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Tips to attempt Reading Comprehension


Don’t read the article for the sake of just reading . You should go in depth and understand what is written. You must dissect the article and try to grasp the information and points that have been given. Attempting RC – is a 3 part series. Part 1 is the most important and will require a minimum of 30 mintues of your time. You must read a particular part in one go but may take break in between different parts. So, begin the article only when you can take out time out of your schedule.

With only 35 questions to be tackled in 40minutes, it becomes imperative to attempt Reading Comprehension (RC) in the Mains exam.

Students find Reading Comprehesion (RC) as the toughest portion to crack in any exam, not because the passages are tough to understand but because they are to be read and understood within a limited time – without time limit even a 7th standard kid can answer the questions.Many complain of RC being time consuming and many others who attempt it get the answers wrong even after spending a good amount of time on reading.

In this article, we will decode the art of ‘Attempting RC’. During the article, you will learn a lot of new things which you never thought of applying to an RC and by the end of the article you will have a set of tools, which if you use wisely, will help you crack the RC in exam. Follow all the instructions and try to gain as much from the article as possible.

THEME OF THE PASSAGE

Read the following paragraph and try to retain the information. Do not read more than once.

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, promulgated on 4 May 2017, amends the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to authorise the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to direct banking companies to initiate insolvency resolution processes with respect to defaults, under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. Additionally, the RBI may “from time to time, issue directions to banking companies for resolution of stressed assets,” and may appoint committees to advise banking companies. It remains unclear what this ordinance seeks to achieve, given that the RBI already has oversight over banking operations, and can issue directions to banks with the powers already vested in it by the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. It remains to be seen whether this amendment will result in a faster resolution of stressed assets. The government and its functionaries, nevertheless, continue to suggest measures that seek to find quick fixes to the stressed assets problem. Essentially, these solutions seek to force ways to ensure that the costs of private-sector loan defaults are borne by the state and its enterprises.


Passage = Main idea + Information (around the Main idea)

In any RC, there will be a main idea and lot of information will be provided around this main idea. You have to find the main idea or theme of the passage and remember the vital information. If you are able to eliminate all the unnecessary information from the RC, the passage becomes 20% of its original size.

Just like the lady in the picture, you have to separate the important information from the useless one. Considering this in mind, lets take a look at the paragraph again.

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, promulgated on 4 May 2017, amends the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to authorise the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to direct banking companies to initiate insolvency resolution processes with respect to defaults, under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. Additionally, the RBI may “from time to time, issue directions to banking companies for resolution of stressed assets,” and may appoint committees to advise banking companies. It remains unclear what this ordinance seeks to achieve, given that the RBI already has oversight over banking operations, and can issue directions to banks with the powers already vested in it by the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. It remains to be seen whether this amendment will result in a faster resolution of stressed assets. The government and its functionaries, nevertheless, continue to suggest measures that seek to find quick fixes to the stressed assets problem. Essentially, these solutions seek to force ways to ensure that the costs of private-sector loan defaults are borne by the state and its enterprises.

When you skim through this paragraph, i.e. when you quickly read it, highlighted portion is the information that must be retained.  You don’t need to know the date when it was passed or the under what Code does it come etc etc. Highlighted portion is the heart of the passage. It is easy to remember all this information once we associate and connect it with the main theme. Try reading it again (from author’s point of view) and guess the theme of the passage. Move forward only after guessing the theme.

It must be clear that the theme is ‘resolution of stressed assets’. Ordinance was passed to give power to RBI to handle banks suffering from this problem (RBI already had these powers as per Banking act 1949 – useless information). Also, the govt is planning its own measures to solve this problem of ‘stressed assets’

  • There will be some keywords which will find repetition in the passage, find those keywords, they will lead you to the theme of the passage. Keyword in the above paragraph was – Stressed Assets.
  • This art of separating the vital information from the useless one, comes with regular reading. To get the idea of the theme of the passage it is important to INTERACT with the passage. Be an active reader. Remain focused while reading.
  • While reading, a lot of times we just keep on reading and forget what we have read in the last 3 to 4 lines. Immediately, we go back and read those lines again. Such a thing happens when you lose focus. There should be no diversion of thoughts, so sit in a very quiet place while reading and read with all your concentration.

Always restrict yourself to the information provided in the RC. If the passage talks about ‘Diabetes’, do not use your medical knowledge. Never go outside the premises of the passage until author asks in the questions.

Beware of words like – Never, Ever, Always, All, Must, Every, Each – in the options. These words when used take an extreme view and most of the times the options using them are wrong. So, pay extra attention when such words are used.

