Reading Comprehension

The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and choose the correct option.

1. The polymerization of amino acids to form long protein-like molecules (“proteinoids”) was accomplished through dry heating by American biochemist Sidney Fox and his colleagues. 

2. The polyamine acids that he formed are not random molecules unrelated to life.

3.They have distinct catalytic activities. 

4. Long polymers of amino acids were also produced from hydrogen cyanide and anhydrous liquid ammonia by American chemist Clifford Matthews in simulations of the early upper atmosphere.

The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and choose the correct option.

1. But for those who reach an extreme old age, having lost parents, siblings and contemporaries who knew them when they were young, even the presence of children and grandchildren may not entirely erase this “last man standing” loneliness.

2. There is, too, the darkness of a projected future where there is no one still living who remembers us.

3. The mother's situation references another source of grief: that of the person who becomes the last of their friends and family still standing.

4. In childhood games of this nature there would be a prize for the survivor. 

The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4) below, when properly sequenced, would yield a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper sequencing of the order of the sentences and choose the correct option.

1. Mirrors to our own history, in particular colonial exploitations, aliens are often portrayed as evil invaders bent on coming here to wreak havoc.

2. In the long list of modern fears, bloodthirsty aliens may not rank near the top.

3. We have more immediate worries, from terrorism and bioengineered (or not) global epidemics to nuclear holocaust and natural disasters.

4. However, the notion that other intelligences exist out there in the universe is pervasive in popular culture. 

Slang, unconventional words or phrases that express either something new or something old in a new way. It is flippant, irreverent, indecorous; it may be indecent or obscene. Its colourful metaphors are generally directed at respectability, and it is this succinct, sometimes witty, frequently impertinent social criticism that gives slang its characteristic flavour. Slang, then, includes not just words but words used in a special way in a certain social context. The origin of the word slang itself is obscure; it first appeared in print around 1800, applied to the speech of disreputable and criminal classes in London. The term, however, was probably used much earlier.

Other related types of nonstandard word usage include cant and jargon, synonyms for a vague and high-sounding or technical and esoteric language not immediately intelligible to the uninitiated. In England, the term cant still indicates the specialized speech of criminals, which, in the United States, is more often called argot. The term dialect refers to language characteristic of a certain geographic area or social class.

Slang emanates from conflicts in values, sometimes superficial, often fundamental. When an individual applies language in a new way to express hostility, ridicule, or contempt, often with sharp wit, he may be creating slang, but the new expression will perish unless it is picked up by others. If the speaker is a member of a group that finds that his creation projects the emotional reaction of its members toward an idea, person, or social institution, the expression will gain currency according to the unanimity of attitude within the group. A new slang term is usually widely used in a subculture before it appears in the dominant culture. Slang sometimes stems from within the group, satirizing or burlesquing its own values, behaviour, and attitudes; e.g., “shotgun wedding,” “cake eater,” “greasy spoon.” Slang, then, is produced largely by social forces rather than by an individual speaker or writer who, single-handed (like Horace Walpole, who coined “serendipity” more than 200 years ago), creates and establishes a word in the language. This is one reason why it is difficult to determine the origin of slang terms.

Civilized society tends to divide into a dominant culture and various subcultures that flourish within the dominant framework. The subcultures show specialized linguistic phenomena, varying widely in form and content, that depends on the nature of the groups and their relation to each other and to the dominant culture. The shock value of slang stems largely from the verbal transfer of the values of a subculture to diametrically opposed values in the dominant culture. Names such as fuzz, pig, fink, bull, for policemen, were not created by officers of the law.

Occupational groups are legion, and while in most respects they identify with the dominant culture, there is just enough social and linguistic hostility to maintain group solidarity. Terms such as scab, strike-breaker, company-man, and goon were highly charged words in the era in which labour began to organize in the United States; they are not used lightly even today, though they have been taken into the standard language.

Which of the following best captures the basic difference between dominant culture and subculture?

