Q.1-5) Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
War, natural disasters and climate change are destroying some of the world’s most precious cultural sites. Google is trying to help preserve these archaeological wonders by allowing users access to 3D images of these treasures through its site. But the project is raising questions about Google’s motivations and about who should own the digital copyrights. Some critics call it a form of “digital colonialism.”
When it comes to archaeological treasures, the losses have been mounting. ISIS blew up parts of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria and an earthquake hit Bagan, an ancient city in Myanmar, damaging dozens of temples, in 2016. In the past, all archaeologists and historians had for restoration and research were photos, drawings, remnants and intuition.
But that’s changing. Before the earthquake at Bagan, many of the temples on the site were scanned. . . . [These] scans. . . . are on Google’s Arts & Culture site. The digital renditions allow viewers to virtually wander the halls of the temple, look up-close at paintings and turn the building over, to look up at its chambers. . . . [Google Arts & Culture] works with museums and other non-profits. . . . to put high-quality images online.
The images of the temples in Bagan are part of a collaboration with CyArk, a non-profit that creates the 3D scanning of historic sites. . . . Google. . . . says [it] doesn’t make money off this website, but it fits in with Google’s mission to make the world’s information available and useful.
Critics say the collaboration could be an attempt by a large corporation to wrap itself in the sheen of culture. Ethan Watrall, an archaeologist, professor at Michigan State University and a member of the Society for American Archaeology, says he’s not comfortable with the arrangement between CyArk and Google. . . . Watrall says this project is just a way for Google to promote Google. “They want to make this material accessible so people will browse it and be filled with wonder by it,” he says. “But at its core, it’s all about advertisements and driving traffic.” Watrall says these images belong on the site of a museum or educational institution, where there is serious scholarship and a very different mission. . . .
[There’s] another issue for some archaeologists and art historians. CyArk owns the copyrights of the scans—not the countries where these sites are located. That means the countries need CyArk’s permission to use these images for commercial purposes.
Erin Thompson, a professor of art crime at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, says it’s the latest example of a Western nation appropriating a foreign culture, a centuries-long battle. . . . CyArk says it copyrights the scans so no one can use them in an inappropriate way. The company says it works closely with authorities during the process, even training local people to help. But critics like Thompson are not persuaded. . . . She would prefer the scans to be owned by the countries and people where these sites are located.
Q.1) Based on his views mentioned in the passage, one could best characterizes Dr. Watrall as being:
a)dismissive of laypeople’s access to specialist images of archaeological and cultural sites.
b)uneasy about the marketing of archaeological images for commercial use by firms such as Google and CyArk.
c)critical about the links between a non-profit and a commercial tech platform for distributing archaeological images.
d)opposed to the use of digital technology in archaeological and cultural sites in developing countries.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]c)critical about the links between a non-profit and a commercial tech platform for distributing archaeological images.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
Watrall isn’t against common kan accessing the images. So, option a will be incorrect. Option b is incorrect because Google provides the data for free and hence, marketing of images isn’t appropriate option. Watrall also doesn’t oppose the use of digital technology in archeological and cultural sites. So, option d is also incorrect. Hence, option c is the correct answer.
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Q.2) In Dr. Thompson’s view, CyArk owning the copyright of its digital scans of archaeological sites is akin to:
a)tourists uploading photos of monuments onto social media.
b)digital platforms capturing users’ data for market research.
c)the illegal downloading of content from the internet.
d)the seizing of ancient Egyptian artefacts by a Western museum.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]d)the seizing of ancient Egyptian artefacts by a Western museum.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
Dr. Thompson is of the opinion that Western nations appropriate the foreign culture. In the given options, only option d will be the correct example of this opinion. Other options aren’t proper examples of Dr. Thompson’s opinion. Hence, option d is the correct answer.
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Q.3) Which of the following, if true, would most strongly invalidate Dr. Watrall’s objections?
a)There is a ban on CyArk scanning archaeological sites located in other countries.
b)CyArk uploads its scanned images of archaeological sites onto museum websites only.
c)Google takes down advertisements on its website hosting CyArk’s scanned images.
d)CyArk does not own the copyright on scanned images of archaeological sites.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]b)CyArk uploads its scanned images of archaeological sites onto museum websites only.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
Dr. Wartrell believes that the images belong to a museum or educational institution. So, if option b is true, it invalidates his contention that cyArk and Google have their own motives. Hence, option b will be the correct answer.
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Q.4) By “digital colonialism”, critics of the CyArk–Google project are referring to the fact that:
a)CyArk and Google have been scanning images without copyright permission from host countries.
b)countries where the scanned sites are located do not own the scan copyrights.
c)the scanning process can damage delicate frescos and statues at the sites.
d)CyArk and Google have not shared the details of digitisation with the host countries.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]b)countries where the scanned sites are located do not own the scan copyrights.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
We get to know from the passage that the companies that scan the monuments own the copyrights and the country will not have any right on them. Option c is not relevant to this point. Options a and d do not relate to the term colonialism. Hence, option b is the correct answer.