Keeping the above-mentioned things in mind, try the following exercise.

Note – refrain from various forums or youtube videos providing tricks and tips for RC. They may not be wrong but may not be helpful. In the end you will end up wasting your time. All the information that you require to master RC has been provided here.

 

Many students just go through the article in haste with the aim of finishing reading the article at the earliest. This hampers our objective of gaining maximum knowledge from the article. You should put your mind to it. If you get your answer wrong, don’t just understand the explanation and arrive at the answer. You should be able to find fault with your reasoning and only then move ahead. And if you cannot find problem with your answer and do not find the explanation convincing enough, you should ask. Write down all your queries in the ‘Comments’ section.

This exercise is solely based on reading skill – how good you read and how well you comprehend the information in the passage. I request you to sit in a quiet place while attempting this exercise. Use all your energy to concentrate while reading and try to understand the passage from author’s view.

Direction for questions 1 to 7: Read the passages given below and answer the questions that follow. Read as slowly as you want but read the passage only once and then attempt the question.

  1. Efficiency is all right in its place, in the shop, the factory, the store. The trouble with efficiency is that it wants to rule our play as well as our work; it won’t be content to reign in the shop, it follows us home.
    It can be inferred from the above passage that
    a.efficiency can become all-pervading.
    b.efficiency does not always pay.
    c.efficiency can be more of a torture than a blessing.
    d.efficiency hinders every walk of life
    e.None of these

    Answer & Explanation

As discussed before, it is important to restrict oneself to the information provided in the paragraph. If author asks you to make any inference, make it only on the basis of the information provided.Considering the level of question in Mains exam, it is highly probable that no director factual question will be asked. Inference based questions have high chances of being asked. Following are such questions- What does the author imply? Or What does the author suggest? Or What does the passage imply?

Author suggests these idea without explicitly stating them. It measures candidate’s skill to understand the intended meaning. So, read between the lines. Good vocab always helps in comprehending the author’s intent. All the questions in the exercise are inference based. You don’t require any more information to crack these questions. Just stay focused and read with concentration.

 

  1. In order to ease the traffic congestion, the transport planners decided to have a sophisticated system of elevated monorail travel in the city. However, it was pointed out by somebody that a metro rail system would be a more effective solution to the traffic problem. The plan was thus stalled. Moreover, since a budget had not been drawn up for the project, it was deemed fit to stall the work of the monorail for some time. Meanwhile, the traffic planners of the city decided to build an efficient system of subways and flyovers in the city with the aim of easing the same problem. At the instant when the planners were preparing to award the contracts to the concerned parties, the transport planners came up with the contention that the subways interfered with the site of a pillar of the monorail system. The traffic planners had to give up the idea and think of other possible solutions.
    (Remove the useless information, focus on main theme and supporting ideas. Theme of the passage is finding solution for traffic problem. Monorail system – stalled due to various reasons (no need to remember those reasons – useless information) – subway & flyover is new solution –stalled due to fight between the two parties. We can conclude various solutions were proposed but none of them is in action)
    Which of the following can we infer from the above passage?
    a.The city authorities felt that the monorail system was essentially impractical.
    b.Intervention of higher authority is needed to find the solution
    c.The projects would be stalled for an indefinite period.
    d.Traffic problem is not going to be resolved anytime soon.
    e.There needs to be greater intimacy between different planners.

    Answer & Explanation

Just below the question I have stated the main theme of the passage. I have cited ‘The reasons for which monorail work was stalled’ as useless information and need not be retained. But what if the question is being asked from it – What are the reasons for which monorail work has been stalled?

  • As I have already said, there is very less probability of question being asked in such a direct way, that you can find the answer just written in the passage. But if the question is still asked and we don’t remember the information, it won’t take more than 5 seconds to go back to the paragraph where that particular information has been given.
  • The student, who does not know the theme and tries to remember all the information will start searching for ‘the reasons of stalling of monorail’ in whole passage, (he will search for the keywords –‘stalled’ and ‘monorail’ in the whole passage) and will end up wasting a lot of time. Whereas the student, who has connected all the different paragraphs with a common theme will know exactly where to search for the reasons. For ex – If you remember that monorail was stalled in the first paragraph (only important information is to be remembered) of the passage, you can find the answer by returning to the paragraph in not more than 5 seconds.

