Reading Comprehension (91-100) | CSAT Preparation - UPSC PDF Download

Passage - 1

Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only.

What if I told you that the moon was once present right here on the surface of the earth! well not exactly in the form that you see now, but for many years there was the hypothesis that in a destructive event of gigantic proportions, the moon was actually part of the earth that just seperated from it. May be the earth collided with another ancient Planet that doesn’t exist anymore or a huge meteorite or comet just shaped part of the earth after it collided with it. It is possible, but is that what actually happened? Many scientists argue against it and propose a different hypothesis that the moon was formed by the debris leftover after the formation of the earth.

Passage - 2

Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only.

A recent High court Judgement has sought to dispel the idea of begging as a disease–which leads to its stigmatization and criminalization–and to regard it as a symptom. The underlying disease is the failure of the state to protect citizens who fall through the social security net.

Passage - 3

Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only.

The Palghat Gap (or Palakkad Gap), a region about 30 km wide in the southern part of the Western Ghats in India is lower than the hilly terrain to its north and south. The exact reasons for the formation of this Gap are not clear. It results in the neighbouring regions of Tamil Nadu getting more rainfall from South West monsoon and neighbouring regions of Kerala having higher summer temperatures.

Passage - 4

Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only.

While teaching a creative writing class in India, I was surprised at receiving stories from the students that were all set in distant places : in the American west with cow boys and in Manhattan penthouses with clinking ice cubes. This was, till an eminent Caribbean writers gave the writers in the once-colonised countries the confidence to see the shabby lives around them as worthy of being “told”.

Passage - 5

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Since the last one year, after a 125 basis point reduction in repo rate by the Reserve Bank of India, banking institutions have been making a demand to reduce interest rate on small saving schemes. Finally, the government announced yesterday a reduction in interest rates on small saving schemes to bring them on par with fixed deposit interest rates.

Passage - 6

Read the following passage and answer the items that follow each passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Despite spectacular shifts as well as routine adjustments in the general landscape of the world politics in recent years, the basic unit in International Relations still remains the nation-state. Its designation as the most fundamental entity in contemporary world politics does not imply that it is the only basic unit. The state, more particularly, nation-state is the central entity simply because it is at this stage of human history the power is centered. To understand the concept of nation-state it is important to know the difference between two related, but normatively different terms, ‘nation’ and ‘state’. The term 'nation', although often used interchangeably with 'state' is a term that has cultural implications.

It refers to a body of people united by a sense of identity and shared values which Benedict Anderson termed as an ‘imagined community’. This unity is based on such cultural factors as shared history, common language, common religion, ethnic homogeneity, and common customs. The term 'state', on the other hand, refers to both a political idea and a legal entity. However, taken together, the term 'nation-state' refers to a cultural unit, a 'nation', whose boundaries are the same as the politico-legal boundaries of a 'state'. Niccolo Machiavelli was probably the first political theorist to describe the political essence of the modern state in his The Prince. In fact, The Prince is primarily an advice to the then Italian rulers as to how to establish and maintain a state. The state became both the organising vehicle for survival in a hostile world and the instrument for aggrandizement vis-a-vis other, states.

According to the theme given in the passage, which of the following statement/s is/are true for the term ‘Nation’ and ‘State’?

1. Nation is a religious concept.
2. State is a politico-legal concept.
3. Nation is a cultural concept.
4. When cultural identity synchronizes with politico-legal concept it becomes the ‘Nation-State.’

Passage - 7

Read the following passage and answer the items that follow each passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Despite spectacular shifts as well as routine adjustments in the general landscape of the world politics in recent years, the basic unit in International Relations still remains the nation-state. Its designation as the most fundamental entity in contemporary world politics does not imply that it is the only basic unit. The state, more particularly, nation-state is the central entity simply because it is at this stage of human history the power is centered. To understand the concept of nation-state it is important to know the difference between two related, but normatively different terms, ‘nation’ and ‘state’. The term 'nation', although often used interchangeably with 'state' is a term that has cultural implications.