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Q.5) Of the following arguments, which one is LEAST likely to be used by the companies that digitally scan cultural sites?
a)It enables people who cannot physically visit these sites to experience them.
*b)It allows a large corporation to project itself as a protector of culture.
c)It provides images free of cost to all users.
d)It helps preserve precious images in case the sites are damaged or destroyed.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]b)It allows a large corporation to project itself as a protector of culture.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
The option selected should be such that it doesn’t support or least support the companies’ stance. Option a,c and d all support the companies argument and show the company in a good light. Option b can’t be used as it will help those against the company to support themselves. Hence, option b is the correct answer.
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Q.6-9) Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
For two years, I tracked down dozens of. . . . Chinese in Upper Egypt [who were] selling lingerie. In a deeply conservative region, where Egyptian families rarely allow women to work or own businesses, the Chinese flourished because of their status as outsiders. They didn’t gossip, and they kept their opinions to themselves. In a New Yorker article entitled “Learning to Speak Lingerie,” I described the Chinese use of Arabic as another non-threatening characteristic. I wrote, “Unlike Mandarin, Arabic is inflected for gender, and Chinese dealers, who learn the language strictly by ear, often pick up speech patterns from female
customers. I’ve come to think of it as the lingerie dialect, and there’s something disarming about these Chinese men speaking in the feminine voice.”. . . . .
When I wrote about the Chinese in the New Yorker, most readers seemed to appreciate the unusual perspective. But as I often find with topics that involve the Middle East, some people had trouble getting past the black-and-white quality of a byline. “This piece is so orientalist I don’t know what to do,” Aisha Gani, a reporter who worked at The Guardian, tweeted. Another colleague at the British paper, Iman Amrani, agreed: “I wouldn’t have minded an article on the subject written by an Egyptian woman—probably would have had better insight.”. . . .
As an MOL (man of language), I also take issue with this kind of essentialism. Empathy and understanding are not inherited traits, and they are not strictly tied to gender and race. An individual who wrestles with a difficult language can learn to be more sympathetic to outsiders and open to different experiences of the world. This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense of understanding and connection—is invariably transformative. In Upper Egypt, the Chinese experience of struggling to learn Arabic and local culture had made them much more thoughtful. In the same way, I was interested in their lives not because of some kind of voyeurism, but because I had also experienced Egypt and Arabic as an outsider. And both the Chinese and the Egyptians welcomed me because I spoke their languages. My identity as a white male was far less important than my ability to communicate.
And that easily lobbed word— “Orientalist”—hardly captures the complexity of our interactions. What exactly is the dynamic when a man from Missouri observes a Zhejiang native selling lingerie to an Upper Egyptian woman?. . . . If all of us now stand beside the same river, speaking in ways we all understand, who’s looking east and who’s looking west? Which way is Oriental?
For all of our current interest in identity politics, there’s no corresponding sense of identity linguistics. You are what you speak—the words that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or your gender. And sometimes it’s healthy to consider human characteristics that are not inborn, rigid, and outwardly defined. After all, you can always learn another language and change who you are.
Q.6) According to the passage, which of the following is not responsible for language’s ability to change us?
a)Language’s ability to mediate the impact of identity markers one is born with.
b)The ups and downs involved in the course of learning a language.
c)Language’s intrinsic connection to our notions of self and identity.
d)The twists and turns in the evolution of language over time.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]d)The twists and turns in the evolution of language over time.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
Option d talks about the evolution of the language itself. So, it doesn’t relate to how one can change by learning a new language. Other options establish the relationship between humans and the language and the changes humans go through with the help of language. Hence, option d will be the right answer.
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Q.7) The author’s critics would argue that:
a)Orientalism cannot be practiced by Egyptians.
*b)Language is insufficient to bridge cultural barriers.
c)Empathy can overcome identity politics.
d)Linguistic politics can be erased.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]b)Language is insufficient to bridge cultural barriers.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
The author’s main argument in the paragraph is that language can be used to mitigate the cultural barriers between different societies. So, the critics would argue against the main argument of the author. Option C says the opposite of the author’s main argument. Hence, option b is the correct answer.
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Q.8) A French ethnographer decides to study the culture of a Nigerian tribe. Which of the following is most likely to be the view of the author of the passage?
a)The author would encourage the ethnographer and recommend him/her to hire a good translator for the purpose of holding interviews.
b)The author would discourage the ethnographer from conducting the study as Nigerian ethnographers can better understand the tribe.
c)The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to first learn the language of the Nigerian tribe s/he wishes to study.
d)The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to be mindful of his/her racial and gender identity in the process.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]c)The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to first learn the language of the Nigerian tribe s/he wishes to study.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
The author’s main argument is that language can be used to mitigate the cultural barriers. Option a talks about hiring a translation which goes against the author’s views. So, a will be incorrect. Option b and d are incorrect because they do not talk anything about language and deal with other aspects. Option c will be the right answer as it aligns with the author’s views regarding language as the suggestion to the French ethnographer is to learn a new language. Hence, option c will be the right answer.