 

  1. The company encourages its managers to interact regularly, without a pre-set agenda, to discuss issues concerning the company and society. This idea has been borrowed from the ancient Indian concept of religious congregation, called satsang. Designations are forgotten during these meetings; hence, it is not uncommon in these meetings to find a sales engineer questioning the CEO on some corporate policy or his knowledge of customers.
    Based on the information provided in the above passage, it can be inferred that
    a.the company is concerned about its reputation with its employees.
    b.the company believes in fostering the spirit of dialogue without degenerating it into a positioningbased debate.
    c.the company had some inter-personnel problems in the past due to which it felt the need forthese corporate satsangs.
    d.the company wants its employees to think like the managers do
    e.All of these

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – B
    Explanation :
    The passage states that designations are forgotten during the meetings and even a sales engineer can question the CEO on company policies. The company’s ulterior motive is not the focus of the argument, so A, C and D are ruled out.
  2. From Cochin to Shimla, the new culture vultures are tearing down acres of India’s architectural treasures. Ancestral owners are often fobbed off with a few hundred rupees for an exquisitely carved door or window, which fetches fifty times that much from foreign dealers, and yet more from the drawing room sophisticates of Europe and the US. The reason for such shameless rape of the Indian architectural wealth can perhaps, not wrongly, be attributed to the unfortunate blend of activist disunity and the local indifference.
    It can be inferred from the above passage that
    a.the environment created by activist disunity and local indifference is idealfor antique dealers to thrive in India.
    b.only Indians are not proud of their cultural heritage and are hungry for the foreign currency that iseasily available in return of artifacts.
    c.most Indian families have heirlooms which can be sold at high prices to Europeans and Americans.
    d.India is the only rich market for unscrupulous antique dealers.
    e.Both a and d

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – A
    Explanation :
    The passage states that the rape of Indian architectural wealth can be attributed to the blend of activist disunity and local indifference. B & C cannot be known from the information in the paragraph. D seems to be true but the use of word ‘Only’ makes it wrong (Remember the point about options which lend an ‘extreme view’ to the argument)
  3. The effect produced on the mind by travelling depends entirely on the mind of the traveller and on the way in which he conducts himself. The chief idea of one very common type of traveller is to see as many objects of interest as he possibly can. If he can only after his return home say that he has seen such and such temple, castle, picture gallery, or museum, he is perfectly satisfied. Far different is the effect of travels upon those who leave their country with a mind prepared by culture to feel intelligent admiration for all the beauties of nature and art to be found in foreign lands. When they visit a new place, instead of hurrying from temple to museum to picture gallery, they allow the spirit of the place to sink into their minds, and only visit such monuments as the time they have at their disposal allows them to contemplate without irreverent haste.
    It can be inferred from the above passage that
    a.the writer prefers the second type of traveller.
    b.the first type of traveller is the lay traveller who does not understand the worth of any place hetravels to.
    c.the objective of the second type of traveller is not to see much, but to see well.
    d.All of these
    e.Both a & c

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – C
    Explanation :
    The passage states that the second kind of traveler visits only such monuments as the time at his disposal allows him to contemplate without irreverent haste. The preference of the writer is not the focus of the argument; hence A is wrong. B may or may not be true, given the information about first traveler, hence crossed out. C is the correct answer.
  4. Where the film Bahubali loses out is where every commercial film congenitally goes awry –becoming too simplistic to address serious issues and failing to translate real life to reel.
    Which of the following can be inferred from the above line?
    a.The film’s director aimed at recreating real life on the silver screen.
    b.The film was too simplistic for the audience’s taste.
    c.The film was successful in spite of its shortcomings.
    d.The film being commercial, had no serious aspect to it
    e.None of these

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – E
    Explanation :
    The passage supports none of the given options. C does not seem to be true in light of facts presented in the passage. B is stated anyway in the passage. Option A – What the director aimed at does not seem to be the focus of the argument, which discusses a general consequence. D is out of the purview of the passage.
  5. Aspiration is nothing new. Neither is the debate over what the Indian middle class is, what it wants and what it buys. Since the mid-80s, that has been the focus of the economic policy papers so called pro- and anti-poor budgets and marketing strategies that have successfully broken the barrier of urban selling and reached deeper into rural India with increasing income levels and aspirations.
    Based on the above passage, it can be inferred that
    a.the Indian middle class has been the focus of economic policies for a long time.
    b.the Indian middle class has graduated from being the ‘deprived’ middle class to the ‘pampered’middle class.
    c.Both (a) and (b)
    d.Neither (a) nor (b)
    e.The main focus of marketing people is to sell products to rural people

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – A
    Explanation :
    The Indian middle-class, what it wants and what it buys has been the focus of economic policies since the mid-80s, hence A is true. B infers far beyond what can be reasonably inferred from the argument. E is true to some extent but not completely true.

