Think & Answer

Directions (Q. 1-5): 

In each of the following questions, a short passage is given with one of the lines in the passage missing and represented by a blank. Select the best out of the five answer choices given, to make the passage complete and coherent.

1 Poverty is the state of majority of world’s people and nations. Why is this? Have they been lazy, made poor decisions, and been solely responsible for their own plight? What about their governments? Have they pursued policies that actually harm successful development? Such causes of poverty and inequality are no doubt real. But deeper and more global causes of poverty are often less discussed. Behind the increasing inter-connectedness promised by globalisation are global decisions, policies and practices. These are typically influenced, driven or formulated by the rich and powerful. These can be leaders of rich countries or other global actors such as multinational corporations, institutions and influential people. In the face of such enormous external influence, the governments of poor nations and their people are often powerless. As a result, in the global context, a few get wealthy while the majority struggles.

1) Is it enough to blame poor people for their own predicament?

2) What is the government doing about it?

3) Are the wealthy ones in the nation even aware of this?

4) The government has already taken measures to eradicate the same.

5) The huge gap between the rich and the poor in the nation is now narrowing.

2 Women’s rights around the world are an important indicator to understand global well- being. A major global women’s rights treaty was ratified by the majority of the world’s nations a few decades ago. These range from the cultural, political to the economic. For example, women often work more than men, yet are paid less; gender discrimination affects girls and women throughout their lifetime; and women and girls are often the ones that suffer the most poverty. Many may think that women’s rights are only an issue in countries where religion is law. Or even worse, some may think this is no longer an issue at all. But reading the report about the United Nation’s Women’s Treaty and how an increasing number of countries are lodging reservations will show otherwise. Gender equality furthers the cause of child survival and development for all of society, so the importance of women’s rights and gender equality should not be underestimated.

1) This treaty tackled and solved a number of issues related to women.

2) Why is it then, that women still face a number of problems on the domestic front?

3) Thus, the woman today is ten times more empowered as compared to a woman say about a decade ago.

4)Women’s activists across nations have implored the respective governments to take! this seriously.

5) Yet, despite many successes in empowering women, numerous issues still exist in all areas of life.

3 Research has shown that air pollutants from fossil fuel use make clouds reflect more of the sun’s rays back into space. This leads to an effect known as global dimming whereby less heat and energy reaches the earth. However, it is believed that global dimming caused the droughts in certain parts of the world where millions died, because the northern hemisphere oceans were not warm enough to allow rain formation. Global dimming is also hiding the true power of global warming. By cleaning up global dimming- causing pollutants without tackling greenhouse gas emissions, rapid warming has been observed and various human health and ecological disasters have resulted, as witnessed during the European heat wave in 2003, which saw thousands of people die.

1) This, though, does not bring any relief in the problems associated with climate change.

2) This phenomenon thus is part of the climate change problem.

3) Scientists thus believe that this phenomenon goes hand in hand with global warming.

4) At first, it sounds like an ironic saviour to climate change problems.

5) The answer to all our problems with respect to climate- change is definitely here.

4 Next to China, India is the most populated country in the world. Particularly, rush to technical andhigher education has increased as the scope for arts and science has become lesser and lesser due to lack of reforms and upgradation in the course structure and materials according to the developments of the world. Also, qualification in higher education gives added advantage to face competition successfully in the job market.

1) Keeping this in mind, the government has provided concessions in the admission fees for the arts and science streams in the country.

2) Naturally, there is too much rush and competition in every field.

3) Despite this the rush to higher education is lesser.

4) This population increase, though, has not kept pace with the knowledge expansion around the world.

5) In the next decade, it will become the most populous.

5 Analysts and industry pundits forecast that the notebook market which has been growing faster than the desktop market for the past three years is expected to overtake the desktop market by the year 2011-12. A fall in prices, large deals from governments and institutions and demand from consumers and sectors such as education are expected to help the notebook numbers. According to research agencies, the year 2010 – 11 saw notebook volumes rise and for the first time, a million-plus notebooks were sold in India in a single quarter. The market has grown nearly four times for notebooks. The demand is driven by all sectors and a very buoyant consumer market, which prefers mobile computers. Entry- level notebook prices have dropped below the Rs. 25,000 mark; this has helped break the ice with new customers. This drop in notebook prices has been helped by the drop in the prices of the building blocks that make a notebook. It’s simple. With notebook volumes growing, the prices of the components are also bound to come down____________.

1) All this has resulted in a noticeable change in a number of large government tenders for notebooks; which were traditionally for desktops.

2) Because of this the government still prefers desktops to notebooks and has passed tenders for the same.

3) Thereby making them more expensive.

4) Thus, the forecast for the coming year states that desktops will be the preferred technology choice only for consumers who cannot afford the exorbitantly priced notebooks.

5) Thus, notebooks will become obsolete after a decade or so.

Ans : 1 - 1, 2 - 5 , 3 - 4, 4 - 2, 5 - 1