UGC NET

This post consists more than 100 questions from Reading Comprehension from previous years UGC NET papers. this will help you to understand the pattern of questions comes under this section. Generally 5 out 50 questions comes from Reading Comprehension. New syllabus issued by the NTA is given in this post. this post also highlight the questions from each years. try to solve the questions.

Best of luck for your NTA UGC NET  preparation.

Reading Comprehension Questions from Paper1 2016 to 2006 old papers

Reading Comprehension ( 5 Questions out of 50)

 A passage of text be given. Questions be asked from the passage to be answered.

 

July 2016

Read the following passage carefully and answer question numbers from 11 to 16:
In terms of labour, for decades the relatively low cost and high quality of Japanese workers conferred considerable competitive advantage across numerous durable goods and consumer-electronics industries (eg. Machinery, automobiles* televisions, radios). Then labour-based advantages shifted to South Korea, then to Malaysia, Mexico and other nations. Today, China appears to be capitalizing best on the basis of labour. Japanese firms still remain competitive in markets for such durable goods, electronics and other products, but the labour force is no longer sufficient for competitive advantage over manufacturers in other industrializing nations. Such shifting of labour-based advantage is clearly not limited to manufacturing industries. Today, a huge number of IT and service jobs are moving from Europe and North America to India, Singapore, and like countries with relatively well-educated, low-cost workforces possessing technical skills. However, as educational levels and technical skills continue to rise in other countries, India, Singapore, and like nations enjoying labour-based competitive advantage today are likely to find such advantage cannot be sustained through emergence of new competitors. hf terms of capital, for centuries the days of gold coins and later even paper money restricted financial flows. Subsequently regional concentrations were formed where large banks, industries and markets coalesced. But today capital flows internationally at rapid speed. Global commerce no longer requires regional interactions among business players. Regional capital concentrations in places such as New York, London and Tokyo still persist, of course, but the capital concentrated there is no longer sufficient for competitive advantage over other capitalists distributed worldwide. Only if an organization is able to combine, integrate and apply its resources (eg. Land, labour, capital, IT) in an effective manner that is not readily imitable by competitors can such an organization enjoy competitive advantage sustainable overtime.
In a knowledge-based theory of the firm, this idea is extended to view organizational knowledge as a resource with atleast the same level of power and importance as the traditional economic inputs. An organization with superior knowledge can achieve competitive advantage in markets that appreciate the application of such knowledge. Semiconductors, genetic engineering, pharmaceuticals, software, military warfare, and like knowledge-intensive competitive arenas provide both time-proven and current examples. Consider semiconductors (e.g. computer chips), which are made principally of sand and common metals. These ubiquitous and powerful electronic devices are designed within common office buildings, using commercially available tools, and fabricated within factories in many industrialized nations. Hence, land is not the key competitive resource in the semiconductor industry.
Based on the passage answer the following questions:
11. Which country enjoyed competitive advantages in automobile industry for decades ?
(1) South Korea (2) Japan
(3) Mexico (4) Malaysia
12. Why labour-based competitive advantages of India and Singapore cannot be sustained in IT and service sectors ?
(1) Due to diminishing levels of skill.
(2) Due to capital-intensive technology making inroads.
(3) Because of new competitors.
(4) Because of shifting of labour-based advantage in manufacturing industries.
13. How can an organization enjoy competitive advantage sustainable overtime ?
(1) Through regional capital flows.
(2) Through regional interactions among business players.
(3) By making large banks, industries and markets coalesced.
(4) By effective use of various instrumentalists.
14. What is required to ensure competitive advantages in specific markets ?
(1) Access to capital (2) Common office buildings (3) Superior knowledge (4) Common metals
15. The passage also mentions about the trend of
(1) Global financial flow
(2) Absence of competition in manufacturing industry
(3) Regionalisation of capitalists
(4) Organizational incompatibility
16. What does the author lay stress on in the passage ?
(1) International commerce (2) Labour-intensive industries
(3) . Capital resource management (4) Knowledge-driven competitive advantage

DEC 2015

Read the following passage carefully and answer question numbers 13 to 17.
I did that thing recently where you have to sign a big card – which is a horror unto itself, especially as the keeper of the Big Card was leaning over me at the time. Suddenly I was on the spot, a rabbit in the headlights, torn between doing a fun message or some sort of in-joke or a drawing. Instead overwhelmed by the myriad options available to me, I decided lo just write : “Good luck, best, Joel”.
It was then that I realised, to my horror, that 1 had forgotLen how to write. Mv entire existence is “tap letters into computer”. My shopping lists are hidden in the notes function of my phone. If I need to remember somelhing 1 send an e-mail to myself. A pen is something I chew when I’m struggling to think. Paper is something I pile beneath my laptop to make it a more comfortable height for me to type on.
A poll of 1,000 teens by the stationers, Bic found that one in 10 don’t own a pen, a third have never written a letter, and half of 13 to 19 years – old have never been forced to sit down and write a thank you letter. More than 80% have never written a love letter, 56% don’t have letter paper at home. And a quarter have never known the unique torture of writing a birthday card. The most a teen ever has to use a pen is on an exam paper.
Bic, have you heard of mobile phones ? Have you heard of e-mail, lacebook and snap chatting ? This is the future. Pens are dead. Paper is dead. Handwriting is a relic.
“Handwriting is one of the most creative outlets we have and should be given the same importance as other art forms such as sketching, painting or photography.”
Answer the following questions :
13. When confronted with signing a big card, the author felt like “a rabbit in the headlight”. What does this phrase mean ?
(1) A slate of confusion (2) A state of pleasure
(3) A state of anxiety (4) A state of pain
14. According to the author, which one is not the most creative outlet of pursuit ?
(I) Handwriting (2) Photography
(3) Sketching (4) Reading
15. The entire existence of the author revolves round :
(a) Computer
(b) Mobile phone
(c) Typewrite?
Identify the correct answer from the codes given below :
(1) (b) only (2) (a) and (b) only
(3) (a), (b) and (c) (4) (b) and (c) only
16. How many teens, as per the Bic survey, do not own a pen ?
(1) 800 (2) 560 (3) 500 (4) 100
17. What is the mam concern of the author ?
(1) That the teens use social networks for communication.
(2) that the teens use mobile phones.
(3) That the teens use computer.
(4) That the teens have forgotten the art of handwriting.

