Read the text and answer the question by choosing all the correct responses. Only one response is correct. Answers are provided at the bottom of the page.
1) Dennis Tito, an American engineer, and multimillionaire was the first space tourist to fund his own trip into space. In 2001, he spent nearly eight days in orbit as a crew member of ISS EP-1, a visiting mission to the International Space Station, after being accepted by the Russian Federal Space Agency as a candidate for a commercial spaceflight. Tito met criticism from NASA before the launch, primarily from Daniel Goldin, at that time the Administrator of NASA, who considered it inappropriate for a tourist to take a ride into space. In the decade since Dennis Tito journeyed to the International Space Station, eight private citizens have paid the $20 million fee to travel to space, but it is believed that this number could increase fifteen-fold by 2020. A web-based survey suggested that over 70% of those surveyed were interested in traveling to space, 88% wanted to spacewalk, and 21% liked the idea of staying in a space hotel.
What would be the best title for the above passage ?
a) A giant leap for tourism in the 21st century.
b) The first space tourist.
c) The pros and cons of space tourism.
d)Rise in space tourism
2) The literature on drug addiction has grown at a rate that defies anyone to keep abreast of the literature, and apparently in inverse proportion to our understanding of the subject. Addiction, or dependence, as it is more fashionable to call it, excites controversy and speculation yet true understanding of the phenomenon remains elusive.In fact the area is fraught with speculation and acrimonious debate. Definition of terms such as drug,addiction, and abuse is obviously less controversial than attempts to explain the nature of drug dependence,yet even the terminology is imprecise and overlain with subjective connotations. At its most basic, a drug, as defined by the World Heath Organization, is simply any substance which when taken into the living organism may modify one or more of its functions. This kind of definition is too wide to be of any use in a discussion of dependence: it covers everything from insulin to aspirin, penicillin to alcohol.
The author implies that he thinks the term dependence in the context of drugs.
a) is more accurate the older term addiction
b) has not always been the preferred term
c) is a currently under-used term
d) is an avant-garde aberration
3)Carbon dioxide constitutes only a small part of the atmosphere. But it has an important function in maintaining the balance between radiation from the sun entering the atmosphere and radiation leaving the Earth. Some of the radiation is absorbed by the Earth and some is radiated back into the atmosphere. Since carbon dioxide in the atmosphere prevents some of the radiation from leaving the atmosphere, the heat remains in the atmosphere. Yet, if the proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increased as a result of air pollution, the temperature of the atmosphere may rise with catastrophic consequences.
Which of the following most accurately summarizes the opinion of the author in the text?
a) Air pollution may upset the balance of nature through excessive levels of carbon dioxide.
b) Carbon dioxide helps prevent the temperature of the Earth from rising or falling.
c) Climatic changes brought about by air pollution are likely to be serious.
d) Increase in levels of carbon dioxide in atmosphere causes air pollution.
4) A new ‘super-Earth’ has been discovered that could have a life-supporting climate and water. The planet, given the catchy name HD 40307g, was discovered in a multi-world solar system 42 light years from the Sun and lies at exactly the right distance from its star to allow liquid surface water. It orbits well within the star’s “habitable” or “Goldilocks” zone – the region where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold to sustain life. Professor Hugh Jones, from the University of Hertfordshire said: “The longer orbit of the new planet means that its climate and atmosphere may be just right to support life. Just as Goldilocks liked her porridge to be neither too hot nor too cold but just right, this planet or indeed any moons that is has lie in an orbit comparable to Earth, increasing the probability of it being habitable.” The ‘super earth’ is one of six planets believed to circle the dwarf star HD 40307 in the constellation Pictor. All the others are located outside the habitable zone, too close to their parent star to support liquid water.
Why is it thought that the planet may be able to support life?
a) It has been shown to have water.
b) It is 42 light years from the Sun.
c) It orbits its own star at the perfect distance.
d) It has several moons.
5) Thomas Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and large-scale teamwork to the process of the invention, and because of that, he is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory. Edison is the fourth most prolific inventor in history, holding 1,093 US patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. He is credited with numerous inventions that contributed to mass communication and, in particular, telecommunications.