Previously, we have learned how to find the theme of the passage. We have also learned how to approach the RC –  by separating out the crucial information from the whole passage. The main question that arises is what information is crucial, that has to be retained and what is not. This art of differentiating relevant information from the irrelevant one can only be learnt by practice. There is no trick in the world which could help you out in this matter (although, there are a lot of websites which claim to provide you such things), only regular practice will help you out. So, till the Mains exam commences, i.e.4th June, you must attempt 2 RCs on daily basis. This is an added task for the preparation; reading newspaper must continue on its own without being affected. The more you read, the better your English is.

We have attained knowledge about the most crucial part of RC till now. I will be covering some  frequently asked questions which students pose about RC.

 

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1.Read passage, then questions OR Read questions, then passage??

Both the strategies are okay and depend from person to person. In the first case, you skim through the passage first – understand subject on which the passage is based, get to know the themes of different paragraph and how they are connected with each other- and then attempt questions. If unsure about the answer, you return to the particular paragraph where there is discussion related to the question.

  • This skimming of Paragraph is done in a minute or so. Some people even read the first and last paragraph, then go to questions and then move to passage again. Any of the strategies could be followed.
  • Since not many days are left, I advise you to go with tried and tested method – reading the passage first and then attempting questions. How much time to spend on reading the passage depends on how fast you read and comprehend the data. So, it will be different for everybody.

2.Is it bad if I start reading the Passage again after reading the question?

If you are talking in the sense of reading the whole passage again, it is obviously bad. Otherwise, there is no harm in coming back to the paragraph for finding the answer, provided that you know the exact paragraph where the discussion related to question was happening. But in any case, I would advise you not to read the paragraph more than twice.

3.Is good reading speed mandatory for cracking RCs?

It is analogous to hitting sixes in cricket – how physically strong you are matters, but technique and timing are the more important factors. Reading speed is obviously one of the factors that influence how quickly one goes through RC but not the main factor.

  • It is the comprehending ability that decides how better you understand the passage. A minimum amount of reading speed is still required to crack the RC in exams like SBI.
  • Whatever be your reading speed, I request you not to indulge in books or videos describing how to increase speed – you might end up wasting time only.
  • Read on daily basis and try to push yourself each time, your reading speed will automatically improve. One important thing though – do not move your lips, or say the words aloud while reading. This habit reduces the reading speed.

4.Without good vocab, is it possible to score good in RCs?

Good vocab helps in understanding the author’s intent. You may miss out on a few things if you don’t have good vocab, but with close reading you should be able to get the overall meaning of the passage.

Mr. XYZ was relegated to the post of Peon

If you don’t know ‘relegated’ you may end up without complete meaning but you will still be able to attach Mr. XYZ with the post of peon; and if it is given in the passage that Mr. XYZ did not perform well in his previous position, you will be able to even guess the meaning of Relegate – assign an inferior rank or position. Hence, good vocab obviously helps but still you can make do if you are good at comprehending the passage.

5.Should one attempt all the questions in the RC?

You may leave the question if you are not completely sure of the answer, but I would advise you to make a guess, provided you have understood the passage. Do not make more than two guesses in a set of 6 questions. Mathematically you attract a penalty of 0.5 marks if both are wrong. So, risk reward ratio is very less, which is favorable to us.

6.A : Dude, RCs from ‘Technology’ are coming in the exam.
B: Really!! I haven’t attempted RCs pertaining to ‘Technology’.

It is a complete myth. If one has command over RC, he/she would be able to crack it irrespective of it being related to Politics or Sports or Technology or Economy etc. A basic background is however required.

  • If you don’t know what ‘Credit Cards’ are, you wont be able to understand its negative effects. If you are not familiar with the concept of ‘NPAs’ you won’t be able to understand the passage – Creation of Bad Banks.
  • You don’t need any deep knowledge for such a background. Minimal knowledge will suffice, which I believe you must be having. To prepare better, I would advise you to keep in touch with National and International news, with primary focus on National Developments.

Few tips for improving reading –

  • Reduce regression (going back over material) by placing an index card at the top of the sentence, and moving it down the page as you read. This tip alone can help improve reading by about 200% for some people, while comprehension actually improves because you know you can’t go back.
  • If you are a person who moves their lips while reading, that habit has got to go. You are limiting yourself to the 150 words per minute that your lips like to move at. A simple tip here is to place your index finger over your mouth to try to break the habit.