Slang, unconventional words or phrases that express either something new or something old in a new way. It is flippant, irreverent, indecorous; it may be indecent or obscene. Its colourful metaphors are generally directed at respectability, and it is this succinct, sometimes witty, frequently impertinent social criticism that gives slang its characteristic flavour. Slang, then, includes not just words but words used in a special way in a certain social context. The origin of the word slang itself is obscure; it first appeared in print around 1800, applied to the speech of disreputable and criminal classes in London. The term, however, was probably used much earlier.

Other related types of nonstandard word usage include cant and jargon, synonyms for a vague and high-sounding or technical and esoteric language not immediately intelligible to the uninitiated. In England, the term cant still indicates the specialized speech of criminals, which, in the United States, is more often called argot. The term dialect refers to language characteristic of a certain geographic area or social class.

Slang emanates from conflicts in values, sometimes superficial, often fundamental. When an individual applies language in a new way to express hostility, ridicule, or contempt, often with sharp wit, he may be creating slang, but the new expression will perish unless it is picked up by others. If the speaker is a member of a group that finds that his creation projects the emotional reaction of its members toward an idea, person, or social institution, the expression will gain currency according to the unanimity of attitude within the group. A new slang term is usually widely used in a subculture before it appears in the dominant culture. Slang sometimes stems from within the group, satirizing or burlesquing its own values, behaviour, and attitudes; e.g., “shotgun wedding,” “cake eater,” “greasy spoon.” Slang, then, is produced largely by social forces rather than by an individual speaker or writer who, single-handed (like Horace Walpole, who coined “serendipity” more than 200 years ago), creates and establishes a word in the language. This is one reason why it is difficult to determine the origin of slang terms.

Civilized society tends to divide into a dominant culture and various subcultures that flourish within the dominant framework. The subcultures show specialized linguistic phenomena, varying widely in form and content, that depends on the nature of the groups and their relation to each other and to the dominant culture. The shock value of slang stems largely from the verbal transfer of the values of a subculture to diametrically opposed values in the dominant culture. Names such as fuzz, pig, fink, bull, for policemen, were not created by officers of the law.

Occupational groups are legion, and while in most respects they identify with the dominant culture, there is just enough social and linguistic hostility to maintain group solidarity. Terms such as scab, strike-breaker, company-man, and goon were highly charged words in the era in which labour began to organize in the United States; they are not used lightly even today, though they have been taken into the standard language.

All of the following strengthens the author's claims regarding slang EXCEPT

Direction for question: The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Choose the best answer to each question.

Slang, unconventional words or phrases that express either something new or something old in a new way. It is flippant, irreverent, indecorous; it may be indecent or obscene. Its colourful metaphors are generally directed at respectability, and it is this succinct, sometimes witty, frequently impertinent social criticism that gives slang its characteristic flavour. Slang, then, includes not just words but words used in a special way in a certain social context. The origin of the word slang itself is obscure; it first appeared in print around 1800, applied to the speech of disreputable and criminal classes in London. The term, however, was probably used much earlier.

Other related types of nonstandard word usage include cant and jargon, synonyms for a vague and high-sounding or technical and esoteric language not immediately intelligible to the uninitiated. In England, the term cant still indicates the specialized speech of criminals, which, in the United States, is more often called argot. The term dialect refers to language characteristic of a certain geographic area or social class.

Slang emanates from conflicts in values, sometimes superficial, often fundamental. When an individual applies language in a new way to express hostility, ridicule, or contempt, often with sharp wit, he may be creating slang, but the new expression will perish unless it is picked up by others. If the speaker is a member of a group that finds that his creation projects the emotional reaction of its members toward an idea, person, or social institution, the expression will gain currency according to the unanimity of attitude within the group. A new slang term is usually widely used in a subculture before it appears in the dominant culture. Slang sometimes stems from within the group, satirizing or burlesquing its own values, behaviour, and attitudes; e.g., “shotgun wedding,” “cake eater,” “greasy spoon.” Slang, then, is produced largely by social forces rather than by an individual speaker or writer who, single-handed (like Horace Walpole, who coined “serendipity” more than 200 years ago), creates and establishes a word in the language. This is one reason why it is difficult to determine the origin of slang terms.