Choose the best heading for the paragraph from the list below.
a) The creator of the first industrial research laboratory.
b) A pioneering and prolific inventor.
c) Edison’s contribution to mass communication.
6) Future Shock is a book written by the futurist Alvin Toffler in 1970. In the book, Toffler defines the term “future shock” as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. His shortest definition for the term is a personal perception of “too much change in too short a period of time”. The book became an international bestseller, selling over 6 million copies, and has been widely translated. Toffler argued that society is undergoing an enormous structural change, a revolution from an industrial society to a “super-industrial society”. This change overwhelms people, he believed, the accelerated rate of technological and social change leaving people disconnected and suffering from “shattering stress and disorientation” – future shocked. Toffler stated that the majority of social problems are symptoms of future shock. In his discussion of the components of such shock he popularized the term “information overload.”
What would be the most suitable title for the passage?
a) A shocking vision of the future.
b) What is “future shock”?
c) The career of the futurist Alvin Toffler.
d) A changing society.
7)The attitude of the scientific community towards the unconscious mind has shifted dramatically in recent years. While once viewed as a lazy reservoir of memories and non-task oriented behaviour, the unconscious is now regarded as an active and essential component in the processes of decision making. Historically, the unconscious mind was considered to be the source of dreams and implicit memory (which allows people to walk or ride a bicycle without consciously thinking about the activity), as well as the storing place for memories of past experiences. But recent research reveals that the unconscious brain might also be an active player in decision-making, problem-solving, creativity and critical thinking. One familiar example of the operation of the unconscious in problem-solving is the well-known phenomenon of the “eureka moment” when a solution to a problem presents itself without the involvement of active thinking.
What would be the most suitable title for the passage?
a) Scientists present new findings about the unconscious mind
b) Our growing understanding of the role of the unconscious
c) How humans solve problems
d) What is a “eureka moment”?
8) For the first time, dictionary publishers are incorporating real, spoken English into their data. It gives lexicographers (people who write dictionaries) access to a more vibrant, up-to-date vernacular language which has never really been studied before. In one project, 150 volunteers each agreed to discreetly tie a Walkman recorder to their waist and leave it running for anything up to two weeks. Every conversation they had was recorded. When the data was collected, the length of tapes was 35 times the depth of the Atlantic Ocean. Teams of audio typists transcribed the tapes to produce a computerised database of ten million words.
Which would be most suitable heading for the paragraph?
a) New method of research
b) The first study of spoken language
c) Research on collecting data
d) Study for new words
9) A new survey reveals that a family sit-down at dinnertime may reduce a teenager’s risk of trying or using alcohol, cigarettes and drugs. The study surveyed more than 1,000 teens and found that those who dined with their families five to seven times a week were four times less likely to use alcohol, tobacco or marijuana than those who ate with their families fewer than three times a week. A recent UK survey also found that dining together as a family is a key ingredient in ensuring a child’s happiness. Children in the survey reported higher levels of happiness when they dined together with their families at least three times a week. “Contrary to the popular belief that children only want to spend time playing video games or watching TV,” said researcher Dr. Maris Iacovou of the University of Essex, “we found that they were most happy when interacting with their parents or siblings.”
What would be the best title for the given text?
a) Children’s happiness
b) Why teenagers use alcohol, cigarettes and drugs
c) What teenagers really want
d) Why families should dine together
10) In linguistics, a corpus (plural corpora) is a large and structured set of texts (now usually electronically stored and processed). A corpus may be used to help linguists to analyse a language, or for the purpose of dictionary writing or language teaching. The British National Corpus (BNC) is a 100-million-word text corpus of samples of written and spoken English from a wide range of sources. The corpus covers British English of the late twentieth century from a wide variety of genres with the intention that it be a representative sample of spoken and written British English of that time.
What is a corpus according to text?
a) A type of large dictionary.
b) A single written text.
c) A tool for language analysis.
d) A sample of spoken and written British English
11)The chemical formula of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is now well established. The molecule is a very long chain, the backbone of which consists of a regular alternation of sugar and phosphate groups. To each sugar is attached a nitrogenous base, which can be of four different types. Two of the possible bases—adenine and guanine—are purines, and the other two—thymine and cytosine—are pyrimidines. So far as is known, the sequence of bases along the chain is irregular. The monomer unit, consisting of phosphate, sugar and base, is known as a nucleotide. The first feature of our structure which is of biological interest is that it consists not of one chain, but of two. These two chains are both coiled around a common fiber axis. It has often been assumed that since there was only one chain in the chemical formula there would only be one in the structural unit. However, the density, taken with the X-ray evidence, suggests very strongly that there are two.
