0

Reading Comprehension

Description: Single question passages
Number of Questions: 48
Created by:
Tags: reading comprehension Reading Comprehension Alphabet Test
Attempted 0/47 Correct 0 Score 0

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

A struggle against this accentuation of money is absolutely essential. Linked as it is to the immanent tendencies of contemporary capitalism, this struggle cannot but set for itself the conscious objective of transcending capitalism. Though the precise manner of this transcendence, the stages through which it may come about and linkages between struggles in different countries are matters that cannot be answered speculatively but require theoretical resolution on the basis of concrete praxis, the necessity of such transcendence is indubitable for anyone who is concerned with human freedom as it is this theory of transcendence that provides illumination.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To ensure human freedom from the baneful effects of capitalism

  2. To trace the immanent tendencies of contemporary capitalism

  3. To determine the history of capitalism

  4. To work out the methodology of tackling the problem of amassing of money

  5. To prove that the theory of transcendence provides illumination


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Too much importance to money is a problem caused by capitalism, which the writer wants tackled/transcended.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Today science has touched every person in all walks of life. When you visit a doctor with absolute faith that he will find a cure for every illness, you see science in action. When harvest is bountiful and when you are able to make increased productivity than your forefathers in the same land, you see science in action. When you can talk to your wards in any part of the planet from your home, you see science in action. When you realize that the world is a global village and you have all the world of information available to you, you see science in action.

What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?

  1. To show the all-pervasive impact of science on our day to day life

  2. To demonstrate the effect of science when in action

  3. To create a picture of a global village

  4. To determine the extent of the reach of science

  5. To slow down the impact of science on everyday life


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The singular purpose of the writer is to demonstrate the all-pervasive impact of science on our day to day life.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The socialist collapse, one would say, has ushered in a period of transition characterized by a sharp increase in exploitation and misery. Those who had argued that 'capitalism had changed', that henceforth only humane face of welfare capitalism would be seen, and had concluded that Marxism was wrong, are themselves being proved wrong, with soaring unemployment in advanced countries and a progressive curtailment of the welfare state. Many argued that capitalism needed no colonies; that colonies were a millstone round its neck and concluded that Marxism was wrong. They too are being proved wrong, as the sovereignty of third world is being progressively throttled.

What message does the passage convey?

  1. That capitalism came to fore because socialism failed to deliver

  2. To show the humane face of capitalism never seen before

  3. To show the writers anxiety to bring in Marxism to address the problem of unemployment

  4. To warn those who dismantled socialism at the altar of capitalism thus causing increase in exploitation and misery

  5. To make Marxism sneak in through back door


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

The writer is clear in his conclusion that those who dismantled socialism with this belief that capitalism will reduce exploitation and misery actually added to that.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

A growing economy, the stock market booming, means more jobs. The growth has started in the cities with jobs chasing people, offering hope and guidance for those on the threshold of their careers. Ten years ago, 80 per cent of jobs were in the area of manufacturing, while today the majority of jobs come from the services sector. Government jobs are no longer an attractive destination for those looking at a wide choice of other exciting options. With governments downsizing, there are less jobs, and little of the power and status that many hopefuls once coveted.

What is the central idea of this passage?

  1. To show that government jobs are no longer an attractive destination

  2. To demonstrate that the Job market is more dynamic today than it was a decade ago

  3. To suggest that service sector is the major job provider today

  4. To find ways and means of creating more job opportunities

  5. To warn job seekers against spurious job providers


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

The writer pointedly draws attention to the dynamism of the expanding job market as the economy has boomed.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The other major force that has been unleashed by the information revolution that lies at the core of globalization is ethnicity. Ethnic loyalties have resurfaced not only in the newly emergent nations, where the process of nation building on the European model is far from complete, but also in many older and supposedly homogeneous nations of Europe. So, widespread is this resurgence that one can legitimately ask whether ethnic groups had ever been really homogenized or whether the political and even social expression of ethnic identities have been simply suppressed in nation states that had been built through conquest and coercion.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To show that nation building on the European model is underway

  2. To demonstrate that ethnicity is central to globalization

  3. To show that resurgence of ethnicity is widespread

  4. To elucidate on why ethnic groups had never been homogenized

  5. To demonstrate the importance of ethnicity in Europe


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

The main concern of the writer is to show that resurgence of ethnicity is widespread.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Those stepping out into the vast cavernous world of work need to look ahead with purpose. They need to concentrate on the areas that are best suited. A clear focus on career direction will enable one to open one`s mind to the incredible choice of career options that exist and are being continuously created all the time, in every subject area. At the same time, these should help one figure out the skills that are required to be developed so as to be ready for the jobs in areas that are in demand today, and will hold good for the future.

What is the author`s purpose in writing this passage?

  1. To show how to take advantage of the available job opportunities

  2. To emphasize the need for acquiring skills to enter the ever expanding job market

  3. To discuss the ways and means of present day economics

  4. To allay fears of getting embroiled in futile search for suitable job

  5. To paint a picture of a cavernous world of work with little available by way of choice


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

The writer points to the expanding market of jobs and emphasizes on acquiring skill to take benefit of the same.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

What on earth is an engaging ruffian. He must be a creature of literary imagination, I thought, for the two words do not match in my personal experience. It has happened to me to meet a few ruffians here and there, but I never found one of them engaging. I consoled myself, however, by reflecting that the friendly reviewer must have been talking like a parrot, which so often seems to understand what it says.

