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English Quiz On Reading Comprehension Day 14 Bag

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Question (1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Some words / phrases are printed in bold in order to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

The best thing that has happened to sports in India in a long, long time — longer perhaps than many of us have existed on this planet — is the laudably idealistic yet remarkably pragmatic intervention of the Supreme Court into Wild West territory — the landscape of cricket administration. So much of what the well-meaning lay people have expected of the men who control sports has been trampled under mercilessly and maliciously, that a good majority of sports-lovers in the country have found refuge in nihilism and come to believe that nothing will change in the state of affairs.When you think that something has been transformed for the better, very soon you realize it is nothing more than chimerical and it might be foolish and useless to bravely make your way through the haze.If sports politics is even more Machiavellian than Indian politics in general, then that should come as no surprise. For we resign ourselves to the fact that sport is not a matter quite as important as electing the country’s Prime Minister. But just when we thought that it is a tunnel without an end, the Supreme Court, headed by its upstanding, noble Chief Justice Mr. T.S. Thakur (who retired recently) has offered us a sliver of hope here or there — in fact much, much more than what we may have come to expect 70 years after the country’s Independence.A popular, veteran Indian sportsperson, who tried to get into the administration of his sport not long ago, put it succinctly the other day when I asked him what was wrong with sports administration in the country at a time when the nation’s richest, and perhaps one of the world’s wealthiest sports bodies, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), was making front-page news for all the wrong reasons every day.“You tell me what is right with it. It stinks. I shudder to think that such mismanagement, corruption, nepotism and chaos can exist in 2017,” he said.Most well-meaning people in the world of sports, when asked the same question, not surprisingly come up with the same answer: “a total lack of professionalism.’’This is an over-arching judgment that seems to ignore the nuts and bolts of everyday affairs in major sports in the country. From experts down to lay fans, almost everybody has an opinion on why such a huge nation should not be among the leading performers in the world of sport. Infrastructure, money, attitude, culture…you can think of dozens of reasons why India does not stand tall in the world of sport.Says Joaquim Carvalho, Olympian and hockey administrator “Sports governance in India lacks transparency and accountability. Most officials are not passionate about sports at all. They use this platform to keep themselves in the news and also indulge in corruption.“I have a poor impression of sports governance because I have seen these officials as a player and later I as someone connected with the conduct of the game. They have vested interest and development of sport is never a priority for them. Basically, it helps them stay in the news, build connections and enjoy junkets. Sports governance in India is absolutely unprofessional.”While it will be unfair to make a sweeping generalization — there are a few sports that benefit from modern management where the administration is totally transparent in its business. But most are besmirched by feudal attitudes where the top guys have been the same since the days of your childhood, and they appear to claim ownership rights over their ‘property.’‘Honorary’ positions are not ones manned by individuals with perfectly altruistic intentions. To even expect it is ridiculous. Even saints do what they do to get into the good books of the big, all-knowing, all-powerful man up there.There is a flip side to all this. Adille Sumariwala, IAAF executive council member and president, Athletics Federation of India, says, “Sports is on the upward swing in India. Television and the leagues in virtually all sports have increased the fan following. Children know the names of kabaddi players, not only cricketers. Television has brought sports to people, there is more awareness. It’s a matter of time before sports emerges much stronger. There are opportunities to make sport a career in life. And so sports is on the upswing’.But here is the catch. Do we have honest officials with a long-term goal in mind? It is indeed boom-time in Indian sports. But the launching pads, corporate support and fans’ enthusiasm may quickly evaporate if the quality of administration remains the same.How many of our present sports administrators come in with a clear mandate and then move forward stridently to carry it out? Do they go through the same strict annual evaluation process as do brilliant business school graduates?Success as sports administrators demands a few basic skills in areas such as communication, organization, decision making, value system and team building.“Indian sports administrators are special. I must admit that. They are in a category of their own,” said the late Peter Roebuck, my best friend among foreign journalists visiting India frequently, during one of our post dinner conversations.What Roebuck referred to was mainly cricket but he was curious enough to want to know more and more about other sports. Leadership skills can be either cultivated or learned but the men and women who run our sports are keen on only one thing — staying where they are with a great love for being in the spotlight.How many times have we seen sports bosses appearing prominently in photographs of athletes who return after world-beating success at airports across the country? Long ago, a top Indian sportsman returning after winning the world championship told me something that was shocking. I asked him who the gentleman who was hugging him in the front page of a leading Indian English language paper? “I swear, I have never seen the guy before,” he said of a man who was a senior administrator in the sport.Of course, the nameless one is part of the Forever Men club.