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Q.9) Which of the following can be inferred from the author’s claim, “Which way is Oriental?”
a)Goodwill alone mitigates cultural hierarchies and barriers.
b)Globalisation has mitigated cultural hierarchies and barriers.
c)Orientalism is a discourse of the past, from colonial times, rarely visible today.
d)Learning another language can mitigate cultural hierarchies and barriers.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]d)Learning another language can mitigate cultural hierarchies and barriers.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
The author states this in the fourth Paragraph. He says racial differences do not matter as they all try to emulate the same culture by learning a new language. Option a and b are incorrect because they aren’t the reasons to mitigate cultural hierarchies and barriers. Option c is incorrect because it doesn’t relate to the author’s opinion. Hence, option d is the correct answer.
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Q.10-14) Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
Around the world, capital cities are disgorging bureaucrats. In the post-colonial fervour of the 20th century, coastal capitals picked by trade-focused empires were spurned for “regionally neutral” new ones . . . . But decamping wholesale is costly and unpopular; governments these days prefer piecemeal dispersal. The trend reflects how the world has changed. In past eras, when information travelled at a snail’s pace, civil servants had to cluster together. But now desk-workers can ping emails and video-chat around the world. Travel for face-to-face meetings may be unavoidable, but transport links, too, have improved. . . .
Proponents of moving civil servants around promise countless benefits. It disperses the risk that a terrorist attack or natural disaster will cripple an entire government. Wonks in the sticks will be inspired by new ideas that walled-off capitals cannot conjure up. Autonomous regulators perform best far from the pressure and lobbying of the big city. Some even hail a cure for ascendant cynicism and populism. The unloved bureaucrats of faraway capitals will become as popular as firefighters once they mix with regular folk.
Beyond these sunny visions, dispersing central-government functions usually has three specific aims: to improve the lives of both civil servants and those living in clogged capitals; to save money; and to redress regional imbalances. The trouble is that these goals are not always realised.
The first aim—improving living conditions—has a long pedigree. After the second world war Britain moved thousands of civil servants to “agreeable English country towns” as London was rebuilt. But swapping the capital for somewhere smaller is not always agreeable. Attrition rates can exceed 80%. . . . The second reason to pack bureaucrats off is to save money. Office space costs far more in capitals. . . . Agencies that are moved elsewhere can often recruit better workers on lower salaries than in capitals, where well-paying multinationals mop up talent.
The third reason to shift is to rebalance regional inequality. . . . Norway treats federal jobs as a resource every region deserves to enjoy, like profits from oil. Where government jobs go, private ones follow. . . . Sometimes the aim is to fulfil the potential of a country’s second-tier cities. Unlike poor, remote places, bigger cities can make the most of relocated government agencies, linking them to local universities and businesses and supplying a better-educated workforce. The decision in 1946 to set up America’s Centres for Disease Control in Atlanta rather than Washington, D.C., has transformed the city into a hub for health sector research and business.
The dilemma is obvious. Pick small, poor towns, and areas of high unemployment get new jobs, but it is hard to attract the most qualified workers; opt for larger cities with infrastructure and better-qualified residents, and the country’s most deprived areas see little benefit. . . .
Others contend that decentralisation begets corruption by making government agencies less accountable. . . . A study in America found that state-government corruption is worse when the state capital is isolated—journalists, who tend to live in the bigger cities, become less watchful of those in power.
Q.10) According to the passage, colonial powers located their capitals:
a)to showcase their power and prestige.
b)to promote their trading interests.
c)where they had the densest populations.
d)based on political expediency.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]b)to promote their trading interests.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
In the first paragraph, the author mentions that coastal capitals were picked by ‘Trade – focused’ empires. We can understand that the colonial nations had their main focus on promoting trade. Option b talks exactly about the same. Rest of the options are incorrect because they can’t be interpreted from the passage. Hence, option b will be the right answer.
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Q.11) The “dilemma” mentioned in the passage refers to:
a)relocating government agencies to boost growth in remote areas with poor amenities or to relatively larger cities with good amenities.
b)keeping government agencies in the largest city with good infrastructure or moving them to a remote area with few amenities.
c)encouraging private enterprises to relocate to smaller towns or not incentivising them in order to keep government costs in those towns low.
d)concentrating on decongesting large cities or focusing on boosting employment in relatively larger cities.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]a)relocating government agencies to boost growth in remote areas with poor amenities or to relatively larger cities with good amenities.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
In the Sixth paragraph, the author talks about the dilemma posed. He says that selecting either small towns or larger cities has its own advantages and disadvantages. The dilemma will be in the selection of the choice among larger cities and smaller towns. Options c and d will be completely irrelevant. Option b will be incorrect because it only talks about the advantages of cities and disadvantages of towns. Option a will be a more complete answer. Hence, option a is the correct answer.