I have holistically covered the RC portion in 3 parts. Before I end this series on RC, I will put down the strategy I followed for my CAT exam.

1.Scan through the passage quickly picking out only important phrases and words. This will give you an idea as to what the passage is about.
2. Read the question that is asked.
3. Because you have skimmed through the passage you roughly know which lines you would be able to find the required answer in.
4. Read the relevant lines again and decide upon the answer.

Remember that everybody devises his/her own strategy for attempting RC. Read a lot and practice a lot.

 

Practice Sets For Reading Comprehension


When times are hard, doomsayers are aplenty. The problem is that if you listen to them too
carefully, you tend to overlook the most obvious signs of change. 2011 was a bad year. Can 2012 be any worse? Doomsday forecasts are the easiest to make these days. So let’s try a contrarian’s forecast instead.
Let’s start with the global economy. We have seen a steady flow of good news from the US. The employment situation seems to be improving rapidly and consumer sentiment, reflected in retail expenditures on discretionary items like electronics and clothes, has picked up. If these trends sustain, the US might post better growth numbers for 2012 than the 1.5 – 1.8 per cent being forecast currently. Japan is likely to pull out of a recession in 2012 as post-earthquake reconstruction efforts gather momentum and the fiscal stimulus announced in 2011 begins to pay off. The consensus estimate for growth in Japan is a respectable 2 per cent for 2012. The “hared-landing” scenario for China remains and will remain a myth. Growth might decelerate further from the 9 per cent that expected to clock in 2011 but is unlikely to drop below 8-8.5 per cent in 2012.
Europe is certainly in a spot to trouble. It is perhaps already in recession and for 2012 it is likely to post mildly negative growth. The risk of implosion has dwindled over the last few months – peripheral economics like Greece, Italy and Spain have new governments in place and have made progress towards genuine economic reform. Even with some of these positive factors in place, we have to accept to fact that global growth in 2012 will be tepid. But there is a flip side to this. Softer growth means lower demand for commodities and this is likely to drive a correction in commodity prices. Lower commodity inflation will enable emerging market central banks to reserve their monetary stance. China, for instance, has already reversed it stance and has pared its reserve ratio twice. The RBI also seems poised for a reversal in its rate cycle as headline inflation seems well on its way to its target of 7 per cent for March 2012.
That said, oil might be an exception to the general trend in commodities. Rising geographical tensions, particularly the continuing face-off between Iran and the US, might lead to a spurt in prices. It might make sense for our oil companies to hedge this risk instead of buying oil in the spot market.
As inflation fears abate and emerging market central banks begins to cut rates, two things could happen. Lower commodity inflation would mean lower interest rates and better credit availability. This could set a floor to growth and slowly reverse the business cycle within these economies. Second, as the fear of untamed, runaway inflation in these economies abates, the global investor’s comfort levels with their markets will increase.
Which of the emerging markets will outperform and who will get left being? In an environment in which global growth is likely to be weak, economies like India that have a powerful domestic consumption dynamic should lead; those dependent on exports should, prima facie, fall behind.Specifically for India, a fall in the exchange rate could not have come at a better time. It will help Indian exporters gain market share even if global trade remains depressed. More importantly, it could lead to massive import substitution that favours domestic producers.
Let’s now focus on India and start with a caveat. It is important not to confuse a short-run cyclical dip with a permanent de-rating of its long-term structural potential. The arithmetic is simple. Our growth rate can bin the range of 7-10 percent depending on policy action. Then per cent if we get everything right, 7 per cent if we get it all wrong. Which policies and reforms are critical to taking us to our 10 per cent potential? In judging this, let’s again be careful. Let’s not go by the laundry list of reforms that FLLs like to wave: increase in foreign equity limits in foreign shareholding, greater voting rights for institutional shareholders in banks, FDI in retail, etc. These can have an impact only at the margin. We need not bend over backwards to appease the FLLs through these reforms- they will invest in our markets when momentum picks up and will be the first to exit when the momentum flags, reforms or not.
The reforms that we need are the ones that can actually raise our sustainable long term growth rate. These have to come in areas’ like better targeting of subsides, making projects in infrastructure viable of that they draw capital, raising the productivity of agriculture, improving healthcare and education, bringing the parallel economy under the tax net, implementing fundamental reforms in taxation like GST and the direct tax code and finally easing the myriad rules and regulations that make doing business in India such a nightmare. A number of these things do not require new legislation and can be done through executive order.
1. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
(a) China’s economic growth may decline in the year 2012 as compared to the year 2011
(b) The European economy is not doing very well
(c) Greece is on the verge of bringing about economic reforms
(d) In the year 2012, Japan may post a positive growth and thus pull out of recession
(e) All are true

