Q.1-10. Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions given below them.
Passage - I
Faith in progress is deep within our culture. We have been taught to believe that our lives are better than the lives of those who came before us. The ideology of modern economics suggests that material progress has yielded enhanced satisfaction and well-being. But much of our confidence about our own well-being comes from the assumption that our lives are easier than those of earlier generations.
The lives of the so-called primitive people are thought to be harsh-their existence dominated by the ‘incessant quest for food’. In fact, primitives did very little work. By contemporary standards we’d have to judge them very lazy.
The key to understanding why these ‘stone-age people’ failed to act like us - increasing their work effort to get more things-is that they had limited desires. In the race between wanting and having, they had kept their wanting low-and, in this way ensured their own kind of satisfaction. They were materially poor by contemporary standards, but in at least one dimension-time,-we have to count them richer.
Q.1. What is the basis for progress and growth according to the writer?
(A) Faith in progress is deep-rooted in our culture
(B) We have been taught that progress in necessary
(C) Material progress has given us strength
(D) Writer attributes to modern economics
Q.2. What does the writer attribute to modern economics?
(A) That our lives are easier than before
(B) The progress is a natural progress
(C) That material progress leads to higher satisfaction and well-being
(D) That it forces us to assume progress
Q.3. What is the writer’s image of the primitive people ?
(A) Their life was harsh
(B) They did not work
(C) They were lazy
(D) Search for food was their primary focus in life
Q.4. What is the key to understanding the primitive people’s behaviour according to the passage ?
(A) They had no desires
(B) They had everything they needed
(C) They had limited desires
(D) They kept their wants high
Q.5. How does the writer appreciate the primitives ?
(A) They have a low degree of wants
(B) They are the masters of their time owing to their contentedness
(C) They are materially poor
(D) They are highly satisfied
Passage - II
Global warming could lead to more extreme droughts in large parts of India, resulting in widespread food shortages and hardship in the country, in the next few decades, a new World Bank report has warned. The impact of a possible global temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius in the next few decades threatens to trap millions of people in poverty, according to the report. The soaring temperatures will also drive regular food shortages in Sub-Saharan Africa. Shifting rain patterns in South Asia due to warming could leave some parts under water and others without enough water for power generation, irrigation, or drinking, the report said.
Another impact of climate change could be degradation and loss of reefs in South East Asia possibly resulting in reduced fish stocks and coastal communities, while cities could be more vulnerable to increasingly violent storms, it said.
This new report looks at the likely impacts of present day, 2 degrees Celsius and 4 degrees Celsius warming on agricultural production, water resources, coastal ecosystems and cities across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and South East Asia.
Q.6. What can be the effects of global warming in India according to a new world bank report?
(A) Large part of India could face severe droughts and food shortages.
(B) Global warming may lead to rising prices of food commodities.
(C) There would be irrigation problems.
(D) Rain patterns would change.
Q.7. What would happen in South Asia if there is a change in rain patterns?
(A) There would be no water for irrigation and drinking.
(B) Vast flows of water would be wasted in some parts of South Asia.
(C) Some parts of South Asia would be under water whereas others would go without enough water.
(D) There would be a loss of vegetation.
Q.8. Why would Sub-Saharan Africa experience regular food shortages according to the World Bank report?
(A) Due to a rise of 4 degrees celsius in temperature.
(B) Due to increasing temperatures globally.
(C) Lack of water would lead to food shortages.
(D) Reduced fish stocks will lead to food shortage in Sub-Saharan Africa
Q.9. Which parts of the world would be impacted by global warming as mentioned in the passage?
(A) Africa, Asia and America
(B) India, Africa and North America
(C) Saharan regions South Asia only.
(D) Sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia and South Asia
Q.10. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
(A) The whole world is experiencing loss of vegetation due to the global warming.
(B) Global warming has greatly impacted irrigation in Africa.
(C) Cities in South Asia could be more vulnerable to increasingly violent storms due to climate change.
(D) Water resources in Sub-Saharan Africa would try up in the next few decades.
ANSWERS
Q.1.(A)
Q.2.(C)
Q.3.(C)
Q.4.(C)
Q.5.(A)
Q.6.(A)
Q.7.(C)
Q.8.(B)
Q.9.(D)
Q.10.(C)