Reading Comprehension

Unemployment is the problem of every modern nation. Even industrialized nations are not able to ensure a job for everyone. Following the conventional strategy of creating employment, governments of many developing countries try to attract employers (business houses/industrialists) by offering tax rebates and many other facilities so that they locate their upcoming plants on their soil and thereby create industrial employment. But there is a limit to what industry can bring. Also, industrial plants often create toxic waste which results in air and water pollution and environmental problems which can outweigh whatever employment benefit industrial employment brings. In addition, they don't bring as substantial relief to the dwindling economy of the host country as they seem to promise, as the profits of such foreign investments are carried back to the parent company and foreign shareholders abroad.

Self-employment has none of these drawbacks. The problem is that self-employment is not as obviously glamorous as a shiny new factory. But profits from self-employment remain in the country where they are produced. It is too small to create environmental hazards. It also puts the poor person in charge of his or her own working hours and conditions. The hours are flexible and can adapt to fit any family situation. It allows people to choose between running a business full time, or part-time when they face a crisis, or to put their business on hold and work full-time for a salary. Self-employment is tailor-made for anyone who is street-smart and has any acquired and inherited traditional skills, rather than learning acquired from books and technical schools. This means the illiterate and the poor can exploit their strengths, rather than be held back by their weaknesses. It allows a person to turn their hobbies into gainful employment. It allows individuals who cannot work well in a rigid hierarchy to run their own show.

Financing the poor to start their own little ventures elevates their sense of pride and self-respect. It offers a way out of welfare dependency, not just to become wage slaves, but to open a store or start a manufacturing business. It can help those who have found a job and are still nonetheless poor. It gives the victims of prejudice who would not be hired because of their colour or national origin, a chance to earn a living. The average cost of creating self-employment is ten, twenty or hundred times lesser than creating industry-based employment. It helps isolated poor people gain self-confidence, step by step.

Which one of the following best sums up the overall purpose of the given passage?

Despite all of the institutional strategies adopted in early America to assure some measure of economic security, huge changes would sweep through America which would, in time, undermine the existing institutions. Four important demographic changes happened in America beginning in the mid-1880s that rendered the traditional systems of economic security increasingly unworkable are the Industrial Revolution, the urbanization of America, the disappearance of the "extended" family and a marked increase in life expectancy.

The Industrial Revolution transformed the majority of working people from self-employed agricultural workers into wage earners working for large industrial concerns. In an agricultural society, prosperity could be easily seen to be linked to one's labor, and anyone willing to work could usually provide at least a bare subsistence for themselves and their family. But when economic income is primarily from wages, one's economic security can be threatened by factors outside one's control--such as recessions, layoffs, failed businesses, etc.

Along with the shift from an agricultural to an industrial society, Americans moved from farms and small rural communities to large cities--that's where the industrial jobs were. In 1890, only 28% of the population lived in cities, by 1930 this percentage had exactly doubled, to 56%.

This trend toward urbanization also contributed to another significant shift in American society, the disappearance of the extended family and the rapid rise of the nuclear family. Today we tend to assume that "the family" consists of parents and children--the so-called nuclear family. For most of our history, we lived in "extended families" that included children, parents, grandparents and other relatives. The advantage of the extended family was that when a family member became too old or infirm to work, the other family members assumed responsibility for their support. But when the able-bodied left the farms to seek employment in the cities, often the parents or grandparents stayed behind. And when new immigrants first arrived in our land, it was often the breadwinner who first made the passage and only later could he bring the family over.

And finally, another significant change happened in the early decades of this century. Thanks primarily to better health care and sanitation, and the development of effective public health programs, Americans began to live significantly longer. In three short decades, 1900-1930, average life spans increased by 10 years. This was the most rapid increase in life spans in recorded human history. The result was a rapid growth in the number of aged persons, to 7.8 million by 1935.

The net result of this complex set of demographic and social changes was that America was older, more urban and more industrial, and fewer of its people lived on the land in extended families. The traditional strategies for the provision of economic security were becoming increasingly fragile.

Which of the following demographic changes were NOT seen in America in the mid-1880s?

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

Despite all of the institutional strategies adopted in early America to assure some measure of economic security, huge changes would sweep through America which would, in time, undermine the existing institutions. Four important demographic changes happened in America beginning in the mid-1880s that rendered the traditional systems of economic security increasingly unworkable are the Industrial Revolution, the urbanization of America, the disappearance of the "extended" family and a marked increase in life expectancy.

The Industrial Revolution transformed the majority of working people from self-employed agricultural workers into wage earners working for large industrial concerns. In an agricultural society, prosperity could be easily seen to be linked to one's labor, and anyone willing to work could usually provide at least a bare subsistence for themselves and their family. But when economic income is primarily from wages, one's economic security can be threatened by factors outside one's control--such as recessions, layoffs, failed businesses, etc.

Along with the shift from an agricultural to an industrial society, Americans moved from farms and small rural communities to large cities--that's where the industrial jobs were. In 1890, only 28% of the population lived in cities, by 1930 this percentage had exactly doubled, to 56%.