JUNE 2015

Read the following passage carefully and answer questions 13 to 18.
Story telling is not in our genes. Neither it is an evolutionary history. It is the essence of what makes us Human.
Human beings progress by telling stories. One event can result in a great variety of stories being told about it. Sometimes those stories differ greatly. Which stories are picked up and repeated and which ones are dropped and forgotten often determines how we progress. Our history, knowledge and understanding are all the collections of the few stories that survive. This includes the stories that we tell each other about the future. And how the future will turn out depends partly, possibly largely, on which stories we collectively choose to believe.
Some stories are designed to spread fear and concern. This is because some story-tellers feel that there is a need to raise some tensions. Some stories are frightening, they are like totemic warnings : “Fail to act now and we are all doomed.” Then there are stories that indicate that all will be fine so long as we leave everything upto a few especially able adults. Currently, this trend is being led by those who call themselves “rational optimists”. They tend to claim that it is human nature to compete and to succeed and also to profit at the expense of others. The rational optimists however, do not realize how humanity has progressed overtime through amiable social networks and how large groups work in less selfishness and in the process accommodate rich and poor, high and low alike. This aspect in story-telling is considered by the ‘Practical Possibles’, who sit between those who say all is fine and cheerful and be individualistic in your approach to a successful future, and those who ordain pessimism and fear that we are doomed. What the future holds for us is which stories we hold on to and how we act on them.
Answer the following questions :
13. Our knowledge is a collection of:
(1) all stories that we have heard during our life-time
(2) some stories that we remember
(3) a few stories that survive
(4) some important stories
14. Story telling is:
(1) an art (2) a science (3) in our genes (4) the essence of what makes us human
15. How the future will turn out to be, depends upon the stories ?
(1) We collectively choose to believe in
(2) Which are repeatedly narrated
(3) Designed to spread fear and tension
(4) Designed to make prophecy
16. Rational optimists :
(a) Look for opportunities.
(b) Are sensible and cheerful.
(c) Are selfishly driven.
Identify the correct answer from the codes given below :
(1) (a), (b) and (c)
(2) (a) only
(3) (a) and (b) only
(4) (b) and (c) only
17. Humans become less selfish when:
(1) they work in large groups
(2) they listen to frightening stories
(3) they listen to cheerful stories
(4) they work in solitude
18. ‘Practical Possibles’ are the ones who :
(1) follow Midway Path (2) are doom-mongers
(3) are self-centred (4) are cheerful and carefree

DECEMBER 2014
Read the following passage carefully and answer questions 44 to 48 :
The literary distaste for politics, however, seems to be focused not so much on the largely murky practice of politics in itself as a subject of literary representation but rather more on how it is often depicted in literature, i.e., on the very politics of such representation. A political novel often turns out to be not merely a novel about politics but a novel with a politics of its own, for it seeks not merely to show us how things are but has fairly definite ideas about how things should be, and precisely what one should think and do in order to make things move in that desired direction. In short, it seeks to convert and enlist the reader to a particular cause or ideology; it often is (in an only too familiar phrase) not literature but propaganda. This is said violate the very spirit of literature which is to broaden our understanding of the world and to range of our sympathies rather than to narrow them down through partisan commitment. As John Keats said, ‘We hate poetry that has a palpable design upon us’.
Another reason why politics does not seem amenable to the highest kind of literary representation seems to arise from the fact that politics by its very nature is constituted of ideas and ideologies. If political situations do not lend themselves to happy literary treatment, political ideas present perhaps an even greater problem in this regard. Literature, it is argued, is about human experiences rather than about intellectual abstractions; it deals in what is called the ‘felt reality’ of human flesh and blood, and in sap and savour (rasa) rather than in arid and lifeless ideas. In an extensive discussion of the matter in her book Ideas and the Novel the American novelist Mary McCarthy observed that ‘ideas are still today felt to be unsightly in the novel though that was not so in ‘former days’, i.e.. in the 18th and 19n centuries. Her formulation of the precise nature of the incompatibility between ideas on the one hand and the novel on t other betrays perhaps a divided conscience in the matter and a sense of dilemma shared by many writers and readers : ‘An idea cannot have loose ends, but a novel, I almost think, needs them Nevertheless, there is enough in common for the novelists to fee!… the attraction of ideas while taking up arms against them – most often with weapons of mockery.’
44. The constructs of politics by its nature is
(A) Prevalent political situation (B) Ideas and Ideologies
(C) Political propaganda (D) Understanding of Iranian nature
45. Literature deals with
(A) Human experiences in politics (B) Intellectual abstractions
(C) Dry and empty ideas (D) Felt reality of human life
46. The observation of the novelist. Mary McCarthy reveals
(A) unseen felt ideas of today in the novel
(B) dichotomy of conscience on political ideas and novels
(C) compatibility between idea and novel
(D) endless ideas and novels
47. According to the passage, a political novel often turns out to be a
(A) Literary distaste for politics (B) Literary representation of politics
(C) Novel with its own politics (D) Depiction of murky practice of politics
48. A political novel reveals
(A) Reality of the things (B) Writer’s perception
(C) Particular ideology of the readers (D) The spirit of literature

JUNE 2014
Read the following passage carefully and answer questions 20 to 24 :
Traditional
Indian Values must be viewed both from the angle of the individual and from that of the geographically delimited agglomeration of peoples or groups enjoying a common system of leadership which we call the ‘State’, The Indian ‘State’s’ special feature is the peaceful, or perhaps mostly peaceful, co-existence of social groups of various historical provenances which mutually adhere in a geographical, economic, and political sense, without ever assimilating to each other in social terms, in ways of thinking, or even in language. Modern Indian law will determine certain rules, especially in relation to the regime of the family, upon the basis of how the loin-cloth is tied, or how the turban is worn, for this may identify the litigants as members
of a regional group, and therefore as participants in its traditional law, though their ancestors left the region three or four centuries earlier. The use of the word ‘State’ above must not mislead us. There was no such thing as a conflict between the individual and the State, atleast before foreign governments became established, just as there was no concept of state ‘sovereignty’ or of any church-and-state dichotomy.
Modern
Indian ‘secularism’ has an admittedly peculiar feature : It requires the state to make a fair distribution of attention and support amongst all religions. These blessed aspects of India’s famed tolerance (Indian kings so rarely persecuted religious groups that the exceptions prove the rule) at once struck Portuguese and other European visitors to the West Coast of India in the sixteenth century, and the impression made upon them in this and other ways gave rise, at one remove, to the basic constitution of Thomas More’s Utopia. There is little about modern India that strikes one at once as Utopian : but the insistence upon the inculcation of norms, and the absence of bigotry and institutionalized exploitation of human or natural resources, are two very different features which link the realities of India and her tradition with the essence of all Utopians.
20. The basic construction of Thomas More’s Utopia was inspired by
(A) Indian tradition of religious tolerance.
(B) Persecution of religious groups by Indian rulers.
(C) Social inequality in India.
(D) European perception of Indian State.
21. What is the striking feature of modern India ?
(A) A replica of Utopian State
(B) Uniform laws
(C) Adherence to traditional values
(D) Absence of Bigotry
22. Which of the following is a special feature of the Indian State ?
(A) Peaceful co-existence of people under a common system of leadership
(B) Peaceful co-existence of social groups of different historical provenances attached to each other in a geographical, economic and politicalsense
(C) Social integration of all groups
(D) Cultural assimilation of all social groups.
23. The author uses the word ‘State’ to highlight
(A) Antagonistic relationship between the state and the individual throughout the period of history.
(B) Absence of conflict between the state and the individuals upto a point in time.
(C) The concept of state sovereignty.
(D) Dependence on religion.
24. Which one is the peculiar feature of modern Indian ‘Secularism’ ?
(A) No discrimination on religious considerations
(B) Total indifference to religion
(C) No space for social identity
(D) Disregard for social law