  1. Which among the following can be attributed as the central theme of the passage?
  2. Indian cricket administration is not in very efficient hands and that is why it is going to affect sports administration very much
  3. Indian cricket administration is going to be more professional in the days to come
  4. Sports administration needs to be taught as a course as it needs serious efficiency on the part of the persons responsible
  5. Sports administration can never be changed in the country until and unless everybody becomes serious about sports
  6. None of the above

Solution: Option (3)

 

Explanation: According to the passage, the sports administration in India is never treated as a serious matter and everybody holds the position of sports administrator like that of a family property. It requires being professional on the part of the administrators for development of sports in the country.

  1. Which among the following does not contradict the view of the author regarding the solution to the current problem of sports administration in India?
  2. The sports fraternity should be made administrators as they understand the game the best
  3. The sports ministry should be disbanded with since there should be no government interference in sports in our country
  4. The sports management should be made a professional subject in the academic curriculum of the country
  5. Both A and B
  6. Both A and C
  7. Only B
  8. Only C
  9. All the above

Solution: Option (4)

Explanation: According to the passage, the author wants professionalism in the sports management in our country. That makes option 4 the only right choice among the given options since it talks about making sports management a professional course in our country.

  1. Which among the following is the main problem of sports management in our country according to the passage?
  2. The sports administration in our country is only attentive towards a certain number of games
  3. The sports administration does not understand the welfare of the game but is only interested in serving themselves
  4. The sports administration is negligent about the sports they are heading and does not even have any long term planning
  5. Both A and C
  6. Both B and C
  7. Both A and B
  8. All the above
  9. None of the above

Solution: Option (2)

Explanation: According to the passage, the sports administration in the country thinks about the welfare of themselves and is not at all interested in the welfare of the game. The second thing is that these administrators do not ever want to leave their posts though they are honorary posts. These make option (2) the right choice among the given options.

  1. Which among the following is NOT TRUE in the context of the passage?
  2. The sports administration posts in our country do not carry any financial incentive in our country
  3. The sports administrators are very poor with respect to their counterparts in other countries
  4. The sports administration has strong political connections and that is why they are in the throne for years without any challenge
  5. Both (1) and (3)
  6. Both (2) and (3)

Solution: Option (5)

Explanation: According to the passage, the sports administrators are not at all poor in our country though the posts are honorary in any organization in our country relating to sports. BCCI is the wealthiest sports body in any country. The second point is that there is no mention of any political connection of the administrators in our country. Those make option (5) the right choice among the given options.

  1. Which among the following can be a title for the passage apart from the given one?
  2. Sports administration taking a backseat in our country
  3. Sports is important but to what extent
  4. Sports management is more important that athletic expertise
  5. Sports management is the way forward for professional management of sports in the country
  6. Other than those given in options

Solution: Option (4)

 

Explanation: According to the given passage, the sports administration in our country needs to be more professional in order to make the sports the most important thing regarding sports administration in our country. Option (4) describes that and that is why it is the right option among the given options.

 

  1. Which among the following, according to the passage, describes the pathetic attitude of sports administrators towards the game, in our country?

 

  1. The sports bodies do not know the way to go forward in case of any innovative planning
  2. The sports administrators and the players are not even in touch properly
  3. The sports bodies do not have enough knowledge about the welfare of the sportspersons they are supposed to take care of
  4. The sports administrators are arm chair critics who never do anything for development of sports in the country
  5. Other than those given in options

Solution: Option (2)

 

Explanation: There is an instance in the passage in which a player failed to recognize a prominent sports administrator when the player was greeted by him. This indicates the relationship between the players and the sports administrators in our country. This is explained in option (2) and it is the right choice among the given options.

 

  1. Which among the following is SIMILAR in meaning to the word pragmatic as used in the passage?

 

  1. Sensible
  2. Realistic
  3. Ballistic
  4. Hotheadedness
  5. None of the above

Solution: Option (2)

 

Explanation: The word in the passage is used in the sense that Supreme Court has made a practical intervention in the case of BCCI management in our country. This makes option (2) the right choice among the given options.

