Directions (1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some for the questions.
King Hutamasan felt he had everything in the world not only due to his riches and his noble knights, but because of his beautiful queen, Rani Matsya. The rays of the sun were put to shame with the iridescent light that Matsya illuminated, with her beauty and brains. At the right hand of the king she was known to sit and aid him in all his judicial probes. You could not escape her deep-set eyes when you committed a crime as she always knew the victim and the culprit. Her generosity preceded her reputation in the kingdom and her hands were always full to give. People in the kingdom revered her because if she passed by, she always gave to the compassionate and poor.
Far away from the kingly palace lived a man named Raman, with only ends to his poverty and no means to rectify it. Raman was wrecked with poverty as he had lost all his land to the landlord. His age enabled him little towards manual labour and so begging was the only alternative to salvage his wife and children. Every morning he went door to door for some work, food and money. The kindness of people always got him enough to take home. But Raman was a little selfcentered.
His world began with him first, followed by his family and the rest. So he would eat and drink to his delight and return home with whatever he found excess. This routine followed and he never let anyone discover his interests as he always put on a long face when he reached home.
One day as he was relishing the bowl of rice he had just received from a humble home, he heard that Rani Matsya was to pass from the very place he was standing. Her generosity had reached his ears and he knew if he pulled a long face and showed how poor he was, she would hand him a bag full of gold coins-enough for the rest of his life, enough to buy food and supplies for his family. He thought he could keep some coins for himself and only reveal a few to his wife, so he can fulfill his own wishes.
He ran to the chariot of the Rani and begged her soldiers to allow him to speak to the queen. Listening to the arguments outside Rani Matsya opened the curtains of her chariot and asked Raman what he wanted. Raman went on his knees and praised the queen, “I have heard you are most generous and most chaste, show this beggar some charity. Rani narrowed her brows and asked Raman what he could give her in return. Surprised by such a question, Raman looked at his bowl full of rice. With spite in him he just picked up a few grains of rice and gave it to her. Rani Matsya counted the five grains and looked at his bowl full of rice and said, you shall be given what is due to you. Saying this, the chariot galloped away.
Raman abused her under his breath. This he never thought would happen. How could she ask him for something in return when she had not given him anything? Irritated with anger he stormed home and gave his wife the bowl of rice.
Just then he saw a sack at the entrance. His wife said some men had come and kept it there. He opened it to find it full of rice. He put his hand inside and caught hold of a hard metal only to discover it was a gold coin. Elated he upturned the sack to find five gold coins in exact for the five rice grains. If only I had given my entire bowl, thought Raman, I would have had a sack full of gold
Q1. According to the passage, which of the following is definitely true about Rani Matsya?
(A) She was beautiful
(B) She was intelligent
(C) She was kind
(a) Only (A)
(b) Only (B)
(c) Only (C)
(d) Only (A) and (C)
(e) All the three (A), (B) and (C)
Q2. What does the phrase ‘pulled a long face’, as used in the passage mean?
(a) Scratched his face
(b) Looked very sorrowful
(c) Disguised himself
(d) Put on makeup
(e) None of these
Q3. What can possibly be the moral of the story?
(a) Do onto others as you would want others to do to you.
(b) Patience is a virtue.
(c) Winning is not everything, it is the journey that counts.
(d) Change is the only constant thing in life.
(e) Teamwork is more we and less me
Q4. Why was begging the only option for Raman to get food?
(a) Raman belonged to a family of beggars.
(b) Begging was the easiest way for him to obtain food.
(c) Raman’s family had forced him to beg.
(d) He had lost all his property and was too old to do manual work.
(e) None of these
Q5. Which of the following words can be used to describe Raman?
(A) Deceitful
(B) Selfish
(C) Timid
(a) Only (A)
(b) Only (B)
(c) Only (A) and (B)
(d) Only (B) and (C)
(e) All the three (A), (B) and (C)
Q6. Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word given below, as used in the passage.
GALLOPED
(a) hurtled
(b) stumbled
(c) slumbered
(d) jumped
(e) ran
Q7. Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word given below, as used in the passage.
REVERED
(a) remembered
(b) feared
(c) talked about
(d) embraced
(e) respected
Q8. Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word given below, as used in the passage.
HANDS
(a) arm
(b) throw
(c) give
(d) limb
(e) lend
Q9. Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning to the word given below, as used in the passage.
REVEAL
(a) stop
(b) conceal
(c) present
(d) pending
(e) tell
Q10. Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning to the word given below, as used in the passage.
ELATED
(a) afraid
(b) poor
(c) happy
(d) depressed
(e) grounded
Directions (11-17): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
Globalization is the objective trend of economic development in the world today, featured by free flow and optimized allocation of capital, technology, information and service in the global context. It is the inevitable result of the development of productive forces and advances of science and technology, especially the revolution of information technology since the 1980s and 1990s.
The influence of globalization on countries at different stages of development is entirely different. The “dividends” derived from globalization are not fairly distributed. The developed countries have apparent advantages in capital, technology, human resources and administrative expertise and in setting the “rules of the game”. They are usually the biggest beneficiaries of globalization. The developing countries on the other hand are on the whole in an unfavorably position.