December 2013

Read the following passage carefully and answer questions 15 to 20 :
Heritage conservation practices improved worldwide after the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) was established with UNESCO’s assistance in 1959. The inter-governmental organization with 126 member states has done a commendable job by training more than 4,000 professionals, providing practice standards, and sharing technical expertise. In this golden jubilee year, as we acknowledge its key role in global conservation, an assessment of international practices would be meaningful to the Indian conservation movement. Consistent investment, rigorous attention, and dedicated research and dissemination are some of the positive lessons to imbibe. Countries such as Italy have demonstrated that prioritizing heritage with significant budget provision pays. On the other hand, India, which is no less endowed in terms of cultural capital, has a long wav to go. Surveys indicate that in addition to the 6,600 protected monuments, there are over 60,000 equally valuable heritage structures that await attention. Besides the small group in the service of Archaeological Survey of India, there are only about 150 trained conservation professionals. In order to overcome this severe shortage the emphasis has been on setting up dedicated labs and training institutions. It would make much better sense for conservation to be made part of mainstream research and engineering institutes, as has been done in Europe.Increasing funding and building institutions are the relatively easy part.The real challenge is to redefine international approaches to address local contexts. Conservation cannot limit itself to enhancing the art-historical value of the heritage structures, which international charters perhaps over emphasize. The effort has to be broad-based : It must also serve as a means to improving the quality of life in the area where the heritage structures are located. The first task therefore is to integrate conservation efforts with sound development plans that take care of people living in the heritage vicinity. Unlike in western countries, many traditional building crafts survive in India, and conservation practices offer an avenue to support them. This has been acknowledged by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage charter for conservation but is yet to receive substantial state support. More strength for heritage conservation can be mobilized by aligning it with the green building movement. Heritage structures are essentially Eco-friendly and conservation could become a vital part of the sustainable building practices campaign in future.
15. The outlook for conservation heritage changed
(A) after the establishment of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property.
(B) after training the specialists in the field.
(C) after extending UNESCO’s assistance to the educational institutions.
(D) after ASI’s measures to protect the monuments
16. The inter-govemment organization was appreciated because of
(A) increasing number of members to 126.
(B) imparting training to professionals and sharing technical expertise.
(C) consistent investment in conservation.
(D) its proactive role in renovation and restoration
17. Indian conservation movement will be successful if there would be
(A) Financial support from the Government of India.
(B) Non-governmental organizations role and participation in the conservation movement.
(C) consistent investment, rigorous attention, and dedicated research and dissemination of awareness for conservation.
(D) Archaeological Survey of India’s meaningful assistance.
18. As per the surveys of historical monuments in India, there is very small number of protected monuments. As per given the total number of monuments and enlisted number of protected monuments, percentage comes to
(A) 10 percent (B) 11 percent (C) 12 percent (D) 13 percent
19. What should India learn from Europe to conserve our cultural heritage ?
(i) There should be significant budget provision to conserve our cultural heritage.
(ii) Establish dedicated labs and training institutions.
(iii) Force the government to provide sufficient funds.
(iv) Conservation should be made part of mainstream research and engineering institutes.
Choose correct answer from the codes given below:
(A) (i) (ii), (iii ,(iv)
(B) (i). (ii) (iv)
(C) (i), (ii)
(D) (i), (iii), (iv)
20. INTACH is known for its contribution for conservation of our cultural heritage. The full form of INTACH is
(A) International Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage.
(B) Intra-national Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage
(C) Integrated Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage
(D) Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage

JUNE 2013
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions (31 to 36):
The Taj Mahal has become one of the world’s best known monuments. This domed white marble structure is situated on a high plinth at the southern end of a four-quartered garden evoking the gardens of paradise, enclosed within walls measuring 305 by 549 metres. Outside the walls, in an area known as Mumtazabad, were living quarters for attendants, markets, serais and other structures built by local merchants and nobles. The tomb complex and the other imperial structures of Mumtazabad were maintained by the income of thirty villages given specifically for the tomb’s support. The name Taj Mahal is unknown in Mughal chronicles, but it is used by contemporary Europeans in India, suggesting that this was the tomb’s popular name. In contemporary texts, it is generally called simply the Il1urninated Tomb (Rauza-i-Munavvara). Mumtaz Mahal died shortly after delivering her fourteenth child in 1631. The Mughal court was then residing in Burhanpur. Her remains ‘were temporarily buried. by the grief stricken emperor in a spacious garden known as Zainabad on the bank of the nver Tapti. SIX months later her body was transported to Agra, where it was interred in land chosen for the mausoleum. This land, situated south of the- Mughal city on the bank of the Jamuna, had belonged to the Kachhwaha rajas since the time of Raja Man Singh and was purchased from the then current raja, Jai Singh. Although contemporary chronicles indicate Jai Singh’s willing cooperation in this exchange, extant, farmans (imperial commands) indicate that the final price was not settled until almost two years after the mausoleum’s commencement. Jai Singh’s further cooperation was insured by imperial orders issued between 1632 and 1637 demanding that he provide stone masons and carts to transport marble from the mines at Makrana, within his “ancestral domain”, to Agra where both the Taj Mahal and Shah Jahan’s additions to the Agra fort were constructed concurrently. Work on the mausoleum was commenced early in 1632. Inscriptional evidence indicates much of the tomb was completed by 1636. By 1643, when Shah Jahan most lavishly celebrated the ‘Urs ceremony for Mumtaz Mahal’, the entire complex was virtually complete.
31. Marble stone used for the construction of the Taj Mahal was brought from the ancestral domain of Raja Jai Singh. The name of the place where mines of marble is
(A) Burhanpur (B) Makrana
(C) Amber (D) Jaipur
32. The popular name Taj Mahal was given by
(A) Shah Jahan (B) Tourists
(C) Public (D) European travelers
33. Point out the true statement from the following.
(A) Marble was not used for the construction of the Taj Mahal.
(B) Red sandstone is non-visible in the Taj Mahal complex.
(C) The Taj Mahal is surrounded by a four-quartered garden known as Chahr Bagh..
(D) The Taj Mahal was constructed to celebrate the ‘Urs ceremony for Mumtaz Mahal’.
34. In the contemporary texts the Taj Mahal is known
(A). Mumtazabad (B) Mumtaz Mahal
(C) Zainabad (D)Rauza-i-Munavvara.
35. The construction of the Taj Mahal was completed between the period
(A) 1632 – 1636 A.D. (B) 1630 – 1643A.D.
(C) 1632 -1643 A.D. (D) 1636 – 1643 A.D.
36. The documents indicating the ownership of land, where the Taj Mahal was built, known as
(A) Farman
(B) Sale Deed
(C) Sale-Purchase Deed
(D) None of the above