What message does the passage convey?

  1. To draw attention to bizarre descriptions at times given by the literary people

  2. To run down those who describe ruffians as engaging

  3. To draw a parallel between a writer and a parrot

  4. To castigate all ruffians of the world as creature of literary imagination

  5. To show that even as some writers find some critics as inane and gibberish, they do not openly resent it


Correct Option: E
Explanation:

The writer minces no word to suggest that the writers do not openly resent the critics who make bizarre and inane observations.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The purpose of science, as expounded by Thomas Huxley, was not only the advancement of knowledge, but also 'the alleviation of human suffering'. If the first is to lead to the second, there is need to wed the pursuit of knowledge, i.e. education, with the humanistic impulse. Unfortunately, we divorced our education, politics and administration from this humanistic impulse; so these lost the capacity to alleviate human suffering; some of these, especially politics developed even the capacity to aggravate human sufferings by infecting and distorting our education, administration and labour movement.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To re-evaluate the functions of science

  2. To examine the role of education

  3. To relate knowledge with science

  4. To denigrate politics for aggravating human sufferings

  5. To give credit to Thomas Huxley for study of science


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

The writer rues the fact that education that is pursued is divorced from the humanistic impulse when in fact true education should lead to 'alleviation of human suffering'.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Freedom of the individual is fundamental to human growth; it is also fundamental to a democratic socio-political order. But that freedom becomes a menace, as much to the individual as to the nation and its democracy, if it fails to inspire itself with a second value, namely the sense of social responsibility. Along with its wedding to this sense of social responsibility, the freedom of the individual needs to be enriched with the democratic virtues of self-discipline and a humanly oriented will. This constitutes character, character centred in a socially oriented will. It is this training in citizenship virtues and graces that makes a people capable of enriching all inter-human relations, including all management techniques, with ethical and humanistic impulses and growth oriented practical efficiency.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To demonstrate that citizens need to be trained on virtues

  2. To underline the importance of character in an individual

  3. To highlight the importance of individual freedom

  4. To show the futility of individual freedom without social responsibility

  5. To illustrate the benefits of self-discipline in a society


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Individual freedom without social responsibility is a menace and therefore highly undesirable.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Some of the profoundest ideas relating to the philosophy of work are to be found in the Bhagvad-Gita. It is unique in its stress on work-ethics. Among the great religious books of the past, this is the only book whose central theme is work, man at work, and man achieving from work a double benefit, namely, social welfare outside, and spiritual growth within. All other religious books deal with man at worship, at prayer, at meditation, at ritual. But Gita deals primarily with man at work, and presents worship, prayer, meditation and ritual as means for man`s spiritual growth, development and realization on one hand and for increasing his work-efficiency, leading to social welfare, on the other. This is yoga.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To highlight the importance of Bhagvad-Gita, the scripture

  2. To demonstrate superiority of the Bhagvad-Gita over other scriptures

  3. To show that Bhagvad-Gita is more concerned with work than with prayers and worships

  4. To throw light on the benefits of yoga

  5. To discount the aspect of spiritual growth


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

The writer wants to show that by laying more stress on work than on prayers and worships, the Bhagvad-gita serves a greater cause of society.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

From the day when education and culture began to spread gradually from patricians to plebeians, distinctions grew between the modern civilization as of Western countries and the ancient civilization as of India, Egypt, and Rome, etc. Evidently, a nation is advanced in proportion as education and intelligence spreads among masses. The chief cause of a country's ruin would be the monopolizing of the whole education and intelligence of the land, by dint of pride and royal authority, among a handful of men. If they are to rise again, they will have to do it by spreading education among the masses. By what power again has the German labourer succeeded in shaking the many-century-grounded firm footing of the English labourer? It is education.

What message does the passage convey?

  1. That centralization of education would be the cause of a country's ruin

  2. That education can be productive when restricted to a select few

  3. That education and culture are not the prerogatives of the Western countries

  4. That the world will be a better place only when education spreads to the masses

  5. That patricians and plebeians cannot exist together


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

The writer strongly advocates the theory of education for all.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

What makes a static system of administration and management dynamic in this human orientation? There the heart is touched, not the mere intellect. It is when heart responds to heart that a static bureaucracy and management, be it in government or in service institutions like banking, become transformed into dynamic developmental administration and management. There is an appropriate strategy in everything. Our people, and even our foreign collaborators in industry, often complain that nothing moves in our bureaucracy; how many well-conceived developmental plans and programmes in our country are getting stifled by our wooden bureaucracy! All this will change when all our public service activities become infused with enlightened-citizenship awareness and the humanistic motive.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To point out the deficiency in the system of administration and management