It refers to a body of people united by a sense of identity and shared values which Benedict Anderson termed as an ‘imagined community’. This unity is based on such cultural factors as shared history, common language, common religion, ethnic homogeneity, and common customs. The term 'state', on the other hand, refers to both a political idea and a legal entity. However, taken together, the term 'nation-state' refers to a cultural unit, a 'nation', whose boundaries are the same as the politico-legal boundaries of a 'state'. Niccolo Machiavelli was probably the first political theorist to describe the political essence of the modern state in his The Prince. In fact, The Prince is primarily an advice to the then Italian rulers as to how to establish and maintain a state. The state became both the organising vehicle for survival in a hostile world and the instrument for aggrandizement vis-a-vis other, states.

Passage - 8

Read the following passage and answer the items that follow each passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Democracy in general terms is understood to be a form of government which is subject to popular sovereignty. It is essentially a rule by the people which is in contrast to monarchies or aristocracies. One of the crowning glories of the democratic system is the freedom of expression and the space that is provided to the views from different sections of the society. A democratic system can run to its utmost potential when there is wide participation on the part of the general mass, which is not possible without people getting informed about various issues. Reliable information resources are important constituent of any democratic society. This is where media steps in.

The role of media in a democratic system has been widely debated. India has the largest democracy in the world and media has a powerful presence in the country. In recent times Indian media has been subject to a lot of criticism for the manner in which they have disregarded their obligation to social responsibility. Dangerous business practices in the field of media have affected the fabric of Indian democracy. Big industrial conglomerates in the business of media have threatened the existence of pluralistic viewpoints. Post liberalisation, transnational media organisations have spread their wings in the Indian market with their own global interests. This has happened at the cost of an Indian media which initially thought to be an agent of ushering in social change through developmental programs directed at the non privileged and marginalised sections of the society. Though media has at times successfully played the role of a watchdog of the government functionaries and has also aided in participatory communication, a lot still needs to be done.

Why passage is suggesting that Indian media has been deviated from its primary role?

1. The Indian media is not following its social duties.
2. Transnational media corporations are overshadowing Indian media.
3. Not supervising the government functions anymore.

Passage - 9

Read the following passage and answer the items that follow each passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

It is said that India has entered a ‘critical decade’. India has emerged as a large and systemically important economy on the global stage. It enjoys the unique advantage of having many economic indicators in its favour, particularly a large domestic market, robust investment-to-GDP ratio and demographic advantage. However, all of these will need to be leveraged to get the full advantage out of them. Undoubtedly, this requires India to address its internal challenges, which include the long-standing problem of poverty and the development of its social and physical infrastructure.

The recent global slowdown has thrown up new challenges for India with export growth being continuously negative since May 2012 compared to high growth rates of some months of the previous year. With limited fiscal space available for the government and with protectionist measures of trading partners showing signs of rising, the policy options left are more at the micro level. Given its size and its profile in the global economy, India will inevitably need to play an active role at global level, not just in debates about how to resolve the continuing crisis and prevent the recurrence of similar crises in the future, but in influencing the rules for the global economy on overarching macroeconomic issues such as trade, capital flows, financial regulation, climate change, and governance of global financial institutions

Why author seems to be more concern about the Indian economy’s domestic challenges?

1. Indian economy has the potential to avert global economic crisis.
2. Indian economy is home to the biggest market that can help global economy to rise further.
3. Domestic economic issues in India can affect global economic institutions as well.

Passage - 10

Read the following passage and answer the items that follow each passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

It is said that India has entered a ‘critical decade’. India has emerged as a large and systemically important economy on the global stage. It enjoys the unique advantage of having many economic indicators in its favour, particularly a large domestic market, robust investment-to-GDP ratio and demographic advantage. However, all of these will need to be leveraged to get the full advantage out of them. Undoubtedly, this requires India to address its internal challenges, which include the long-standing problem of poverty and the development of its social and physical infrastructure.

The recent global slowdown has thrown up new challenges for India with export growth being continuously negative since May 2012 compared to high growth rates of some months of the previous year. With limited fiscal space available for the government and with protectionist measures of trading partners showing signs of rising, the policy options left are more at the micro level. Given its size and its profile in the global economy, India will inevitably need to play an active role at global level, not just in debates about how to resolve the continuing crisis and prevent the recurrence of similar crises in the future, but in influencing the rules for the global economy on overarching macroeconomic issues such as trade, capital flows, financial regulation, climate change, and governance of global financial institutions.

Which of the following can be properly inferred about “Critical decade”?

1. a decade full of opportunity for India.
2. a decade where economic crisis is more visible.
3. a decade that can pose India as a key player in global economy.