DECEMBER 2012
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions (42 to 47) :
The popular view of towns and cities in developing countries and of urbanization process is that despite the benefits and comforts it brings, the emergence of such cities connotes environmental degradation, generation of slums and squatters, urban poverty, unemployment, crimes, lawlessness, traffic chaos etc. But what is the reality ? Given the unprecedental increase in urban population over the last 50 years from 300 million in 1950 to 2 billion in 2000 in developing countries, the wonder really is how well the world has coped, and not how badly.
In general, the urban quality of life has improved in terms of availability of water and sanitation, power, health and education, communication and transport. By way of illustration, a large number of urban residents have been provided with improved water in urban areas in Asia’s largest countries such as China, India, Indonesia and Philippines. Despite that, the access to improved water in terms of percentage of total urban population seems to have declined during the last decade of 20th century, though in absolute numbers, millions of additional urbanites, have been provided improved services. These countries have made significant progress in the provision of sanitation services too, together, providing for an additional population of more than 293 million citizens within a decade (1990-2000). These improvements must be viewed against the backdrop of rapidly increasing urban population, fiscal crunch and strained human resources and efficient and quality-oriented public management.
42. The popular view about the process of urbanization in developing countries is
(A) Positive (B) Negative
(C) Neutral . (D) Unspecified
43. The average annual increase in the number of urbanites in developing countries, from 1950 to 2000 A.D. was close to
(A) 30 million (B) 40 million
(C) 50 million (D) 60 million
44. The reality of urbanization is reflected in
(A) How well the situation has been managed.
(B) How badly the situation has gone out of control.
(C) How fast has been the tempo of urbanization.
(D) How fast the environment has degraded.
45. Which one of the following is not considered as an indicator of urban quality of life ?
(A) Tempo of urbanization (B) Provision of basic services
(G) Access to social amenities (D) All the above
46. The author in this passage has tried to focus on
(A) Extension of Knowledge
(B) Generation of Environmental Consciousness
(C) Analytical Reasoning
(D) Descriptive Statement
47. In the above passage, the author intends to state
(A) The hazards of the urban life (B) The sufferings of the urban life
(C) The awareness of human progress (D) The limits to growth

JUNE 2012
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions 55 to 60 :
James Madison said, “A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with power that knowledge gives.” In India, the Official Secrets Act, 1923 was a convenient smokescreen to deny members of the public access to information. Public functioning has traditionally been shrouded in secrecy. But in a democracy in which people govern themselves, it is necessary to have more openness. In the maturing of our democracy, right to information is a major step forward; it enables citizens to participate fully in the decision-making process that affects their lives so profoundly. It is in this context that the address of the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha is significant. He said, “I would only like to see that everyone, particularly our civil servants, should see the Bill in a positive spirit; not as a draconian law for paralyzing Government, but as an instrument for improving Government-Citizen interface resulting in a friendly, caring and effective Government functioning for the good of our People.” He further said, “This is an innovative Bill, where there will be scope to review its functioning as we gain experience. Therefore, this is a piece of legislation, whose working will be kept under constant reviews.”
The Commission, in its Report, has dealt with the application of the Right to Information in Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. The judiciary could be a pioneer in implementing the Act in letter and spirit because much of the work that the Judiciary does is open to public scrutiny, Government of India has sanctioned an e-governance project in the Judiciary for about ` 700 crores which would bring about systematic classification, standardization and categorization of records. This would help the judiciary to fulfil its mandate under the Act. Similar capacity building would be required in all other public authorities. The transformation from nontransparency to transparency and public accountability is the responsibility of all three organs of State.
55. A person gets power
(A) by acquiring knowledge
(B) from the Official Secrets Act, 1923
(C) through openings
(D) by denying public information
56. Right to Information is a major step forward to
(A) enable citizens to participate fully in the decision making process
(B) to make the people aware of the Act
(C) to gain knowledge of administration
(D) to make the people Government friendly
57. The Prime Minister considered the Bill
(A) to provide power to the civil servants
(B) as an instrument for improving Government-citizen interface resulting in a friendly, caring and effective Government
(C) a draconian law against the officials
(D) to check the harassment of the people
58. The Commission made the Bill effective by
(A) extending power to the executive authorities
(B) combining the executive and legislative power
(C) recognizing Judiciary a pioneer in implementing the act in letter and spirit
(D) educating the people before its implementation
59. The Prime Minister considered the Bill innovative and hoped that
(A) It could be reviewed based on the experience gained on its functioning.
(B) The civil servants would see the Bill in a positive spirit.
(C) It would not be considered as a draconian law for paralyzing Government
(D) All the above
60. The transparency and public accountability is the responsibility of three organs of the State.
These three organs are
(A) Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Judiciary
(B) Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Executive
(C) Judiciary, Legislature and the Commission
(D) Legislature, Executive and Judiciary