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (e)

2. Which of the following will possibly be a result of softer growth estimated for the year 2012?
(1) Prices of oil will not increase
(2) Credit availability would be lesser.
(3) Commodity inflation would be lesser.
(a) Only (2)
(b) Only (1) and (2)
(c) Only (1) and (3)
(d) Only (3)
(e) All (1), (2) and (3)

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (d)

3. Which of the following can be said about the present status of the US economy?
(a) There is not much improvement in the economic scenario of the country from the year 2011
(b) The growth in the economy of the county, in the year 2012, would definitely be lesser than 1.8 per cent
(c) The expenditure on clothes and electronic commodities, by consumers, is lesser than that in the year 2011
(d) There is a change that in 2012 the economy would be better than what has been forecast
(e) The pace of change in the employment scenario of the country is very slow.

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (d )

4. Which of the following is possibly the most appropriate title for the passage?
(a) The Economic Disorder
(b) Indian Economy Versus The European Economy
(c) Global Trade
(d) The Current Economic Scenario
(e) Characteristics of the Indian Economy

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (d)

5. According to the author, which of the following would characterize Indian growth scenario in 2012?
(1) Domestic producers will take a hit because of depressed global trade scenario.
(2) On account of its high domestic consumption, India will lead
(3) Indian exporters will have a hard time in gaining market share.
(a) Only (2)
(b) Only (1) and (2)
(c) Only (2) and (3)
(d) Only (1)
(e) All (1), (2) and (3)

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (a)

6. Why does the author not recommend taking up the reforms suggested by FLLs.
(a) These will bring about only mirror growth
(b) The reforms suggested will have no effect on the economy of our country, whereas will benefit the FLLS significantly
(c) The previous such recommendations had backfired
(d) These reforms will be the sole reason for our country’s economic downfall
(e) The reforms suggested by them are not to be trusted as they will not being about any positive growth in India.

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (e)

7. Which of the following is TRUE as per the scenario presented in the passage?
(a) The highest growth the rate that India can expect is 7 percent
(b) The fall in the exchange rate will prove beneficial to India
(c) Increased FDI in retail as suggested by FLLs would benefit India tremendously
(d) The reforms suggested by the author require new legislation in India
(e) None of these

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (b)

8. According to the author, which of the following reforms is/are needed to ensure long term growth in India?
(1) Improving healthcare and educational facilities.
(2) Bringing about reforms in taxation.
(3) Improving agriculture productivity.
(a) Only (2)
(b) Only (1) and (2)
(c) Only (2) and (3)
(d) Only (1)
(e) All (1), (2) and (3)

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (e)

Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/ group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

9. DRAWN
(a) entice
(b) push
(c) decoy
(d) attract
(e) persuade

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (d)

10. CLOCK
(a) watch
(b) achieve
(c) time
(d) second
(e) regulate

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (b)

11. ABATE
(a) rise
(b) gear
(c) hurl
(d) lessen
(e) retreats

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (d)

12. EMERGING
(a) raising
(b) developing
(c) noticaeable
(d) conspicuous
(e) uproaring

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (b)

Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/ group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

13. MYRIAD
(a) trivial
(b) difficult
(c) few
(d) effortless
(e) countless

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (c)

14. TEPID
(f) moderate
(g) high
(h) warm
(i) irregular
(j) little

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (c)

15. MYTH
(a) reality
(b) belief
(c) contrast
(d) idealism
(e) falsehood

Answer & Explanation
Answer – (a)

 