  2. To emphasize the role heart could play in giving human orientation to bureaucracy

  3. To discuss the ways to infuse life in the wooden bureaucracy

  4. To suggest ways and means of galvanizing the government machineries

  5. To highlight the importance of intellect in developing the work culture of the government of the day


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

The writer lays emphasis on the role heart could play in making bureaucracy more responsive to human aspects.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Earning wealth by right means and honest labour is righteousness. But greed, and its impulsion to dishonesty and unscrupulousness, is opposed to what is righteous means. It is opposed to general social welfare and one`s own inner spiritual growth. It is righteousness that equalizes a strong man and a weak man in society. If the restraint of righteousness is not there, the strong will have all the riches, and the weak will be deprived of even elementary human satisfaction; and that was what obtained in the feudal social order, where the haves monopolized all the good things of life and the have-nots were left to live a near animal life. This is what we have to change fully in our democracy, by infusing moral, ethical, and human values in our society.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To infuse moral, ethical, and human values in the society for the betterment of democracy

  2. To highlight on the importance of righteousness for general social welfare

  3. To point out the differences between the strong and the weak

  4. To return to the good old days of feudal social order

  5. To ensure equitable distribution of national wealth amongst the haves and the have-nots


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The writer is keen to see a qualitative change in democracy which can be achieved by infusing moral, ethical and human values in our society.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Every nation, every culture, has its own approach to the subject of management, as well as to other forms of group life and activity. Today, there are two great nations which are highly specialized in the field of management and have their own philosophies relating to it: one is America and the other is Japan. Not many in India know that their own country has its own philosophy of administration and management that is second to none. And there is a positive sign today that many of our own people are eager to explore it further. Many writers have sprung up expounding this subject, basing their treatment on the great Yoga philosophy and technique of the Bhagvad-Gita.

What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?

  1. To bring focus back on the Bhagvad-Gita as the philosophy of administration and management

  2. To expound on the benefits of yoga that is based on the philosophies of the Bhagvad-Gita

  3. To demonstrate that India's philosophy of administration and management compares favourably with those of the best in the world

  4. To show that American and Japanese are no match to India when it came to the philosophy of administration and management even though they are rated high

  5. To point to the ignorance of Indians on the question of the Bhagvad-Gita supplying such a great philosophy on administration and management


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The writer is clear that the Bhagvad-gita has a great philosophy on administration and management; but because not many know about it, there is need to bring focus back on it.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Unfree people, like immature children, are difficult to manage; but free and responsible people are easy to manage. All management involves commanding and obeying. But in a democracy, all commanding should avoid injuring the self-respect of the one commanded, and all obeying should be on the basis of one`s freedom and self-respect, and never degrade into cringing. It is only in this context that inter-human relationships in the management situation can evoke the best from the other person. Such free and responsible people will be naturally endowed with the citizenship virtues and graces of duty and punctuality, cooperation and commitment.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To show that commanding and obeying are important management tools

  2. To elucidate on the importance of management philosophy based on the principle of obedience

  3. To show it is always easy to manage people who are free and not those who are shackled

  4. To discuss ways and means of achieving managerial successes

  5. To formulate principles on how to extract best from the fellow workers in a work place


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

That is precisely what the underlying idea of this passage is.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

It is obvious that, given a choice, all teachers would choose to teach in a classroom that is bright and well equipped and is limited to twenty students or thereabout with all of them having their books and materials to support their learning. That is not the situation in many classrooms in the world today, and it will probably not be the situation for years to come. In the meantime, as we have tried to show, there are ways to make learning better, more entertaining and easier for both the teacher and the students. We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sail.

What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?

  1. To show that even if a situation is not ideal, a profitable use of it can be made with some adjustments

  2. To elucidate on the impossibility of an ideal schooling situation in the world

  3. To lay importance on improved teacher and student relationship

  4. To issue guidelines on how to improve schooling system in the world

  5. To accept the reality of the situation about the pathetic schooling situation all over the world


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The purpose of the writer is to strike a balance between 'what ought to be' and 'what is' by making necessary adjustments.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

One of the great challenges for second language teachers has been the implementation of procedures that help learners process comprehensible input while at the same time giving them opportunities for language awareness. In other words, effective second language teaching requires input processing (acquisition) combined with focus on form. It matters little whether we call it language awareness, or consciousness-raising, or linguistic problem-solving. Language is no longer seen as a fixed inventory of structures prescribed by an itemized syllabus that is present in an atomistic and linear fashion. Rather, it is seen as a dynamic process in which learners themselves are involved.

What message does the passage convey?