 

  1. Which among the following is SIMILAR in meaning to the word laudably as used in the passage?

 

  1. Readily
  2. Justly
  3. Properly
  4. Appreciatively
  5. None of the above

Solution: Option (2)

 

Explanation: In the context of the passage, the Supreme Court has made a just intervention in the management of the wealthiest sports body in the world i.e. BCCI. This makes option (2) the right choice among the given options

 

  1. Which among the following is OPPOSITE in meaning to the word nihilism as used in the passage?

 

  1. Approval
  2. Appreciation
  3. Praise
  4. Alteration
  5. Altercation

Solution: Option (1)

 

Explanation: The word means that the sports administrators believe that nothing is going to change in the sports affairs in our country. This makes option (1) the right choice since it is about approving the change in the state of affairs instead of the refusal to believe the same.

 

  1. Which among the following is OPPOSITE in meaning to the word Chimerical as used in the passage?

 

  1. Sensitive
  2. Absurd
  3. Fanciful
  4. Realistic
  5. Romantic

Solution: Option (4)

 

Explanation: The word chimerical in the passage implies that everybody thinks there is nothing that can change the state of affairs in case of sports management in India. This is something fanciful if we are thinking of any change in the state of affairs in the sports administration in our country. This makes option (4) the right choice among the given options as realistic means that something can actually happen regarding this.

Passage 2

 

A Close look at the facts relating to political interference in administration shows that it is not a one-way process. There is often a nexus between power hungry and corrupt politicians and civil servants with convenient principles. Many civil servants are only too anxious to oblige the politicians, and then cash the obligation when they need some special favour. So the attitude of self-righteousness adopted by the civil service is sometimes only a way of covering their own flaws by blaming others.

Every now and then some retired civil servants come out with his memoirs, painting a glorious picture of the heights of administrative efficiency reached during his reign. There is often the suggestion that had there not been so much political interference, things would have been even more fantastic. It is not unusual for the self styled hero to blame not only interfering politicians but also fellow civil servants who are idiots or crooks, for his failures. This attitude of smug self-satisfaction is, unfortunately, developed during the years of service. Self preservation rather than service is encouraged by our whole system of rules and procedures.

The remedy has to be drastic and quickly effective. The over protection now granted to civil servants must end. Today to remove an erring civil servant is just not possible. And the only thing that the highest authority in the Government, both in the State and at the Centre, can do is to transfer an official from one job to another. The rules for taking disciplinary action are so complicated that, in the end, the defaulting civil servants gets away, and gets his full emoluments even for the period of the disciplinary proceedings, thus making it a paid holiday for him.

The result is that the administration has become rule-oriented and not result-oriented. Action is possible against the official who takes some interest in his work, but no action is ever taken against a person who does not deliever the goods. If the country is to adopt a result-oriented approach, it is necessary to link job performance with job retention.

 

  1. The facts relating to the problem of political interference indicate that:

(a) honest bureaucrats are always being troubled by politicians.

(b) politicians are often misled and trapped by civil servants.

(c) politicians and civil servants co-operate to gain mutual advantages.

(d) politicians and civil servants use interference as an excuse for victimising the common man.

 

Ans (c)

 

  1. The attitude of self-righteousness adopted by the civil service, according to the writer:

(a) is not welcomed and supported by politicians.

(b) is dishonest and conceals the facts.

(C) is very difficult to maintain because of opposition.

(d) does not really help the public get fair treatment.

 

Ans (b)

 

  1. Civil servants who write their memoirs after retiring:

(a) claim that they would have achieved outstanding success if interference had not come in the way.

(b) prove that constant political interference made it impossible for them to do anything properly.

(c) complain that the credit for their achievements goes to dishonest politicians.

(d) prove that people of inferior quality in the civil service bring about interference.

 

Ans (a)

 

  1. The existing system of administration seems to encourage civil servants:

(a) to become self-styled heroes and boss over others.

(b) to present a glorious picture of the administration.

(c) to become self-centred and concerned mainly about their own gain.

(d) to become self-righteous and fight back against corrupt politicians.

 

Ans (c)

 

  1. The problem with the present set-up needing urgent action is:

(a) a lack of accountability on the part of civil servants.

(b) a lack of control over the power of politicians.

(c) a neglect of the ideals of self-righteousness.

(d) complicated rules and procedures that greatly reduce efficiency.

 

Ans (a)

 

 

 

  1. The main principle of the remedy proposed by the writer is, that:

(a) the politicians should be made accountable for all their decisions.

(b) the high level of protection enjoyed by civil servants should be reduced.

(c) the common man’s right to efficient and fair administration must be protected.

(d) rules should be simplified so that there is less scope for misuse.

 

 

 

Ans (b)

 

  1. According to existing procedures, if a civil servant is found to be unsuitable or dishonest:

(a) he can appeal to an authority like the Supreme Court.

(b) politicians with whom he has special links will interfere to help him.