In the paragraph , what do the authors claim to be a feature of biological interest?
a) The chemical formula of DNA
b) The common fiber axis
c) The X-ray evidence
d) DNA consisting of two chains
12)Every day, millions of shoppers hit the stores in full force—both online and on foot—searching frantically for the perfect gift. Last year, Americans spent over $30 billion at retail stores in the month of December alone. Aside from purchasing holiday gifts, most people regularly buy presents for other occasions throughout the year, including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and baby showers. This frequent experience of gift-giving can engender ambivalent feelings in gift-givers.
The authors most likely use the examples in the passage to highlight the
a) regularity with which people shop for gifts.
b) recent increase in the amount of money spent on gifts.
c) anxiety gift shopping causes for consumers.
d)number of special occasions involving gift-giving.
13) Follow the money and you will end up in space. That’s the message from a first-of-its-kind forum on mining beyond Earth. Convened in Sydney by the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research, the event brought together mining companies, robotics experts, lunar scientists, and government agencies that are all working to make space mining a reality. The forum comes hot on the heels of the 2012 unveiling of two private asteroid-mining firms. Planetary Resources of Washington says it will launch its first prospecting telescopes in two years, while Deep Space Industries of Virginia hopes to be harvesting metals from asteroids by 2020. Another commercial venture that sprung up in 2012, Golden Spike of Colorado, will be offering trips to the moon, including to potential lunar miners.
The author of Passage mentions several companies primarily to
a) note the technological advances that make space mining possible.
b) provide evidence of the growing interest in space mining.
c) emphasize the large profits to be made from space mining.
d) highlight the diverse ways to carry out space mining operations.
14)Language is not a cultural artifact that we learn the way we learn to tell time or how the federal government works. Instead, it is a distinct piece of the biological makeup of our brains. Language is a complex, specialized skill, which develops in the child spontaneously, without conscious effort or formal instruction, is deployed without awareness of its underlying logic, is qualitatively the same in every individual, and is distinct from more general abilities to process information or behave intelligently. For these reasons some cognitive scientists have described language as a psychological faculty, a mental organ, a neural system, and a computational module. But I prefer the admittedly quaint term ‘instinct’. It conveys the idea that people know how to talk in more or less the sense that spiders know how to spin webs. Web-spinning was not invented by some unsung spider genius and does not depend on having had the right education or on having an aptitude for architecture or the construction trades. Rather, spiders spin spider webs because they have spider brains, which give them the urge to spin and the competence to succeed.
According to the passage, which of the following does not stem from popular wisdom on language?
a) Language is a cultural artifact.
b) Language is learnt as we grow.
c) Language is a psychological faculty
d) Language is unique to Homo sapiens
e) Language is a cultural invention
15)In nearly all human populations a majority of individuals can taste the artificially synthesized chemical phenylthiocarbonide (PTC). However, the percentage varies dramatically–from as low as 60% in India to as high as 95% in Africa. That this polymorphism is observed in non-human primates as well indicates a long evolutionary history which, although obviously not acting on PTC, might reflect evolutionary selection for taste discrimination of other, more significant bitter substances, such as certain toxic plants.
Which of the following provides the most reasonable explanation for the assertion in the paragraph that evolutionary history “obviously” did not act on PTC?
a) PTC is not a naturally occurring chemical but rather has been produced only recently by scientists.
b) Most humans lack sufficient taste sensitivity to discriminate between PTC and bitter chemicals occurring naturally.
c) Variability among humans respecting PTC discrimination, like variability respecting earwax, cannot be explained in terms of evolutionary adaptivity.
d) Unlike non-human primates, humans can discriminate intellectually between toxic and non-toxic bitter substances.
