Why Comprehension Matters in Prelims GS Paper 2?
Comprehension is not just about reading and understanding texts; it is about extracting essential information, discerning the author’s intent, and making logical inferences. In GS Paper 2, this skill is paramount for several reasons:
- Interpreting Government Documents.
- Analysing Legal Provisions
- Understanding Socio-Political Issues
Tips for Mastering Comprehension
- Read Activelyby highlighting key points and make notes if necessary.
- Understand Contextand how it relates to the subject matter being tested in GS Paper 2?
- Identify Key Information: Look for answers to specific questions, such as who, what, when, where, and why, within the passage.
- Practice Regularly:Practice solving comprehension passages from various sources, including newspapers, legal texts, and government reports, to enhance your skills.
- Time Management: Manage your time efficiently during the examination. Don’t spend too much time on a single passage; move on if you’re stuck and come back to it later.
QUESTIONS ON COMPREHENSION WITH ANSWERS
DIRECTIONS
Read the following passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.
Passage 1
A country under foreign domination seeks escape from the present in dreams of a vanished age and finds consolation in visions of which many of that is a foolish and dangerous pastime in which of us indulge. An equally questionable practice for us in India is to imagine that we are still spiritually great though we have come down in the world or other respects. Spiritual or any other greatness cannot be founded on a lack of freedom and opportunity or on starvation and misery. Many Western writers have encouraged the notion that Indians are other-worldly. I suppose the poor and unfortunate in every country become to some extent other-worldly, unless they become revolutionaries, for this world is evidently not meant for them. So, also subject people. As a man grows to maturity he is not entirely engrossed in or satisfied with, the external objective world. He seeks also some inner meaning, some Psychological and Physical satisfaction. So, also with peoples and civilisations as they mature and grow adult.Every civilisation and every people exhibit these parallel streams of an external life and an internal life. Where they meet or keep close to each other, there is an equilibrium and stability. When they diverge conflict arises and the crises that torture the mind and spirit.
Q1. The passage mentions that ‘this world is evidently not meant for them. It refers to people who
- seek freedom from foreign domination
- live in starvation and misery
- become revolutionaries.
- 1 and 2
- Only 2
- 2 and 3
- Only 3
- The objective of inclusive growth was laid down by the founding fathers of the nation.
- Need of the hour is to have an enabling Government.
- The Government should engage in maximum interference in market processes.
- There is a need to change the size of the Government.
- 1 and 2
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 4 only
- 1, 2, 3 and 4
- Increasing the regulations over the manufacturing sector
- Controlling the distribution of manufacturing goods.
- Delivery of the basic services to the deprived sections of the society.
- A large bureaucracy.
- Implementation of welfare programmes through representatives.
- Creating an ethos that helps individual enterprise
- Providing resources to those who are underprivileged.
- Offering direct help to the poor regarding basic services.
- 1, 2 and 3 only
- 4 and 5 only
- 3, 4 and 5 only
- 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
- To weaken India’s position in the region
- To maintain the status quo
- To strengthen India’s position in the region
- To focus on economic cooperation
- A society where diverse art forms and literary writings seek incentive.
- A society where social inequalities are accepted as the norm.
- A society where a large number of contradictions are recognised.
- A society where the exploited and the oppressed groups grow conscious of their human rights and upliftment.
- 1, 2 and 3
- 4 only
- 3 and 4
- 2 and 4
- Aggressiveness and being incendiary.
- Instigation by external forces.
- Quest for social equality and individual freedom.
- Urge for granting privileges and self-respect to disparaged sections of the society.
- 1and 3
- 2 and 4 only
- 3 and 4
- 1, 2, 3 and 4
- Spiritual fulfilment
- Aesthetic enjoyment
- Potable fresh water
- Production of food and fibre
- Biodiversity
- 1, 2 and 3
- 2, 4 and 5 only
- 3 and 5 only
- 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
- The rapid expansion of population has adversely affected some people.
- Sufficient efforts have not been made to increase the production of food and fibre.
- In the short term some people may be harmed, but in the long term everyone will benefit from modifications In the Earth's ecosystems.
- 1 only
- 2 only
- 1 and 3 only
- None of the statements given above
- It is imperative to modify the Earth's ecosystems for the well-being of mankind.
- Technology can never replace all the goods and services provided by ecosystems.
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
Ans. (b)
The passage indicates that “this world” refers to those who live in starvation and misery, encompassing the poor and unfortunate individuals in every country. It terms the marginalized and impoverished as “other-worldly,” implying that the current societal structure is not suited for their well-being.
