Paracompletion Session Master

8/13/2019 Paracompletion Session Master

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Paracompletion Session

A paragraph is given below from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the givenoptions, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.

1. What is bad writing? One definition of bad writing is that it only entertains but does not edify. It doesnot raise 'important questions' regarding political or social ills but, instead, runs away from them.Put simply, bad writing reinforces popular attitudes even if it's at the cost of harming a cultural fabric.Bad writing's goals are self-serving. ________________________

(a) It aims to make money for its publisher and author and win popularity for its writer without caring two hoots aboutthe greater common good or making the reader think beyond the text.(b) Good writing - especially fiction on the other hand - is as man-made and culturally-constructed method ofenquiry used to analyse and judge ones views. (c) However, no text - and, by extension, an author - is universally or eternally good or bad.(d) Thus, if good writing is to prevail, 'good writers' must slug it out in the open with 'bad writers'.

1. a The theme of the paragraph revolves around bad writing. The author aims to define 'bad writing'. Nothingin the text suggests that the author aims to compare good writing with bad writing. Options (b) and (d) talkabout good writing which is a shift from the theme and hence can be eliminated. Option (a) explains the

self - serving goals mentions in the last sentence of the paragraph and hence seems the best fit. Option (c) brings about a contrast in the idea as presented in the passage and hence can be eliminated.

2. Policy failures come in many shapes and sizes. But they are almost invariably accentuated by the choices thathave to be made in periods of financial shortage. Yesterday the coalition government found itself confronted by two ofthem, one in policing policy and the other in higher education. The failures are radically different in many details. Butthey have this in common: they are both serious failures, and they were both foreseeable. They could both have beenmitigated by clearer policymakingat an earlier stage. ________________________

(a) On the policing cuts, it is the opinion that Britain has more police officers than it needs.(b) Instead each has been allowed to fester and become more difficult to solve politically.(c) Downing Street must be thanking Prince Andrew for providing some distraction.(d) Police numbers have increased without proper regard to social need.2. b The paragraph is about policy failures specifically the policing policy and the higher education policy. Theparagraph also has a negative tone. Option (c) can be ruled out as it has a tone of relief a positive tone.Options (a) and (d) can be ruled out as they are only specific to the policing policy. Option (b) is the answeras it refers to both the policing and higher education policies. It also follows from the penultimate line in theparagraph that states that both failures could have been mitigated option (b) logically completes theparagraph by stating that instead they were allowed to fester.

3. It seems Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs top scientific adviser CNR Rao and his band of merry men - threereputed scientists from top scientific institutions of the country - have been cherry picking some interesting materialfrom the work of other scientists and passing them off as their own. This is not the first time, people - reputed (andtalented) people that is - have been caught doing such things. Often people - the kind-hearted ones - say imitation isactually the sincerest form of flattery. ________________________

(a) But the truth is, not many people find it amusing when they find that their work has been pickedup by someone else without giving them any credit.

(b) To cut a long and not-a-plagiarized-story short, the Indian scientists have apologized to AdvancedMaterials, a prestigious journal, for reproduction of text from an article that appeared in another

journal, Applied Physics Letters, in 2010.(c) In other words, the scientists forgot to issue a footnote that the four contentious lines were

picked up from another source.(d) But the thing about plagiarism is that it is considered so if the offenders are caught.

3. a The paragraph starts with a specific incidence of plagiarism and then moves to a general discussion onthe topic. Hence the next line of the passage should also be general. Options (b) and (c) can be eliminatedas they are referring to the specific incident. Option (d) can be eliminated as the so here refers to


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plagiarism and not to flattery. Hence it cannot be the continuation to the idea given at the end of the passage.Option (a) is clearly correct as it continues with the contrast presented in the last line of the paragraph.

4 . Its also what Vindi Banga employed when trying to figure out how to sell Unilever products to rural Indian women.Instead of spending on advertising, the company established the women as smallbusiness operators, providing loansto buy Unilever products and resell them in their communities.The women got jobs, and Unilever got a new distribution channel, notes Banga. These ladies became brandambassadors, brand teachers and brand distributors all in one.