16)In the more progressive schools throughout the world, attempts are being made to synthesize subjects previously taught separately. Examples of this are efforts to combine reading with literature and history with geography. In North America and Western Europe, innovation such as team teaching, the use of more teachers’ aides or clerks, and the establishment of ungraded school have been tried. Most significant and pervasive, however, has been the widespread and growing acceptance of the principle that elementary education should focus on activity and experience as well as on subject matter.
Which of the following most accurately summarizes the opinion of the author in the text?
a) Schools have introduced teaching in “practical” subjects along with the theoretical ones.
b) It is necessary to provide school education in vocational or pre-vocational skills.
c) Experimentation and innovation in curriculum and teaching methods have taken place at the elementary and other levels.
d)The teaching of hand skills in elementary school varies from nation to nation.
17)A few minutes ago, walking back from lunch, I started to cross the street when I heard the sound of a coin dropping. It wasn’t much but, as I turned, my eyes caught the heads of several other people turning too. A woman had dropped what appeared to be a dime.The tinkling sound of a coin dropping on pavement is an attention-getter. It can be nothing more than a penny. Whatever the coin is, no one ignores the sound of it. It got me thinking about sounds again.
The sound of a coin dropping makes people …
a) think of money
b) look at each other.
c) pay attention to it.
d) stop crossing the street.
18)The railroad was not the first institution to impose regularity on society, or to draw attention to the importance of precise timekeeping. For as long as merchants have set out their wares at Line daybreak and communal festivities have been celebrated, people have been in rough agreement with their neighbors as to the time of day. The value of this tradition is today more apparent than ever. Were it not for public acceptance of a single yardstick of time, social life would be unbearably chaotic: the massive daily transfers of goods, services, and information would proceed in fits and starts; the very fabric of modern society would begin to unravel.
What is the main idea of the passage?
a) In modern society we must make more time for our neighbors.
b) The traditions of society are timeless.
c) An accepted way of measuring time is essential for the smooth functioning of society.
d) Society judges people by the times at which they conduct certain activities.
19)Now, it is clear that the decline of a language must ultimately have political and economic causes: it is not due simply to the bad influence of this or that individual writer. But an effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form, and so on indefinitely.A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.
The author would most likely agree that
a) individual writers can never have a bad influence on the English language
b) imprecise use of language is likely to make precise thought more difficult
c) the English language is ugly and inaccurate
d) all language declines for political reasons
e) failure generally leads to more failure in a downward spiral
20)The ground is full of seeds that cannot rise into seedlings;the seedlings rob one another of air, light and water, the strongest robber winning the day, and extinguishing his competitors. Year after year, the wild animals with which man never interferes are, on the average, neither more nor less numerous than they were; and yet we know that the annual produce of every pair is from one to perhaps a million young; so that it is mathematically certain that,on the average, as many are killed by natural causes as are born every year, and those only escape which happen to be a little better fitted to resist destruction than those which die. The individuals of a species are like the crew of a foundered ship,and none but good swimmers have a chance of reaching the land.
The main point the author conveys is that
a) natural populations of animals in the wild increase in numbers exponentially
b) all members of a species are in violent competition with one another
c) in the struggle to survive, the fittest survive
d) members of one generation of a population are all more or less alike
e) man’s interference destroys the natural balance
21) Could Washington, Madison, and the other framers of the Federal Constitution revisit the earth in this year 1922,it is likely that nothing would bewilder them more than the recent Prohibition Amendment. Railways, steamships,the telephone, automobiles, flying machines, submarines all these developments, unknown in their day, would fill them with amazement and admiration. They would marvel at the story of the rise and downfall of the German Empire; at the growth and present greatness of the Republic they themselves had founded. None of these things, however, would seem to them to involve any essential change in the beliefs and purposes of men asthey had known them. The Prohibition Amendment, on the contrary, would evidence to their minds the breaking down of a principle of government which they had deemed axiomatic, the abandonment of a purpose which they had supposed immutable.