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Q.12) People who support decentralising central government functions are LEAST likely to cite which of the following reasons for their view?
a)It reduces expenses as infrastructure costs and salaries are lower in smaller cities.
b)Policy makers may benefit from fresh thinking in a new environment.
c)More independence could be enjoyed by regulatory bodies located away from political centres.
d)It could weaken the nexus between bureaucrats and media in the capital.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]d)It could weaken the nexus between bureaucrats and media in the capital.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
We will have to find the option which is not in favour of decentralisation. Option a will be incorrect because it’s mentioned in the third paragraph that saving money is one of the aims of decentralisation. Option b will be incorrect because the author mentions in the second paragraph that the bureaucrats will be inspired by new ideas. Option c will be incorrect because the author mentions in the second paragraph that the bureaucrats will get benefited by moving away from pressure which means that they could enjoy more independence. Hence, option d will be the correct answer.
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Q.13) According to the author, relocating government agencies has not always been a success for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
a)high staff losses, as people may not be prepared to move to smaller towns.
b)the difficulty of attracting talented, well-skilled people in more remote areas.
c)increased avenues of corruption away from the capital city.
d)a rise in pollution levels and congestion in the new locations.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]d)a rise in pollution levels and congestion in the new locations.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
We need to select the option which isn’t a reason for the failure of relocating the government agencies. Option a will be incorrect because the author talks about the attrition rates if the government agencies are moved to smaller towns. Option b will be incorrect because it’s mentioned in the sixth paragraph that there will be an issue with recognising talent in the smaller towns. Option c will be incorrect because it’s clearly mentioned in the last paragraph. Option d will be correct because the author doesn’t talk about the rise in pollution levels. Hence, option d is the correct answer.
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Q.14) The “long pedigree” of the aim to shift civil servants to improve their living standards implies that this move:
a)is supported by politicians and the ruling elites.
b)has become common practice in several countries worldwide.
c)is not a new idea and has been tried in the past.
d)takes a long time to achieve its intended outcomes.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]c)is not a new idea and has been tried in the past.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
Here, long pedigree refers to having something related to past. The author mentions the example in the paragraph that Britain tried to do it after the second world war. Options a and b will be incorrect because they aren’t mentioned in relation with the word ‘long pedigree’. Option d is incorrect because the author doesn’t talk about the duration that it may take to complete the entire process. Hence, option c is the correct answer.
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Q.15-19) Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
The magic of squatter cities is that they are improved steadily and gradually by their residents. To a planner’s eye, these cities look chaotic. I trained as a biologist and to my eye, they look organic. Squatter cities are also unexpectedly green. They have maximum density—1 million people per square mile in some areas of Mumbai—and have minimum energy and material use. People get around by foot, bicycle, rickshaw, or the universal shared taxi.
Not everything is efficient in the slums, though. In the Brazilian favelas where electricity is stolen and therefore free, people leave their lights on all day. But in most slums recycling is literally a way of life. The Dharavi slum in Mumbai has 400 recycling units and 30,000 ragpickers. Six thousand tons of rubbish are sorted every day. In 2007, the Economist reported that in Vietnam and Mozambique, “Waves of gleaners sift the sweepings of Hanoi’s streets, just as Mozambiquan children pick over the rubbish of Maputo’s main tip. Every city in Asia and Latin America has an industry based on gathering up old cardboard boxes.”. . . .
In his 1985 article, Calthorpe made a statement that still jars with most people: “The city is the most environmentally benign form of human settlement. Each city dweller consumes less land, less energy, less water, and produces less pollution than his counterpart in settlements of lower densities.” “Green Manhattan” was the inflammatory title of a 2004 New Yorker article by David Owen. “By the most significant measures,” he wrote, “New York is the greenest community in the United States, and one of the greenest cities in the world. . . . The key to New York’s relative environmental benignity is its extreme compactness. . . . Placing one and a half million people on a twenty-three-square-mile island sharply reduces their opportunities to be wasteful.” He went on to note that this very compactness forces people to live in the world’s most energy-efficient apartment buildings. . . .
Urban density allows half of humanity to live on 2.8 per cent of the land. . . . Consider just the infrastructure efficiencies. According to a 2004 UN report: “The concentration of population and enterprises in urban areas greatly reduces the unit cost of piped water, sewers, drains, roads, electricity, garbage collection, transport,health care, and schools.”. . . .
[T]he nationally subsidised city of Manaus in northern Brazil “answers the question” of how to stop deforestation: give people decent jobs. Then they can afford houses, and gain security. One hundred thousand people who would otherwise be deforesting the jungle around Manaus are now prospering in town making such things as mobile phones and televisions. . . .
Of course, fast-growing cities are far from an unmitigated good. They concentrate crime, pollution, disease and injustice as much as business, innovation, education and entertainment. . . . But if they are overall a net good for those who move there, it is because cities offer more than just jobs. They are transformative: in the slums, as well as the office towers and leafy suburbs, the progress is from hick to metropolitan to cosmopolitan. . . .