With the latest round of reforms in the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy, the Centre has boasted that most sectors would now be eligible for automatic approvals, making India the most open economy in the world for FDI. At least in the civil aviation sector, for which the Centre also unveiled a new policy last week targeting greater connectivity at cheaper fares, that opinion seems a little ahead of time. Raising the FDI limit for airlines (including regional operators for whom FDI of 49 per cent was only allowed last November) to 100 per cent, with automatic approvals for foreign ownership up to 49 per cent, sounds good on the face of it. But it is more likely to bring relief for domestic carriers looking to raise capital or forge an alliance with a global airline than attract many new players into the fray. This is because global airline players continue to be hemmed in by the 49 per cent ownership limit set by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2012, following which ventures such as AirAsia India and Vistara took off. In theory, a foreign airline could tie up with other institutional investors like private equity funds to form a 49:51 joint venture and tap India’s double-digit air traffic growth. Even if a strategic airline investor agrees to be a junior partner, securing a scheduled operator permit still requires an airline’s chairman and at least two-thirds of its directors to be Indian citizens, and substantial ownership and effective control to be vested in Indian nationals. There need to be swift changes in the small print, if the skies are to be as open as hoped for in the aviation policy.
The Centre has admitted this balancing act is part of a dynamic, calibrated process to make domestic carriers more competitive for now. This process is also driven by security concerns. While the U.S. originally barred foreign control of airlines in 1926 so that its military could take charge of civilian aircraft in times of strife, most countries adopted a similar stance following World War II, citing security concerns and the need to protect the turf of national airlines. The U.S. now allows around 25 per cent foreign ownership in airlines, South Korea permits 49 per cent and Chile a full 100 per cent, even as it has done away with national control and ownership norms. Australia has now scrapped limits on airline ownership for aircraft flying within its airspace — a model that could very well serve India’s aviation policy objectives of tripling passenger traffic by 2022 and developing regional connectivity. To stay at the forefront of FDI reforms in a slowing global economy, India could have proposed a bolder reform in airline ownership norms and dovetailed that with its vision of an open sky policy within the SAARC region and beyond. That would have been a global game changer.

  1. Even if a strategic airline investor agrees to be a junior partner, what airlines still require?
    1) Security concerns
    2) strategic foreign direct investment (FDI) policy
    3) a chairman
    4) Both A and B
    5) None of the above

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – 3) 
    Explanation :a chairman
  2. Which among the following is TRUE according to the passage given above?
    1) South Korea allows foreign ownership in airlines  permits 45 per cent
    2) Chile allows foreign ownership in airlines permits 85 per cent
    3) a foreign airline could tie up with other institutional investors like private equity funds to form a 49:51 joint venture and tap India’s double-digit air traffic growth
    4) Both A and B
    5) None of the above

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – 3)
    Explanation : a foreign airline could tie up with other institutional investors like private equity funds to form a 49:51 joint venture and tap India’s double-digit air traffic growth
  3. Which of the following is FALSE according to the passage??
    1)  There need does not to be swift changes in the small print
    2) the Centre has boasted that most sectors would now be eligible for automatic approvals, making India the most open economy in the world for FDI
    3) Raising the FDI limit for airlines to 100 per cent, with automatic approvals for foreign ownership up to 49 per cent, sounds good on the face of it
    4) Both A and C
    5) None of above

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – 5) 
    Explanation : None of above
  4. What percent U.S. now allows foreign ownership in airlines?
    1) around 24 per cent
    2) around 20 per cent
    3) around 35 per cent
    4) around 30 per cent
    5) around 25 per cent

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – 5)
    Explanation : around 25 per cent
  5. Which of the following would be a suitable title of the passage?
    1) FDI reforms in civil aviation
    2) FDI reforms in a slowing global economy
    3) New foreign direct investment (FDI) policy
    4) Opening our skies
    5) the global game changers

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – 4)
    Explanation : Opening our skies
  6. Which among the following is MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the word “scrapped”?
    1) demolish
    2) hoard
    3) save
    4) store
    5) keep

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – 1)
    Explanation : demolish
  7. Which among the following is MOST OPPOSITE in meaning to the word “calibrated”?
    1) rectify
    2) regulate
    3) renovate
    4) derange
    5) readjust

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – 4)
    Explanation : derange
  8. Which among the following is MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the word “ventures”?
    1) careful
    2) timid
    3) audacious
    4) prudent
    5) cautious

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – 3)
    Explanation : audacious
  9. Which among the following is MOST OPPOSITE in meaning to the word “fray”?
    1) ruckus
    2) harmony
    3)melee
    4) fracas
    5) donnybrook

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – 2)
    Explanation : harmony
  10. Which among the following is MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the word “boasted”?
    1) brooder
    2) detest
    3) abide
    4) blowhard
    5) autistic