DECEMBER 2011

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions (Qn. Nos. 55 to 60) :
The catalytic fact of the twentieth century is uncontrollable development, consumerist society, political materialism, and spiritual devaluation. This inordinate development has led to the transcendental ‘second reality’ of sacred perception that biologically transcendence is a part of human life. As the century closes, it dawns with imperative vigour that the ‘first reality’ of enlightened rationalism and the ‘second reality’ of the Beyond have to be harmonised in a worthy state of man. The de facto values describe what we are, they portray the ‘is’ of our ethic, they are est values (Latin est means is). The ideal values tell us what we ought to be, they are esto values (Latin esto ‘ought to be’). Both have to be in the ebb and flow of consciousness. The ever new science and technology and the ever-perennial faith are two modes of one certainty, that is the wholeness of man, his courage to be, his share in Being. The materialistic foundations of science have crumbled down. Science itself has proved that matter is energy, processes are as valid as facts, and affirmed the non-materiality of the universe. The encounter of the ‘two cultures’, the scientific and the humane, will restore the normal vision, and will be the bedrock of a ‘science of understanding’ in the new century. It will give new meaning to the ancient perception that quantity (measure) and quality (value) coexist at the root of nature. Human endeavours cannot afford to be humanistically irresponsible.
55. The problem raised in the passage reflects overall on
(A) Consumerism (B) Materialism (C) Spiritual devaluation (D) Inordinate development
56. The ‘de facto’ values in the passage means
(A) What is (B) What ought to be (C) What can be (D) Where it is
57. According to the passage, the ‘first reality’ constitutes
(A) Economic prosperity (B) Political development (C) Sacred perception of life (D) Enlightened rationalism
58. Encounter of the ‘two cultures’, the scientific and the human implies
(A) Restoration of normal vision
(B) Universe is both material and non-material
(C) Man is superior to nature
(D) Co-existence of quantity and quality in nature
59. The contents of the passage are
(A) Descriptive (B) Prescriptive (C) Axiomatic (D) Optional
60. The passage indicates that science has proved that
(A) universe is material (B) matter is energy (C) nature has abundance (D) humans are irresponsible
DECEMBER 2010
Read the following passage carefully and answer questions from 5 to 10 :
It should be remembered that the nationalist movement in India, like all nationalist movements, was essentially a bourgeois movement. It represented the natural historical stage of development, and to consider it or to criticise it as a working-class movement is wrong. Gandhi represented that movement and the Indian masses in relation to that movement to a supreme degree, and he became the voice of Indian people to that extent. The main contribution of Gandhi to India and the Indian masses has been through the powerful movements which he launched through the National Congress. Through nation-wide action he sought to mould the millions, and largely succeeded in doing so, and changing them from a demoralised, timid and hopeless mass, bullied and crushed by every dominant interest, and incapable of resistance, into a people with self-respect and self-reliance, resisting tyranny, and capable of united action and sacrifice for a larger cause. Gandhi made people think of political and economic issues and every village and every bazaar hummed with argument and debate on the new ideas and hopes that filled the people. That was an amazing psychological change. The time was ripe for it, of course, and circumstances and world conditions worked for this change. But a great leader is necessary to take advantage of circumstances and conditions. Gandhi was that leader, and he released many of the bonds that imprisoned and disabled our minds, and none of us who experienced it can ever forget that great feeling of release and exhilaration that came over the Indian people. Gandhi has played a revolutionary role in India of the greatest importance because he knew how to make the most of the objective conditions and could reach the heart of the masses, while groups with a more advanced ideology functioned largely in the air because they did not fit in with those conditions and could therefore not evoke any substantial response from the masses. It is perfectly true that Gandhi, functioning in the nationalist plane, does not think in terms of the conflict of classes, and tries to compose their differences. But the action he has indulged and taught the people has inevitably raised mass consciousness tremendously and made social issues vital. Gandhi and the Congress must be judged by the policies they pursue and the action they indulge in. But behind this, personality counts and colours those policies and activities. In the case of very exceptional person like Gandhi the question of personality becomes especially important in order to understand and appraise him. To us he has represented the spirit and honour of India, the yearning of her sorrowing millions to be rid of their innumerable burdens, and an insult to him by the British Government or other has been an insult to India and her people.
5. Which one of the following is true of the given passage ?
(A) The passage is a critique of Gandhi’s role in Indian movement for independence.
(B) The passage hails the role of Gandhi in India’s freedom movement.
(C) The author is neutral on Gandhi’s role in India’s freedom movement.
(D) It is an account of Indian National Congress’s support to the working-class movement.
6. The change that the Gandhian movement brought among the Indian masses was
(A) Physical (B) Cultural (C) Technological (D) Psychological
7. To consider the nationalist movement or to criticise it as a working-class movement was wrong because it was a
(A) historical movement
(B) voice of the Indian people
(C) bourgeois movement
(D) movement represented by Gandhi
8. Gandhi played a revolutionary role in India because he could
(A) preach morality
(B) reach the heart of Indians
(C) see the conflict of classes
(D) lead the Indian National Congress
9. Groups with advanced ideology functioned in the air as they did not fit in with
(A) objective conditions of masses
(B) the Gandhian ideology
(C) the class consciousness of the people
(D) the differences among masses
10. The author concludes the passage by
(A) criticising the Indian masses
(B) the Gandhian movement
(C) pointing out the importance of the personality of Gandhi
(D) identifying the sorrows of millions of Indians

JUNE 2010

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions 7 to 12.
The phrase “What is it like ?” stands for a fundamental thought process. How does one go about observing and reporting on things and events that occupy segments of earth space ? Of all the infinite variety of phenomena on the face of the earth, how does one decide what phenomena to observe ? There is no such thing as a complete description of the earth or any part of it, for every microscopic point on the earth’s surface differs from every other such point. Experience shows that the things observed are already familiar, because they are like phenomena that occur at home or because they resemble the abstract images and models developed in the human mind. How are abstract images formed ? Humans alone among the animals possess language; their words symbolize not only specific things but also mental images of classes of things. People can remember what they have seen or experienced because they attach a word symbol to them.
During the long record of our efforts to gain more and more knowledge about the face of the earth as the human habitat, there has been a continuing interplay between things and events. The direct observation through the senses is described as a percept; the mental image is described as a concept. Percepts are what some people describe as reality, in contrast to mental images, which are theoretical, implying that they are not real. The relation of Percept to Concept is not as simple as the definition implies. It is now quite clear that people of different cultures or even individuals in the same culture develop different mental images of reality and what they perceive is a reflection of these preconceptions. The direct observation of things and events on the face of the earth is so clearly a function of the mental images of the mind of the observer that the whole idea of reality must be reconsidered. Concepts determine what the observer perceives, yet concepts are derived from the generalizations of previous percepts. What happens is that the educated observer is taught to accept a set of concepts and then sharpens or changes these concepts during a professional career. In any one field of scholarship, professional opinion at one time determines what concepts and procedures are acceptable, and these form a kind of model of scholarly behaviour.
7. The problem raised in the passage reflects on
(A) thought process (B) human behaviour (C) cultural perceptions (D) professional opinion
8. According to the passage, human beings have mostly in mind
(A) Observation of things
(B) Preparation of mental images
(C) Expression through language
(D) To gain knowledge
9. Concept means
(A) A mental image (B) A reality (C) An idea expressed in language form (D) All the above
10. The relation of Percepts to Concept is
(A) Positive (B) Negative (C) Reflective (D) Absolute
11. In the passage, the earth is taken as
(A) The Globe (B) The Human Habitat (C) A Celestial Body (D) A Planet
12. Percept means
(A) Direct observation through the senses
(B) A conceived idea
(C) Ends of a spectrum
(D) An abstract image