  1. To work out a formula for linguistic problem-solving

  2. To denigrate the stereotyped manner of prescribing syllabus

  3. To evolve a new system of teaching second language

  4. To give free hand to teachers to experiment on new methodologies

  5. To emphasize on the dynamics of language awareness


Correct Option: E
Explanation:

It is the dynamics of language awareness that occupies the mind of the writer and that is what the passage conveys

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The challenges involved in teaching large classes can be daunting. The ideas presented for dealing with these challenges have been developed over a period of several years and are the result of research of the literature on teaching large classes and from long interactive sessions with teachers. These teachers brainstormed and conducted action research while trying out these ideas (and many others, not always with the same degree of success) in their classrooms. The idea of trying to manage a classroom full of noisy, often hungry, teenagers who may or may not be interested in learning English is daunting at best.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To address the problems teachers face in interactive sessions

  2. To discuss the ideas generated on how best to teach students

  3. To take on the question of managing large, noisy, and often unwilling teenagers huddled together to learn English

  4. To describe and paint a horrid picture of the existing classrooms that produce no positive results

  5. To tackle the problem of ever growing number of students


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

It is the daunting task of managing large classrooms that is central in this passage and is the underlying idea of the passage.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

All these talks of property are foolish. We think we are leaving things behind for our children so that they could lead a comfortable life! Just think of the kings and queens who left behind so much for the succeeding generations! Where were they now? And who was enjoying their property today? Budhu was analytically more pragmatic than his station permitted him. But while he made this observation, he did not have Pheku Miyan's status in mind. Nor for that matter, Pheku Miyan gave any thought to it. The two went about their way, munching the same cud over and over again.

What message does the passage convey?

  1. To state that leaving property behind does not necessarily ensure life of comfort for the succeeding generations

  2. To show that it is important to be analytically more pragmatic than one's station permitted

  3. To demonstrate the utility of wealth and property in the hands of the generations that follow

  4. To illustrate on how the mind of Pheku Miyan was working

  5. To dwell on the pragmatism of Budhu


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The message the passage conveys is clearly about the lack of guarantee of comfort for those left with immense property.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

A question is often asked these days by those keen to improve their English: which English to learn? Earlier, British English was the only English one needed to acquaint oneself with. It was proudly declared to be Oxford English. Things, with the arrival of computers, have radically altered. American English (some would frown at the very expression) has made a strong impact on our knowledge or non-knowledge of English. A case of no love lost between British and American English is well made out by Oscar Wilde who described Britain and America as “two great countries divided by a common language”. Americans regard British English as effete and the English regard American English as uncouth, foul and slangy. In spite of these hostilities, English language commands respect of the world.

What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?

  1. To project American English as uncouth

  2. To paint British English as effete

  3. To show the difference between British English and American English

  4. To give expression to the predicament of those keen to learn English


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

The passage begins on this key note of the predicament a student of English faces in having to decide which English to learn.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Having the right talent throughout the organization is a critical source of competitive advantage. The leading organizations therefore conduct assessments of their talent; they differentiate in their high performers and low performers. They reward high performers with job opportunities that excite and challenge them. This may seem simple and easy initially; in practice it requires a fundamental shift in thinking. In the process of scalability of talent, organizations recognize that poor performers are identified since they are the ones who do not fail in their own jobs, but bring down everyone else around them.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To show that appraising the performance of employees is not an easy exercise

  2. To dwell on the desirability of having right talent for competitive advantage

  3. To demonstrate the ill-effects of having poor performers in an organization

  4. To examine the process of scalability of talent employed by an organization

  5. To delineate on how to differentiate between high performers and low performers


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

The underlying idea has also to be the central idea, the main focal point of a passage. Right talent gives an organization the competitive edge it needs to survive.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Large investments are flowing into real estate. The average risk-averse wage earners prefer to make investment in residential property as a means of security steeped in cultural values. The demographic change and rising incomes as a result of economic growth has further added to the pressure on real estate prices which in turn is pulling down financial savings. On the other hand, the easy loans available from the banking system for purchase of residential property have led to conversion of financial savings into physical savings. With housing falling in shortage category, it is inevitable for the physical savings to increase in the coming years.

What is the central idea of the passage?

  1. To examine the reasons for growing investment in real estate

  2. To demonstrate the ill-effects of investment in real estate on the economy

  3. To find an answer to the housing falling in shortage category

  4. To examine the factors responsible for pulling down financial savings

  5. To check the ominous rise in physical savings


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The passage makes it clear that investments are on the increase in the real estate. It proceeds to examine the reasons for the same, and that is the central idea contained in the passage.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

It is a competitive world today with high attrition rates. To retain talent, there is need to offer something extra than what others offer to poach on employees of other organizations. This something extra has to be innovative non-monetary incentive or benefit which is priceless in its value. The effective talent management is essential to ensure that each organization has the right mix of people at present as also in the future and has leaders who can drive success in the organization`s unique context and culture. It is this need that has swung into action many organizations into talent scouting.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To retain talent irrespective of the cost

  2. To ensure right mix of people at all times

  3. To poach on employees of other organizations

  4. To ruminate on ways of creating success stories

  5. To have leaders who can deliver in all situations


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

In a competitive world with high rate of attrition, it is very important to have the right mix of people at all times for a company to survive.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

A recent Japanese visitor to our country was struck by seeing the widespread wearing of wrist watches by our people, including even our clerks, rickshaw-pullers, and other low paid citizens. He remarked to his Indian friend: In spite of Japan being economically more advanced than India, we Japanese do not consume most of what our industry produces like wrist watches and clocks, but largely export them for strengthening our economy; and what strikes me further in India is that everyone here wears a watch, but nobody is punctual, that the watch seems to be more a status symbol than a useful instrument of punctuality!

What message does the passage convey?