_____________________________.

(a) Rural markets have come up in a big way in the past few years.(b) It is astonishing that the potential of rural markets was discovered so late.(c) In emerging markets, companies work very hard to get the value equation right.(d) It is not surprising that Indian executives tend to pay particular attention to the rural consumer.

4. d The paragraph starts with a reference to a quality/ strategy that has been mentioned in the previous lines.The emphasis of the paragraph is on the strategy that Vindi Banga used to sell Unilever products to ruralwomen. The penultimate line of the paragraph presents the result of the strategy used. The best option wouldbe one that comments on the result or explains it. Option (d) is the best. The scope of the paragraph isrural Indian women and their communities the rural consumer. Vindi Banga is used only as an example.Option (c) discusses emerging markets - there is not enough information on whether this is within the scopeof the paragraph.

5. Churchill and Gandhi, Hitler and Stalin all had precise images, good or evil, and their deaths were cause forsorrow or celebration. With Mao Tse-tung, it is another story. In his lifetime, he was transformed in the public mindfrom archenemy to a more ambiguous figure that inspired neither hatred nor love, but uneasy admiration. Heembraced too many opposites to be more than partially comprehended: visionary and tyrant, mol der of mens soulsand master of mens lives, the abstract theoretician ruthlessly presiding over the liquidation of his opponents, theroly-poly uncle of his country dunking in the Yangtze. But Americans had learned to be comfortable with Mao. So longashe lived, China would not be especially friendly; neither would it be overly hostile.

__________________________________________

(a) In his lifetime, he was transformed in the public mind.(b) Now there is apprehension about which way the country may tilt.(c) Maos death was like the toppling of a giant. (d) Great foreign leaders have always evoked strong emotions among Americans.

5. b The paragraph discusses Mao and the images that surrounded him. It ends by stating that while Mao lived,China would be known to be neither especially friendly nor overly hostile. This implies that Mao is no longeralive. The paragraph should ideally end with what has happened after his death but in terms of Chinas diplomatic stance. Option (b) completes the paragraph as it indicates ambivalence in Chinese relations/feelings. Option (a) comments on Maos lifetime which is not a logical completion of the passage. Option (c) only comments on Maos death but does not link this with Chinas diplomatic stance. Option (d) dis cussesgreat foreign leaders and is too general for the scope of the paragraph.

6. In the early 1940s, Venu Chitale, a Maharashtrian in Britain, used to broadcast radio shows onIndian cooking for BBCs home service. Around then, writer Mulk Raj Anand t oo had brought out acollection of Indian recipes in the UK. Curry may be a craze among the British today, but few knowabout its history in Britain. Indian independence created a sort of collective amnesia about thehistory that India and Britain shared. _______________________________.

(a) The history of Indians in Britain is better known and remembered post-1950.(b) This shared history of the two countries can be compared to a long-term relationship.(c) Making Britain: South Asian Visions of Home and Abroad is a project funded by the UK Arts

and Humanities Research Council.


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(d) Beyond the Frame: India British Connections is an archiving project that documents the longhistory of Indian presence in Britain.

6. d The paragraph starts with references to the popularity of Indian cuisine in Britain but then moves on to mentionthe lack of awareness on the shared history of the two countries. Option (a) can be ruled out because itis weak and does not strongly support the penultimate sentence. The paragraph suggests that not much isremembered about the history between India and Britain with no specific time period indicated theparagraph also refers to the memory of the shared relationship in Britain and not in India. The option itselfis ambiguous on this point. Option (b) is a comment on the shared history and should appear only when somebackground on the history between Britain and India has been stated. Option (c) is too general and does

not specifically relate to the penultimate sentence. Option (d) is the answer as it mentions a specificmeasure being taken in Britain to address the collective amnesia mentioned in the penultimate sentence.

7. Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki said that perhaps Azarenka and Wimbledon championPetra Kvi tova had taken the power game in womens tennis to another level. Martina Navratilova called it the rivalry (Azarenka-Kvitova) of the future which would perhaps leave the likes of Sharapovabehind. They are very talented players with intense personalities. Theyre very professional about how they go about things. If they stay healthy, thats the rivalry to come.

__________________________________.

(a) Azarenka herself said that the one noticeable difference in her game was her fitness.(b) It wasnt so long ago that Azarenka herself debated on turning her back on the sport.

