Mixed English Questions for Mains Exam— Set 137

Directions (1-5): In each questions below, a Theme has been given followed by two passage. You have to determine which passage is based on the given theme and mark it as your option. More than one passage can be based or not based on the given theme that is highlighted in bold.

1. Retirement Homes: Do advantages of living in them outweigh the disadvantages?
   a. If you need skilled nursing care, living in a retirement home might be more expensive than staying in your own home. If you or a loved one has gotten to the point in the aging process where your health is struggling, there might be some hard choices to make about whether it is more cost-effective to keep living in your own home with the help of home health aides and other resources, or to move to a retirement home where you or your loved one can get the care and attention that you need.
   b. Making a move in retirement is never easy, because we all tend to have emotional attachments and sweet memories of the places where we’ve spent so many years of our lives. But whatever you decide, know that there are more options than ever before to make a good life in retirement. You can have the life you want and get the care you need when the time comes.
   Only a
   Only b
   Either a or b
   Neither a nor b
   Both a & b
   Option A
   Statement “b” is not leading anywhere. However, the statement “a” tells us, though productive, retirement home becomes unaffordable over a period of time.

    

2. Does Travelling help in generating ideas and experiential learning?
   a. Experiential travellers of today recognize that the kind of hit-and-run tourism simply confirms what we think we know and teaches us what we knew we were already going to learn. Instead, experiential travel introduces an element of delightful uncertainty and authenticity into our journeys.
   b. As for place and where we’ve come from, travel often helps us develop a deeper appreciation of all the things back home that we are tempted to take for granted. A change of place and context can often surface useful questions, stir productive (yet often uncomfortable) doubt, and help us carve out greater creativity and curiosity.
   Only a
   Only b
   Either a or b
   Neither a nor b
   Both a & b
   Option B
   

    

3. Death penalties for perpetrators of crime against women. Is it Justified?
   a. The “death penalty” sentencing policy adopted by the Courts, in cases of of crime against women, ought to have a stricter yardstick so as to act as a deterrent. There are a shockingly large number of cases where the sentence of punishment awarded to the accused is not in proportion to the gravity and magnitude of the offence thereby encouraging the criminal and in the ultimate making, justice suffer by weakening the system’s credibility.
   b. Women’s rights groups protested against the government’s decision to introduce the death penalty for certain cases of sexual violence even before it was finally enacted into law. However, these appeals, as well as the Verma Committee’s recommendations, have been ignored.
   Only a
   Only b
   Either a or b
   Neither a nor b
   Both a & b
   Option D
   

    

4. Farmers’ Income: Will India be able to double it in next 5 years?
   a. With majority of the country’s population dependant on agricultural activities, no true development can be said to be meaningful unless it incorporates the needs of this sector. Increasing farmer suicide rates and increasingly erratic weather patterns further add to the problem. There are intense complexities and therefore, the focus of the government on this sector is much needed. The journey to double the farmers’ income is a long and very tedious but the journey has begun. The need is to ensure that the implementation in right direction by all stakeholders is uniform, effective and done whole heartedly.
   b. There are a number of reasons why farmers in India are committing suicides. One of the main reasons is the erratic weather conditions in the country. Global warming has led to extreme weather conditions such as drought and floods in most parts of the country. Such extreme conditions lead to damaging of crops and the farmers are left with nothing. When the crop yield is not sufficient, the farmers are forced to take debt to fulfil their financial needs. Unable to repay the debt, many farmers usually take the unfortunate step of committing suicide.
   Only a
   Only b
   Either a or b
   Neither a nor b
   Both a & b
   Option D
   None of the statements entail with the theme.