  1. That Indians do not understand nitty-gritty of economy

  2. That Japan is economically a developed country

  3. That keeping to time is more important than making a show of it

  4. That the visitors from Japan are very inquisitive by nature

  5. That it is important to sell watches and clocks to strengthen economy


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

Indians were seen flaunting wrist watches, but were not being punctual in their work.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

A conviction in the mind of its total ignorance of the nature of the specific attributes of Godhead, and a sense of the doubt respecting the real essence of the soul, give rise to feelings of great dissatisfaction with our limited powers. A notion of the existence of a supreme superintending power who regulates such an infinity of celestial and terrestrial objects, and a due estimation of that law which teaches that man should do unto others as he would wish to be done by, reconcile us to human nature, and tend to render our existence agreeable to ourselves and profitable to the rest of the mankind.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To ruminate on what man should with his limited power

  2. To wonder what makes man reconcile to human nature

  3. To ponder on what man should do to improve the quality of life around

  4. To show that it is the fear of the unknown that forces people to cling together

  5. To question the specific attributes of Godhead


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

The writer uses the cause and effect phenomenon to explain the cause of people clinging together.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

It is a common remark that science and literature are in a progressive state of decay among the natives. From every inquiry I have been enabled to make on this interesting subject, that remark appears to me but too well-founded. The number of the learned is not only diminished, but the circle of learning, even among those who still devote themselves to it, appears to be considerably constricted. The abstract sciences are abandoned, polite literature neglected, and no branch of learning cultivated. The immediate consequence of this state of things is the disuse, and even actual loss, of many books.

What is the author`s purpose in writing the passage?

  1. To draw attention to the dwindling number of readers in the world

  2. To draw attention to the dangers of the natives losing out on books of science and literature because of their diminishing interest in learning

  3. To depict a realistic picture of what is obtaining in the world of science and literature

  4. To caution against the possibility of some books getting lost

  5. To encourage people to take interest in polite literature


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

The natives face a distinct possibility of losing out on the stock of their books because of their declining interest in science and literature.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

In ancient and in modern times, seeds of great truth and power have been cast abroad by the advancing tides of national life; but it has always been with the blast of war trumpets, and with the march of embattled cohorts. Each idea has to be soaked in a deluge of blood. This is what, in the main, other nations have taught; but India has, for thousands of years, peacefully existed. Here activity prevailed when even Greece did not exist, and Rome was not thought of…. Even earlier, when tradition dare not peer into the gloom of that intense past, ideas have marched out from her womb.

What is the essence of the passage?

  1. That major parts of the world have spilled blood to have their say

  2. That the ideas have to be soaked in a deluge of blood

  3. That India has not learnt the art of disseminating ideas

  4. That it is possible to exist peacefully and transmit ideas without shedding blood


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Herein lies the essence of the passage. While major nations of the world have resorted to violence to have their say, India has disseminated them without shedding blood.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

It is time to censure a body which to many seems the mightiest outcome of our new national life; to some a precious urn in which are guarded our brightest and noblest hopes; to others a guiding star which shall lead us through the encircling gloom to a far distant paradise: and if we were not fully confident that this fixed idea of ours is a snare and a delusion, likely to have the most pernicious effects, we should simply have suppressed our own doubts and remained silent. As it is, we are fully confident, and hope to bring over one or two of our countrymen to our own way of thinking.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To create awareness about the need for uprooting and dismantling certain established traditions practised over a long period of time

  2. To banish those beliefs and practices that have pernicious effects

  3. To reconcile to those beliefs and practices that have social sanction

  4. To remove misgivings about fixed ideas being a snare and a delusion

  5. To harness energy for creation of a utopia where each individual could live in amity with nature


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

The writer is bent upon creating awareness amongst people to stand up against beliefs and practices that have done them more harm than good.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

There is no instance in history of a more marvellous and sudden up-surging of strength in a nation than modern Japan. There were several theories to account for the uprising, but the intellectual Japanese told us as to what were the fountains of that mighty awakening, the sources of that inexhaustible strength. They were drawn from religion. It was the Vedantic teachings of Oyomei and the recovery of Shintoism with its worship of the national Shakti of Japan in the image and person of the Mikado that enabled the little island empire to wield the stupendous weapons of Western knowledge and science with the same ease with which Arjun wielded the Gandiv.

What is the central idea of the passage?

  1. To show that Japan would not have progressed thus far if it had not relied on the teachings of the Vedas

  2. To demonstrate that the ease with which Arjun wielded Gandiv had no parallel

  3. To elucidate on how the Vedantic teachings helped Japanese master and control the weapons of Western knowledge and science

  4. To show the history of Japan is much like the history of ancient India

  5. To demonstrate that Japan owes much of its progress to Arjun who wielded Gandiv


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

The writer traces Japan's stupendous progress to their religious outlook whereby Vedantic teachings enabled them to acquire Western knowledge and science.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that from being artless the poet becomes the conscious artist. Often enough the poets when faced with more difficult material tend to become obscure, and again in handling some of the difficult metres which they attempted the same result is achieved. Though humour is often enough lacking, there are touches here and there, sometimes of a grim kind. Pathos, too, of a solemn and elevated kind is to be found as well as that of a more simple genre. In the best, the style is lucid, firm, controlled, and superb; in the worst, it has every possible fault.

