In the following questions, you have 6 brief passages with five questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

The ease with which democratic Governments have given way to authoritarian regimes in one Asian country after another has made many persons ask in despair whether the parliamentary system based on the Western model is suited to underdeveloped countries. People who do not know how to read and write, they argue, can hardly know how to vote. Popular elections often bring incompetent men to the top, they contend, and the division of party spoils and breeds corruption. What is worse, the system of perpetual party warfare obstructs the business of Government.

They point to the dismal results of the last ten years. The pace of social and economic change has been far too slow and the Governments in most of the underdeveloped countries have failed to come to grip with the problems which face the people. What they say is no doubt true to some extent but it is pertinent to remember that every alternative to democracy, while it in no way guarantees greater integrity or efficiency in the administration, lacks even the saving merit of regimes which, based on the suffrage of the people, leave it to the people to find out, by trial and error, who is their best friend. The people can peacefully get rid of a democratic Government which has failed to keep its promise, they can overthrow a dictatorial regime only through a violent revolution. Those who feel sore over the ills from which democratic regimes suffer should be wary therefore suggesting a cure which is likely to undermine the democratic structure of the state. The people can at least raise their voice of protest against the injustices of a democratic Government; they can only suffer in silence the tyranny of a regime which is responsible to no one but itself.

Every alternative to democracy

• is based on the suffering of the people

• enables people to find out their best friend

• lacks the safeguard of being peacefully overthrown by the people if it does not fulfill its promises

• lacks the safeguard of being peacefully overthrown by the people if it does not fulfill its promises

In the following questions, you have 6 brief passages with five questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

The ease with which democratic Governments have given way to authoritarian regimes in one Asian country after another has made many persons ask in despair whether the parliamentary system based on the Western model is suited to underdeveloped countries. People who do not know how to read and write, they argue, can hardly know how to vote. Popular elections often bring incompetent men to the top, they contend, and the division of party spoils and breeds corruption. What is worse, the system of perpetual party warfare obstructs the business of Government.

They point to the dismal results of the last ten years. The pace of social and economic change has been far too slow and the Governments in most of the underdeveloped countries have failed to come to grip with the problems which face the people. What they say is no doubt true to some extent but it is pertinent to remember that every alternative to democracy, while it in no way guarantees greater integrity or efficiency in the administration, lacks even the saving merit of regimes which, based on the suffrage of the people, leave it to the people to find out, by trial and error, who is their best friend. The people can peacefully get rid of a democratic Government which has failed to keep its promise, they can overthrow a dictatorial regime only through a violent revolution. Those who feel sore over the ills from which democratic regimes suffer should be wary therefore suggesting a cure which is likely to undermine the democratic structure of the state. The people can at least raise their voice of protest against the injustices of a democratic Government; they can only suffer in silence the tyranny of a regime which is responsible to no one but itself.

A democratic form of Government is superior to a dictatorial one because

• it makes people protest in a raised voice

• people can protest against its injustices, and even overthrow it peacefully

• people can only suffer in silence

• people can only suffer in silence

In the following questions, you have 6 brief passages with five questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

When flowers bloom in the lush bamboo plantations in the hills of the northeast, the tribesmen are thrown into a state of panic. The rare phenomenon of the flowering of a dwarf-sized bamboo species triggers a boom in the rat population. They devour the crops in nearby farmlands. The result is famine.

The mauve-coloured flowers sprouting in the hill-slopes in the sprawling Seppavally in east
Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, are a palpable threat to the State Government. The worries are justified if the catastrophe caused by the flowering of a bamboo species named Mau in Mizoram in 1959 is anything to go by. Rodents had multiplied in millions during the flowering of bamboos and ravaged the crops in the foothills.

The flowering of the bamboo species in Arunachal Pradesh was first noticed in September this year. The depredations by the rats in the paddy, maize and miller fields from Bhalukpong on the Assam border to Seppa valley in the north were reported soon. As the agriculture department rushed its field-staff to the affected areas to fight the rampaging rodents with rat-traps and zinc phosphate, fresh alarms were sounded with flowering reported from the Tezu circle.

