UPSC CSAT

Thursday 7 September 2023

Reading Comprehension Exercises with Answers for UPSC in English, | PASSAGE – 5

  Read the following passages and answer the questions given below:

13. Global population was around 1.6 billion in 1990- today it is around 7.2 billion and growing. Recent estimates on population growth predict a global population of 9.6 billion in 2050 and 10. 9 billion in 2100. Unlike Europe and North America, where only three to four percent of the population is engaged in agriculture, around 47 percent of India’s population is dependent upon agriculture. Even if India continues to do well in the service sector and the manufacturing sector picks up, it is expected that around 2030 when India overtakes China as the world’s most populous country, nearly 42 percent of India's population will still be predominantly dependent on agriculture.

Which of the following reflects the most logical inference based on the passage above?

a. Indian economy greatly depends on its agriculture

b. Prosperity of agriculture sector is of critical importance to India

c. India’s farming communities should switch over to other occupations to improve their economic conditions

d. India should take strict measures to control its rapid population growth.

14. All political systems need to mediate the relationship between private wealth and public power. Those that fail risk a dysfunctional government captured by wealthy interests. Corruption is one symptom of such failure with private willingness-to-pay trumping public goals. Private individuals and business firms pay to get routine services and to get to the head of the bureaucratic queue. They pay to limit their taxes, avoid costly regulations, obtain contracts at inflated prices. If corruption is endemic, public officials - both bureaucrats and elected officials- may redesign programmes and propose public projects with few public benefits and many opportunities for private profit. Of course, corruption is only one type of government failure. Efforts to promote good governance must be broader than anti corruption campaigns. Governments may be honest but inefficient because no one has an incentive to work productively, and narrow elites may capture the state and exert excess influence on policy. Bribery may induce the lazy to work hard and permit those not in the inner circle of cronies to obtain benefits. However, even in such cases, corruption cannot be confined to ‘functional’ areas. It will be a reasonable response to a harsh reality but, over time, it can facilitate a spiral into an even worse situation.

Consider the following statements

I. Productivity linked incentives to public/private officials is one of the indicatives of an efficient government.

II. The governments which fail to focus on the relationship between private wealth and public power are likely to biome dysfunctional

Which of the statements given above is/are valid?

a. Only (I)

b. Only (II)

c. Both (I) and (II)

d. Neither (I) nor (II)

15. All actions to address climate change ultimately involve costs. Funding is vital in order for countries like India to design and implement adaptation and mitigation plans and projects. The problem is more severe for developing countries like India, which would be one of the hardest hit by climate change, given its need to finance development. Most countries do indeed treat climate change as a real threat and are striving to address it in a more comprehensive and integrated manner with the limited resources at their disposal.

What implications can be drawn from the passage above?

a. Climate change is a complex issue that requires developing countries to adapt their financial policies

b. Climate change does not affect developed countries

c. Climate change will affect India more than other countries because of its tropical climate

d. Climate change is not taken seriously by most countries

Wednesday 6 September 2023

Reading Comprehension Exercises with Answers for UPSC in English, | PASSAGE – 4

 Read the following passages and answer the questions given below:

 9. Books today have become mere adjuncts to the world of the mass media, offering light entertainment and reassurances that all is for the best in this, the best of all possible worlds. The resulting control on the spread of ideas is stricter than anyone would have thought possible in a free society. The need for public debate and open discussion, inherent in the democratic idea, conflicts with the ever-stricter demand for total profit.

Which of the following implications is correct based on the passage above?

a. The false sense of security provided by conformist literature can be detrimental to free thought

b. Light entertainment can be harmful to the democratic idea of a free society in the long run

c. The most important idea in democracy is dissent

d. Books published earlier used to be more critical of society as opposed to the light entertainment we get today

10. Cause and effect assumes history marches forward, but history is not an army. It is a crab scuttling sideways, a drip of soft water wearing away stone, an earthquake breaking centuries of tension. Sometimes one person inspires a movement, or her words do decades later, sometimes a few passionate people change the world; sometimes they start a mass movement and millions of others; sometimes those millions are stirred by the same outrage or same ideal, and change comes upon us like a change of weather. What all these transformations have in common is that they begin in the imagination, in the hope.