What message does the passage convey?

  1. To suggest that poets are artless

  2. To show that poets are inept at handling metres

  3. To demonstrate that poets lack humour

  4. To show that poets are not conscious artists

  5. To suggest that poets, more often than not, acquire the tag of a conscious artist more by chance than by design


Correct Option: E
Explanation:

This is precisely what the writer says that quite often an artless poet becomes a conscious artist.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

In the unending revolutions of the world, as the wheel of the Eternal turns mightily in its courses, the Infinite Energy, streams forth from the Eternal and sets the wheel to work, looms up in the vision of man in various aspects and infinite forms. Each aspect creates and marks an age. Sometimes She is Love, some She is Knowledge, sometimes She is Renunciation, sometimes She is Pity. This Infinite Energy is the Mother of us all. When we raise our eyes and turn our gaze, huge masses of strength rise before our vision.

What is underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To create a hallucinatory image of something

  2. To depict the forms of the Infinite Energy

  3. To explain the origin of the Infinite Energy

  4. To visualize various forms of the Infinite Energy

  5. To throw up the idea of God


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

The writer has tried to explain the origin of the Infinite Energy and the impact each of its aspects has in various ages.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Though the prose writing of the period is not great in bulk, it shows a profound change in style. Previous writers had done remarkable and beautiful work in prose, but clear style had not yet found itself. It was wayward and erratic, often cumbrous and often obscure, and weighted with a Latinized construction and vocabulary. In Dryden's time prose begins definitely to find its feet. It acquires a general utility and permanence; it is smoothed and straightened, simplified and harmonized. This is the age of average prose, and prepares the way for the works of those that then stood on the threshold of the modern prose style.

What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?

  1. To play down the importance of prose writing

  2. To show that Dryden's age lacked style

  3. To suggest that Dryden's age served as a springboard for the more enlightened writers

  4. To heap praises on the Latinized construction and vocabulary

  5. To show that average prose was all that mattered


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

The writer clearly states that even as the age of Dryden had begun to find its feet, the age only served as springboard for others who took prose-writing to a greater height.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Whether man is prepared to cope with the increased choice of material and cultural wares available to him is, however, a totally different question. For there comes a time when choice, rather than freeing the individual, becomes so complex, difficult and costly, that it turns into its opposite. There comes a time, in short, when choice turns into over-choice and freedom into un-freedom. To understand why we must go beyond this examination of our material and cultural choice, we have to look at what is happening to social choice as well, for this choice will have far more bearing on the other choices.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To decide on the choices to make

  2. To ruminate on the complexity of choosing

  3. To settle on social choice as a determiner

  4. To wriggle out of the material and cultural maze

  5. To show the importance of random choosing


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

The basic question the passage tackles is about the complexity that is involved in the act of choosing from the plethora of material and cultural wares available.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

What with a strong and intelligent public opinion here and a well meaning government, the difficulties we have to contend with are not at all commensurate with those that retard the well-being of our countrymen in that country. It is, therefore, quite the time that all public bodies should at once turn their attention to this important subject to create an intelligent public opinion with a view to organizing an agitation for the removal of the grievances under which our brethren are labouring. Indeed, these grievances have become and are day by day becoming so unbearable and offensive that the requisite agitation cannot be taken up one day too soon.

What message does the passage convey?

  1. To create a strong public opinion against all kinds of the ill-treatment meted out to people residing in another country

  2. To launch an immediate agitation against the continued discrimination of our people in the other country

  3. To seek to improve relations with the inmates of other friendly countries

  4. To discuss ways and means of ameliorating the lot of people living in other countries

  5. To impress upon the government to afford similar treatment to all citizens of all countries


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

The passage is about launching of immediate agitation against the discriminatory treatment meted out to our people in the other country.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The space between the waves and the foot of the cliffs was very broad; one might walk for half an hour before reaching the latter. Our boots crushed innumerable shells of all shapes and sizes, the remains of prehistoric creatures. We saw enormous carapaces, sometimes fifteen feet across, which had belonged to beasts of which the modern tortoise is but a greatly reduced reproduction. Besides this, the stones covering the ground were rounded, and disposed in rows and layers; from all of which we concluded that at one time the sea had covered this part, now beyond its reach.

What is the author`s purpose in writing the passage?