DECEMBER 2009

Read the following passage and answer the Question Nos. 13 to 18 :
The decisive shift in British Policy really came about under mass pressure in the autumn and winter of 1945 to 46 – the months which Perderel Moon while editing Wavell’s Journal has perceptively described as ‘The Edge of a Volcano’. Very foolishly, the British initially decided to hold public trials of several hundreds of the 20,000 I.N.A. prisoners (as well as dismissing from service and detaining without trial no less than 7,000). They compounded the folly by holding the first trial in the Red Fort, Delhi in November 1945, and putting on the dock together a Hindu, a Muslim and a Sikh (P.K. Sehgal, Shah Nawaz, Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon). Bhulabhai Desai, Tejbahadur Sapru and Nehru appeared for the defence (the latter putting on his barrister’s gown after 25 years), and the Muslim League also joined the countrywide protest. On 20 November, an Intelligence Bureau note admitted that “there has seldom been a matter which has attracted so much Indian public interest and, it is safe to say, sympathy … this particular brand of sympathy cuts across communal barriers.’ A journalist (B. Shiva Rao) visiting the Red Fort prisoners on the same day reported that ‘There is not the slightest feeling among them of Hindu and Muslim … A majority of the men now awaiting trial in the Red Fort is Muslim. Some of these men are bitter that Mr. Jinnah is keeping alive a controversy about Pakistan.’ The British became extremely nervous about the I.N.A. spirit spreading to the Indian Army, and in January the Punjab Governor reported that a Lahore reception for released I.N.A. prisoners had been attended by Indian soldiers in uniform.
13. Which heading is more appropriate to assign to the above passage ?
(A) Wavell’s Journal (B) Role of Muslim League (C) I.N.A. Trials (D) Red Fort Prisoners
14. The trial of P.K. Sehgal, Shah Nawaz and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon symbolises
(A) communal harmony
(B) threat to all religious persons
(C) threat to persons fighting for the freedom
(D) British reaction against the natives
15. I.N.A. stands for
(A) Indian National Assembly (B) Indian National Association
(C) Inter-national Association (D) Indian National Army
16. ‘There has seldom been a matter which has attracted so much Indian Public Interest and, it is safe to say, sympathy … this particular brand of sympathy cuts across communal barriers.’ Who sympathises to whom and against whom ?
(A) Muslims sympathised with Shah Nawaz against the British
(B) Hindus sympathised with P.K. Sehgal against the British
(C) Sikhs sympathised with Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon against the British
(D) Indians sympathised with the persons who were to be trialled
17. The majority of people waiting for trial outside the Red Fort and criticising Jinnah were the
(A) Hindus (B) Muslims
(C) Sikhs (D) Hindus and Muslims both
18. The sympathy of Indian soldiers in uniform with the released I.N.A. prisoners at Lahore indicates
(A) Feeling of Nationalism and Fraternity
(B) Rebellious nature of Indian soldiers
(C) Simply to participate in the reception party
(D) None of the above

JUNE 2009

Read the following passage and answer the questions 11 to 15 :
While the British rule in India was detrimental to the economic development of the country, it did help in starting of the process of modernizing Indian society and formed several progressive institutions during that process. One of the most beneficial institutions, which were initiated by the British, was democracy. Nobody can dispute that despite its many shortcomings, democracy was and is far better alternative to
the arbitrary rule of the rajas and nawabs, which prevailed in India in the pre-British days. However, one of the harmful traditions of British democracy inherited by India was that of conflict instead of cooperation between elected members. This was its essential feature. The party, which got the support of the majority of elected members, formed the Government while the others constituted a standing opposition. The existence of the opposition to those in power was and is regarded as a hallmark of democracy.
In principle, democracy consists of rule by the people; but where direct rule is not possible, it’s rule by persons elected by the people. It is natural that there would be some differences of opinion among the elected members as in the rest of the society. Normally, members of any organizations have differences of opinion between themselves on different issues but they manage to work on the basis of a consensus and they do not normally form a division between some who are in majority and are placed in power, while treating the others as in opposition. The members of an organization usually work on consensus. Consensus simply means that after an adequate discussion, members agree that the majority opinion may prevail for the time being. Thus persons who form a majority on one issue and whose opinion is allowed to prevail may not be on the same side if there is a difference on some other issue. It was largely by accident that instead of this normal procedure, a two party system came to prevail in Britain and that is now being generally taken as the best method of democratic rule. Many democratically inclined persons in India regret that such a two party system was not brought about in the country. It appears that to have two parties in India – of more or less equal strength – is a virtual impossibility. Those who regret the absence of a two-party system should take the reasons into consideration. When the two party system got established in Britain, there were two groups among the rules (consisting of a limited electorate) who had the same economic interests among themselves and who therefore formed two groups within the selected members of Parliament. There were members of the British aristocracy (which landed interests and consisting of lord, barons etc) and members of the new commercial class consisting of merchants and artisans. These groups were more or less of equal strength and they were able to establish their separate rule at different times.
Answer the following questions :
11. In pre-British period, when India was ruled by the independent rulers :
(A) Peace and prosperity prevailed in the society
(B) People were isolated from political affairs
(C) Public opinion was inevitable for policy making
(D) Law was equal for one and all
12. What is the distinguishing feature of the democracy practiced in Britain ?
(A) End to the rule of might is right.
(B) Rule of the people, by the people and for the people.
(C) It has stood the test of time.
(D) Cooperation between elected members.
13. Democracy is practiced where :
(A) Elected members form a uniform opinion regarding policy matter.
(B) Opposition is more powerful than the ruling combine.
(C) Representatives of masses.
(D) None of these.
14. Which of the following is true about the British rule in India ?
(A) It was behind the modernization of the Indian society.
(B) India gained economically during that period.
(C) Various establishments were formed for the purpose of progress.
(D) None of these.
15. Who became the members of the new commercial class during that time ?
(A) British Aristocrats (B) Lord and barons
(C) Political Persons (D) Merchants and artisans