(c) Radwanska, who has already lost to Azarenka thrice this year, said, I think shes more consistent. (d) Wozniacki, recovering from a shoulder injury, has not won a Grand Slam title in the last twoyears.

7. a The paragraph has a positive tone and speaks about the rivalry between Wozniacki and Azarenka,concluding by indicating that their staying healthy will be the key to their rivalry in the future. Option (a) is theanswer as it supports the penultimate sentence. Option (d) can be ruled out because it has a negative tone.Option (c) is incorrect because it is ambiguous the comparison would be between Radwanska andAzarenka and this is out of the scope of the paragraph.Option (b) is incorrect because it does not relate to theissue discussed in the paragraph.

8. Every one of his predictions of 2011, about the Eurozone crisis, about GDP growth and interestrates, had proved wrong by a mile. Historians, too, have had a mixed year. Certainly, the neo-liberalconsensus of the 1980s and 90s about how the market knows best has been swept away with a vengeance. Now, rather than obeisance to economists models, it is quite common to see academic historians drawing learned parallels between the events of 2008-12 and the Great Depression, thedepression of the 1870s, or even going back to the sovereign debt crises of the Middle Ages.

________________________.

(a) A decade back, Francis Fukuyamas prediction of the end of history and the triumph of freemarket economics and liberal democracy was disdained.(b) All this reminds political scientists and historians that past events shape their mindsets andarguments in a pervasive and subtle way.(c) A financial columnist in a major British newspaper confessed some time back that he wasnt eating Christmas pudding this year so much as humble pie.

(d) Time also has a habit of restoring some tattered reputations.

8. d The paragraph starts by saying that every prediction made by someone has been proved wrong. It ends bystating that now academic historians draw learned parallels from the past. Option (d) fits in best becauseit provides another way in which the tattered reputation of the person mentioned can be restored.The penultimate sentence has already provided a step away from the predictions of economists. Option (a)is incorrect because it goes against the information in the paragraph. Option (b) is incorrect because itdoesnt fit in with the logical flow of thought the paragraph discusses the predictions missing theirmark and academic historians now taking the help of past events to draw parallels with the events of 2008-12. Providing a reminder does not fit in to this flow of thought. Option (c) is incorrect because it goes againstthe tone and logic of the penultimate sentence.


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9. This, Rielly contends, is mainly because of the overemphasis in India on academic grades andmarks rather than innovation and originality. TED (Technology Entertainment Design) is really lookingfor the mavericks, the iconoclasts. Its okay they went to IIT so long as they are doing something awesome with it . . . like making a low- cost healthcare device. Its pointless to send resumes that show you as an IIT or IIM graduate with great grades i f you havent done anything else in your life.

__________________.

(a) Indeed, admissions offices in many US colleges and universities, also despair about the lameapplications from India.

(b) The weakest part is usually the essay that offers no vision, ideas, or clarity.(c) Tom Rielly, the organisations Director of Partnerships, mused about the poor quality of applications

he gets from India for TED fellowships.(d) Still, the reason Indians succeed to the extent they do also comes from the survival instinct.

9. a Option (a) is the answer because it logically follows the penultimate sentence and supports it. Option (b)can be ruled out because it is too specific and should only come in once the applications have beendiscussed. Option (c) is incorrect because the first line of the paragraph speaks about Rielly as if hewere already introduced in the previous lines. This option is logically inconsistent with the first line of theparagraph. Option (d) is incorrect as it goes beyond the subject matter TED and the low quality ofapplications from Indian students.

10. Satire, always as sterile as it in shameful and as impotent as it is insolent, paid them that usualhomage which mediocrity pays to genius - doing, here as always, infinite harm to the public,blinding them to what is beautiful, teaching them that irreverence which is the source of all vilenessand narrowness of life, but harming the artist not at all, rather confirming him in the perfect rightnessof his work and ambition.

(a) I call it our Renaissance because it is indeed a sort of new birth of the spirit of man.(b) For to disagree with three- fourths of the British public on all points is one of the first elements of

sanity, one of the deepest consolations in all moments of spiritual doubt.(c) Because this love of definite conception, this clearness of vision, this artistic sense of limit, is

the characteristic of all great work of art and poetry.(d) The heart contains passion but the imagination alone contains art, says Charles Baudelaire.