According to the local MLA, much of the crops in Kameng had been destroyed by October. The state Veterinary Minister also confirmed the reports of a near-famine condition in that inaccessible district. The rats, feeding on the flower seedlings, continue to multiply. Till today, 33,000 rats, of the 26 varieties in the State have been trapped with the help of indigenous devices. The Chief Minister has sent an SOS to the Centre for both supplies and expertise in combating the rat menace.

In the opening passage (2nd sentence) the phrase 'triggers a boom' means

• brings about a change

• causes an increase

• causes an upheaval

• causes an upheaval

In the following questions, you have 6 brief passages with five questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

When flowers bloom in the lush bamboo plantations in the hills of the northeast, the tribesmen are thrown into a state of panic. The rare phenomenon of the flowering of a dwarf-sized bamboo species triggers a boom in the rat population. They devour the crops in nearby farmlands. The result is famine.

The mauve-coloured flowers sprouting in the hill-slopes in the sprawling Seppavally in east
Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, are a palpable threat to the State Government. The worries are justified if the catastrophe caused by the flowering of a bamboo species named Mau in Mizoram in 1959 is anything to go by. Rodents had multiplied in millions during the flowering of bamboos and ravaged the crops in the foothills.

The flowering of the bamboo species in Arunachal Pradesh was first noticed in September this year. The depredations by the rats in the paddy, maize and miller fields from Bhalukpong on the Assam border to Seppa valley in the north were reported soon. As the agriculture department rushed its field-staff to the affected areas to fight the rampaging rodents with rat-traps and zinc phosphate, fresh alarms were sounded with flowering reported from the Tezu circle.

According to the local MLA, much of the crops in Kameng had been destroyed by October. The state Veterinary Minister also confirmed the reports of a near-famine condition in that inaccessible district. The rats, feeding on the flower seedlings, continue to multiply. Till today, 33,000 rats, of the 26 varieties in the State have been trapped with the help of indigenous devices. The Chief Minister has sent an SOS to the Centre for both supplies and expertise in combating the rat menace.

The destruction in Bhalukpong was reported, according to the passage

• in September

• in August

• in October

• in October

In the following questions, you have 6 brief passages with five questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

When flowers bloom in the lush bamboo plantations in the hills of the northeast, the tribesmen are thrown into a state of panic. The rare phenomenon of the flowering of a dwarf-sized bamboo species triggers a boom in the rat population. They devour the crops in nearby farmlands. The result is famine.

The mauve-coloured flowers sprouting in the hill-slopes in the sprawling Seppavally in east
Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, are a palpable threat to the State Government. The worries are justified if the catastrophe caused by the flowering of a bamboo species named Mau in Mizoram in 1959 is anything to go by. Rodents had multiplied in millions during the flowering of bamboos and ravaged the crops in the foothills.

The flowering of the bamboo species in Arunachal Pradesh was first noticed in September this year. The depredations by the rats in the paddy, maize and miller fields from Bhalukpong on the Assam border to Seppa valley in the north were reported soon. As the agriculture department rushed its field-staff to the affected areas to fight the rampaging rodents with rat-traps and zinc phosphate, fresh alarms were sounded with flowering reported from the Tezu circle.

According to the local MLA, much of the crops in Kameng had been destroyed by October. The state Veterinary Minister also confirmed the reports of a near-famine condition in that inaccessible district. The rats, feeding on the flower seedlings, continue to multiply. Till today, 33,000 rats, of the 26 varieties in the State have been trapped with the help of indigenous devices. The Chief Minister has sent an SOS to the Centre for both supplies and expertise in combating the rat menace.

A near-famine condition was reported

• in the Seppa valley

• in Kameng

• in the Tezu circle

• in the Tezu circle

In the following questions, you have 6 brief passages with five questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

When flowers bloom in the lush bamboo plantations in the hills of the northeast, the tribesmen are thrown into a state of panic. The rare phenomenon of the flowering of a dwarf-sized bamboo species triggers a boom in the rat population. They devour the crops in nearby farmlands. The result is famine.

The mauve-coloured flowers sprouting in the hill-slopes in the sprawling Seppavally in east
Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, are a palpable threat to the State Government. The worries are justified if the catastrophe caused by the flowering of a bamboo species named Mau in Mizoram in 1959 is anything to go by. Rodents had multiplied in millions during the flowering of bamboos and ravaged the crops in the foothills.