It can be inferred that the paragraph is intended as
a) an introduction to a discussion of a constitutional amendment
b) a summary of social and political change since the writing of the Federal Constitution
c) an introduction to a history of the Constitution
d) a clarification of the author’s view of a controversy
e) a summation of a discussion on political history
22) The books one reads in childhood create in one’s mind a sort of false map of the world, a series of fabulous countries into which one can retreat at odd moments throughout the rest of life, and which in some cases can even survive a visit to the real countries which they are supposed to represent. The pampas, the Amazon, the coral islands of the Pacific, Russia, land of birch-tree and samovar, Transylvania with its boyars and vampires, the China of Guy Boothby, the Paris of du Maurier one could continue the list for a long time. But one other imaginary country that I acquired early in life was called America. If I pause on the word America, and deliberately put aside the existing reality, I can call up my childhood vision of it.
By calling America an imaginary country the author implies that
a) America has been the subject of numerous works for children
b) he has never seen America
c) his current vision of that country is not related to reality
d) America has stimulated his imagination
e) his childhood vision of that country owed nothing to actual conditions
23) Examine the recently laid egg of some common animal, such as a salamander or newt. It is a minute spheroid an apparently structure less sac, enclosing a fluid, holding granules in suspension. But let a moderate supply of warmth reach its watery cradle, and the plastic matter undergoes changes so rapid, yet so steady and purposeful in their succession, that one can only compare them to those operated by a skilled modeler upon a formless lump of clay. As with an invisible trowel, the mass is divided and subdivided into smaller and smaller portions. And, then, it is as if a delicate finger traced out the line to be occupied by the spinal column, and molded the contour of the body; pinching up the head at one end, the tail at the other, and fashioning flank and limb into due proportions, in so artistic a way, that, after watching the process hour by hour, one is almost involuntarily possessed by the notion, that some more subtle aid to vision than a microscope, would show the hidden artist, with his plan before him, striving with skillful manipulation to perfect his work.
The author makes his main point with the aid of
a) logical paradox
b) complex rationalization
c) observations on the connection between art and science
d) scientific deductions
e) extended simile
24) Much of what goes by the name of pleasure is simply an effort to destroy consciousness. If one started by asking, what is man? what are his needs? how can he best express himself?one would discover that merely having the power to avoid work and live ones life from birth to death in electric light and to the tune of tinned music is not a reason for doing so. Man needs warmth, society, leisure, comfort and security: he also needs solitude, creative work and the sense of wonder. If he recognized this he could use the products of science and industrialism eclectically, applying always the same test:does this make me more human or less human? He would then learn that the highest happiness does not lie in relaxing,resting, playing poker, drinking and making love simultaneously.
The author would apparently agree that playing poker is
a) often an effort to avoid thinking
b) something that gives true pleasure
c) an example of man’s need for society
d) something that man must learn to avoid
25) Reviving the practice of using elements of popular music in classical composition, an approach that had been in hibernation in the United States during the 1960s, composer Philip Glass (born 1937) embraced the ethos of popular music in his compositions. Glass based two symphonies on music by rock musicians David Bowie and Brian Eno, but the symphonies’ sound is distinctively his. Popular elements do not appear out of place in Glass’s classical music, which from its early days has shared certain harmonies and rhythms with rock music. Yet this use of popular elements has not made Glass a composer of popular music. His music is not a version of popular music packaged to attract classical listeners; it is high art for listeners steeped in rock rather than the classics.
The passage addresses which of the following issues related to Glass’s use of popular elements in his classical compositions?
a) How it is regarded by listeners who prefer rock to the classics
b) How it has affected the commercial success of Glass’s music
c) Whether it has contributed to a revival of interest among other composers in using popular elements in their compositions
d) Whether it has had a detrimental effect on Glass’s reputation as a composer of classical music
d) Whether it has caused certain of Glass’s works to be derivative in quality
26) E–mailing has become one of the most popular means of communication. Every year almost 4 – 5 trillion e–mails are sent globally from almost 600 million electronic mail boxes. The stats have shot up since 1995. A survey shows almost six fold increase in e–mailing between employers and employees during this period. And since e-mailing is a form of formal text messaging, it has not interfered much with informal face to face communication. It is highly beneficial in organized communication. Most of the working people prefer e–mail and face to face communication over telephone conversation or written memos. Candidates can e–mail their resumes, contact on internet and give interviews through video conferencing. Even business tycoons prefer transferring their business reports through e–mail.