10. b The author explains how a great artist is not understood by the masses and is mocked by them.Satire, the author says, which was used to mock the artist paid him homage as this mockery confirmed therightness of the artists work. Option (b) goes on to explain this by stating the reason for this confirmation.

11. The Bushmen used feathers or poccupine sticks to create these marvels. One of the more importantsites of these paintings is the Bleeding Nose Shelter, which was probably a ceremonial site. Drawingsof an eland, small antelopes and a whole range of humans standing, dancing and shooting withbows are spread over the rock walls. This site takes its name from a painting of a man in theshamanistic trance state, with blood p ouring from his nose.

(a) The Bushmen used natural pigments such as ochre, animal blood and plant juices to make theirpaintings.

(b) Clearly discernible pictographs have survived to serve as cultural markers, revealing the shamans visions, tribal dances and other spiritual rites.

(c) Sonyas Cave shelters have tall male figures painted in red along with figures in black depicting giraffes and antelope.

(d) Another interesting fact was that important figures in the paintings were drawn over and overagain.

11. b Option (a) can be ruled out because it mentions the medium used by the Bushmen for their paintings whilethe penultimate sentence describes a specific painting in the Bleeding Nose Shelter. Option (b) is the answerbecause it is a conclusion to the information stated in the paragraph. Option (c) can be ruled out because itmentions the Sonyas Cave Shelters whereas the paragraph has specifically discussed the Bleeding


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Nose Shelter. Option (d) is incorrect because the tone does not match with that stated in the paragraph thedescription of the paintings has been made in the present tense.

12. A virtue such as honesty or generosity is not just a tendency to do what is honest or generous, noris it to be helpfully specified as a desirable or morally valuable character trait. It is, indeed a character trait that is, a disposition which is well entrenched in its possessor, something that, aswe say goes all the way down, unlike a habit such as being a tea -drinker but the disposition in

question, far from being a single track disposition to do honest actions, or even honest actions forcertain reasons, is multi-track.

(a) It is concerned with many other actions as well, with emotions and emotional reactions, choices,values, expectations and sensibilities.(b) In sum, to possess a virtue is to be a certain sort of person with a certain complex mindset.(c) The most significant aspect of this mindset is the wholehearted acceptance of a certain range ofconsiderations as reasons for action.(d) An honest person cannot be identified simply as one who always tells the truth.

12. a The paragraph discusses virtue and specifically one such as honesty or generosity. The paragraph endsby discussing the disposition of a virtuous person. Option (a) follows because it comments further onthis point and presents evidence on the multi-faceted track of this disposition. Option (b) can be ruled out

because it abruptly ends the paragraph whereas the penultimate sentence suggests that the authorshall, in the next sentence, explain her point. Option (c) comments on the most significant aspect of thismindset, whereas the paragraph has just started to explain the mindset/disposition. Option (c) shouldappear only once the author presents at least introductory aspects of the disposition. Option (d) canbe ruled out because it is too specific the paragraph is concerned with virtue and the disposition of avirtuous person.

13. In the last century, when the intellectual and didactic element had intruded to such an extent intothe kingdom which belongs to poetry, it was against the claims of the understanding that an artistlike Goethe had to protest. The more incomprehensible to the understanding a poem is the better

for it, he said once, asser ting the complete supremacy of the imagination in poetry as of reason inprose.

(a) But in this century exists, at the base of their poetic creations, a desire for a deeper spiritualvalue to be given to poetry.

(b) Poetry should contain the impression of a distinct individuality, individuality remote from that ofordinary men, and coming near to us only by virtue of a certain newness and wonder in the work.

(c) But in this century it is rather against the claims of the emotional faculties, the claims of meresentiment and feeling, that the artist must react.

(d) The artist is indeed the child of his own age.

13. c Only option (c) brings out the necessary contrast in the paragraph. The paragraph talks about how in thelast century poetry was affected by intellectual and didactic element. Option (c) goes on to discuss how inthis century the focus has shifted. Option (a) is incorrect as there is no antecedent available for their

in the passage. All the other options are irrelevant to the scope of discussion in the passage.

