religion.

What is the most logical assumption that can be made from the passage given above?

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

It is certain, that seditions, wars, and contempt or breach of the laws are not so much to be imputed to the wickedness of the subjects, as to the bad state of a dominion. For men are not born fit for citizenship, but must be made so. Besides, men’s natural passions are everywhere the same; and if wickedness more prevails, and more offences are committed in one commonwealth than in another, it is certain that the former has neither enough pursued the end of unity, nor framed its laws with sufficient forethought; and that, therefore, it has failed in making quite good its right as a commonwealth.

Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the passage given above?

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

Inequality violates a basic democratic norm: the equal standing of citizens. Equality is a relation that obtains between persons in respect of some fundamental characteristic that they share in common. Equality is, morally speaking, a default principle. Therefore, persons should not be discriminated on grounds such as race, caste, gender, ethnicity, disability, or class. These features of human condition are morally irrelevant. The idea that one should treat persons with respect not only because. some of these persons possess some special features or talent, for example skilled cricketers, gifted musicians, or literary giants, but because persons are human beings, is by now part of commonsense morality.

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :

1. Equality is a prerequisite for people to participate in the multiple transactions of society from a position of confidence.

2. Occurrence of inequality is detrimental to the survival of democracy.

3. Equal standing of all citizens is an idea that cannot actually be realised even in a democracy.

4. Right to equality should be incorporated into our values and day-to-day political vocabulary.

Which of the above assumptions are valid?

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

Aristocratic government ruins itself by limiting too narrowly the circle within which power is confined; oligarchic government ruins itself by the incautious scramble for immediate wealth. But even democracy ruins itself by excess of democracy. Its basic principle is the equal right of all to hold office and determine public policy. This is, at first glance, a delightful arrangement; it becomes disastrous because the people are not properly equipped by education to select the best rulers and the wisest courses. The people have no understanding and only repeat what their rulers are pleased to tell them. Such a democracy is tyranny or autocracy - Plato

Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage given above?

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

Fig trees (genus Ficus) are considered sacred in India, East Asia and Africa and are common in agricultural and urban landscapes where other large trees are absent. In natural forests, fig trees provide food for wildlife when other resources are scarce and support a high density and diversity of frugivores (fruit-eating animals). If frugivorous birds and bats continue to visit fig trees located in sites with high human disturbance, sacred fig trees may promote frugivore abundance. Under microclimate, plenty of seedlings of other tree species would grow around fig trees.

On the basis of the passage given above, the following assumptions have been made :

1. Fig trees can often be keystone species in natural forests.

2. Fig trees can grow where other large woody species cannot grow.

3. Sacred trees can have a role in biodiversity conservation.

4. Fig trees have a role in the seed dispersal of other tree species. 

which of the above assumptions is/are valid ?

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

At the heart of agroecology is the idea that agroecosystems should mimic the biodiversity levels and functioning of natural ecosystems. Such agricultural mimics, like their natural models, can be productive, pest-resistant, nutrient conserving, and resilient to shocks and stresses. In ecosystems there is no ‘waste’, nutrients are recycled indefinitely. Agroecology aims at closing nutrient loops, i.e., returning all nutrients that come out of the soil back to the soil such as through application of farmyard manure. It also harnesses natural processes to control pests and build soil fertility i.e., through intercropping. Agroecological practices include integrating trees with livestock and crops.

Consider the following :

1. Cover crops

2. Fertigation

3. Hydroponics

4. Mixed farming

5. Polyculture

6. Vertical farming

Which of the above farming practices can be compatible with agroecology, as implied by the passage? 

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

Computers increasingly deal not just with abstract data like credit card, details and databases, but also with the real world of physical objects and vulnerable human bodies. A modern car is a computer on wheels; an aeroplane is a computer on wings. The arrival of the “Internet of Things” will see computers baked into everything from road signs and MRI scanners to prosthetics and insulin pumps. There is little evidence that these gadgets will be any more trustworthy than their desktop counterparts. Hackers have already proved that they can take remote control of internet connected cars and pacemakers.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most critical inference that can be made from the passage given above ?

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

A social and physical environment riddled with poverty, inequities, unhygienic and insanitary conditions generates the risk of infectious diseases. Hygiene has different levels: personal, domestic and community hygiene. There is no doubt that personal cleanliness brings down the rate of infectious diseases. But the entry of the market into this domain has created a false sense of security that gets conditioned and reinforced by the onslaught of advertisements. Experience in Western Europe shows that along with personal hygiene, general improvements in environmental conditions and components like clean water, sanitation and food security have brought down infant/child death/infection rates considerably. The obsession with hand hygiene also brings in the persisting influence of the market on personal health, overriding or marginalising the negative impact on ecology and the emergence of resistant germs.