Q.15) From the passage it can be inferred that cities are good places to live in for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that they:
a)help prevent destruction of the environment.
b)have suburban areas as well as office areas.
c)contribute to the cultural transformation of residents.
d)offer employment opportunities.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]b)have suburban areas as well as office areas.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
We need to look at the option that isn’t an advantage or which is just a feature of cities. Of the given options, a,c and d are the advantages of cities. Option b is just a feature of the cities which talks about the office and suburban areas. Hence, option b will be the right answer.
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Q.16) In the context of the passage, the author refers to Manaus in order to:
a)explain where cities source their labour for factories.
b)promote cities as employment hubs for people.
c)describe the infrastructure efficiencies of living in a city.
d)explain how urban areas help the environment.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]d)explain how urban areas help the environment.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
In the fifth paragraph, the author talks about Brazilian city of Manaus and explains how providing jobs there helped in stopping deforestation. In the given options, option d rightly talks about how urban areas help the environment for which Manaus stands as an example. Hence, d will be the right answer.
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Q.17) We can infer that Calthorpe’s statement “still jars” with most people because most people:
a)regard cities as places of disease and crime.
b)do not regard cities as good places to live in.
c)do not consider cities to be eco-friendly places.
d)consider cities to be very crowded and polluted.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]c)do not consider cities to be eco-friendly places.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
The meaning of the word Jarring is striking or shocking way. The argument of the author is that cities prevent the deterioration of the environment. The opinion will be jarring when the option is against the author’s views. Of the given options, option c goes against the author’s views. Hence, option c will be the right answer.
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Q.18) Which one of the following statements would undermine the author’s stand regarding the greenness of cities?
a)Sorting through rubbish contributes to the rapid spread of diseases in the slums.
b)The compactness of big cities in the West increases the incidence of violent crime.
c)Over the last decade the cost of utilities has been increasing for city dwellers.
d)The high density of cities leads to an increase in carbon dioxide and global warming.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]d)The high density of cities leads to an increase in carbon dioxide and global warming.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
The author establishes the link between cities and how they help in preventing the deterioration of the environment. We need to select an option which says the opposite, i.e, cities also are a reason for deterioration of the environment. Option d exactly talks about the same. It says that cities lead to an increase in carbon dioxide and global warming. Hence, option d is the correct answer.
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Q.19) According to the passage, squatter cities are environment-friendly for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
a)they recycle material.
b)their transportation is energy efficient.
c)their streets are kept clean.
d)they sort out garbage.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]c)their streets are kept clean.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
We need to select an option that doesn’t relate to environmental friendly. Options a,b and d are clear examples of environmental friendliness of the squatter cities. Option c talks about keeping the streets clean which only relates to cleanliness, but not environmental friendliness. Hence, option c is the correct answer.
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Q.20-24) Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
British colonial policy. . . . went through two policy phases, or at least there were two strategies between which its policies actually oscillated, sometimes to its great advantage. At first, the new colonial apparatus exercised caution, and occupied India by a mix of military power and subtle diplomacy, the high ground in the middle of the circle of circles. This, however, pushed them into contradictions. For, whatever their sense of the strangeness of the country and the thinness of colonial presence, the British colonial state represented the great conquering discourse of Enlightenment rationalism, entering India precisely at the moment of its greatest unchecked arrogance. As inheritors and representatives of this discourse, which carried everything before it, this colonial state could hardly adopt for long such a self-denying attitude. It had restructured everything in Europe—the productive system, the political regimes, the moral and cognitive orders—and would do the same in India, particularly as some empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a massive laboratory of utilitarian or other theoretical experiments. Consequently, the colonial state could not settle simply for eminence at the cost of its marginality; it began to take initiatives to introduce the logic of modernity into Indian society. But this modernity did not enter a passive society. Sometimes, its initiatives were resisted by pre-existing structural forms. At times, there was a more direct form of collective resistance. Therefore, the map of continuity and discontinuity that this state left behind at the time of independence was rather complex and has to be traced with care.
Most significantly, of course, initiatives for. . . . modernity came to assume an external character. The acceptance of modernity came to be connected, ineradicably, with subjection. This again points to two different problems, one theoretical, the other political. Theoretically, because modernity was externally introduced, it is explanatorily unhelpful to apply the logical format of the ‘transition process’ to this pattern of change. Such a logical format would be wrong on two counts. First, however subtly, it would imply that what was proposed to be built was something like European capitalism. (And, in any case, historians have forcefully argued that what it was to replace was not like feudalism, with or without modificatory adjectives.) But, more fundamentally, the logical structure of endogenous change does not apply here. Here transformation agendas attack as an external force. This externality is not something that can be casually mentioned and forgotten. It is inscribed on every move, every object, every proposal, every legislative act, each line of causality. It comes to be marked on the epoch itself. This repetitive emphasis on externality should not be seen as a nationalist initiative that is so well rehearsed in Indian social science. . . .