Passage 2
For achieving inclusive growth there is a critical need to rethink the role of the State. The early debate among economists about the size of the government can be misleading. The need of the hour is to have an enabling Government. India is too large and complex a nation for the State to be able to deliver all that is needed. Asking the Government to produce all the essential goods, create all the necessary jobs, and keep a curb on the prices of all goods is to lead to a large cumbersome bureaucracy and widespread corruption. The aim must be to stay with the objective of inclusive growth that was laid down by the founding fathers of the nation and also to take a more modern view of what the State can realistically deliver. This is what leads to the idea of an enabling State, that is, a Government that does not try to directly deliver to the citizens everything that they need. Instead, it (1) creates an enabling ethos for the market so that individual enterprises can flourish and citizens can, for the most part, provide for the needs of one another, and (2) steps in to help those who do not manage to do well for themselves, for there will always be individuals, no matter what the system, who need support and help. Hence, we need a government that, when it comes to the market, sets effective, incentive-compatible rules and remains on the sidelines with minimal interference, and, at the same time, plays an important role in directly helping the poor by ensuring that they get basic education and health services and receive adequate nutrition and food.
Q1. According to passage:
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
Ans. (a)
All correct statements have been explicitly mentioned in the passage.
Q2. According to the passage, the strategy of inclusive growth can be effected by focusing on
Ans. (c)
The last paragraph clearly states that the government that focuses on the basic services that must be delivered to the deprived sections of the society promotes effective inclusive growth. Others are out of context.
Q3. What constitutes an enabling Government?
Select the correct answer from the codes given below :
Ans. (C)
Passage 3
In recent international developments, India signed a strategic partnership agreement with Country X to enhance cooperation in the defence and security sectors. This move is expected to strengthen India’s position in the region.
Q1. According to the passage, what is the expected outcome of India’s strategic partnership agreement with Country X?
Ans. (C)
Passage 4
The concept of 'creative society' refers to a phase of development of a society in which a large number of potential contradictions become articulate and active. This is most evident when oppressed social groups get politically mobilised and demand their rights. The upsurge of the peasants and tribals, the movements for regional autonomy and self-determination, the environmental movements, and the women's movements in the developing countries are signs of emergence of creative society in contemporary times. The forms of social movements and their intensity may vary from country to country and place to place within a country. But the very presence of movements for social transformation in various spheres of a society indicates the emergence of a creative society in a country.
Q1. What does the author imply by "creative society"?
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
Ans. (C)
Q2. What according to the passage are the manifestations of social movements?
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
Ans. (C)
Work by elimination first. So 1 and 2 are of course, not correct as they don’t find a mention in the passage.Hence, the answer has to be (c).
Passage 5
Ecosystems provide people with a variety of goods and services; food, clean water, clean air, flood control, soil stabilization, pollination, climate regulation, spiritual fulfilment and aesthetic enjoyment, to name just a few. Most of these benefits either are irreplaceable or the technology necessary to replace them is prohibitively expensive. For example, potable fresh water can be provided by desalinating sea-water, but only at a great cost. The rapidly expanding human population has greatly modified the Earth's ecosystems to meet their increased requirements of some of goods and services, particularly food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel. These modifications have contributed substantially to human well being and economic development. The benefits have not been equally distributed. Some people have actually been harmed by these changes. Moreover, short-term increases in some ecosystem goods and services have come at the cost of the long-term degradation of others. For example, efforts to increase the production of food and fibre have decreased the ability of some ecosystems to provide clean water, regulate flooding and support biodiversity.
Q1. With reference to the passage, consider the following statements . Expanding human' population has an adverse effect on:
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Ans. (C)
Look at the paragraph – “For example, efforts to increase the production of food and fibre have decreased the ability of some ecosystems to provide clean water, regulate flooding and support biodiversity.” Only this has been mentioned as the adverse effects. Others have been mentioned as services provided by ecosystem to humans.
Q2. The passage mentions that "some people have actually been harmed by these changes." What does it imply?
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Ans. (A)
“The benefits have not been equally distributed. Some people have actually been harmed by these changes.” – this paragraph answers the question. The other two statements are the opposite of what the passage mentions.
Q3. With reference to the passage, consider the following statements:
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Ans. (B)
“The rapidly expanding human population has greatly modified the Earth's ecosystems to meet their increased requirements of some of the goods and services, particularly food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel. These modifications have contributed substantially to human well-being and economic development”. So statement 1 is the opposite of the problem stated in the passage. Moreover, the technology required to replace ecosystem services will be prohibitively expensive, so statement 2 is correct.