What main point is the author trying to make?
a) Direct communication has fallen to a great extent due to e-mail and fax.
b) E-mail and faxes are better options where time needs to be saved.
c)E–mail has trounced all other means of direct and indirect communication of information.
d)E–mailing has revolutionized the messaging by its reach and breadth of application.
27) As the earth rotates, a sequence of two high tides, separated by two low tides, is produced each day. Twice in each lunar month, when the sun, moon, and earth are directly aligned, with the moon between the earth and the sun (at new moon) or on the opposite side of the earth from the sun (at full moon), the sun and the moon exert their gravitational force in an additive fashion. Higher high tides and lower low tides are produced. These are called spring tides. At two positions 90 degrees in between, the gravitational forces of the moon and sun tend to counteract each other. These are called neap tides.
Which of the following most accurately summarizes the opinion of the author in the text?
a) Tides involve alternating rise and fall in the large water bodies of the earth.
b) The moon and the sun act to add or counteract the tide-generating effect of each other.
c) Tides are caused by the gravitational attraction of the sun and the moon.
d) The period between succeeding tides varies as the result of movements of the sun and the moon.
28) It is generally believed that the Second World War began on September 1, 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany. Some historians link it to the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on July 7, 1937. According to AJP Taylor, two wars were fought simultaneously; the Sino-Japanese War in East Asia and a Second European War in Europe and her colonies. These two wars merged in 1941 resulting in a single global armed conflict that continued till 1945. There is not a single universally agreed upon date of the end of the Second World War either. It is believed that the conflict ended with the armistice of August 14, 1945, popularly known as the Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day), a few days before the formal surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945. According to some European Historians, it ended as early as on May 8, 1945, known as the Victory in Europe Day (VE Day).
The main purpose of the text is
a) To throw light on the views of AJP Taylor about the beginning of World War II
b) To highlight the generally held view about the start and end of World War II
c) To prove that World War II did not end onparticular day throughout the world
d) To discuss the varying views about the start and end of World War II
29) Despite the fact that too much fat can be harmful, moderate fat intake is actually essential to the maintenance of good health. At least two teaspoons of fat per day is needed in order for the digestive system to absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K, which are fat soluble. Some types of fat actually help to reduce harmful cholesterol levels. Polyunsaturated fats such as corn, soybean, and sesame oil, and monounsaturated fats like chicken fat and olive oil, seem to lower blood cholesterol, while saturated fats-those found in red meat, dairy products, and tropical oils – seem to raise the level of the kind of cholesterol that accumulates as plaque on arterial walls.
Which of the following most accurately summarizes the opinion of the author in the text?
a) Paying attention to the type of fat consumed is just as important as reducing total fat intake.
b) Fats are a necessary evil for human health.
c) Those who try to reduce fat from their food intake are at serious risk.
d) Fats are as essential as carbohydrates and vitamins.
30) There is indeed no such thing as “the” scientific method. A scientist uses a very great variety of exploratory stratagems, and although a scientist has a certain address to his problems- a certain way of going about things that is more likely to bring success than the groping of an amateur- he uses no procedure of discovery that can be logically scripted. According to Popper’s methodology, every recognition of a truth is preceded by an imaginative preconception of what the truth might be – by hypotheses such as William Whewell first called “happy guesses.”
What main point is the author trying to make?
a) Science establishes absolute truth through experimentation.
b) An act of imagination underlies every improvement of natural knowledge.
c) Luck plays a great role in scientific discovery.
d) There is nothing scientific in the scientific method.
31) Civilization is not inimical to health and long life. In fact, the contrary is true, for as the people advance they learn to master the forces of nature and with these forces under control they are able to lead better, healthier lives; but if they become too soft and luxurious, there is decay of moral and physical fiber. Civilization is favorable to long life so long as the people are moderate and live simply, but when it degenerates to sensuous softness, individual and racial deterioration ensue. Too generous a supply of food, too little physical activity and packed food are some of the luxuries which are generally introduced with civilization.
Which of the following most accurately summarizes the opinion of the author in the text?
a) Civilization must suffer the consequences of self-control and self-denial
b) Unnecessary waste of life is the natural consequence of civilization.
c) People should live in comfort and health beyond what is now considered old age.
d) Life of immoderation is neither natural nor desirable.