Quite apart from the externality of the entire historical proposal of modernity, some of its contents were remarkable. . . . Economic reforms, or rather alterations. . . . did not foreshadow the construction of a classical capitalist economy, with its necessary emphasis on extractive and transport sectors. What happened was the creation of a degenerate version of capitalism—what early dependency theorists called the ‘development of underdevelopment’.
Q.20) All of the following statements about British colonialism can be inferred from the first paragraph,EXCEPT that it:
a)was at least partly an outcome of Enlightenment rationalism.
b)faced resistance from existing structural forms of Indian modernity.
c)allowed the treatment of colonies as experimental sites.
d)was at least partly shaped by the project of European modernity.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]b)faced resistance from existing structural forms of Indian modernity.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
Option a is incorrect because it’s talked about in the lines ‘For, whatever their sense of the strangeness..…..’ Option c is incorrect because it can be understood from the first paragraph from the lines ‘particularly as some empirically…….’. Option d is incorrect because of the lines ‘but this modernity did not enter……..’. Option b cannot be inferred because of the usage of the word ‘modernity’ in the context of Indian society. Hence, option b is the correct answer.
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Q.21) “Consequently, the colonial state could not settle simply for eminence at the cost of its marginality; it began to take initiatives to introduce the logic of modernity into Indian society.” Which of the following best captures the sense of this statement?
a)The colonial state felt marginalised from Indian society because of its own modernity; therefore, it sought to address that marginalisation by bringing its modernity to change Indian society.
b)The colonial enterprise was a costly one; so to justify the cost it began to take initiatives to introduce the logic of modernity into Indian society.
c)The colonial state’s eminence was unsettled by its marginal position; therefore, it developed Indian society by modernising it.
d)The cost of the colonial state’s eminence was not settled; therefore, it took the initiative of introducing modernity into Indian society.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]a)The colonial state felt marginalised from Indian society because of its own modernity; therefore, it sought to address that marginalisation by bringing its modernity to change Indian society.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
The statement talks about the shift in the policy of the British. They tried to stay away from interfering in Indian society, but then, they tried to induce modernity into Indian society. The option a exactly talks about the same. Hence, option a will be the correct answer.
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Q.22) Which of the following observations is a valid conclusion to draw from the author’s statement that “the logical structure of endogenous change does not apply here. Here transformation agendas attack as an external force”?
a)Indian society is not endogamous; it is more accurately characterised as aggressively exogamous.
b)The endogenous logic of colonialism can only bring change if it attacks and transforms external forces.
*c)The transformation of Indian society did not happen organically, but was forced by colonial agendas.
d)Colonised societies cannot be changed through logic; they need to be transformed with external force.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]c)The transformation of Indian society did not happen organically, but was forced by colonial agendas.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
The author states in the paragraph that the change in the Indian society isn’t from inside, but was an external force as referred to as the colonial forces. Only option c aligns with this observation. Hence, option c will be the correct answer.
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Q.23) Which one of the following 5-word sequences best captures the flow of the arguments in the passage?
a)MilitaryPower——arrogance—laboratory—modernity—capitalism.
b)MilitaryPower—colonialism——restructuring———feudalism—capitalism.
c)Colonial policy—Enlightenment—external modernity—subjection—underdevelopment.
d)Colonial Policy——arrogant rationality——resistance—independence—development.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ] c)Colonial policy—Enlightenment—external modernity—subjection—underdevelopment.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
By observing the last paragraph, we can understand that it talks about underdevelopment. In the given options, only option c ends with underdevelopment. Hence, option c will be the correct answer.
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Q.24) All of the following statements, if true, could be seen as supporting the arguments in the passage, EXCEPT:
a)throughout the history of colonial conquest, natives have often been experimented on by the colonisers.
b)the change in British colonial policy was induced by resistance to modernity in Indian society.
c)the introduction of capitalism in India was not through the transformation of feudalism, as happened in Europe.
d)modernity was imposed upon India by the British and, therefore, led to underdevelopment.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ] b)the change in British colonial policy was induced by resistance to modernity in Indian society.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
We need to select an option that doesn’t support the author’s arguments in the passage. Option a is incorrect because it’s talked about in the first paragraph in the line ‘particularly as some empirically inclined theorists…..’ Option c is incorrect because it’s mentioned in the second paragraph. Option d will be incorrect because it can be deemed from the last line of the last paragraph. Hence, option b is the correct answer.
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Q.25) Five sentences related to a topic are given below in a jumbled order. Four of them form a coherent and unified paragraph. Identify the odd sentence that does not go with the four. Key in the number of the option that you choose.
- Socrates told us that ‘the unexamined life is not worth living’ and that to ‘know thyself’ is the path to true wisdom
- It suggests that you should adopt an ancient rhetorical method favoured by the likes of Julius Caesar and known as ‘illeism’ —or speaking about yourself in the third person.
- Research has shown that people who are prone to rumination also often suffer from impaired decision making under pressure and are at a substantially increased risk of depression.
