Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

The giraffe is the tallest land mammal alive, its long legs and neck contributing to its impressive stature. Males can be up to 18ft (5.5m tall), females a little less.

In the wild, these beautiful creatures stretch their necks beyond those of antelope, kudu and even elephants to strip leaves from the untouched upper reaches of trees. The French zoologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck is usually credited as the first person to suggest that long necks have evolved in giraffes because they allow them to get to the parts other herbivores cannot reach.

As the giraffe lives "in places where the soil is nearly always arid and barren, it is obliged to browse on the leaves of trees and to make constant efforts to reach them," he wrote in his 1809 book ‘Philosophie Zoologique’. "From this habit long maintained in all its race, it has resulted that the animal's fore-legs have become longer than its hind legs, and that its neck is lengthened."

The English naturalist Charles Darwin also thought the giraffe's extraordinary legs and neck must have something to do with foraging. "The giraffe, by its lofty stature, much elongated neck, fore-legs, head and tongue, has its whole frame beautifully adapted for browsing on the higher branches of trees," he wrote in ‘On the Origin of Species’ in 1859. In short, giraffes' long necks are the result of generation upon generation of repeated stretching and inheritance.

During the dry season when feeding competition should be most intense giraffe generally feed from low shrubs, not tall trees. What's more, giraffes feed most often and faster with their necks bent

Male giraffes often fight for access to females, a ritual referred to as "necking". The rivals stand flank to flank, then start to whack each other with their heads. The top or back of the well-armoured skull is used as a club to strike the neck, chest, ribs, or legs of the opponent with a force capable of knocking a competitor off balance or unconscious. The largest males usually win these battles and do most of the breeding, says zoologist Anne Innis Dagg of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, who has been studying giraffes since the 1950s. "The other giraffes don't get much breeding opportunity." There is also evidence that females are more receptive to advances from larger males.

Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?

Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

The stark observation made in the Economic Survey of 2015-16 that “Indian agriculture, is in a way, a victim of its own past success – especially the green revolution”, shows the dark reality of the agriculture sector at present and the havoc that has been wreaked by the green revolution.

The green revolution, which is often characterised by the introduction of high-yielding variety of seeds and fertilisers, undoubtedly increased the productivity of land considerably. But the growth in the productivity has been stagnant in recent years, resulting in a significant decline in the income of farmers. There have also been negative environmental effects in the form of depleting water table, emission of greenhouse gases, and the contamination of surface and ground water. Needless to say, the agriculture sector is in a state of distress, which is severely affecting peasants and marginal farmers, and urgent policy interventions are required to protect their interests.

The government has responded to the problem by constituting a panel, which will recommend ways to double the income of farmers by 2022. While this may be an overtly ambitious target, if we want to boost stagnated agricultural growth a shift has to be made from food security of the nation to income security of the farmers. However, there are many hurdles that have to be crossed if we want to achieve this objective.

The first major barrier to overcome is declining productivity. Data from 2013 reveals that India’s average yield of cereal per hectare is far less than that of many countries (including several low income countries), but the difference is huge when compared to China. For instance, our average yield per hectare is 39% below than that of China and for rice this figure is 46%. Even Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia fare better than India in case of rice yield. Further, there is a huge inter-regional variation; the wheat and rice yield from Haryana and Punjab is much higher than from the other states.

In order to cross the declining productivity barrier there is a need to herald a rainbow revolution by making a shift from wheat-rice cycle to other cereals and pulses. Since wheat and rice coupled with other crops are backed by minimum support prices (MSP) and input subsidy (whether water, fertiliser or power) regime, there is a huge incentive for the farmers in the irrigated region of Northwest India to grow these crops.

What does the author suggest to enhance the income of the farmers?

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been highlighted for your attention.

Most people spend (on average) half of their day tapping away at their hand-held devices. Either, surfing the net or checking notifications. Facebook ranks the highest in all social networking platforms, followed by Twitter, Instagram and so forth.

Social media is addictive- which is why so many people are 'hooked'. Often referred to as Social networking addiction, this phrase is often used to describe someone who spends too much time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other channels. A blog post, Instagram post, tweet, or youtube video can be produced easily by anyone and shared, which can then be viewed by millions for free. Psychologists and scientists have now taken the time to study social media in terms of why they believe it interferes with aspects of our daily life. There is no official medical term that identifies addiction and social networking. It cannot be deemed as a disease or disorder as the cases are not severe and the habit can easily be maintained or prevented. Furthermore, instead of spending long periods of time on social media, we dip into and out of these sites all day long. We check for updates from friends and family as well as news and information. However, the behavior associated with the excessive use of these channels has become the subject of much public and sociological debate. We actively post, like, comment and share personal posts. Not only that, we tend to share and reshare expressions (of either negative or positive) contagiously. But, why?