    Answer & Explanation
    Answer – 4)
    Explanation : blowhard

Ethics concern an individual’s moral judgements about right and wrong. Decisions taken within an org anization may be made by individuals or groups, but whoever makes them will be influenced by the culture of the company. The decision to behave ethically is a moral one; employees must decide what they think is the right course of action. This may involve rejecting the route that would lead to the biggest short-term profit. Ethical issues include the rights and duties between a company and its employees, suppliers, customers and neighbours, its fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders. Issues concerning relations between different companies include hostile take-over and industrial espionage. Related issues include governance; corporate; political contributions; legal issues such as the ethical debate over introducing a crime of corporate manslaughter; and the marketing of corporations’ ethics policies.
Business ethics reflects the philosophy of business, one of whose aims is to determine the fundamental purposes of a company. If a company’s purpose is to maximize shareholder returns, then sacrificing profits to other concerns is a violation of its fiduciary responsibility. Business ethics is also known as corporate ethics, a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. Business ethics has both normative and descriptive dimensions. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. Academics attempting to understand business behaviour employ descriptive methods. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the interaction of profit-maximizing behaviour with non-economic concerns. Ethical behaviour and corporate social responsibility can bring significant benefits to a business. For example, they may: attract customers to the firm’s products, thereby boosting sales and profits. It makes employees want to stay with the business, reduce labour turnover and therefore increase productivity. It attracts more employees wanting to work for the business, reduce recruitment costs and enable the company to get the most talented employees and also attract investors and keep the company’s share price high, thereby protecting the business from takeover. While unethical behaviour or a lack of corporate social responsibility, by comparison, may damage a firm’s reputation and make it less appealing to stakeholders. Unethical behaviour can also result in bad publicity, resulting in a bad name that will always be associated with the company even if they attempt to utilize a more ethical code of conduct. If a company has unethical behaviour and is charged by the courts, they can wind up paying fines, court fees and may even receive some jail time, many companies eventually go bankrupt and close their doors due to the high cost of unethical behaviours. Unethical behaviour also decreases productivity of a company. If you are working in a company with bad ethical behaviours, it is difficult for the employees to trust each other, or their supervisors. When people work in an environment where they do not trust anyone, they are not going to do their best work, if they continue to work there at all. Unethical behaviour can cause employees to lose the faith in the company and become more likely to call in sick more often or not even show up at all. Once a company is known for having unethical behaviours, the effects can be permanent. All of the years spent building a good reputation can be quickly torn down with only one unethical incident, destroying the company’s reputation possibly forever.

1. What is meant by Manslaughter ?
1) A kind of heinous crime
2) It’s all about foul play.
3) Legally killing of one human being by another.
4) Killing without malicious forethought
5) None of these

Answer & Explanation
Answer – 4)
Explanation : Killing without malicious forethought

2. What is/are the dimensions of Business ethics ?
1) Corporate ethics
2) Applied ethics or professional ethics
3) Normative and descriptive
4) a) and b)
5) None of these

Answer & Explanation
Answer – 3)
Explanation : Normative and descriptive

3. What can be the worst impact of unethical behaviour in corporate world ?
1) It can reduce the loyalty of customer towards the product.
2) It will reduce productivity.
3) It may damage firm’s reputation and make it less appealing to stake holders.
4) A company can be charged by the counts and order to close down it with a fine or jail or both. Thus, company becomes insolvent.
5) Both 1 and 3

Answer & Explanation
Answer – 4)
Explanation : A company can be charged by the counts and order to close down it with a fine or jail or both. Thus, company becomes insolvent.

4. Once a company is known for having unethical behaviours, the effect can be-
1) Permanent
2) Negligible
3) Determined
4) Partial
5) None of these

Answer & Explanation
Answer – 1)
Explanation : Permanent

5. Which of the following is definitely true in the context of the passage ?
1) Profit maximization directly proportional to ethical behaviour.
2) People having ethical behaviour always in loss at their working place.
3) Corporate culture does not understand business behaviour.
4) Both b) and c)
5) None of these

Answer & Explanation
Answer – 1)
Explanation : Profit maximization directly proportional to ethical behaviour.

Direction (Q. 6-8) : Choose the word which is most nearly the SAME in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage.

6. FIDUCIARY
1) Employee
2) Depositary
3) Guardian
4) Collector
5) Store keeper

Answer & Explanation
Answer – 2)
Explanation : Depositary

7. ESPIONAGE
1) Spying
2) Information
3) Reforms
4) Norms
5) Requirement

Answer & Explanation
Answer – 1)
Explanation : Spying

8. TORN DOWN
1) Restored
2) Solvent
3) Bulldoze
4) End
5) Demolish

Answer & Explanation
Answer – 5)
Explanation : Demolish

Direction (Q. 9-10) : Choose the word which is most OPPOSITE in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage.

9. WIND-UP
1) Start
2) Neglect
3) Conclude
4) Unsettled
5) Normalized

Answer & Explanation
Answer – 1)
Explanation : Start

10. BANKRUPT
1) Successful
2) Saved
3) Rich
4) Solvent
5) Complete

Answer & Explanation
Answer – 4)
Explanation : Solvent
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