    

5. Linking of Aadhaar: Is making Aaadhar mandatory a good idea?
   a. Implementation of Aadhar has been the subject of a severe criticism from various quarters—cabinet colleagues and bureaucrats, policy experts and activists, even a few state governments. Procedures for data collection and the potential errors therein to concerns over privacy, are being questioned. Besides, the existence of an older exercise, the National Population Register (NPR), led by the home ministry, is also posing a threat to the project. Most of the eminent ones accept the need for creating a systematic database of our citizenry, the path to be taken for this has created a vertical divide in the government and is leading to a turf war.
   b. Aadhaar would qualitatively restructure the role of the state in the social sector. The UID project is aimed to expand India’s social security system and to ensure targeting with precision. The UIDAI claims that UID would help the government shift from a number of indirect benefits into direct benefits. Let us hope that Aadhaar will serve the well intended purpose. Millions are supposed to be covered with ‘Aadhaar’.
   Only a
   Only b
   Either a or b
   Neither a nor b
   Both a & b
   Option A
   Statement “b” does not produce any direct outcome.

    

Directions: Each of the following question contains a paragraph and a blank in it. Choose from the options, the appropriate phrase to fill in the blank that is both logically and grammatically correct.

6. A kingmaker with only one option is no kingmaker at all. The Janata Dal (Secular) is probably headed for a third-place finish in Karnataka, but ______________________________, which many opinion polls suggest is likely. The party’s ‘secular’ outlook did not prevent it from partnering in a coalition government with the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2006; notwithstanding the protestations of patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda, another such arrangement between the two parties cannot be ruled out.
   relies heavily on the Lingayat vote in north and central Karnataka
   is banking on making its seats count in a hung Assembly
   sought to blame Congress president Rahul Gandhi for not showing the JD(S) leader enough respect
   but the prospects for such a situation have dimmed in the years since
   All are correct
   Option B
   

    

7. The scandal over the targeting of Britons of Caribbean origin is the latest twist in Europe’s recent politics over immigration, denting the continent’s image as being open, liberal and tolerant. The development comes at an awkward moment for London, ________________________ as it withdraws from the European Union. The Windrush generation, named after one of the many vessels that ferried some half a million people from the Caribbean islands to the U.K. in the late 1940s, has fallen victim to a ruthless policy that stipulates annual net immigration objectives.
   the enormous emotional trauma of being regarded as aliens in a country that had invited their families to rebuild its economy
   is a reminder of the grotesque response from some central European governments in 2015
   which hopes to negotiate trade agreements with the countries of the British Commonwealth
   the industrialised world has focussed attention on systemic shortcomings and genuine violations
   All are Correct
   Option C
   

    

8. The Centre’s excuse for being unable to submit a draft scheme on the Cauvery issue is so poor that it will convince nobody. That it was extremely reluctant to take a decision which could have electoral repercussions in Karnataka, which goes to the polls on May 12, is well known. But the Attorney General’s explanation that ____________________ “travelling” in Karnataka is laughable.
   the draft scheme could not be readied because the Prime Minister and other ministers were busy
   the Attorney General asked for the contempt petition to be taken up a day
   the Prime Minister and the Union Minister concerned were unavailable is questionable
   no extension of time would be granted on any ground
   All are Correct
   Option A
   

    

9. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has many things going for him in the May 9 general election, but whether they will suffice in the face of a corruption scandal is an open question. With the economy growing at 6%, helped along by lavish infrastructure spending, Malaysia’s overall outlook could not appear more robust. But Mr. Razak’s opponent and erstwhile mentor, the 92-year-old former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, _______________________.
   has reinforced allegations of gerrymandering and unequal sizing of electoral districts to benefit the National Front
   is hoping to exploit the incumbent’s links to a billion-dollar corruption scandal in a state investment fund
   is believed that a lower turnout will work in favour of Mr. Razak’s party
   was also once the arch-rival of the man he is standing in for, Anwar Ibrahim
   All are Correct
   Option B
   

    

10. With collections from the goods and services tax peaking at over ₹1 lakh crore in April, industry hoped the GST Council would make life simpler for an increasingly compliant tax-payer base. Indeed, at its meeting last week the Council decided ___________________________, barring a few exceptions. However, this will only be done in a phased manner — with the first of three transition stages to begin six months from now.
    to cope with significant changes in accounting software in the middle of the financial year
    the solution offered has gaps. For instance, in the second stage of the transition to simpler returns
    to introduce a new compliance system under which a single monthly GST return will have to be submitted by firms
    to make the GSTN a 100% government-owned firm, instead of the present structure with 51% private ownership
    All are Correct
    Option C