Scientists believed some years ago that, dopamine was simply a pleasure chemical in the brain. Recent studies have shown that; dopamine actually produces the desire in people to 'want' by drawing out the need for us to -seek and search. Creating the ultimate drive to find what is that what we want.

Dopamine is spontaneous. It’s stimulated by unpredictability and small bits of information as well as reward cues which are the same conditions that social media presents to all users. In addition, the pull of dopamine is so strong that recent studies have shown that tweeting, for example, can be harder to resist than cigarettes and alcohol!

Researchers at Chicago University studied the effects of social media. They concluded quite quickly that people presented higher levels of addiction to social media than the need to smoke or drink. Media cravings ranked higher.

And, let’s not forget oxytocin, many call it the cuddle chemical because the brain releases pleasure chemicals that transpire usually when you kiss and hug- or tweet. It is also known as the hormone that builds the strong yet unique bond between mothers and their babies. Oxytocin is now regarded as the human stimulant of empathy, generosity, trust, and more. These are factors which many advertisers and marketers play on when promoting a brand or business over social media.

Nevertheless, problems have arisen most commonly with school kids - whereby mobile phone devices have been confiscated because exam results have fallen severely due to lack of attention on homework or studies. Schools in many westernized countries have had to take drastic action - banning smartphones, iPad and most portable devices from school premises- as it is claimed to be a huge distraction. Whereas, other schools use it for educational purposes and as a rewards system for their pupils.

Research has also indicated unsurprisingly that Facebook is the most common activity that university students switch to, when studying. Worryingly, it has also found that those who most engage in this type of internet browsing tend to have lower levels of educational achievement.

Also, there have been many cases of students posting or sharing content that is unethical, which has caused parents and academic institutions to limit the use of these online networking channels.

Which is the most common activity that university students switch to when studying?

Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

If you’re concerned that automation and artificial intelligence are going to disrupt the economy over the next decade, join the club. But while policymakers and academics agree there’ll be significant disruption, they differ about its impact.

On one hand, techno-pessimists argue that new forms of automation will displace most jobs without creating new ones. In other words, most of us will lose our jobs. On the flip side of the debate, techno-optimists contend that continued investments in education and research and development will offset the job losses and generate many new human tasks that complement AI.

Researchers have been studying jobs that involve digital skills for years to try to understand their merit. But what does it really mean for a job or skill to be “digital”?

In earlier research, all it meant was that a worker used a computer. Since nearly all workers use a PC today, we need a more refined definition of digital skills that takes into account how much a job depends on doing things like programming, crunching data in Excel spreadsheets and even using a smartphone.

In a particular research, a new way was created to measure digital or information technology skills in the labour market based on how frequently they’re used in an occupation. For example, how much time does a financial adviser spend analyzing data or an event planner use a computer?

It was found that workers in occupations that rank higher in IT industry earn more than demographically similar peers in other occupations – and that this earnings gap has been growing. Not only that, but it was also found something interesting on the impact of a college degree on the lifetime earnings of a person in IT industry. Historically, workers with a college degree have earned a lot more than peers without one. Even the level of the college makes a difference. Recent research has shown that this so-called college premium has been flattening. The main cause, according to the analysis, is that the college premium for occupations requiring fewer digital skills has been declining, while it has been rising for those we identified as digital jobs such as software developers, programmers and aerospace engineering. At least some of the flattening in the college premium is due to the increasing number of bachelor’s degrees that convey few skills that are valued in the marketplace.

Another research compares the measures of job quality – such as a sense of purpose, enjoyability and career advancement – with income, occupations and a range of demographic characteristics. It found that jobs that require greater interaction with technology tended to score higher in quality, particularly in terms of measures like career advancement.

The fact that these jobs not only pay more but also provide greater levels of employee satisfaction and engagement paints a more optimistic picture about the future of work. And that gives hope, particularly since the digital economy is growing at a pace nearly four times faster than the broader economy.

The key is making tomorrow’s jobs “robot-proof” by designing them in a way that takes advantage of the digital skills described above. And universities must play a big role in this by identifying what a good job looks like and ensuring future generations learn the necessary skills.