14. Certainly a good deal of mens tyranny over women can be observed through data, experiments, and research. Many things can be known in this way. But it does not show that it is unnecessary orchangeable, except speculatively, because what is not there is not considered real. Womens situation cannot be truly known for what it is, in the feminist sense, without knowing that it can beother than it is. By operating as legitimating ideology, the scientific standard for verifying reality canreinforce a growing indignation, but it cannot create feminism that was not already there.

(a) Social institutions are constituted, at least in part, by sets of shared beliefs and conventions.


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(b) Knowing objective facts does not do what consciousness does.(c) This means that we can speak here not only of error, but of illusion.(d) We are not simply cogs in structures and practices of subordination, we enact them.

14. b Option (b) is correct. The author explains that the real feminism can be understood only if the possibility ofits existence is known with complete certainty. He explains that we may have empirical data and factand figures but unless consciousness plays a role in this, the objective cannot be achieved. Option (a) isincorrect as feminism cannot be equated with social institutions. Options (c) and (d) are beyond the scopeof discussion.

15. In the face of mounting evidence that college is an inherently broadening experience, it seemsalmost impossible to complete those four years without growing a little. Twenty-two-year-olds havebeen known to emerge from their chosen institution of higher learning dogged by greater perspectiveand even fulfillment despite their best efforts to the contrary. This is no cause for panic, however,since there exist a few well-tested countermeasures that can be easily employed. The following tensteps, if pursued diligently, can actually help the entering student avoid getting virtually anythingfrom his or her undergraduate years.

(a) But one false move in this direction and the whole carefully designed structure could collapse.(b) Students should busily set about learning which of the courses require the least work.(c) It is crucial that academic interests not be influenced by real-life experience, particularly if you

hope to remain in academia and be hired to teach.

(d) Advance reports even suggest that some regression is possible for those who religiously putinto practice all of the recommendations.

15. d In the paragraph, the author offers advice to students that will enable them to gain nothing from their graduatecourse. The tone of the author is sarcastic. He mentions rules that should be followed for desirableresult and option (d) takes forward the same argument by further talking about the result of following theserules.

16. I was a man who stood in symbolic relations to the art and culture of my age. I had realised this formyself at the very dawn of my manhood, and had forced my age to realise it afterwards. Few menhold such a position in their own lifetime, and have it so acknowledged. It is usually discerned, ifdiscerned at all, by the historian, or the critic, long after both the man and his age have passed

away. With me it was different. I felt it myself, and made others feel it. Byron was a symbolicfigure, but his relations were to the passion of his age and its weariness of passion.

(a) I ceased to be lord over myself.(b) Mine were to something more noble, more permanent, of more vital issue, of larger scope.(c) I was no longer the captain of my soul, and did not know it.(d) He had discerned it himself.

16. b The paragraph is a first person narrative and ends with a description of Byron and his relations. Theauthor has used Byron to show contrast between him and Byron. It should be followed by the sentencethat continues the talk about relations to the art and culture and provides the comparison by presentingthe authors relations. Hence, option b is the correct option.

17. In an age of hurry like ours the appearance of an epic poem that is more than five thousand lines inlength cannot but be regarded as remarkable. Whether such a form of art is the one most suited toour century is a question. Edgar Allan Poe insisted that no poem should take more than an hour toread, the essence of a work of art being its unity of impression and of effect. Still, it would be difficultto accept absolutely a canon of art, which would place the Divine Comedy on the shelf and depriveus of the Bothwell of Mr. Swinburne.

(a) For even on ortolans who could endure oratory?(b) The subject of a work of art has, of course, nothing to do with its size.(c) A work of art is to be estimated by its beauty, not by its size.


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(d) We cannot help this.

17. c The paragraph talks about the lengthy poems losing their charm in the current age. Author does not reallyappear to endorse this idea while talking of Bothwell. He says we would not like being deprived of theBothwell of Mr. Swineburne despite its large size. He is inclined to say that size should not be a criterion for

judging a poem. A sentence that expresses the same is required to complete the paragraph. Hence, option(c) fits the bill. Option (b) is incorrect as it talks about the subject of a work of art rather than the beauty ofa work of art.