Civilized society tends to divide into a dominant culture and various subcultures that flourish within the dominant framework. The subcultures show specialized linguistic phenomena, varying widely in form and content, that depends on the nature of the groups and their relation to each other and to the dominant culture. The shock value of slang stems largely from the verbal transfer of the values of a subculture to diametrically opposed values in the dominant culture. Names such as fuzz, pig, fink, bull, for policemen, were not created by officers of the law.

Occupational groups are legion, and while in most respects they identify with the dominant culture, there is just enough social and linguistic hostility to maintain group solidarity. Terms such as scab, strike-breaker, company-man, and goon were highly charged words in the era in which labour began to organize in the United States; they are not used lightly even today, though they have been taken into the standard language.

Which of the following terms indicate the following meaning “A variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular area or social group”?

Titanium gets its name from the Titans of ancient Greek mythology but this thoroughly modern material is well suited to a huge range of high-tech applications. With the chemical symbol Ti and an atomic number of 22, titanium is a silver-coloured metal valued for its low density, high strength, and resistance to corrosion. Since then, the applications for this metal have grown exponentially, from its use (as titanium dioxide) in paints, paper, toothpaste, sunscreen and cosmetics, through to its use as an alloy in biomedical implants and aerospace innovations. Particularly exciting is the perfect marriage between titanium and 3D printing.

Titanium materials are expensive and can be problematic when it comes to traditional processing technologies. For example, its high melting point (1,670?, much higher than steel alloys) is a challenge. The relatively low-cost precision of 3D printing is, therefore, a game-changer for titanium. 3D printing is where an object is built layer by layer and designers can create amazing shapes. This allows the production of complex shapes such as replacement parts of a jaw bone, heel, hip, dental implants, or cranioplasty plates in surgery. It can also be used to make golf clubs and aircraft components.

The CSIRO is working with industry to develop new technologies in 3D printing using titanium. Advances in 3D printing are opening up new avenues to further improve the function of customised body part implants made of titanium. Such implants can be designed to be porous, making them lighter but allowing blood, nutrients and nerves to pass through and can even promote bone in-growth.

Titanium is considered the most biocompatible metal – not harmful or toxic to living tissue – due to its resistance to corrosion from bodily fluids. This ability to withstand the harsh bodily environment is a result of the protective oxide film that forms naturally in the presence of oxygen.  Its ability to physically bond with bone also gives titanium an advantage over other materials that require the use of an adhesive to remain attached. Titanium implants last longer, and much larger forces are required to break the bonds that join them to the body compared with their alternatives.
Titanium alloys commonly used in load-bearing implants are significantly less stiff – and closer in performance to the human bone – than stainless steel or cobalt-based alloys.

Titanium weighs about half as much as steel but is 30% stronger, which makes it ideally suited to the aerospace industry where every gram matters.

In the late 1940s, the US government helped to get production of titanium going as it could see its potential for “aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, and other military purposes”.

Titanium has increasingly become the buy-to-fly material for aircraft designers striving to develop faster, lighter and more efficient aircraft. About 39% of the US Air Force's F22 Raptor, one of the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world, is made of titanium. Civil aviation moved in the same direction with Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner made of 15% titanium, significantly more than previous models.

Two key areas where titanium is used in airliners is in their landing gear and jet engines. Landing gear needs to withstand the massive amounts of force exerted on it every time a plane hits a runway. Titanium's toughness means it can absorb the huge amounts of energy expelled when a plane lands without ever weakening. Titanium's heat resistance means it can be used inside modern jet engines, where temperatures can reach 800?. Steel begins to soften at around 400? but titanium can withstand the intense heat of a jet engine without losing its strength.

Titanium gets its name from the Titans of ancient Greek mythology but this thoroughly modern material is well suited to a huge range of high-tech applications. With the chemical symbol Ti and an atomic number of 22, titanium is a silver-coloured metal valued for its low density, high strength, and resistance to corrosion. Since then, the applications for this metal have grown exponentially, from its use (as titanium dioxide) in paints, paper, toothpaste, sunscreen and cosmetics, through to its use as an alloy in biomedical implants and aerospace innovations. Particularly exciting is the perfect marriage between titanium and 3D printing.