Which of the following is/are a reason for the flattening in the college premiums?

I. the college premium for occupations requiring fewer digital skills has been declining
II. the college premium for digital jobs such as software developers, programmers and aerospace engineering
III. the increasing number of bachelor’s degrees that convey few skills that are valued in the marketplace.

Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

If you’re concerned that automation and artificial intelligence are going to disrupt the economy over the next decade, join the club. But while policymakers and academics agree there’ll be significant disruption, they differ about its impact.

On one hand, techno-pessimists argue that new forms of automation will displace most jobs without creating new ones. In other words, most of us will lose our jobs. On the flip side of the debate, techno-optimists contend that continued investments in education and research and development will offset the job losses and generate many new human tasks that complement AI.

Researchers have been studying jobs that involve digital skills for years to try to understand their merit. But what does it really mean for a job or skill to be “digital”?

In earlier research, all it meant was that a worker used a computer. Since nearly all workers use a PC today, we need a more refined definition of digital skills that takes into account how much a job depends on doing things like programming, crunching data in Excel spreadsheets and even using a smartphone.

In a particular research, a new way was created to measure digital or information technology skills in the labour market based on how frequently they’re used in an occupation. For example, how much time does a financial adviser spend analyzing data or an event planner use a computer?

It was found that workers in occupations that rank higher in IT industry earn more than demographically similar peers in other occupations – and that this earnings gap has been growing. Not only that, but it was also found something interesting on the impact of a college degree on the lifetime earnings of a person in IT industry. Historically, workers with a college degree have earned a lot more than peers without one. Even the level of the college makes a difference. Recent research has shown that this so-called college premium has been flattening. The main cause, according to the analysis, is that the college premium for occupations requiring fewer digital skills has been declining, while it has been rising for those we identified as digital jobs such as software developers, programmers and aerospace engineering. At least some of the flattening in the college premium is due to the increasing number of bachelor’s degrees that convey few skills that are valued in the marketplace.

Another research compares the measures of job quality – such as a sense of purpose, enjoyability and career advancement – with income, occupations and a range of demographic characteristics. It found that jobs that require greater interaction with technology tended to score higher in quality, particularly in terms of measures like career advancement.

The fact that these jobs not only pay more but also provide greater levels of employee satisfaction and engagement paints a more optimistic picture about the future of work. And that gives hope, particularly since the digital economy is growing at a pace nearly four times faster than the broader economy.

The key is making tomorrow’s jobs “robot-proof” by designing them in a way that takes advantage of the digital skills described above. And universities must play a big role in this by identifying what a good job looks like and ensuring future generations learn the necessary skills.

 Which of the following is the MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the given word as used in the passage?
 Pace

Comprehension: Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

Since September, at least 25 people have died and thousands have been made homeless. Every state and territory in Australia has experienced fires this summer. But the biggest fires burn along stretches of the eastern and southern coast, where most of the population lives. This includes areas around Sydney and Adelaide. More than 6.3 million hectares (63,000 sq km or 15.6 million acres) have been burned so far – one hectare is roughly the size of a sports field. To put that in perspective, around 800,000 hectares were engulfed in a bush fire in 2018 in California. Australia has always experienced bushfires – it has a "fire season". But this year they are a lot worse than normal.

Fires are usually caused by lightning strikes or accidentally by a spark – but some fires are also started deliberately. This year, a natural weather phenomenon known as the ‘Indian Ocean Dipole’ has meant a hot, dry spell across the country. This year, Australia twice set a new temperature record: an average maximum of 41.9°C was recorded on 18 December. That comes on top of a long period of drought.

Scientists have long warned that this hotter, drier climate will contribute to fires becoming more frequent and more intense. The more extreme weather patterns and higher temperatures increase the risk of bushfires and allow them to spread faster and wider. Fire fighters are spraying water and fire retardant from planes and helicopters as well as from the ground. But fighting bush fires is extremely difficult and often authorities have to focus on just stopping the spread, rather than putting the fire out. The spread can for instance be best contained by digging earth boundaries to stop the flames from spreading. The priority is saving lives.

Professional fire fighters are the first in line to battle the flames, but they are outnumbered by the thousands of volunteers. Three of them have died. There's also help coming from abroad: the US, Canada and New Zealand have sent fire fighters to help. Australia's police, military and navy are involved in rescue and evacuation efforts. While people can flee the fires and are being evacuated if need be, the flames are devastating wildlife in the affected areas. One study estimated that half a billion animals have died in New South Wales alone.