  1. To show what it takes to be an explorer

  2. To acquaint us with the grind an explorer has to undergo

  3. To take the readers through the rigours of traversing through difficult terrains

  4. To expose readers to the romance of exploration

  5. To demonstrate the remains of prehistoric creatures


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Exploration is always a romantic feat and the writer is exposing his readers to that romance.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Savings play an important role in the economic growth of any country. Savings are also considered as backbone of investments. The neo-classical economists Robert M. Solow and T. W. Swan emphasized the role of savings which are translated into investment and investment in turn helps increase economic growth. An economy can have different forms of savings of which household savings generally constitute the largest share in aggregate savings. Other forms of savings comprise private corporate sector savings, public sector savings and foreign savings. Household savings are made either by way of direct physical assets or in the form of financial assets.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To show that aggregate savings determine the status of economy

  2. To demonstrate the pre-eminence of household savings in a country's progress

  3. To discount the role of private corporate sector savings

  4. To lay down a policy framework for attracting investment in the form of household savings

  5. To determine the extent of household savings that would be necessary to sustain the economy of any country


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

Usually, there are different forms of savings that contribute to a nation's economy. Household savings enjoys a pre-eminent position.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The problem is not, therefore, to suppress change, which cannot be done, but to manage it. If we opt for rapid change in certain sectors of life, we can consciously attempt to build stability zones elsewhere. A divorce, perhaps, should not be too closely followed by a job transfer. Since the birth of a child alters all the human ties within a family, it ought not, perhaps, be followed too closely by a relocation which causes tremendous turn-over in human ties outside the family. The recent widow should not, perhaps, rush to sell her house. But to achieve this, we need far more potent tools.

What is the author`s purpose in writing this passage?

  1. To educate on the necessity of building stability zones in life

  2. To suggest ways of wriggling out of the vortex of change

  3. To show how to suppress change that stifles life

  4. To elucidate on how to manage change

  5. To develop tools to tackle the onslaught of change


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

The change is avalanching upon us. It cannot be avoided. The best thing is to learn to cope with it. That is the purpose of the passage.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Most observers agree that Latin America and Africa have been severe victims of globalization. The widespread lament about lost decades in the context of these two continents relates to the absolute fall in per capita incomes witnessed during the years following globalization. And it should not surprise anybody that at least seven Latin American countries have already elected left-wing governments in a bid to reverse the process of liberalization and globalization. But India and China are supposed to be success stories. The example of China, with its very different economic system, may not be apposite in arguing the case of globalization. But the claim that India is shining warrants a close look.

What is the author`s purpose in writing the passage?

  1. To draw attention to the plight of the victims of globalization

  2. To start a fresh debate on liberalization and globalization

  3. To dump the success stories of China and India

  4. To support the cause of the Latin American countries

  5. To denounce the countries for electing left-wing governments


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

As the angst of the passage shows, the writer is for a fresh debate on the desirability of continuing to espouse the cause of liberalization and globalization.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The period of transition is nearly over. The English language has shaken down to a kind of average-to the standard of the East Midland speech, the language of the capital city and of the universities. The other dialects, with the exception of the Scottish branch, rapidly melt away from literature, till they become quite exiguous. French and English have amalgamated to form the Standard English tongue, which attains to its first full expression in the works of Chaucer. From the literary point of view, of greater importance are the social and intellectual movements of the period giving rise to the spirit of inquiry.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To demonstrate establishment of English as the language of the mass and class

  2. To lay greater stress on the spirit of inquiry from the literary point of view

  3. To show the benefits of French and English coming together to form Standard English tongue

  4. To demonstrate the causes for extinction of other dialects including the Scottish branch

  5. To advocate the necessity of tracking down the history of language


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Emergence of English as the language of the capital city as also that of the university scholars is the main issue of the passage.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The demand for education, and the recognition that it is vital for personal advancement and empowerment, has now penetrated all levels of society. With the economy projected to grow at an average of eight per cent, the demand for skilled labour is exploding. The transition from an agrarian/rural economy to an urban/industrial economy can be facilitated only by education. The debate over the choice between primary education on the one hand, and tertiary on the other is a spurious one: the country needs both robust primary education and innovative higher education.

What message does the passage convey?

  1. That it is important to keep debating the issue of education

  2. That it is always important to decide where to lay more stress when it comes to education: on primary or on tertiary education

  3. That it is foolish to waste energy on debating relevance of primary and tertiary education

  4. That there is need for a shift from agrarian/rural to urban/industrial economy, which can be achieved only through education

  5. That education continues to be neglected at all levels


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

The writer is very specific about this requirement and so stresses on education for all.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Sharp differences would quickly emerge between the society that presses technological advance selectively and blindly snatches at the first opportunity that comes along. Even sharper differences would develop between the society in which the pace of technological advance is moderated and guided to prevent future shock, and that in which masses of ordinary people are incapacitated for rational decision-making. In one, political democracy and broad-scale participation are feasible; in the other, powerful pressures lead towards political rule by a tiny techno-managerial elite. Our choice of technologies, in short, will decisively shape the cultural style of the future.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To show it is dangerous to let power pass into the hands of tiny techno-managerial elite

  2. To demonstrate the baneful effects of the selective use of technology by a handful

  3. To exercise caution and prudence in selecting the technologies

  4. To show that the shape of the cultural style of the future will be determined by what technologies are adopted today

  5. To leave the choice of technologies to the experts in their respective fields


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

The underlying idea is-the shape of the future will be determined by the kind of technologies we adopt today.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The last five years have seen a surge in private corporate savings as companies became more efficient and increased their profitability. That has been accompanied by a rise in public sector savings on the back of increased fiscal prudence. However, the current economic situation is putting pressure on both corporate profitability and the public finances, ensuring that savings in these two sectors are unlikely to grow as rapidly as in the past. Household savings will therefore remain crucial to sustaining a strong saving rate. This means private and public sector savings will remain distant competitors to household savings.