- Simple rumination—the process of churning your concerns around in your head—is not the way to achieve self-realization.
- The idea is that this small change in perspective can clear your emotional fog, allowing you to see past your biases.
a)1
b)2
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ] a)1 [/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
Statements 3 and 4 talk about how rumination is a disadvantage and isn’t beneficial. Statement 5 talks about how it can be made beneficial by making slight changes. Statement 2 talks about how rumination followed by the likes of Julius Caesar should be adopted. Only, option 1 talks about different point in relation to statement propagated by Socrates. Hence, statement 1 will be the odd one.
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Q.26) The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequence of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer.
- Such a belief in the harmony of nature requires a purpose presumably imposed by the goodness and wisdom of a deity.
- These parts, all fit together into an integrated, well-ordered system that was created by design.
- Historically, the notion of a balance of nature is part observational, part metaphysical, and not scientific in any way.
- It is an example of an ancient belief system called teleology, the notion that what we call nature has a predetermined destiny associated with its component parts.
a)3421
b)1243
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ] a)3421[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
Sentence 3 will be the opening statement as it introduces the topic of Balance of nature. It will be followed by 4 as statement 4 talks about the ancient belief system related to nature. It is followed by 2 because of the key word these parts which refers to its component parts mentioned in the statement 4. 1 will be the concluding statement. Hence, 3421 will be the right order.
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Q.27) Five sentences related to a topic are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a meaningful and coherent short paragraph. Identify the odd one out. Choose its number as your answer and key it in.
- A particularly interesting example of inference occurs in many single panel comics.
- It’s the creator’s participation and imagination that makes the single-panel comic so engaging and so rewarding.
- Often, the humour requires you to imagine what happened in the instant immediately before or immediately after the panel you’re being shown.
- To get the joke, you actually have to figure out what some of these missing panels must be.
- It is as though the cartoonist devised a series of panels to tell the story and has chosen to show you only one—and typically not even the funniest.
a)2
b)3
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ] a)2[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
Sentences 1,3,4 and 5 are related to single panel comics and how the audience should react to it. Only sentence 2 talks about single panel comics from the creator’s point of view. Hence, sentence 2 will be the odd one.
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Q.28) The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Language is an autapomorphy found only in our lineage, and not shared with other branches of our group such as primates. We also have no definitive evidence that any species other than Homo sapiens ever had language. However, it must be noted straightaway that ‘language’ is not a monolithic entity, but rather a complex bundle of traits that must have evolved over a significant time frame. . . . Moreover, language crucially draws on aspects of cognition that are long established in the primate lineage, such as memory: the language faculty as a whole comprises more than just the uniquely linguistic features.
a)Language evolved with linguistic features building on features of cognition such as memory.
b)Language is a distinctively human feature as there is no evidence of the existence of language in any other species.
c)Language, a derived trait found only in humans, has evolved over time and involves memory.
d)Language is not a single, uniform entity but the end result of a long and complex process of linguistic evolution.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ] a)Language evolved with linguistic features building on features of cognition such as memory.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
The essence of this paragraph is the uniqueness of language to humans. Option b is incorrect as it’s deaf about the features of the language. Option c will be incorrect because of the word derived as we don’t have any clue in the answer to say it’s derived. Option d is incorrect because it doesn’t say anything about the critical aspects such as cognition or memory. Hence, option a will be the correct summary of the given paragraph.
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Q.29) The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Privacy-challenged office workers may find it hard to believe, but open-plan offices and cubicles were
invented by architects and designers who thought that to break down the social walls that divide people, you had to break down the real walls, too. Modernist architects saw walls and rooms as downright fascist. The spaciousness and flexibility of an open plan would liberate homeowners and office dwellers from the confines of boxes. But companies took up their idea less out of a democratic ideology than a desire to pack in as many workers as they could. The typical open-plan office of the first half of the 20th century was a white-collar assembly line. Cubicles were interior designers’ attempt to put some soul back in.
a)Wall-free office spaces could have worked out the way their utopian inventors intended had companies cared for workers’ satisfaction.
b)Wall-free office spaces did not quite work out as desired and therefore cubicles came into being.
c)Wall-free office spaces did not quite work out as companies don’t believe in democratic ideology.
d)Wall-free office spaces did not quite work out the way their utopian inventors intended, as they became tools for exploitation of labour.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ] d)Wall-free office spaces did not quite work out the way their utopian inventors intended, as they became tools for exploitation of labour.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
The Paragraph mainly talks about how the office spaces are open spaces now which began as being in the form of cubicles. Option a will be incorrect because the paragraph doesn’t say anything about the workers satisfaction. Option b will be incorrect as it states the order in reverse, i.e cubicles were used earlier and the companies are moving towards open spaces recently. Option c will be incorrect because in the paragraph, it’s mentioned that the companies took the initiative of open office spaces less out of democratic ideology, but it doesn’t say that they don’t believe in democratic ideology. So, option c will be incorrect. Hence, option d will be the correct summary.