32) No scientific derivations prove any aura of mystery enveloping the Bermuda Triangle. Many theories pertaining to extraterrestrials, evil humans, anti gravity, magnetic field, oceanic flatulence and other technical sounding and weird hypothesis have been put forth. But a few investigators contrive ill luck, pirates, incompetence of navigators to be the cause of these missing ships and planes. A few die hard rationalists believe that there is no mystery element that needs to be explained as the figures pertaining to wrecks is common when there is such exceeding traffic on sea.
What main point is the author trying to make?
a) The Bermuda Triangle has always been shrouded in mystery
b) The missing ships in the Bermuda Triangle’s domain perhaps were lost to identifiable reasons.
c) The missing ships and planes around the Bermuda Triangle have aroused public curiosity.
d) No one has taken up serious investigation on the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle
33) As the earth rotates, a sequence of two high tides, separated by two low tides, is produced each day. Twice in each lunar month, when the sun, moon, and earth are directly aligned, with the moon between the earth and the sun (at new moon) or on the opposite side of the earth from the sun (at full moon), the sun and the moon exert their gravitational force in an additive fashion. Higher high tides and lower low tides are produced. These are called spring tides. At two positions 90 degrees in between, the gravitational forces of the moon and sun tend to counteract each other. These are called neap tides.
Which of the following most accurately summarizes the opinion of the author in the text?
a) Tides involve alternating rise and fall in the large water bodies of the earth.
b) The moon and the sun act to add or counteract the tide-generating effect of each other.
c) Tides are caused by the gravitational attraction of the sun and the moon.
d) The period between succeeding tides varies as the result of movements of the sun and the moon.
34) It is generally believed that the Second World War began on September 1, 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany. Some historians link it to the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on July 7, 1937. According to AJP Taylor, two wars were fought simultaneously; the Sino-Japanese War in East Asia and a Second European War in Europe and her colonies. These two wars merged in 1941 resulting in a single global armed conflict that continued till 1945. There is not a single universally agreed upon date of the end of the Second World War either. It is believed that the conflict ended with the armistice of August 14, 1945, popularly known as the Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day), a few days before the formal surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945. According to some European Historians, it ended as early as on May 8, 1945, known as the Victory in Europe Day (VE Day).
The main purpose of the text is
a) To throw light on the views of AJP Taylor about the beginning of World War II
b) To highlight the generally held view about the start and end of World War II
c) To prove that World War II did not end on particular day throughout the world
d) To discuss the varying views about the start and end of World War II
35) It is shocking to note that the majority of our schools do not even have the buildings. The classes are taken under the trees. These schools cannot afford the luxury of games. Sports activities in are nonexistent as the schools and colleges do not have the infrastructure to give students the proper training. The hockey stick is present but the ball absent; the football is in front of us but without air. Sports generate sportsman spirit in the child, the ability to take decisions according to the situations and to struggle in situations that do not favor them.
Which of the following most accurately summarizes the opinion of the author in the text?
a) Sports and games generate a feeling of competition in the child and strengthen it.
b) The schools lack sports infrastructure.
c)The school education often fails to cover an important aspect of child education.
d) The school curriculum need to be revisited to include sports as an important part.
36) After the service sector. agriculture is the next largest contributor to Kenya’s GDP. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, accounted for 24 percent of the GDP, 18 percent of wage employment and 50 percent of export revenue. Kenya is the most industrially developed country in East Africa. Yet its manufacturing sector accounts for just 14 per cent of the GDP. Kenya has a fast growing cement production industry. It has an oil industry that processes imported crude for domestic use. In addition to this, there is small scale manufacturing of household goods, auto-parts and farm implements. This sector is becoming a major contributor to the Kenyan economy. Other industries include forestry, fishing and mining. Kenya has few minerals and the mining industry is relatively small.
Which of the following statements is true with reference to the Kenyan economy?
a) Agriculture is the main pillar of the Kenyan Economy.
b) The manufacturing sector of Kenya is not as strong as it should be.
c) Kenya has a rapidly growing mining industry.
d) The overall contribution of the Kenyan small sector is negligible.