The flowering of the bamboo species in Arunachal Pradesh was first noticed in September this year. The depredations by the rats in the paddy, maize and miller fields from Bhalukpong on the Assam border to Seppa valley in the north were reported soon. As the agriculture department rushed its field-staff to the affected areas to fight the rampaging rodents with rat-traps and zinc phosphate, fresh alarms were sounded with flowering reported from the Tezu circle.

According to the local MLA, much of the crops in Kameng had been destroyed by October. The state Veterinary Minister also confirmed the reports of a near-famine condition in that inaccessible district. The rats, feeding on the flower seedlings, continue to multiply. Till today, 33,000 rats, of the 26 varieties in the State have been trapped with the help of indigenous devices. The Chief Minister has sent an SOS to the Centre for both supplies and expertise in combating the rat menace.

The flowering of the bamboo made the people

• cautious

• hungry

• anxious

• anxious

In the following questions, you have 6 brief passages with five questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

When flowers bloom in the lush bamboo plantations in the hills of the northeast, the tribesmen are thrown into a state of panic. The rare phenomenon of the flowering of a dwarf-sized bamboo species triggers a boom in the rat population. They devour the crops in nearby farmlands. The result is famine.

The mauve-coloured flowers sprouting in the hill-slopes in the sprawling Seppavally in east
Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, are a palpable threat to the State Government. The worries are justified if the catastrophe caused by the flowering of a bamboo species named Mau in Mizoram in 1959 is anything to go by. Rodents had multiplied in millions during the flowering of bamboos and ravaged the crops in the foothills.

The flowering of the bamboo species in Arunachal Pradesh was first noticed in September this year. The depredations by the rats in the paddy, maize and miller fields from Bhalukpong on the Assam border to Seppa valley in the north were reported soon. As the agriculture department rushed its field-staff to the affected areas to fight the rampaging rodents with rat-traps and zinc phosphate, fresh alarms were sounded with flowering reported from the Tezu circle.

According to the local MLA, much of the crops in Kameng had been destroyed by October. The state Veterinary Minister also confirmed the reports of a near-famine condition in that inaccessible district. The rats, feeding on the flower seedlings, continue to multiply. Till today, 33,000 rats, of the 26 varieties in the State have been trapped with the help of indigenous devices. The Chief Minister has sent an SOS to the Centre for both supplies and expertise in combating the rat menace.

What is the writer's attitude to the tribal people's problem?

• Sympathetic

• Critical

• Harsh

• Harsh

In the following questions, you have 6 brief passages with five questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

Nasiruddin was the cleverest man in Khorasan. One of his neighbours was a merchant. He was a great miser. One day the merchant saw Nasiruddin praying inside his house. He was praying in a loud voice asking God to be kind to him and send him 9999 dinars, not a dinar more, or a dinar less. If God sent him even one dinar more, he would return all the money. The merchant could not understand Nasiruddin's prayer. He decided to find out the truth. He put 10,000 dinars in a bag and threw it into Nasiruddin's house. Nasiruddin found the bag and counted the money carefully. He profusely thanked God for giving him 10,000 diners, when he had asked for only 9999 dinars. The merchant heard Nasuruddin. He realised that Nasiruddin was going to keep the money. He went to Nasiruddin's house. He called him a liar and demanded that his 10,000 dinars be returned to him. Nasiruddin refused. He claimed that he was not a fool to believe that anyone would throw away 10,000 dinars just to test someone's honesty. It was his money given by God in answer to his prayer. The merchant decided to take the matter to the judge. Nasiruddin said that he had no clean clothes to wear. The merchant gave him some of his own clothes to wear. Then they went to see the judge.

The merchant told the judge what had happened. Nasiruddin argued that the merchant was mad. Ever since he lost a lot of money a few months back, he had been talking like a mad man. The judge asked Nasiruddin whether he could prove his charge. He said, 'Just now he told you that I stole his money. Next he is going to tell you that these clothes which I am wearing are also his'. The merchant shouted angrily, 'Of course, these clothes are mine!'

The Judge thought for a few minutes. Then he said, 'The case is false. Nasiruddin has not stolen his neighbour's money. The merchant is mad. He should be sent to a mental hospital.'