18. Afghanistan is so dependent on foreign aid that it could face an economic crisis when the Westends its military intervention in the country in 2014, a United States Senate report warned yesterday,criticizing the way the US had sunk billions into unsustainable projects in the shattered country.The US is spending $320m (195m) a month in Afghanistan on reconstruction projects alone andhas spent $18.8bn since it invaded in 2001. President Barack Obama's administration has requesteda further $3.2bn for projects in the coming fiscal year.

(a) The U.S. program of assistance to Afghanistan confers long-term stability to the Afghan geopoliticalenvironment and blunts popular support for extremist forces in the region.

(b) Hence, there are plans to increase direct funding, but only when ministries are able to executethe development funds that they do receive, and do so accountably.

(c) However, a number of humanitarian situations in Afghanistan, most stemming from the years ofwar that preceded the U.S. intervention, need to be addressed first.

(d) Yet the expensive nation-building efforts haven't utilized Afghanistan's resources effectively.

18. d The paragraph talks about how Afghanistan has become so dependent on foreign aid that it can facean economic crisis in the future. So the U.S. program of assistance definitely doesnt confer long -termstability to Afghanistan. Hence, option (a) is eliminated Option (b) does not fit in with the paragraph whichprovides no reason or background for increasing direct funding. Option (c) talks about humanitarian situationswhile the paragraph focuses exclusively on the economy. Option (d) talks about the distortion that hashappened in the Afghan economy thanks to the expensive nation -building efforts domesticresources have not been utilized effectively.

19. One area of specialization that Im particularly skeptical of, is Computers. In recent years, a lot of hoopla has surrounded the arrival of computers in the classroom. Frankly, Im not so sure that the ability to work a computer is all that essential to the future of this world. After all, what is a computer?Its a sort of brain that you can numbly call on with your fingers to obtain information. (a) This information is by and large needed, thus making computers a necessity.(b) But what are you going to do with all that information once you get it?(c) There are several other specializations much more important for the future of this world, than

computers.

(d) What for then do we require computers? We can very well progress without these.

19 . b Skeptical means having doubts. The author mentions, in the beginning, that he is skeptical about Computersas an area of specialization. Option (b) logically carries the idea further by stating that once one has obtainedthe information what will one do with it. Option (a) has a positive tone and goes against the nature of theargument. Option (c) is out of scope of the paragraph. Option (d) is extremely definitive in nature whereasthe author is just skeptical about Computers.


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20. Day break marks the completion of tunneling from two opposite faces. Conventionally, the tunneling work is conducted from both ends of the tunnel. But this being a very long tunnel, Railwaysdecided to engage in simultaneous working at more than two faces by constructing a shaft towardsthe North end and an adit towards the South end.

(a) Opening up of more working faces in this tunnel will enable a quicker completion.(b) Railways got a step c loser to finishing work on the countrys longest tunnel. (c) The Pir Panjal tunnel will also have a three-metre wide road for maintenance and emergencies.(d) Railways is using PVC membranes to line the insides of the tunnel so as to make it waterproof.

20. a The paragraph discusses the speeding up of the tunneling work. Option (a) follows the logical flow bydiscussing the result of speeding up the work. Option (b) could have introduced the paragraph but it doesnot come in logically after the penultimate sentence. Option (c) is incorrect as it specifies the name of thetunnel and discusses a road for emergencies both are beyond the scope of the information in theparagraph. Option (d) deviates from the central idea the discussion is about the speeding up of work andnot about the material used in building the tunnel.

21. Musharraf has said the scientists were given wide latitude to develop the nuclear program andworked in secret even from top officials. That secrecy also has raised fears that nuclear workersmay have transferred technology or equipment to terrorists, either for money or ideological sympathy.Experts say centrifuge technology would not be of much use to terror groups, who probably could

not set up the vast facilities required to enrich useful quantities of uranium, with hundreds of techniciansneeded to run thousands of centrifuges.

(a) The government also has denied official complicity in giving away technology.(b) Pakistan is estimated to have produced more than 1,540 pounds of highly enriched uranium.(c) It is hard enough for countries to do.(d) The acquisition of weapons designs would make it far easier for terrorists to make a workablebomb.