Developing countries can obtain some foreign investment, advanced technologies and management expertise, but at the same time they are the most vulnerable to the negative impacts of globalization and lack the ability to effectively fend off and reduce the risks and pitfalls that come along with globalization. In the 1990s, especially in recent years, the gap between the North and the South has further widened. The economic sovereignty and economic security of the developing countries are confronted with enormous pressure and stern challenges. Some least-developed countries are even on the brink of being marginalized by globalization. Therefore, in participation of globalization, developing countries should always be on alert and try by all means to exploit the advantages and avoid all kinds of risk and harm.
In the past 20-odd years, China has maintained an annual growth rate of over 9.3% on average. China is now the 6th largest economy and the 5th largest trading nation in the world. More than 200 million people have been lifted out of poverty. The above accomplishments were achieved against the backdrop of a volatile international situation. The reason why China was so successful in such a short period of time and in a constantly changing international environment is because China has found its own road of development i.e, to base what we do on the realities of China while sticking to the basic system of socialism, reforms should be carried out to solve the problems of incompatibility between the productive forces and the relations of production, and between economic base and the superstructure, so as to achieve self-perfection of socialism. Every country is different from the other.
It opens not only to developed countries, but also to developing countries, not only in economic field, but also in all areas of social development. At the same time, it is not a blind opening, but a self-conscious one, not a disorganized opening but a systematic one.
China’s opening proceeds and deepens in a gradual and step by step fashion. It started from the 4 special economic zones, to coastal cities, then to capital cities of inland provinces and now it has reached an unprecedented stage of all-round opening demonstrated by China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. During its opening-up, China paid special attention to give full play to its comparative advantages to actively conduct international cooperation and competition. For instance, China has fully exploited its advantages of low cost of labour to attract foreign investment and technology to push economic development and better efficiency and quality of economic growth. These measures have brought the Chinese economy increasingly integrated with the world economy.
China has learnt many lessons and accumulated rich experiences in dealing with globalisation from its practice of reform and opening-up. To adopt openingup policy. It opens not only to developed countries, but also to developing countries, not only in economic field, but also in all areas of social development. At the same time, it is not a blind opening, but a self-conscious one, not a disorganized opening but a systematic one. China’s opening proceeds and deepens in a gradual and step by step fashion. It started from the 4 special economic zones, to coastal cities, then to capital cities of inland provinces and now it has reached an unprecedented stage of all-round opening demonstrated by China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. During its opening-up, China paid special attention to give full play to its comparative advantages to actively conduct international cooperation and competition.
China’s participation in Globalization is by no means a one-way street. When the world economic growth remains weak, China’s economy is one of the few bright spots. As World Bank Report on Global Development Finance 2003 published in early April pointed out that China’s fast growth “helped to drive the recovery in East Asia. Together with policy stimulus in other countries, China’s performance lifted the region to growth of 6.7 % in 2002, up from 5.5% in 2001.China has also provided the world with the largest rising market. When more than 1.25 billion people become well-off, the demand on everything will be enormous.
Just to give you an example, in the coming 10 years alone, China will import US$ 2 trillion of goods from the outside world. It goes without saying that we are also facing many challenges. For instance, with the accession to the WTO, China is faced with growing pressure from international competition. China’s enterprises have to cope with fiercer competition not only at international market, but at home market as well. Nevertheless, opening the country to the outside world is China’s basic and long-term state policy. China is committed to opening still wider to the outside world in an all-directional and multi-tiered way, with an even more active approach.
Q11. Why the “dividends” derived from globalization are not fairly distributed?
(a) Apprehension in embracing and seizing the opportunities presented by globalization (b) Failing to adopt reforms to keep up with the steps of the changing world.
(c) Political disadvantage due to inactivity in the developing countries.
(d) Due to the lack of a just and equitable international economic order
(e) None of these
Q12. What reason author has given for China’s achievement in such a short span of time?
(a) Signficant modifications in the basic system of socialism.
(b) Framing their models on Chinese characteristics rather than relying on plagiarism.
(c) As they gave much more impetus on advancement in technology, human resources and administrative expertise
(d) Their responsible approach as they remained vigilant against various risks, especially financial risks.
Q13. Which of the following is the most suitable term for the nature of Chinese opening to the outside world?
(a) Progressive
(b) Self conscious
(c) Comprehensive
(d) Discerning
(e) Selective
Q14. How according to author China is contributing to World Economy?
(a) By giving the road development to other developing countries so that they can follow the same path.
(b) By providing a huge market to the World to supply the needs of billion uplifted Chinese population.
(c) By new advancements in technology and human resources.
(d) Focusing their attention to conduct international cooperation and competition.
(e) None of these.
Q15. Which of the following statement(s) is/ are true in context of the passage?
(i) Developing countries are raising their concern over China’s commitment to even more active approach towards opening to World.
(ii) Developing countries are usually the most active propellers of globalization.
(iii) China’s rise is a threat for the developing countries like America.
(a) Only (ii)
(b) Both (i) and (iii)
(c) Both (i) and (ii)
(d) Only (i).
(e) All of the above
Q16. What is the challenge that is faced by China?
(a) Need to fulfill the enormous demands of more than a billion Chinese people who have recently escaped from poverty.
(b) Adapting to the model adopted by the other countries so as to not get isolated.
(c) Growing pressure from the international market.
(d) Opening the country to the outside world
(e) None of these
Q17. Which of the following statement is false?
(a) Low cost of labour in China is key to attract foreign investment.
(b) Achieving self-perfection of socialism is a reason for China’s incredible growth
(c) Developing country can suffer economically due to globalization.
(d) China is facing a much fiercer competition at home compared to international markets.
(e) None of these.
