IBPS RRB PO/Clerk Mains English Quiz 30th of September 2019

IBPS RRB PO/Clerk Mains English Quiz

Directions (1-7): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.
With the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, an Environment Ministry body that evaluates genetically modified crops, approving transgenic mustard for environmental release, a key hurdle remains before farmers can cultivate it: Environment Minister Anil Dave’s approval, under a procedure set down by the UPA government.
A GM or transgenic crop is a plant that has a novel combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology. For example, a GM crop can contain a gene(s) that has been artificially inserted instead of the plant acquiring it through pollination. The resulting plant is said to be “genetically modified” although in reality all crops have been “genetically modified” from their original wild state by domestication, selection, and controlled breeding over long periods of time. The advantages of GM crops: Higher crop yields, Reduced farm costs, Increased farm profit, Improvement in health and the environment.
The technology of genetic engineering is an evolving one and there is much, especially on its impact on human health and environment, that is yet to be understood properly. The scientific community itself seems uncertain about this. While there are many in this community who feel that the benefits outweigh the risks, others point to the irreversibility of this technology and uncontrollability of the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) once introduced in the ecosystem. Many important crops like rice, brinjal, and mustard, among others, originated here, and introducing genetically modified versions of these crops could be a major threat to the vast number of domestic and wild varieties of these crops. In fact, globally, there is a clear view that GM crops must not be introduced in centres of origin and diversity. India also has mega biodiversity hotspots like the Eastern Himalayas and the Western Ghats which are rich in biodiversity yet ecologically very sensitive. Hence it will only be prudent for us to be careful before we jump on to the bandwagon of any technology. There is also a potential for pests to evolve resistance to the toxins produced by GM crops and the risk of these toxins affecting nontarget organisms. There is also the danger of unintentionally introducing allergens and other anti-nutrition factors in foods.
Currently, India has the world’s fourth largest GM crop acreage on the strength of Bt cotton, the only genetically modified crop allowed in the country. The introduction of Bt cotton has been both highly successful and controversial. Cotton yield more than doubled in the first decade since its introduction in 2002. At the same time it was also shadowed by controversy, with a tangle of pricing and intellectual property rights (IPR) issues followed by government price interventions and litigation. An agreement to develop Bt brinjal was signed in 2005 between Mahyco—American agricultural biotech giant Monsanto’s Indian Bt cotton partner—and two Indian agricultural universities. Following the study of biosafety data and field trials by two expert committees, Bt brinjal was cleared for commercialization by India’s top biotech regulator, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, in 2009. But nothing came of it, with moratoriums imposed by then government following opposition from civil society groups and brinjal-growing states.
Few evidences show that though GM crops have been gaining acceptance their use still remains highly skewed. Only 29 countries allow commercial cultivation of GM crops while a similar number also allow their import. And most of the 170 million hectares under GM crops are in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, India and China. Moreover 98% of GM cultivation falls under four main crops: soyabean, maize, cotton and canola. Experts also say that GM technologies will continue to focus on these crops for some time.
GM mustard (DMH-11) was developed by a team of scientists at Delhi University led by former vice-chancellor Deepak Pental under a government-funded project. It uses three genes from soil bacterium that makes self-pollinating plants such as mustard amenable to hybridisation. This means local crop developers have the equivalent of a platform technology to more easily develop versions of mustard with custom traits such as higher oil content and pest resistance. It has also gone through safety and toxicity tests (on mice) prescribed by the regulator, but this is unlikely to convince opponents of GM technology.
Field trials in India, in which the State governments have a say, must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards against such violations. If GM food is allowed to be sold to consumers, they must have the right to know what they are buying, and labelling should be made mandatory. India has taken only halting steps towards establishing a strong regulatory system; the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2013, which provided for multi-level scientific assessments and an appellate tribunal, has lapsed. Hence, a strong regulatory authority should be established.
Farmers need technology, new knowledge and governmental support to get the best out of their seeds. Successive governments have failed to move on the draft National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill, 2008 that would enable a biotechnology regulator to take shape. Without such legislation, issues to be decided on the basis of science will be at the mercy of political expediency.
Q1. According to the passage, what does the author mean by “genetically modified” crops?
(a) Modification of crops through domestication, selection and controlled breeding.
(b) Artificial insertion of genes in the plant
(c) Fertilization of plants through transfer of pollens to the flower.
(d) Both (a) and (b) are true
(e) All are true
S1. Ans. (d)
Sol. Refer to the second paragraph of the passage, “…..wild state by domestication, selection, and controlled breeding over long periods of time”, and “a GM crop can contain a gene(s) that has been artificially inserted instead of the plant acquiring it through pollination”. Hence both the statements (a) and (b) are true in context of the passage.
Q2. According to the passage, what concerns are associated with the transgenic crops?