21. c The paragraph states the fear that nuclear technology could have been transferred to terrorists. However,the paragraph then changes its tone and states that experts feel that even if this were true, the technologywould not be useful to terrorist groups who would need more resources. The penultimate line before theblank indicates that it will be probably impossible for terror groups to take advantage of any leaks ininformation or even receipt of equipment. Option (c) substantiates this by saying that it is difficult for

countries themselves to gather the resources needed. Option (a) is incorrect as it brings attention to anirrelevant detail. Option (b) is out of context as the paragraph is not concerned with the amount ofuranium that has been produced by Pakistan.

22. A key tipping point for this decades-long class warfare of the rich vs. the working class can be foundin President Reagans decision to break the air traffic controllers union when it initiated a strike in 1981. Reagans manoeuvre was an audacious gamble to head backwards in terms of economic and social justice, and it paid off. The weak, disorganized Left at the time was unable to mount aconcerted, effective campaign against Reagans union - busting move, and the public didnt seem to care.

(a) The lesson was learned: going backwards works.

(b) Compare those sounds of silence in America then with now how citizens in other countries are reacting to the draconian austerity policies in Europe. (c) These class-war realizations have led to millions of protesters in the streets.(d) But in America, those in the shrinking middle class remain in a kind of social narcolepsy.

22. a The paragraph is about Reagans decision to move backwards in terms of economic and social welfare. It is about the class warfare between the rich and the working class. The author states t hat Reagans gamble paid off the last line makes a reference to the factors that supported this gamble. The best answer wouldbe one that concludes the passage with a reference to the gamble that was made. Option (a) does this.Option (b) is incorrect, as the scope of discussion on the country is not defined. Moreover, it begins thediscussion on a new topic and should start with a new paragraph.


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23. We mistakenly treated the end of the cold war as a victory that allowed us to put our feet up whenit was actually the onset of one of the greatest challenges weve ever faced. We helped to unleash two billion people just like us in China, India and Eastern Europe. For us to effectively competeand collaborate with them to maintain the American dream required studying harder, investingwiser, innovating faster, upgrading our infrastructure quicker and working smarter.

(a) Our European friends went on a similar binge.(b) But the real problem is that the global economy is badly over leveraged.

(c) Instead of doing that, we injected ourselves with massive amounts of credit.(d) This enabled millions of people to buy homes they could not afford.

23. c The paragraph is in the first person and so the last sentence should not be in the second or third person.This rules out options (b) and (d). Both the options do not deal with the theme of the passage. The lastsentence also states what was required to maintain the American dream and the word that in option (c) refers to it .Moreover, the paragraph has a negative tone and starts by pointing to a mistake. Thus it islogical for the last sentence too to end on a negative note. Option (c) is the correct answer. Option (a) canbe ruled out because it violates the scope of the passage.

24. In recent years, researchers have begun talking about mental health care in the same way addiction

specialists speak of recovery the lifelong journey of self-treatment and discipline that guidessubstance abuse programs. The idea remains controversial: managing a severe mental illness ismore complicated than simply avoiding certain behaviors.

(a) Yet people like Joe Holt are traveling it and succeeding.(b) The journey has more mazes, fewer road signs.(c) Now more people are risking exposure to tell their stories publicly.(d) And traditional medicine has not worked very well for most.

24. b The paragraph discusses mental healthcare as a lifelong journey and ends by speaking about the factthat it is complicated. Option (b) puts the complicated nature of mental healthcare into perspective. Option(a) is incorrect as it brings about the success of a particular person, whereas the author refrains fromgiving his opinion about the idea and merely states that the idea is disputable. So option (a) does not fall inline with the opinion of the author and appears to be too abrupt. Option (c) is incorrect as it deviates from

the central idea there is no mention of the risk involved in revealing ones stories. Option (d) is also incorrect as it brings in the limits of traditional medicine, which is not within the scope of the paragraph.

25. Take it from Jeff Gardner, who received an $11,000 bill from Verizon after spending four days inJamaica. Before the trip, Mr. Gardner, who runs a fly-fishing business in Grayling, said he calledVerizon to find out what it would cost to use his cell phone for calls and his wireless air card tocheck e-mail on his laptop while in the Caribbean. He said he was told that calls would be about $2a minute and that there would be no extra charges for data as he was on an unlimited plan.