(c) transfering him to another post is the usual action taken.

(d) a conflict between Central Government and State Government interests can arise.

 

Ans (c)

 

  1. The writer refers to a paid holiday to support his argument that:

(a) civil servants get a lot of extra benefits.

(b) disciplinary action is generally not quick or effective.

(c) lazy and inefficient bureaucrats seem to be on holiday even when on duty.

(d) special postings that favoured civil servants are necessary and wasteful.

 

Ans (b)

 

  1. The expression linking job performance with job retention refers to a policy in which:

(a) selection to civil service jobs is on the basis of rigorous performance tests.

(b) selection to civil service jobs is on the basis of rigorous performance and not a minister’s opinion is the basis of transfer or promotion.

(c) retention of good government servants by discouraging their going to private companies.

(d) continuation in service will depend on satisfactory performance.

 

Ans (d)

 

  1. The expression deliver the goods means:

(a) show good job performance

(b) accept bribes or other illegal favours.

(c) make payments of black money as bribes.

(d) successfully defend oneself against a charge, in a disciplinary inquiry.

Ans (a)

 

 

Passage 3

 

It is a strange that, according to his position in life, an extravagant man is admired or despised. A successful businessman does nothing to increase his popularity by being careful with his money. He is expected to display his success, to have smart car, an expensive life, and to be lavish with his hospitality. If he is not so, he is considered mean and his reputation in business may even suffer in consequence. The paradox remains that if he had not been careful with his money in the first place, he would never have achieved his present wealth. Among the two income groups, a different set of values exists. The young clerk who makes his wife a present of a new dress when he hadn’t paid his house rent, is condemned as extravagant. Carefullness with money to the point of meanness is applauded as a virtue. Nothing in his life is considered more worthy than paying his bills. The ideal wife for such a man separates her housekeeping money into joyless little piles- so much for rent, for food, for the children’s shoes; she is able to face the milkman with equanimity and never knows the guilt of buying something she can’t really afford. As for myself, I fall into neither of these categories. If I have money to spare, I can be extravagant, but when, as is usually the case, I am hard up, then I am the meanest man imaginable.

 

  1. In the opinion of the writer, a successful businessman:

(a) is more popular if he appears to be doing nothing.

(b) should not bother about his popularity.

(c) must be extravagant before achieving success.

(d) is expected to have expensive tastes.

 

Ans (d)

 

  1. The phrase lavish with his hospitatlity signifies:

(a) miserliness in dealing with his friends.

(b) considerateness in spending on guests and strangers.

(c) extravagance in entertaining guests.

(d) indifference in treating his friends and relatives.

 

Ans (c)

 

  1. We understand from the passage that:

(a) all mean people are wealthy

(b) wealthy people are invariably successful.

(c) carefulness generally leads to failure.

(d) thrift may lead to success.

 

Ans (d)

 

  1. It seems that low paid people should:

(a) not pay their bills promptly.

(b) not keep their creditors waiting.

(c) borrow money to meet their essential needs

(d) feel guilty if they overspend

 

Ans (d)

 

  1. The word paradox means:

(a) statement based on facts.

(b) that which brings out the inner meaning.

(c) that which is contrary to received opinion.

(d) statement based on the popular opinion.

 

Ans (c)

 

  1. How does the housewife, described by the writer, feel when she saves money?

(a) is content to be so thrifty.

(b) wishes life were less burdensome.

(c) is still troubled by a sense of guilt.

(d) wishes she could sometimes be extravagant.

 

Ans (a)

 

7.Which of the following is opposite in meaning to the word applauded in the passage?

(a) Humiliated

(b) Decried

(c) Cherished

(d) Suppressed

 

Ans (b)

 

  1. The statement she is able to face the milkman with equanimity implies that:

(a) she is not upset as she has been paying the milkman his dues regularly.

(b) she loses her nerve at the sight of the milkman who always demands his dues.

(c) she manages to keep cool as she has to pay the milkman who always demads his dues.

(d) she remains composed and confident as she knows that she can handle the milkman tactfully.

 

Ans (a)

 

  1. As far as money is concerned, we get the impression that the writer:

(a) is incapable of saving anything

(b) is never inclined to be extravagant

(c) would like to be considered extravagant

(d) doesn’t often have any money to save.

 

Ans (d)

 

  1. Which of the following would be the most suitable title for the passage?

(a) Extravagance leads to poverty

(b) Miserly habits of the poor.

(c) Extravagance in the life of the rich and the poor.

(d) Extravagance is always condemnable.

 

Ans (c)

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