Q1. Dark side of social media.
(A) Thus far, it has been indicated that to an extent, social media can in fact be understood as enhancing interpersonal relationships; after all this is the very reason it exists in the first place. However, it must now be asserted that it can not only bring people together, but also (and somewhat paradoxically) alienate people from each other.
(B) An application called Grubwithus, which was intended bring strangers together to share meals at actual restaurants. So, social media has begun to focus not just on either supplementing existing relationships or sustaining virtual ones, but also on actually turning virtual relationships into relationships in the empirical world. This is an example of how social media can be said to have an effect on interpersonal relationships.
(C) It matters little whether people are able to physically remain in touch with each other, if they can only do so at the expense of being psychologically alienated from each other. Social media, for example, may be able to bring together a group of friends. But this benefit is nullified, insofar as those friends will merely remain lost in their own virtual worlds, even when they are “together” in the real world.
(a) Only A
(b) A and B
(c) B and C
(d) A and C
(e) A, B and C
Q2. Problems faced by farmers.
(A) Indian soils have been used for growing crops over thousands of years without caring much for replenishing. This has led to depletion and exhaustion of soils resulting in their low productivity. The average yields of almost all the crops are among t e lowest in the world. This is a serious problem which can be solved by using more manures and fertilizers.
(B) Seed is a critical and basic input for attaining higher crop yields and sustained growth in agricultural production. Distribution of assured quality seed is as critical as the production of such seeds. Unfortunately, good quality seeds are out of reach of the majority of farmers, especially small and marginal farmers mainly because of exorbitant prices of better seeds.
(C) Although India is the second largest irrigated country of the world after China, only one-third of the cropped area is under irrigation. Irrigation is the most important agricultural input in a tropical monsoon country like India where rainfall is uncertain, unreliable and erratic India cannot achieve sustained progress in agriculture unless and until more than half of the cropped area is brought under assured irrigation.
(a) Only C
(b) A and B
(c) B and C
(d) A and C
(e) A, B and C
Q3. Sainik School students are paying staff pensions.
(A) Ordinary soldiers and lower middle-class families, whose children might be the most motivated to become military officers, can no longer afford to send their kids to Sainik Schools. These have instead become affordable public schools for middle and upper middle class families, for whom a military career is almost never the first option.
(B) A student currently enrolled in Sainik School, Amaravathinagar in Tamil Nadu, is required to contribute to the pension of all the staff who worked in the school since it was founded in 1962. Even if the student is the child of a poor Army havildar, he has to pay a few thousand rupees every month in spite of the scholarships and financial support from both the State and the Centre.
(C) According to the estimates with the government, total expenditure on a Sainik School student is a minimum of 62,000 per year. Even in the case of students on a full scholarship, (excluding those from SC/ST and OBC communities), the parents now pay from their own pockets anywhere between 18,000 and 40,000 per annum. A part of this caters to the salary and pension of school employees.
(a) Only B
(b) A and B
(c) B and C
(d) A and C
(e) A, B and C
Q4. Political instability due to democracy.
(A) Even if a political party maintains power, vociferous, headline grabbing protests and harsh criticism from the popular media are often enough to force sudden, unexpected political change. Frequent policy changes with regard to business and immigration are likely to deter investment and so hinder economic growth.
(B) Democracies in countries with high per capita income have been found to be less prone to violence, but in countries with low incomes the tendency is the reverse. Election misconduct is more likely in countries with low per capita incomes, small populations, rich in natural resources, and a lack of institutional checks and balances.
(C) Democracy in modern times has almost always faced opposition from the previously existing government, and many times it has faced opposition from social elites. The implementation of a democratic government within a non-democratic state is typically brought about by democratic revolution.
(a) Only A
(b) Only B
(c) Only C
(d) A and C
(e) A, B and C
Q5. Technology has changed banking sector.
(A) Aside from more diverse ATMs, the United States was introduced to online or Internet banking, which revolutionized the banking industry. Customers were able to log on from their home computer and see all of their accounts and information on their personal screen.
(B) Checking balances could be done, as well as making transactions and payments, seeing images of checks and deposit slips, viewing previous statements, bill paying and transaction history could be searched. All of these tasks eliminated the need for paper statements and bills as well as the cost.
(C) Today, ATMs have expanded their locations and can be found in many places besides a bank. Cash machines have exploded all over the world. Customers can use these machines in places like shopping malls, as well as in the individual stores themselves.
(a) Only A
(b) Only B
(c) Only C
(d) A and B
(e) A, B and C
Directions (6-15): In the passage given below there are 10 blanks, each followed by a word given in bold. Each blank has four alternative words given in options (a),(b),(c) and (d). You have to tell which word will best suit the respective blank. Mark (e) as your answer if the word given in bold, after the blank is your answer i.e “No change”.
India and Spain decided to defence partnership, conclude a civil nuclear deal and share best practices to jointly fight terror. In the first PM-level visit to Spain in three decades, PM Modi and his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy held talks to ___6___(connect) partnership amid signing of seven agreements, including on cyber security and transfer of sentenced persons. The intent to ___7___(conclude) bilateral ties was evident when Modi said India was “committed to take ties to a new level”. Since the talks were happening against the ___8___(creation) of Kabul attacks, countering terrorism and deradicalisation were key items on the table. “We ___9___(participate) that the fight against terrorism requires a robust international cooperation, and we call on all states to fully implement SC Resolution 1373 and all other relevant SC Resolutions,” suggested the Indo-Spanish joint statement following the talks. Without directly naming Pakistan, the statement noted: “States and entities which ___10___(devote) , support, finance terrorism should be subjected to international law. International community (should) end selective or partial approaches to ___11___(combating) terrorism.” Looking to conclude a civil nuclear deal, Rajoy and Modi acknowledged the progress ___12___(succeeded) in the negotiations held here on May 23. Both the PMs have also tasked their defence ministers to ___13___(collect) the dialogue established in 2015, including co-production ___14___(into) Make in India. “Both leaders welcomed efforts to further cooperation in the advanced aerospace sector. It will include participation of the Spanish defence industry ___15___ (in) the Make in India programme for the Indian defence market and third country exports,” said the joint statement.
Q6.
(a) strengthen
(b) dissolve
(c) interfere
(d) intervene
(e) no correction
Q7.
(a) distemper
(b) upgrade
(c) degrade
(d) tie
(e) talk
Q8.
(a) recoil
(b) tactics
(c) withdrawal
(d) backdrop
(e) no correction
Q9.
(a) recondite
(b) reiterate
(c) elect
(d) return
(e) gauge
Q10.
(a) encourage
(b) deject
(c) traumatize
(d) illustrate
(e) no correction
Q11.
(a) venerate
(b) intensify
(c) exaggerate
(d) commemorate
(e) no correction
Q12.
(a) done
(b) add
(c) taken
(d) made
(e) no correction
Q13.
(a) antilog
(b) fabricate
(c) fib
(d) deepen
(e) no correction
Q14.
(a) upon
(b) under
(c) underneath
(d) onto
(e) no correction
Q15.
(a) into
(b) within
(c) with
(d) on
(e) no correction