On the basis of the passage given above, the following assumptions have been made :

1. People who are obsessed with personal hygiene tend to ignore the community hygiene.

2. Emergence of multi-drug resistant germs can be prevented by personal cleanliness.

3. Entry of the market in the domain of hygiene increases the risk of infectious diseases.

4. Scientific and micro-level interventions are not sufficient to bring down the burden of infectious diseases.

5. It is community hygiene implemented through public health measures that is really effective in the battle against infectious diseases.

Which of the above assumptions are valid?

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

Can a democracy avoid being a welfare state for long ? Why cannot mass welfare be left entirely to the markets ? There is a built-in tension between markets and democracy. Markets do not work on a one-person-one-vote principle as democracies do. What one gets out of the market place depends on one’s endowments, skills, purchasing power and the forces of demand and supply. Markets reward individual initiative and skill, and may also lift many from the bottom rungs of society, but some people never get the opportunity to develop skills that markets demand; they are simply too poor and too handicapped; or skill formation takes too long. By creating jobs, markets may be able to help even unskilled people, but capitalism has always witnessed bursts of unemployment.

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :

1. Modern democracies rely on the forces to enable them to be welfare states.

2. Markets ensure sufficient economic growth necessary for democracies to be effective.

3. Government programmes are needed for those left behind in economic growth.

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 passages only.

In our schools, we teach our children all that is there to know about physics, maths and history and what have you. But do we teach them about the bitter caste divide that plagues the country, about the spectre of famine that stalks large parts of our land, about gender sensitivity, about the possibility of atheism as a choice, etc.? Equally important, do we teach them to ask questions, or do we teach them only to passively receive our wisdom? From the cocooned world of school, suddenly, the adolescent finds himself/herself in the unfettered world of university. Here he/she is swept up in a turmoil of ideas, influences and ideologies. For someone who has been discouraged from asking questions and forming an opinion, this transition can be painful.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea of the passage given above ? 

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

Nothing can exist in a natural state which can be called good or bad by common assent, since every man who is in a natural state consults only his own advantage, and determines what is good or bad according to his own fancy and insofar as he has regard for his own advantage alone, and holds himself responsible to no one save himself by any law; and therefore sin cannot be conceived in a natural state, but only in a civil state, which is decreed by common consent what is good or bad, and each one holds himself responsible to the state.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea of the passage given above?

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

In the immediate future, we will see the increasing commodification of many new technologies - artificial intelligence and robotics, 3D manufacturing, custom made biological and pharmaceutical products, lethal autonomous weapons and driverless cars. This will pose conundrums. The moral question of how a driverless car will decide between hitting a jaywalker and swerving and damaging the car has often been debated. The answer is both simple - save the human life - and complex. At which angle should the car swerve - just enough to save. the jaywalker or more than enough? If the driverless car is in Dublin, who would take the decision? The Irish Government, or the car’s original code writer in California, or a software programmer in Hyderabad to whom maintenance is outsourced? If different national jurisdictions have different fine print on prioritising a human life, how will it affect insurance and investment decisions, including transnational ones?

Which of the following statements best reflect the rational, plausible and practical implications that can be derived from the passage given above?

1. Too much globalization is not in the best interests of any country.

2. Modern technologies are increasingly blurring the economic borders.

3. Innovation and capital have impinged on the domain of the State.

4. Public policy of every country should focus on developing its own supply chains.

5. Geopolitics will have to reconcile to many ambiguities and uncertainties.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

The resolution of bankruptcy cases of Indian banks under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code should help bring non-performing assets (NPA) situation under some control. Despite the slow pace of resolutions by the National Company Law Tribunal, the Code can be helpful in cleaning up bank books in future credit cycles. The recapitalisation of public sector banks too can help increase the capital cushion of banks and induce them to lend more and boost economic activity. But bad debt resolution and recapitalisation are only a part of the solution as they, by themselves, can do very little to rein in reckless lending that has pushed the Indian banking system to its current sorry state. Unless there are systemic reforms that address the problem of unsustainable lending, future credit cycles will continue to stress the banking system.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical, rational and practical suggestion implied by the passage given above?

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

In India, the objective of macroeconomic policy is to enhance the economic welfare of the people, and any one wing of such macro policy, monetary or fiscal, cannot independently work without active support of another.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the corollary to the passage given above?