Titanium materials are expensive and can be problematic when it comes to traditional processing technologies. For example, its high melting point (1,670?, much higher than steel alloys) is a challenge. The relatively low-cost precision of 3D printing is, therefore, a game-changer for titanium. 3D printing is where an object is built layer by layer and designers can create amazing shapes. This allows the production of complex shapes such as replacement parts of a jaw bone, heel, hip, dental implants, or cranioplasty plates in surgery. It can also be used to make golf clubs and aircraft components.

The CSIRO is working with industry to develop new technologies in 3D printing using titanium. Advances in 3D printing are opening up new avenues to further improve the function of customised body part implants made of titanium. Such implants can be designed to be porous, making them lighter but allowing blood, nutrients and nerves to pass through and can even promote bone in-growth.

Titanium is considered the most biocompatible metal – not harmful or toxic to living tissue – due to its resistance to corrosion from bodily fluids. This ability to withstand the harsh bodily environment is a result of the protective oxide film that forms naturally in the presence of oxygen.  Its ability to physically bond with bone also gives titanium an advantage over other materials that require the use of an adhesive to remain attached. Titanium implants last longer, and much larger forces are required to break the bonds that join them to the body compared with their alternatives.
Titanium alloys commonly used in load-bearing implants are significantly less stiff – and closer in performance to the human bone – than stainless steel or cobalt-based alloys.

Titanium weighs about half as much as steel but is 30% stronger, which makes it ideally suited to the aerospace industry where every gram matters.

In the late 1940s, the US government helped to get production of titanium going as it could see its potential for “aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, and other military purposes”.

Titanium has increasingly become the buy-to-fly material for aircraft designers striving to develop faster, lighter and more efficient aircraft. About 39% of the US Air Force's F22 Raptor, one of the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world, is made of titanium. Civil aviation moved in the same direction with Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner made of 15% titanium, significantly more than previous models.

Two key areas where titanium is used in airliners is in their landing gear and jet engines. Landing gear needs to withstand the massive amounts of force exerted on it every time a plane hits a runway. Titanium's toughness means it can absorb the huge amounts of energy expelled when a plane lands without ever weakening. Titanium's heat resistance means it can be used inside modern jet engines, where temperatures can reach 800?. Steel begins to soften at around 400? but titanium can withstand the intense heat of a jet engine without losing its strength.

Which of the following statements serve as an evidence for the titanium to be safe for body?

Titanium gets its name from the Titans of ancient Greek mythology but this thoroughly modern material is well suited to a huge range of high-tech applications. With the chemical symbol Ti and an atomic number of 22, titanium is a silver-coloured metal valued for its low density, high strength, and resistance to corrosion. Since then, the applications for this metal have grown exponentially, from its use (as titanium dioxide) in paints, paper, toothpaste, sunscreen and cosmetics, through to its use as an alloy in biomedical implants and aerospace innovations. Particularly exciting is the perfect marriage between titanium and 3D printing.

Titanium materials are expensive and can be problematic when it comes to traditional processing technologies. For example, its high melting point (1,670?, much higher than steel alloys) is a challenge. The relatively low-cost precision of 3D printing is, therefore, a game-changer for titanium. 3D printing is where an object is built layer by layer and designers can create amazing shapes. This allows the production of complex shapes such as replacement parts of a jaw bone, heel, hip, dental implants, or cranioplasty plates in surgery. It can also be used to make golf clubs and aircraft components.

The CSIRO is working with industry to develop new technologies in 3D printing using titanium. Advances in 3D printing are opening up new avenues to further improve the function of customised body part implants made of titanium. Such implants can be designed to be porous, making them lighter but allowing blood, nutrients and nerves to pass through and can even promote bone in-growth.

Titanium is considered the most biocompatible metal – not harmful or toxic to living tissue – due to its resistance to corrosion from bodily fluids. This ability to withstand the harsh bodily environment is a result of the protective oxide film that forms naturally in the presence of oxygen.  Its ability to physically bond with bone also gives titanium an advantage over other materials that require the use of an adhesive to remain attached. Titanium implants last longer, and much larger forces are required to break the bonds that join them to the body compared with their alternatives.
Titanium alloys commonly used in load-bearing implants are significantly less stiff – and closer in performance to the human bone – than stainless steel or cobalt-based alloys.