(i) Lower yielding of the crops is the main concern associated with transgenic crops.
(ii) The risks of injecting the antigen in foods is the issue concerned with the transgenic crops.
(iii) It led to the danger of vast number of varieties of the crops.
(a) Only (i) is correct
(b) Only (ii) is correct
(c) Both (i) and (ii) are correct
(d) Both (ii) and (iii) are correct
(e) All are correct
S2. Ans. (d)
Sol. Refer to the third paragraph, “Many important crops like rice, brinjal, and mustard, among others, originated here, and introducing genetically modified versions of these crops could be a major threat to the vast number of domestic and wild varieties of these crops.”, and “There is also the danger of unintentionally introducing allergens and other anti-nutrition factors in foods.” Hence both the statements (ii) and (iii) are correct.
Q3. According to the passage, why Bt mustard should be approved for release?
(i) As it makes self -pollinating plants compliant to hybridization.
(ii) As it is certified by the higher authorities.
(iii) As crop developers accede to grow limited versions of the mustard with custom traits.
(iv) As it has gone through safety and toxicity tests prescribed by the regulator.
(a) Only (iii) is correct
(b) (i), (ii) and (iv) are correct
(c) (i), (iii) and (iv) are correct
(d) (ii), (iii) and (iv) are correct
(e) All of the above statements are correct
S3. Ans. (c)
Sol. Refer to the fifth paragraph, “It uses three genes from soil bacterium that makes self-pollinating plants such as mustard amenable to hybridisation.”, “It has also gone through safety and toxicity tests (on mice) prescribed by the regulator”, “This means local crop developers have the equivalent of a platform technology to more easily develop versions of mustard with custom traits such as higher oil content and pest resistance.” Hence statements (i), (iii) and (iv) are correct in context of the passage.
Q4. According to the passage, what need to be ensured regarding the sale of GM foods?
(i) There must be proper implementation of policy by the government.
(ii) Safety and toxicity tests must be ensured.
(iii) The manufacturers should specify about the GM foods, so that consumers must know what they are buying.
(a) Only (i) is correct
(b) Only (iii) is correct
(c) Both (i) and (iii) are correct
(d) Both (ii) and (iii) are correct
(e) All are correct
S4. Ans. (b)
Sol. Refer to the second last paragraph, “If GM food is allowed to be sold to consumers, they must have the right to know what they are buying, and labelling should be made mandatory.” Hence sentence (iii) is true.
Q5. Which of the following is false in context of the passage?
(a) Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats are rich in biodiversity but ecologically very sensitive.
(b) A transgenic crop makes the use of modern technology.
(c) Bt cotton in India has been both lucrative and contentious.
(d) Before going to any form of the technology, we must be heedless.
(e) All of the above statements are true.
S5. Ans. (d)
Sol. Refer to the last few lines of third paragraph, “Hence it will only be prudent for us to be careful before we jump on to the bandwagon of any technology.” Hence sentence (d) is false.
Q6. Which of the following is the most appropriate title of the passage?
(a) GM crop and its benefits
(b) Be scientific
(c) Bt Mustard in India
(d) The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill
(e) Transgenic Mustard Ratification
S6. Ans. (b)
Sol. “Be scientific” is the most appropriate title of the passage as the author mentions here the scientific ways (genetically modified) of growing crops.
Q7. What does the author mean by “The introduction of Bt cotton has been successful and controversial in India”?
(a) Doubling of the cotton yield and disagreement regarding the price and IPR rights issues.
(b) Increase of the demand of cotton in India and shortage of supply.
(c) Enhanced country’s GDP and protest by opposing political parties regarding price and IPR rights issues.
(d) Both (b) and (c) are correct
(e) All are correct
S7. Ans. (a)
Sol. Refer to the third sentence of fourth paragraph, “Cotton yield more than doubled in the first decade since its introduction in 2002. At the same time it was also shadowed by controversy, with a tangle of pricing and intellectual property rights (IPR) issues followed by government price interventions and litigation”.
Directions (8-10): In each question, the word at the top of the table is used in four different ways, numbered (a) to (d). Choose the option in which the usage of the word is INCORRECT or INAPPROPRIATE. If it is used correctly in every sentence choose option (e) as your choice.
Q8. APPRAISE
(a) The President appropriately appraised Russell and Financial Times readers that he had already signed into law the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Act.
(b) In cooperation with other professionals, social workers will appraise the individual’s needs.
(c) He coolly appraised the situation, deciding which person would be most likely to succeed.
(d) This prompted many employers to appraise their selection and recruitment policies
(e) All are correct.
S8. Ans. (a)
Sol. Option (a) is incorrect as apprised should be used here.
Appraise means to ascertain the value of and does not mean to apprise or to inform. Correct: “I appraised the jewels.” / “I apprised him of the situation.”