Nasiruddin was praying in a loud voice because

• He wanted to show that he was the cleverest man in Khorasan

• He wanted to show that he was a holy man

• He wanted his neighbour to hear his prayer

• He wanted his neighbour to hear his prayer

In the following questions, you have 6 brief passages with five questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

Nasiruddin was the cleverest man in Khorasan. One of his neighbours was a merchant. He was a great miser. One day the merchant saw Nasiruddin praying inside his house. He was praying in a loud voice asking God to be kind to him and send him 9999 dinars, not a dinar more, or a dinar less. If God sent him even one dinar more, he would return all the money. The merchant could not understand Nasiruddin's prayer. He decided to find out the truth. He put 10,000 dinars in a bag and threw it into Nasiruddin's house. Nasiruddin found the bag and counted the money carefully. He profusely thanked God for giving him 10,000 diners, when he had asked for only 9999 dinars. The merchant heard Nasuruddin. He realised that Nasiruddin was going to keep the money. He went to Nasiruddin's house. He called him a liar and demanded that his 10,000 dinars be returned to him. Nasiruddin refused. He claimed that he was not a fool to believe that anyone would throw away 10,000 dinars just to test someone's honesty. It was his money given by God in answer to his prayer. The merchant decided to take the matter to the judge. Nasiruddin said that he had no clean clothes to wear. The merchant gave him some of his own clothes to wear. Then they went to see the judge.

The merchant told the judge what had happened. Nasiruddin argued that the merchant was mad. Ever since he lost a lot of money a few months back, he had been talking like a mad man. The judge asked Nasiruddin whether he could prove his charge. He said, 'Just now he told you that I stole his money. Next he is going to tell you that these clothes which I am wearing are also his'. The merchant shouted angrily, 'Of course, these clothes are mine!'

The Judge thought for a few minutes. Then he said, 'The case is false. Nasiruddin has not stolen his neighbour's money. The merchant is mad. He should be sent to a mental hospital.'

The merchant threw the bag of money into Nasiruddin's house because

• He was a miser

• He found Nasiruddin's prayer interesting

• He wanted to surprise Nasiruddin by helping him.

• He wanted to surprise Nasiruddin by helping him.

In the following questions, you have 6 brief passages with five questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

Nasiruddin was the cleverest man in Khorasan. One of his neighbours was a merchant. He was a great miser. One day the merchant saw Nasiruddin praying inside his house. He was praying in a loud voice asking God to be kind to him and send him 9999 dinars, not a dinar more, or a dinar less. If God sent him even one dinar more, he would return all the money. The merchant could not understand Nasiruddin's prayer. He decided to find out the truth. He put 10,000 dinars in a bag and threw it into Nasiruddin's house. Nasiruddin found the bag and counted the money carefully. He profusely thanked God for giving him 10,000 diners, when he had asked for only 9999 dinars. The merchant heard Nasuruddin. He realised that Nasiruddin was going to keep the money. He went to Nasiruddin's house. He called him a liar and demanded that his 10,000 dinars be returned to him. Nasiruddin refused. He claimed that he was not a fool to believe that anyone would throw away 10,000 dinars just to test someone's honesty. It was his money given by God in answer to his prayer. The merchant decided to take the matter to the judge. Nasiruddin said that he had no clean clothes to wear. The merchant gave him some of his own clothes to wear. Then they went to see the judge.

The merchant told the judge what had happened. Nasiruddin argued that the merchant was mad. Ever since he lost a lot of money a few months back, he had been talking like a mad man. The judge asked Nasiruddin whether he could prove his charge. He said, "Just now he told you that I stole his money. Next he is going to tell you that these clothes which I am wearing are also his." The merchant shouted angrily "Of course, these clothes are mine!"

The Judge thought for a few minutes. Then he said, "The case is false. Nasiruddin has not stolen his neighbour's money. The merchant is mad. He should be sent to a mental hospital."

When Nasiruddin found the bag of money he thought

• God had answered his prayer.

• Someone had been foolish enough to live the money by mistake.

• His neighbour had thrown it into his house to help him.

• His neighbour had thrown it into his house to help him.