DECEMBER 2008

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions 11 to 15 :
Radically changing monsoon patterns, reduction in the winter rice harvest and a quantum increase in respiratory diseases all part of the environmental doomsday scenario which is reportedly playing out in South Asia. According to a United Nations Environment Programme report, a deadly three-kilometer deep blanket of pollution comprising a fearsome, cocktail of ash, acids, aerosols and other particles has enveloped in this region. For India, already struggling to cope with a drought, the implication of this are devastating and further crop failure will amount to a life and death question for many Indians. The increase in premature deaths will have adverse social and economic consequences and a rise in morbidities will place an unbearable burden on our crumbling health system. And there is no one to blame but ourselves. Both official and corporate India has always been allergic to any mention of clean technology. Most mechanical two wheelers roll of the assembly line without proper pollution control system. Little effort is made for R&D on simple technologies, which could make a vital difference to people’s lives and the environment. However, while there is no denying that South Asia must clean up its act, skeptics might question the timing of the haze report. The Kyoto meet on climate change is just two weeks away and the stage is set for the usual battle between the developing world and the West, particularly the Unites States of America. President Mr. Bush has adamantly refused to sign any protocol, which would mean a change in American consumption level. U.N. environment report will likely find a place in the U.S. arsenal as it plants an accusing finger towards controls like India and China. Yet the U.S.A. can hardly deny its own dubious role in the matter of erasing trading quotas. Richer countries can simply buy up excess credits from poorer countries and continue to pollute. Rather than try to get the better of developing countries, who undoubtedly have taken up environmental shortcuts in their bid to catch up with the West, the USA should take a look at the environmental profigacy, which is going on within. From opening up virgin territories for oil exploration to relaxing the standards for drinking water, Mr. Bush’s policies are not exactly beneficial, not even to America’s interests. We realize that we are all in this together and that pollution anywhere should be a global concern otherwise there will only be more tunnels at the end of the tunnel.
11. Both official and corporate India is allergic to :
(A) Failure of Monsoon
(B) Poverty and Inequality
(C) Slowdown in Industrial Production
(D) Mention of Clean Technology
12. If the rate of premature death increases it will :
(A) Exert added burden on the crumbling economy
(B) Have adverse social and economic consequences
(C) Make positive effect on our effort to control population
(D) Have less job aspirants in the society
13. According to the passage, the two wheeler industry is not adequately concerned about :
(A) Passenger safety on the roads
(B) Life cover insurance of the vehicle owner
(C) Pollution control system in the vehicle
(D) Rising cost of the two wheelers
14. What could be the reason behind timing of the haze report just before the Kyoto meet?
(A) United Nations is working hand-in-glove with U.S.A.
(B) Organizers of the forthcoming meet to teach a lesson to the U.S.A.
(C) Drawing attention of the world towards devastating effects of environment degradation.
(D) U.S.A. wants to use it as a handle against the developing countries in the forthcoming meet
15. Which of the following is the indication of environmental degradation in South Asia ?
(A) Social and economic inequality
(B) Crumbling health care system
(C) Inadequate pollution control system
(D) Radically changing monsoon pattern

JUNE 2008

Read the following passage and answer the questions 11 to 15 :
The fundamental principle is that Article 14 forbids class legislation but permits reasonable classification for the purpose of legislation which classification must satisfy the twin tests of classification being founded on an intelligible differentia which distinguishes persons or things that are grouped together from those that are left out of the group and that differentia must have a rational nexus to the object sought to be achieved by the Statute in question. The thrust of Article 14 is that the citizen is entitled to equality before law and equal protection of laws. In the very nature of things the society being composed of unequals a welfare State will have to strive by both executive and legislative action to help the less fortunate in society to ameliorate their condition so that the social and economic inequality in the society may be bridged. This would necessitate a legislative application to a group of citizens otherwise unequal and amelioration of whose lot is the object of state affirmative action. In the absence of the doctrine of classification such legislation is likely to flounder on the bed rock of equality enshrined in Article 14. The Court realistically appraising the social and economic inequality and keeping in view the guidelines on which the State action must move as constitutionally laid down in Part IV of the Constitution evolved the doctrine of classification. The doctrine was evolved to sustain a legislation or State action designed to help weaker sections of the society or some such segments of the society in need of succour. Legislative and executive action may accordingly be sustained if it satisfies the twin tests of reasonable classification and the rational principle correlated to the object sought to be achieved.The concept of equality before the law does not involve the idea of absolute equality among human beings which is a physical impossibility. All that Article 14 guarantees is a similarity of treatment contra-distinguished from identical treatment. Equality before law means that among equals the law should be equal and should be equally administered and that the likes should be treated alike. Equality before the law does not mean that things which are different shall be as though they are the same. It ofcourse means denial of any special privilege by reason of birth, creed or the like. The legislation as well as the executive government, while dealing with diverse problems arising out of an infinite variety of human relations must of necessity have the power of making special laws, to attain any particular object and to achieve that object it must have the power of selection or classification of persons and things upon which such laws are to operate.
11. Right to equality, one of the fundamental rights, is enunciated in the constitution under Part III, Article :
(A) 12 (B) 13
(C) 14 (D) 15
12. The main thrust of Right to equality is that it permits :
(A) class legislation
(B) equality before law and equal protection under the law
(C) absolute equality
(D) special privilege by reason of birth
13. The social and economic inequality in the society can be bridged by :
(A) executive and legislative action
(B) universal suffrage
(C) identical treatment
(D) none of the above
14. The doctrine of classification is evolved to :
(A) Help weaker sections of the society
(B) Provide absolute equality
(C) Provide identical treatment
(D) None of the above
15. While dealing with diverse problems arising out of an infinite variety of human relations, the government
(A) must have the power of making special laws
(B) must not have any power to make special laws
(C) must have power to withdraw equal rights
(D) none of the above