Q9. CREDULOUS
(a) Because my brother is a credulous consumer, he is a salesperson’s dream.
(b) Even though there was very little evidence, the credulous jury decided the defendant was guilty.
(c) Reference credulous sources to strengthen your argument.
(d) Because the credulous public wanted to believe the killer was off the streets, they never questioned the arrest of an innocent man.
(e) All are correct.
S9. Ans.(c)
Sol. Option (c) is incorrect as credible should be used in place of credulous.
Credible means believable and does not mean credulous or gullible. Correct: “His sales pitch was not credible.” / “The con man took advantage of credulous people.”
Q10. FLAUNT
(a) While many people love to flaunt their possessions, I prefer people that keep a low profile.
(b) The orchestra decided to flaunt convention/tradition, and wear their everyday clothes for the concert.
(c) Donald Trump loves to flaunt his wealth and grandiose, whenever he has the chance.
(d) Flavio was flaunting his tan in a pair of white trunks.
(e) All are correct
S10. Ans. (b)
Sol. In option (b) the use of flaunt is incorrect and must be replaced with flout.
Flaunt means to show off and does not mean to flout. Correct: “She flaunted her abs.” / “She flouted the rules.”
Directions (11-15): Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow accordingly:
Paragraph 1:“SELL in May and go away,” say the denizens of Wall Street, and to the usual summer lethargy is added the excuse of a heat wave. But for those working in private equity, there is no let-up. The “shops”, as private-equity funds like to call themselves, are stuffed with money and raising more: $1.1trn in “dry powder” ready to spend around the world, according to Preqin, a consultancy, with another $950bn being raised by 3,050 firms. So hot is the market that there are rumors of money being turned away. Even the firms themselves, which receive fees linked to assets under management, cannot fathom how to use all that may come their way. It is not for want of trying. The year to date has seen nearly 1,000 acquisitions.
Paragraph 2: Even more noteworthy than the volume of money pouring into private equity is the way the business is maturing. Banks are reconfiguring their operations to serve such a transaction-heavy clientele. Limited partners—the public-pension schemes, sovereign-wealth funds, endowments and family offices that provide the bulk of private-equity investment—are playing more active roles. It all adds up to a stealthy, but significant, reshaping of the financial ecosystem. Data on returns are patchy. Odd measures are often used to gauge performance and disclosure is intermittent. But there is plenty of reason to believe that private-equity funds have done well in the past decade. Low interest rates have favored their debt-heavy business model. Rising asset prices have made it easy to sell for large gains. And some recent clouds on the horizon have dissipated. Mooted tax reforms would have stopped private-equity firms from deducting the interest they pay on debt from their taxable income and forced their managers to pay the personal-tax rate on their investment profits (or “carried interest”), rather than the lower capital-gains rate. In the event, however, the new rules brought in last year did not touch carried interest at all and only slightly reduced the benefits of debt.
Paragraph 3: Private equity’s growing heft has knock-on effects throughout the financial sector. Goldman Sachs has 25 merger bankers assigned to private-equity firms, working on deals alongside colleagues who focus on specific industries. Its analysts monitor 5,500 private-equity holdings—50% more than the number of listings on the American public markets. The other big institutional banks, such as Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, are just as attentive to private equity. The most significant change may be in private equity’s investor base. In the past two years the number of limited partners with more than $1bn invested has grown from 304 to 359. Together they account for $1.5trn—half of all private-equity money, according to Preqin. And this statistic does not fully capture their growing activism. As well as placing cash in private-equity funds, they increasingly “co-invest”—i.e., take direct stakes in a buy-out.
Paragraph 4: The advantage for limited partners is that they avoid management fees—often 2% annually, plus 20% of profits. Private-equity funds gain from being less reliant on each other. Not long ago, large deals often required several funds to collaborate. The purchase of Nielsen Media in 2006, for example, involved seven. That alarmed antitrust regulators, complicated management and made it hard to exit from investments, since many potential buyers were already co-owners. The value of deals done by more than one private-equity firm has fallen by half since the Nielsen deal. Even when firms work together, the average number involved is smaller than it was. For the biggest deals, private-equity firms are today making acquisitions solo and then syndicating large stakes through co-investments to limited partners. Notable among numerous recent examples are Blackstone’s purchase of Thomson Reuters’ finance and risk division in January for $20bn, and Carlyle’s of the specialty-chemicals division of Akzo Nobel, a Dutch multinational, in March for $12bn. The process often begins with a phone call by a private-equity firm to big, sophisticated investors such as GIC, Singapore’s sovereign-wealth fund, or CPP Investment Board, a giant Canadian pension fund. They can quickly put together teams to analyze transactions. Smaller limited partners are brought in later if needed, along with select outsiders, notably family offices.