(a) It's hard not to feel ripped off when you get hit with unexpected roaming charges.(b) One in six mobile users have experienced "bill shock" from unanticipated roaming charges or other confusing fees.

(c) The Verizon bill said more than 5 GB of data was transferred while he was in Jamaica.(d) The latter part turned out to be wrong.

25. d There is a clear logical ending to the paragraph, as it starts with the fact that Mr. Gardner received a bill of$11,000 fromVerizon. Option (d) concludes the information in the paragraph. Option (a) is incorrect as it in the second person whilethe paragraph is in the third person. Option (b) ends with general information while the paragraph is about Mr.Gardner.Option (c) brings in inconsequential data and it cannot be determined if this is negative or positive in context.


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paragraph has a negative tone. Option (c) can be ruled out as it has a tone of relief a positive tone.Options (a) and (d) can be ruled out as they are only specific to the policing policy. Option (b) is the answeras it refers to both the policing and higher education policies. It also follows from the penultimate line in theparagraph that states that both failures could have been mitigated option (b) logically completes theparagraph by stating that instead they were allowed to fester

29. Zero has had a long history. The Babylonians invented the concept of zero; the ancient Greeksdebated it in lofty terms (how could something be nothing?); the ancient Indian scholar Pingalapaired Zero with the numeral 1 to get double digits; and both the Mayans and the Romans made

Zero part of their numeral systems. But Zero finally found its place around AD 498, when the Indianastronomer Aryabhatta sat up in bed one morning and exclaimed, Sthanam sthanam dasa gunam -which translates, roughly as, place to place in ten times in value. With that, the idea of decimal based place value notion was born.

(a) Now Zero was on a roll.(b) Now Zero spread to the Arab world.(c) Zero ultimately found plenty of employment (together with the digit 1).(d) Zero ultimately flourished in Silicon valley.

29. a The paragraph discusses the history of zero and how it came into use. Once the idea of decimal based placevalue came into existence, zero became popular. It was on a roll. Hence option (a) is correct. (c), whichis a close option, cant be the answer as the pairing of zero with the numeral 1 gets discussed in the second line of the paragraph.

30. And so I cried and I prayed, and as months passed, the ceiling above my bed slowly went back tobeing just a ceiling. Taking Lucette by the hand, I went back to school. There were hundreds of otherchildren like me, children who had done nothing wrong and who, like me, had suffered some tragedyand were waiting patiently serving out their time, coping as best as they could.

(a) If they did not ask questions, it was because they knew they would not like the answers.(b) At night, in the darkness, I brooded on my sadness.(c)I had loved this town all my life and today, I had to leave it.(d)The tension was palpable- the anger almost burnt the walls.

30. a The last sentence of the paragraph is about how, apart from the author, ther e were hundreds of other children, who were going through the same ordeal. Their approach to the ordeal was one of patience.They were coping with it as best as they could. In such a context option (a), which describes the childrensilently accepting their fate and not asking any questions comes across as the best answer. Also,the they in this option has an antecedent in the children.

31. Art historians often view the Renaissance as beginning as early as the 13th century, with the art ofGiotto and Cimabue, and ending in the late 16th century with the work of Michelangelo and Venetianpainters like Titian. Literary scholars in the Anglo-American world take a very different perspective,focusing on the rise of vernacular English literature in the 16th and 17th centuries in the poetry anddrama of Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton. Historians take a different approach again, labellingthe period c.1500 1700 as early modern, rather than Renaissance. These differences in dating

and even naming the Renaissance have become so intense that the validity of the term is now indoubt. Does it have any meaning any more?

(a) Does it underpin a belief in European cultural superiority?(b) Today, there is a popular consensus that the term Renaissance refers to a profound and enduring upheaval andtransformation in culture, politics, art, and society in Europe between the years 1400 and 1600.(c) Is it possible to separate the Renaissance from the Middle Ages that preceded it, and the modern world that cameafter it?(d) The word describes both a period in history and a more general ideal of cultural renewal.

31. c The author is concerned with assigning a definite period to the renaissance. He says that the debate


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theory to its alignment with the evolutionary worldview. Options (a) and (c) merely explain the theory.


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