This trend toward urbanization also contributed to another significant shift in American society, the disappearance of the extended family and the rapid rise of the nuclear family. Today we tend to assume that "the family" consists of parents and children--the so-called nuclear family. For most of our history, we lived in "extended families" that included children, parents, grandparents and other relatives. The advantage of the extended family was that when a family member became too old or infirm to work, the other family members assumed responsibility for their support. But when the able-bodied left the farms to seek employment in the cities, often the parents or grandparents stayed behind. And when new immigrants first arrived in our land, it was often the breadwinner who first made the passage and only later could he bring the family over.

And finally, another significant change happened in the early decades of this century. Thanks primarily to better health care and sanitation, and the development of effective public health programs, Americans began to live significantly longer. In three short decades, 1900-1930, average life spans increased by 10 years. This was the most rapid increase in life spans in recorded human history. The result was a rapid growth in the number of aged persons, to 7.8 million by 1935.

The net result of this complex set of demographic and social changes was that America was older, more urban and more industrial, and fewer of its people lived on the land in extended families. The traditional strategies for the provision of economic security were becoming increasingly fragile.

What was the reason for Americans to shift from farm to large cities?

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

Legal emission limits have been long contested by developers, and are widely ignored. Smoky funeral pyres are lit, and piles of rubbish are regularly burned very close to the buildings. Pollution from the Yamuna River presents a further challenge. Untreated sewage and industrial waste pour in from the city, creating nutrient-rich waters. These nutrients are then picked up by the wind and deposited in the Taj's increasingly porous stonework, allowing river-derived microorganisms to thrive on its surfaces, colouring them green.

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. Teacher Unions have welcomed this campaign and the opportunity has already come and gone for the Indian Government additionally to think on comparable lines and find a way to lift up the sinking assurance of the teaching profession.

2. An amount of $100 million has been put aside to battle the shortage of candidates for the teacher training.

3. They have additionally requested that the campaign ought to be coordinated by improved compensation scales, the workload and confidence in order to steer clear of enrolment issues with an intent to raise the picture of the teaching profession.

4. A progression of notices is presently being screened demonstrating well-known individuals talking about teachers they remember and appreciate.

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

Despite the fact that they don't include consuming filthy petroleum products, hydropower ventures are not emissions-free. Regularly, enormous dams flood immense vegetated regions. Thus, the vegetation decays get submerged. In the long run, this prompts the release of methane, an ozone harming substances multiple times as powerful as carbon dioxide. At times, huge dams can result in considerably more lifetime ozone-depleting substance emission than identical conventional sources. And this does not even include the emissions resulting from the construction of such dams – concrete and gear overwhelming undertakings that generally take quite a long while to get built.

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: These feelings will peak in the evening leading up to bedtime.

An internal “body clock” regulates your sleep cycle, controlling when you feel tired and ready for bed or refreshed and alert. (1)_________. This clock operates on a 24-hour cycle known as the circadian rhythm. After waking up from sleep, you'll become increasingly tired throughout the day. (2)__________.

This sleep drive – also known as sleep-wake homeostasis – may be linked to adenosine, an organic compound produced in the brain. Adenosine levels increase throughout the day as you become more tired, and then the body breaks down this compound during sleep. Light also influences the circadian rhythm. (3)_________. The brain contains a special region of nerve cells known as the hypothalamus, and a cluster of cells in the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which processes signals when the eyes are exposed to natural or artificial light. (4)___________. These signals help the brain determine whether it is day or night.

There is a sentence that is missing in the paragraph below. Look at the paragraph and decide in which blank (option 1, 2, 3, or 4) the following sentence would best fit.

Sentence: Most of them also offer refill options.

(1)__________. While some companies do not even develop strategies to reduce the use or recycling of plastic, others are actively transforming their products and manufacturing cosmetics that do not leave a mark. (2)________. Big beauty brands like Lush have long offered customers solid shampoo bars, bath bombs, and soap wrapped in biodegradable packaging. (3)_________.Even manufacturers of disposable sheet masks found a solution and created fully-compostable face masks without any plastic polymers and microplastics in their components.

Whether in the makeup or personal care industry, you can find solutions to use mixed materials in your packaging to produce no-waste cosmetics. Dirty Hippie Cosmetics, Elate, Axiology, River Organics, and Izzy is just a few makeup brands that use organic ingredients and recycled cardboard, paper, wood, glass, and metal in their packaging. (4)_________.

Four jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Three of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out.

1. Growth factors for wounds are often applied locally (topically) and they may come in the form of gels that are applied directly to the wound.

2. Palifermin, a type of keratinocyte growth factor, is given via injection into a vein and is indicated for the prevention of oral mucositis in patients receiving radiation therapy.

3. Another use for growth factor is in dental procedures to enhance bone growth comes in the form of a dental filler.

4. Growth velocity is maximum during infancy and adolescence. The head circumference reaches closer to adult size by six years of age.

Four jumbled up sentences, related to a topic, are given below. Three of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd one out.

1. The estimation of a rising standard of life not just lies in solid upgrades it brings, but also in the way it shapes the social, political and eventually the ethical character of the individuals.

2. Moral thinking in practically every known culture, advises not to put undue accentuation on material concerns.

3.Philosophers since the time of Aristotle have drawn a line separating economic life from a life that is well-lived.

4. No amount of material development can justify the moral deficit that comes along with it.