What is the central idea of the passage?

  1. To show that private companies have become more efficient

  2. To demonstrate that there is no real substitute to the private sectors

  3. To show that despite surge in private corporate savings, household savings remain crucial

  4. To demonstrate that public sector savings despite enforced fiscal prudence faces a bleak scenario

  5. To show that in the present economic scenario both private and private sector savings will have a very subdued role to play


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

Household savings remain crucial for sustaining a strong saving rate despite surge in private corporate savings. This is the key. Hence, the central idea of the passage.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

A calm, rational, socially sensitive approach was required to deal with most work related problems. To make good decisions people needed a peaceful mind. Heightened pressure increased their agitation, excitability and fight and flight response, which was hardly required to handle corporate situations calling for cool, calculated, well thought-out decisions. Adrenaline, which heightened their fight or flight response made them aggressive. The workplace was based on human inter-relation and team work which were quickly shattered by an aggressive approach. In situations where each person felt threatened and remained concerned about his own survival he was less likely to think of what his behaviour was doing to others.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To show that good decisions can be made in any atmosphere

  2. To show that aggression was necessary to infuse competition

  3. To demonstrate that employees gave their best only when pressed hard

  4. To encourage human inter-relationship and team work in an organization for better results and to shun aggressive approach

  5. To show that it did not pay to be very innovative in HR matters


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

The emphasis is on improving human inter-relationship that will ensure a peaceful industrial atmosphere so vital for improved work culture.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Mature workforce is the workforce having large exposure in an organization. This group of workforce is skilled, professional and subject expert. These have to be retained. This experienced workforce is the essence of any organization, their experience gives the confidence to the top leaders that the situations will be managed well in any crucial and crisis time. This segment of people in an organization grooms the young generations for future leadership. They can play the role of mentors for the new entrants in the organization. The mature workforce may also be hired through lateral recruitment.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To show that the top leaders of an organization must have the ability to handle crisis situation

  2. To demonstrate that mature workforce must only be hired through lateral recruitment

  3. To underline the importance of mature work force as this work force is the essence of any organization

  4. To suggest that the role of the experienced work force is to groom young generation for the future

  5. To assert that a company would not survive for a day if there was no mature workforce


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

This is precisely what the underlying idea of the passage is as it underlines the importance of experience workforce for a company.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

An immanent tendency under capitalism is the centralization of capital. Increasingly, in the later phases of capitalism, small numbers of persons come to control enormous amounts of finance, reflecting the emergence of finance capital. Lenin and others had traced the origin of the First World War to the conflict between rival nation-based and nation-state-aided finance capital oligarchies of the advanced countries. These financial oligarchies pressurized the state into exclusively promoting their interests rather than supposedly looking after the interests of the society as a whole. Significantly, during the Great Depression, proposals for state intervention to reduce unemployment were thwarted by opposition from the financial oligarchies.

What message does the passage convey?

  1. That a handful of people have taken control of enormous amounts of finance

  2. That concentration of wealth portends ill for the majority people of the world

  3. The passage traces the cause of the Great Depression

  4. That there is a system in place to take care of the financial oligarchies

  5. That the First World War was caused by the capital oligarchies


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Centralization of capital in the hands of small number of people is the cause of all financial ills all over the world.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

The voters today are so far removed from contact with their elected representatives; the issues dealt with are so technical, that even well-educated middle-class citizens feel hopelessly excluded from the goal-setting process. Because of the generalized acceleration of life, so much happens so fast between elections that the politician grows increasingly less accountable to the 'folks back home'. What's more, these folks back home keep changing. In theory, the voter unhappy with the performance of his representative can vote against him the next time around. In practice, millions find even this impossible as mass mobility removes them from the district, sometimes disenfranchising them altogether.

What message does the passage convey?

  1. That there is far too much mobility in life

  2. That it is impossible to take the elected representatives to task

  3. That even a well-educated middle-class citizen is not part of goal-setting process

  4. That because of the acceleration of life, an individual voter loses interest in his elected representative

  5. That the present day politicians have become less and less accountable to their electors


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

This is one of the perennial problems a voter faces in today's fast-paced life.

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

In recent times there has been a major shift in HR operations in some global corporations towards applying the best of available talent that makes them to beat the market competition with renewed interest and enthusiasm. Also the amount of research being available now on HR and their direction to the growing business issues attract the attention of strategists. Rather than going for new talent acquisition that involves an additional cost, some companies are focusing more on management of internally available talent by drawing new work profiles and revamping their job description/specification and business processes.

What is the underlying idea of the passage?

  1. To manage the internally available talent by suitably altering job profiles

  2. To beat the market competition with renewed interest and enthusiasm

  3. To cut corners to save on additional cost incurred on hiring of new talent

  4. To show that internally available resource is enough to beat the market trend

  5. To demonstrate that there is no real substitute to hiring from market


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Given the enormous cost of hiring fresh talent from the market, it is desirable to manage the internally available talent by changing/altering/modifying the job profiles to suit the requirement.

- Hide questions