DEC 2007

Read the following passage and answer the questions 11 to 15 :
Gandhi’s overall social and environmental philosophy is based on what human beings need rather than what they want. His early introduction to the teachings of Jains, Theosophists, Christian sermons, Ruskin and Tolstoy, and most significantly the Bhagavad Gita, were to have profound impact on the development of Gandhi’s holistic thinking on humanity, nature and their ecological interrelation. His deep concern for the disadvantaged, the poor and rural population created an ambience for an alternative social thinking that was at once far-sighted, local and immediate. For Gandhi was acutely aware that the demands generated by the need to feed and sustain human life, compounded by the growing industrialization of India, far outstripped the finite resources of nature. This might nowadays appear naive or commonplace, but such pronouncements were as rare as they were heretical a century ago. Gandhi was also concerned about the destruction, under colonial and modernist designs, of the existing infrastructures which had more potential for keeping a community flourishing within ecologically-sensitive traditional patterns of subsistence, especially in the rural areas, than did the incoming Western alternatives based on nature-blind technology and the enslavement of human spirit and energies. Perhaps the moral principle for which Gandhi is best known is that of active non-violence, derived from the traditional moral restraint of not injuring another being. The most refined expression of this value is in the great epic of the Mahabharata, (c. 100 BCE to 200 CE), where moral development proceeds through placing constraints on the liberties, desires and acquisitiveness endemic to human life. One’s action is judged in terms of consequences and the impact it is likely to have on another. Jainas had generalized this principle to include all sentient creatures and biocommunities alike. Advanced Jaina monks and nuns will sweep their path to avoid harming insects and even bacteria. Non-injury is a non-negotiable universal prescription.
11. Which one of the following have a profound impact on the development of Gandhi’s holistic thinking on humanity, nature and their ecological interrelations ?
(A) Jain teachings (B) Christian sermons
(C) Bhagavad Gita (D) Ruskin and Tolstoy
12. Gandhi’s overall social and environmental philosophy is based on human beings’ :
(A) need (B) desire
(C) wealth (D) welfare
13. Gandhiji’s deep concern for the disadvantaged, the poor and rural population created
an ambience for an alternative :
(A) rural policy (B) social thinking
(C) urban policy (D) economic thinking
14. Colonial policy and modernisation led to the destruction of :
(A) major industrial infrastructure
(B) irrigation infrastructure
(C) urban infrastructure
(D) rural infrastructure
15. Gandhi’s active non-violence is derived from :
(A) Moral restraint of not injuring another being
(B) Having liberties, desires and acquisitiveness
(C) Freedom of action
(D) Nature-blind technology and enslavement of human spirit and energies

JUNE 2007

Read the following passage and answer the questions 11 to 15 :
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 and get concessions and privatised firms at low 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. Ofcourse, corruption, in the sense of bribes, pay-offs and kickbacks, 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 temptation whenever private benefits are positive. It may be a reasonable response to a harsh reality but, over time, it can facilitate a spiral into an even worse situation.
11. The governments which fail to focus on the relationship between private wealth and public power are likely to become :
(A) Functional (B) Dysfunctional
(C) Normal functioning (D) Good governance
12. One important symptom of bad governance is :
(A) Corruption (B) High taxes
(C) Complicated rules and regulations (D) High prices
13. When corruption is rampant, public officials always aim at many opportunities for :
(A) Public benefits (B) Public profit
(C) Private profit (D) Corporate gains
14. Productivity linked incentives to public/private officials is one of the indicatives for :
(A) Efficient government (B) Bad governance
(C) Inefficient government (D) Corruption
15. The spiralling corruption can only be contained by promoting :
(A) Private profit (B) Anti-corruption campaign
(C) Good governance (D) Pay-offs and kick backs

DEC 2006

Read the following passage and answer the question nos. 11 to 15
After almost three decades of contemplating Swarovski-encrusted navels on increasing flat abs, the Mumbai film industry is on a discovery of India and itself. With budgets of over 30 crore each, four soon to be released movies by premier directors are exploring the idea of who we are and redefining who the other is. It is a fundamental question which the bling-bling, glam-sham and disham-disham tends to avoid. It is also a question which binds an audience when the lights go dim and the projector rolls : as a nation, who are we ? As a people, where are we going ? The Germans coined a word for it, zeitgeist, which perhaps Yash Chopra would not care to pronounce. But at 72, he remains the person who can best capture it. After being the first to project the diasporic Indian on screen in Lamhe in 1991, he has returned to his roots in a new movie. Veer Zaara, set in 1986, where Pakistan, the traditional other, the part that got away, is the lover and the saviour. In Subhas Ghai’s Kisna, set in 1947, the other is the English woman. She is not a memsahib, but a mehbooba. In Ketan Mehta’s The Rising, the East India Englishman is not the evil oppressor of countless cardboard characterisations, which span the spectrum from Jewel in the Crown to Kranti, but an honourable friend. This is Manoj Kumar’s Desh Ki dharti with a difference : there is culture, not contentious politics; balle balle, not bombs : no dooriyan (distance), only nazdeekiyan (closeness). All four films are heralding a new hero and heroine. The new hero is fallible and vulnerable, committed to his dharma, but also not afraid of failure – less of a boy and more of a man. He even has a grown up name : Veer Pratap Singh in Veer-Zaara and Mohan Bhargav in Swades. The new heroine is not a babe, but often a bebe, dressed in traditional Punjabi clothes, often with the stereotypical body type as well, as in Bride and Prejudice of Gurinder Chadha.
11. Which word Yash Chopra would not be able to pronounce ?
(A) Bling + bling (B) Zeitgeist
(C) Montaz (D) Dooriyan
12. Who made Lamhe in 1991 ?
(A) Subhash Ghai (B) Yash Chopra
(C) Aditya Chopra (D) Sakti Samanta
13. Which movie is associated with Manoj Kumar ?
(A) Jewel in the Crown (B) Kisna
(C) Zaara (D) Desh Ki dharti
14. Which is the latest film by Yash Chopra ?
(A) Deewar (B) Kabhi Kabhi
(C) Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (D) Veer Zaara
15. Which is the dress of the heroine in Veer-Zaara ?
(A) Traditional Gujarati Clothes
(B) Traditional Bengali Clothes
(C) Traditional Punjabi Clothes
(D) Traditional Madras Clothes

JUNE 2006

Read the following passage and answer the questions 11 to 15 :
The superintendence, direction and control of preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, elections to Parliament and State Legislatures and elections to the offices of the President and the Vice – President of India are vested in the Election Commission of India. It is an independent constitutional authority. Independence of the Election Commission and its insulation from executive interference is ensured by a specific provision under Article 324 (5) of the constitution that the chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court and conditions of his service shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment. In C.W.P. No. 4912 of 1998 (Kushra Bharat Vs. Union of India and others), the Delhi High Court directed that information relating to Government dues owed by the candidates to the departments dealing with Government accommodation, electricity, water, telephone and transport etc. and any other dues should be furnished by the candidates and this information should be published by the election authorities under the commission.
11. The text of the passage reflects or raises certain questions :
(A) The authority of the commission can not be challenged.
(B) This would help in stopping the criminalization of Indian politics.
(C) This would reduce substantially the number of contesting candidates.
(D)This would ensure fair and free elections.
12. According to the passage, the Election Commission is an independent constitutional authority.
This is under Article No.
(A) 324 (B) 356 (C) 246 (D) 161
13. Independence of the Commission means :
(A)have a constitutional status. (B) have legislative powers.
(C)have judicial powers. (D) have political powers.
14. Fair and free election means:
(A) transparency (B) to maintain law and order
(C) regional considerations (D) role for pressure groups
15. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from his office underArticle :
(A) 125 (B) 352 (C) 226 (D) 324