What is the crux of the passage given above?

a. Imagination is the breeding ground for ideas that change the world

b. History is not a linear movement

c. Mass movements can be sparked by a single person

d. History should be approached in a holistic manner instead of a cause and effect manner

11. The concept of sustainability has often been distorted, co-opted, and even trivialised by being used without the ecological context that gives it its proper meaning. What is sustained in a sustainable community is not economic growth, competitive advantage, or any other measure used by economists, but the entire web of life on which our long-term survival depends. The first step toward a sustainable community, naturally, must be to understand how nature sustains life. This involves a new ecological understanding of life, or “ecoliteracy”, as well as a new kind of systemic thinking - thinking in terms of relationships, patterns and context.

What is the most plausible, logical inference drawn from this passage?

a. Ecoliteracy is essential to the understanding of climate change policies

b. Nature and naturalistic living needs to be given more importance over a demand for total profit

c. Separating sustainability from its ecological context has led to the reduction of its importance.

d. Ecological understanding of life is essential for a sustainable future.

12. Education plays a transformatory role in life, particularly so in this rapidly changing and globalising world. Universities are the custodians of the intellectual capital and promoters of culture and specialised knowledge. Culture is an activity of thought, and receptiveness to beauty and human feelings. A merely well informed man is only a bore on God’s earth. What we should aim at is producing men who possess both culture and expert knowledge. Their expert knowledge will give them a firm ground to start from and their culture will lead them as deep as philosophy and as high as art. Together it will impart meaning to human existence.

On the basis of the above passage the following can be said to be true

I. Without acquiring culture, a person’s education is not complete

II. A society of well educated people cannot be transformed into a modern society

III. It is essential that a society has cultured as well as intellectual people.

Which is/are valid?

a. I only

b. II only

c. I and II only

d. I and III only

Tuesday 5 September 2023

Reading Comprehension Exercises with Answers for UPSC in English, | PASSAGE – 3

 Read the following passages and answer the questions given below:

6. Scientists have warned that global warming will keep getting worse until humanity reaches “net zero” emissions globally — that is, the point at which we are no longer pumping any additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. So in recent years a growing number of countries and businesses have been pledging to “go net zero” by various dates. But the concept can easily be abused. It’s one example of climate terminology that can be hard to decipher.

What are the most appropriate implications according to the passage given above?

I. The solution to global warming is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

II. The language surrounding climate change leaves room for loopholes that are misused.

III. Businesses and countries pledging environmental goals will help making lasting impact on climate change issues

IV. Climate change policies require cooperation on a global scale.

V. Businesses pledging “go net zero” are contributing to rising temperatures globally.

a. Only (IV)

b. (II), (IV) Only

c. (I),(II),(III),(V) Only

d. (II),(III),(V) Only

7. No superhuman brain is required to avoid the various foolish opinions that many of us hold. A few simple rules will keep you away not from all errors, but from silly errors. If the matter is one which can be settled by observation, make the observation yourself. Aristotle could have avoided the mistake of thinking that women have fewer teeth than men, by the simple method of counting the teeth of Mrs. Aristotle. Thinking that you know, when in fact, you do not know, is a bad mistake to which many of us are prone.

Based on the passage above, which of the following assumptions has been made by the author?

a. Even great people like Aristotle can make a mistake

b. Silly mistakes can be avoided by resorting to thinking.

c. One does not have to be exceptionally clever to avoid making silly mistakes.

d. We are prone to making avoidable mistakes since we do not care to think for ourselves.

8. Those who pay attention to the Olympics tend to view them from one end of a telescope or the other. Most who tune in for the sporting event every couple of years love the suspense. They may know, in the recesses of their minds, that the spectacle disguises a rusty and corrupt system, prone to vote buying in the selection of host cities, appeasement of dictators and unkept promises. To the fans of the Olympics, the positives outweigh the negatives.

Those who analyse the Olympics more broadly see the balance in reverse. They may appreciate the athletic achievements, but not enough to outweigh concerns about damage inflicted by the Olympics.

Which of the following options best reflects the central message of the passage given above?

a. The Olympic games are a testament to the world’s athletic talent

b. Analyses of the Olympic games reveals a lot of corruption in the host cities

c. Despite the athletic marvels showcased in the Olympics, its many drawbacks cannot be ignored

d. The Olympics are a polarising event in today’s society