37) West Asia witnessed major political changes after the Second World War.Jordan and Syria became independent in 1946 from Britain and France respectively.Egypt wanted to renegotiate the 1936 Anglo Egyptian Treaty with Britain.Lebanon also became fully independent when the French troops moved out in 1946. The Arab League, formed in 1945 at the behest of Britain, suffered due to lack of trust among the member countries. In November 1947 the UN General Assembly approved the partition of Palestine to resolve the Arab-Israel conflict. Although the Jewish Leadership accepted this, the Palestinian Arabs and the Arab League called it unfair and rejected it. They wanted Palestinians to get the right to rule according to the UN Charter.
Which of the following pieces of information cannot be made out from the above passage?
a) Jordan was a British colony till 1946.
b) Many West Asian countries got independence after the Second World War.
c) The Arab League was virtually a creation of Britain.
d) The 1947 UN Resolution paved the way for an lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli dispute.
38) English in India is a historical legacy. English can open our door to the world as we can interact with the people globally if we have a command on English. English is the medium which can broaden our horizons of knowledge and experience. Our view point can be put forth to the foreigners and we can confidently debate our point of view. Many Indian spiritual gurus have foreign followers because with English they have expressed their ideas which have won many a foreign heart. Our culture and spirituality which earlier remained in bounds has gained an international identity.
What main point is the author trying to make?
a) The use of English enables India to merge with the rest of the world.
b)English language poses no threat to India’s regional languages.
c) English in its own domains has become the main language for communication.
d) English has played an important incremental role to India’s regional languages.
39) Until the 1600s, English was, for the most part, spoken only in England. However, during the course of the next two centuries, English began to spread around the globe as a result of exploration, trade, colonization, and missionary work. English gradually became the primary language of international business, banking, and diplomacy. Currently, more than 80 percent of the information stored on computer systems worldwide is in English. Two thirds of the world’s science writing is in English, and English is the main language of technology, advertising, media, international airports, and air traffic controllers. Today there are more than 700 million English users in the world, and over half of these are non-native speakers, constituting the largest number of non-native users of any language in the world.
Which of the following most accurately summarizes the opinion of the author in the text?
a) Small enclaves of English speakers have grown in various parts of the world.
b) Over the past 500 years, small English communities have proliferated all over the world.
c) English has become the dominant language of international communication.
d) English is the native language of more than half a billion people of the world.
40) It is believed that Cushitic-speaking people were the first ethnic group to migrate to today’s Kenya. It is believed that they moved in from northern Africa somewhere around 2000 BCE. Then came the Arab Traders who started frequenting the Kenyan coast way back in the first century CE (Common Era). The Kenyan coast served host to communities of ironworkers, subsistence farmers, hunters and fishermen who supported the economy with agriculture, fishing, metal production and trade with foreign countries.
Which of the following statements is?not true?with reference to Kenya?
a) Settlers from Arab Countries constitute a significant fraction of Kenya’s population today.
b) Cushitic speaking people moved into today’s Kenyan territory around 2000 years ago.
c) Arab traders started paying regular visits to Kenya ever since the turn of the Common Era.
d) The Kenyan coast has over the centuries served host to diverse communities and cultures.
41) Immediately relevant to game theory are the sex ratios in certain parasitic wasp species that have a large excess of females. In these species, fertilized eggs develop into females and unfertilized eggs into males. A female stores sperm and can determine the sex of each egg she lays by fertilizing it or leaving it unfertilized. By Fisher‘s genetic argument that the sex ratio will be favored which maximizes the number of descendants an individual will have and hence the number of gene copies transmitted, it should pay a female to produce equal numbers of sons and daughters. Hamilton, noting that the eggs develop within their host—the larva of another insect—and that the newly emerged adult wasps mate immediately and disperse, offered a remarkably cogent analysis. Since only one female usually lays eggs in a given larva, it would pay her to produce one male only, because this one male could fertilize all his sisters on emergence. Like Fisher, Hamilton looked for an evolutionarily stable strategy, but he went a step further in recognizing that he was looking for a strategy.
The author suggests that the work of Fisher and Hamilton was similar in that both scientists
a) Conducted their research at approximately the same time
b) Sought to manipulate the sex ratios of some of the animals they studied
c) Sought an explanation of why certain sex ratios exist and remain stable
d) Studied game theory, thereby providing important groundwork for the later development of strategy theory
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