Titanium weighs about half as much as steel but is 30% stronger, which makes it ideally suited to the aerospace industry where every gram matters.

 In the late 1940s, the US government helped to get production of titanium going as it could see its potential for “aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, and other military purposes”.

 Titanium has increasingly become the buy-to-fly material for aircraft designers striving to develop faster, lighter and more efficient aircraft. About 39% of the US Air Force's F22 Raptor, one of the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world, is made of titanium. Civil aviation moved in the same direction with Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner made of 15% titanium, significantly more than previous models.

 Two key areas where titanium is used in airliners is in their landing gear and jet engines. Landing gear needs to withstand the massive amounts of force exerted on it every time a plane hits a runway. Titanium's toughness means it can absorb the huge amounts of energy expelled when a plane lands without ever weakening. Titanium's heat resistance means it can be used inside modern jet engines, where temperatures can reach 800?. Steel begins to soften at around 400? but titanium can withstand the intense heat of a jet engine without losing its strength.

Which of the following statements serve as an evidence for the titanium to be safe for body?

Every day, since 1904, the staff at the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory in Tamil Nadu have aimed their telescope at the sun, freezing the images of its disc. This data, spanning a hundred years and more, has now been digitised by astrophysicists from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, and made available to the public.

Apart from use in academic studies of long-term behaviour of the sun, the data can be used to better understand sunspot activity which impacts climate and affects telecommunication systems. It also throws light on major events in the past which had an impact on the earth's magnetic field. “From that knowledge we may understand the current and future events with greater precision. This also allows us to predict future [sunspot] activity levels with better accuracy,” says Dipankar Banerjee, IIAP, the Principal Investigator.

While 'spectroheliograms' were taken at the Kodai observatory since 1902, it was in 1909 that the data was used to discover the Evershed effect – that gases in the sunspots flowed radially outwards. The discovery by John Evershed put the KSO at par with the best observatories in the world. But its importance eventually declined as it was not upgraded or maintained. In a backhanded way, though, this turned out to be beneficial, because “the pictures had all been taken with the same instrument over the years, and this made it much easier to calibrate and digitise,” says Sudip Mandal, a PhD student who has worked on the project.

The data is unique not only in that it spans a hundred years, but that there are three sets of images, taken using different filters – White light, H-alpha and Calcium-K. It is known that the sun has a layered structure, and each of these data sets exposes a different layer.

Under white light filtering, the sun's photosphere and the sunspots are visible, while the Calcium-K light can show layers some 2,000 km above this, in the chromosphere. The H-alpha images show up layers a little above the Calcium-K images. Features called “filaments” which are related to large expulsions of material from the sun's surface can be viewed in the sets.

Opening up the digitised data has attracted international attention: Max Planck Institute, Gottingen; National Astronomical Observatories of China, Beijing and Big Bear Solar Observatory, US are interested in studying the way the sun's luminosity changes. Though the sun appears to have a steady brightness, its luminosity actually undergoes changes over time. The Big Bear Solar Observatory and the Beijing teams are interested in the H-alpha data in order to study the filaments that can be observed in those shots. Within India, groups from IUCAA, Pune; Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad; and IISER, Kolkata, want to make studies.

A movie that the scientists made out of a sequence of hundreds of white light images shows how the sunspots appear and disappear periodically over an eleven-year cycle. Such movies offer immense possibilities for developing educational software, as classes of students can visually experience how the sun and the sunspots behave over the years. Just like CERN offers its data to science hobbyists, for analysis that does not require much training and yet cannot be carried out without human intervention, this data, too, could be used by science fora in India to build citizen science projects.

Consider the following statements regarding the nearby purpose of the scientists behind making movies.
I. Such motion pictures offer massive opportunities for creating instructive programming.
II. It could be utilized by science fora in India to construct citizen science projects.

Which of the following statements given above is/are correct?