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Q.30) Five sentences related to a topic are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a meaningful and coherent short paragraph. Identify the odd one out. Choose its number as your answer and key it in.
- Ocean plastic is problematic for a number of reasons, but primarily because marine animals eat it.
- The largest numerical proportion of ocean plastic falls in small size fractions.
- Aside from clogging up the digestive tracts of marine life, plastic also tends to adsorb pollutants from the water column.
- Plastic in the oceans is arguably one of the most important and pervasive environmental problems today.
- Eating plastic has a number of negative consequences such as the retention of plastic particles in the gut for longer periods than normal food particles.
a)2
b)3
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ] a)2[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
The statements 1,3,4 and 5 talk about how ocean plastic affects marine life whereas statement 2 talks about the components of ocean plastic. Hence, statement 2 will be the odd one.
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Q.31) The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequence of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer.
- Living things—animals and plants—typically exhibit correlational structure.
- Adaptive behaviour depends on cognitive economy, treating objects as equivalent.
- The information we receive from our senses, from the world, typically has structure and order, and is not arbitrary.
- To categorize an object means to consider it equivalent to other things in that category, and different—along some salient dimension—from things that are not.
a)2431
b)1342
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ] a)2431[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
We can establish the relationship between statements 2 and 4. 2 will be followed by 4 as 2 talks about adaptive behaviour and treating objects as equivalent and 4 continues the same talking about the categorization among the same category and different dimensions. Then, 3-1 can be established as other link as 3 will be followed by 1. 3 talks about the structure and 1 talks about the type of structure. Of 2 and 3, 3 will be better suitable to form the opening statement. Hence, 2431 will be the right order.
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Q.32) The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequence of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer.
- To the uninitiated listener, atonal music can sound like chaotic, random noise.
- Atonality is a condition of music in which the constructs of the music do not ‘live’ within the confines of a particular key signature, scale, or mode.
- After you realize the amount of knowledge, skill, and technical expertise required to compose or perform it, your tune may change, so to speak.
- However, atonality is one of the most important movements in 20th century music.
a)2143
b)3412
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ] a)2143[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
Sentence 2 introduces the topic of Atonality. So, it will be the opening statement. It will be followed by Statement 1 where the effects of atonal music are mentioned. The end of statement 1 gives a hint of negative tone. It will be followed by Statement 4 because of the key word however. Statement 3 will be the conclusion. Hence, 2143 will be the correct order of the statements.
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Q.33) The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequence of the order of the sentences and key in the sequence of the four numbers as your answer.
- Conceptualisations of ‘women’s time’ as contrary to clock-time and clock-time as synonymous with economic rationalism are two of the deleterious results of this representation.
- While dichotomies of ‘men’s time’, ‘women’s time’, clock-time, and caring time can be analytically useful, this article argues that everyday caring practices incorporate a multiplicity of times; and both men and women can engage in these multiple-times.
- When the everyday practices of working sole fathers and working sole mothers are carefully examined to explore conceptualisations of gendered time, it is found that caring time is often more focused on the clock than generally theorised.
- Clock-time has been consistently represented in feminist literature as a masculine artefact representative of a ‘time is money’ perspective.
a)4132
b)2314
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ] a)4132[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
Sentence 4 will be the opening statement as it introduces the topic of usage of clock-time in literature. It will be followed by Statement 1 because of the key-words ‘this representation’ which refers to the one mentioned in statement 4. Statement 2 can be recognised as a type of observation of the entire discussion. So, statement 2 will be the conclusion. Hence, 4132 will be the correct order.
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Q.34) The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Social movement organizations often struggle to mobilize supporters from allied movements in their efforts to achieve critical mass. Organizations with hybrid identities—those whose organizational identities span the boundaries of two or more social movements, issues, or identities—are vital to mobilizing these constituencies. Studies of the post-9/11 U.S. anti-war movement show that individuals with past involvement in non-anti-war movements are more likely to join hybrid organizations than are individuals without involvement in non-anti-war movements. In addition, they show that organizations with hybrid identities occupy relatively more central positions in inter-organizational contact networks within the anti-war movement and thus recruit significantly more participants in demonstrations than do nonhybrid organizations.
a)Hybrid organizations attract individuals that are deeply involved in anti-war movements.
b)Organizations with hybrid identities are able to mobilize individuals with different points of view.
c)Post 9/11 studies show that people who are involved in non-anti-war movements are likely to join hybrid organizations.
d)Movements that work towards social change often find it difficult to mobilize a critical mass of supporters.
[bg_collapse view=”button-blue” color=”#ffffff” expand_text=”Correct Answer” collapse_text=”Show Less” ] b)Organizations with hybrid identities are able to mobilize individuals with different points of view.[/bg_collapse] [bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”View Solution” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]
People who are involved in anti-war movements was just used as an example in the paragraph. Hence, option a won’t be a right summary. For the same reason, option c will also be incorrect. Option b will be incorrect because it doesn’t talk about how we can mobilize people with different points of view. Hence, option 1 will be the best suitable summary.
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