Paragraph 5: This trend does not just reduce risk for private-equity managers. It also underlines a change in financial markets. Why should companies accept the costs and scrutiny that come with selling shares to the general public when there is a sophisticated, rich, private alternative? And when the time comes for one private-equity owner to sell, another private-equity fund can put together such a network to buy. Brokers and exchanges developed a century ago to help companies tap money where it lay—in individual pockets. Today that capital increasingly lies elsewhere.
Q11. What are some of the factors that add up to the molding up of the current financial ecosystem?
(a) Endowments and family offices that provide the bulk of private equity investment.
(b) Decreased asset prices making it easy to sell for large gains.
(c) Public pension schemes, sovereign wealth funds.
(d) Both (b) and (c)
(e) Both (a) and (c)
S11. Ans. (e)
Sol. The appropriate choice here is option (e). We can deduce our answer from paragraph 2 where it is mentioned rather than the money that pours into the private equity, the way the business is maturing is more noteworthy. The exact answer is quoted from the text as, “Limited partners—the public-pension schemes, sovereign-wealth funds, endowments and family offices that provide the bulk of private-equity investment—are playing more active roles. It all adds up to a stealthy, but significant, reshaping of the financial ecosystem.”
Q12. The author would interpret the essence of phrase “Sell in May and Go Away” as:
(a) Staying in equity markets throughout the year starting from the period of May.
(b) Stock market returns during the May-October period are systematically higher than the short- term interest rate.
(c) Trading adage that warns investors to sell their stock holdings in May to avoid a seasonal decline in equity markets.
(d) Private equity funds sell their money in the month of May and then there is a downgrade and no raising of funds throughout the rest of the year.
(e) None of the above.
S12. Ans. (c)
Sol. This is mentioned in first paragraph of the passage. Among all the options, the option that best suits the meaning of the given phrase is option (c). An adage is a common formula that warns investors to sell their stock holdings in May to avoid a seasonal decline in equity markets. It is an investment strategy for stocks based on theory that the period from November to April has significantly stronger stock market growth on average than other months. All other options are irrelevant and not even meaningful to the term. Hence option (c) is the answer.
Q13.Which of the following is definitely false according to the passage?
(a) Private-equity funds gain from being less reliant on each other.
(b) Even when firms work together, the average number of deals involved is larger than it was.
(c) The way business is maturing is more significant than the amount of money pouring into the private equity.
(d) Data on returns are not of the same quality throughout.
(e) For the biggest deals, private-equity firms are today making acquisitions solo and then syndicating large stakes through co-investments to limited partners.
S13. Ans. (b)
Sol. Option (b) is false according to the passage. This can be inferred from paragraph 4 where the text is quoted as, “Even when firms work together, the average number involved is smaller than it was.” All the other options are true in reference to the passage.
Q14.Which of the following statement would most likely relate paragraph 4 with paragraph 5 appropriately?
(a) That alarmed antitrust regulators, complicated management and made it hard to exit from investments, since many potential buyers were already co-owners.
(b) When the time comes for one private-equity owner to sell, another private-equity fund can put together such a network to buy.
(c) Smaller limited partners can quickly put together teams to analyze transactions.
(d) For the biggest deals, private-equity firms are today making acquisitions solo and then syndicating large stakes through co-investments to limited partners which reduces risk for private equity managers.
(e) None of these.
S14. Ans.(d)
Sol. The most appropriate choice here is option (d). In the paragraph 4, it is given, “For the biggest deals, private-equity firms are today making acquisitions solo and then syndicating large stakes through co-investments to limited partners” and then the paragraph 5 has an opening line which says , “This trend does not just reduce risk for private-equity managers. It also underlines a change in financial markets.” Hence option (d) is the most suitable option.
Q15. “A bulk of private equity investment is actuated by limited partners.” Which of the following statement (s) supports the given statement ?
(a) 20% of profits and 2 % annual management fees is avoided by limited partners.
(b) Limited partners account for $1.5 bn——half of all private-equity money, according to Preqin.
(c) In the past two years the number of limited partners with more than $1bn invested has grown.
(d) both (a) and (c)
(e) both (b) and (c)
S15. Ans.(d)
Sol. The appropriate answer here is option (d). Option (a) can be deduced from paragraph 4 which is stated as, “The advantage for limited partners is that they avoid management fees—often 2% annually, plus 20% of profits.” While option (c) is given in paragraph 3 which can be quoted as , “In the past two years the number of limited partners with more than $1bn invested has grown from 304 to 359. Together they account for $1.5trn—half of all private-equity money, according to Preqin.”

• Tips and Tricks To Solve Cloze Test Questions For Bank and Other Competitive Exams
• Conjunctions: English Language Notes for Bank and Other Competitive Exams

Free Study Material For IBPS Clerk 2019 | Ask Your Query