Zookeepers take animals home to save them from fire, but the fires don't only kill animals directly, they also destroy the habitat, leaving the survivors vulnerable even when the fires have gone. So the true scale of loss isn't yet clear. Experts say more than 100,000 cows and sheep may also have been lost, which is devastating for farmers.

Each state runs its own emergency operation, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised better funding for fire-fighting and payouts for volunteer fire fighters, and an additional A$2billion ($1.4billion; £1billion) for the recovery. But the national government has come under strong criticism from its opponents that it has not been doing enough against climate change. The country is one of the world's biggest per capita greenhouse gas emitters but under international agreements it has committed itself to reduction targets

What is the long lasting damage that the bush fires have caused to the wildlife in Australia?

Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

The stark observation made in the Economic Survey of 2015-16 that “Indian agriculture, is in a way, a victim of its own past success – especially the green revolution”, shows the dark reality of the agriculture sector at present and the havoc that has been wreaked by the green revolution.

The green revolution, which is often characterised by the introduction of high-yielding variety of seeds and fertilisers, undoubtedly increased the productivity of land considerably. But the growth in the productivity has been stagnant in recent years, resulting in a significant decline in the income of farmers. There have also been negative environmental effects in the form of depleting water table, emission of greenhouse gases, and the contamination of surface and ground water. Needless to say, the agriculture sector is in a state of distress, which is severely affecting peasants and marginal farmers, and urgent policy interventions are required to protect their interests.

The government has responded to the problem by constituting a panel, which will recommend ways to double the income of farmers by 2022. While this may be an overtly ambitious target, if we want to boost stagnated agricultural growth a shift has to be made from food security of the nation to income security of the farmers. However, there are many hurdles that have to be crossed if we want to achieve this objective.

The first major barrier to overcome is declining productivity. Data from 2013 reveals that India’s average yield of cereal per hectare is far less than that of many countries (including several low income countries), but the difference is huge when compared to China. For instance, our average yield per hectare is 39% below than that of China and for rice this figure is 46%. Even Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia fare better than India in case of rice yield. Further, there is a huge inter-regional variation; the wheat and rice yield from Haryana and Punjab is much higher than from the other states.

In order to cross the declining productivity barrier there is a need to herald a rainbow revolution by making a shift from wheat-rice cycle to other cereals and pulses. Since wheat and rice coupled with other crops are backed by minimum support prices (MSP) and input subsidy (whether water, fertiliser or power) regime, there is a huge incentive for the farmers in the irrigated region of Northwest India to grow these crops.

As per the passage, which country has the highest yield of rice per hectare?

Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

The giraffe is the tallest land mammal alive, its long legs and neck contributing to its impressive stature. Males can be up to 18ft (5.5m tall), females a little less.

In the wild, these beautiful creatures stretch their necks beyond those of antelope, kudu and even elephants to strip leaves from the untouched upper reaches of trees. The French zoologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck is usually credited as the first person to suggest that long necks have evolved in giraffes because they allow them to get to the parts other herbivores cannot reach.

As the giraffe lives "in places where the soil is nearly always arid and barren, it is obliged to browse on the leaves of trees and to make constant efforts to reach them," he wrote in his 1809 book ‘Philosophie Zoologique’. "From this habit long maintained in all its race, it has resulted that the animal's fore-legs have become longer than its hind legs, and that its neck is lengthened."

The English naturalist Charles Darwin also thought the giraffe's extraordinary legs and neck must have something to do with foraging. "The giraffe, by its lofty stature, much elongated neck, fore-legs, head and tongue, has its whole frame beautifully adapted for browsing on the higher branches of trees," he wrote in ‘On the Origin of Species’ in 1859. In short, giraffes' long necks are the result of generation upon generation of repeated stretching and inheritance.

During the dry season when feeding competition should be most intense giraffe generally feed from low shrubs, not tall trees. What's more, giraffes feed most often and faster with their necks bent

Male giraffes often fight for access to females, a ritual referred to as "necking". The rivals stand flank to flank, then start to whack each other with their heads. The top or back of the well-armoured skull is used as a club to strike the neck, chest, ribs, or legs of the opponent with a force capable of knocking a competitor off balance or unconscious. The largest males usually win these battles and do most of the breeding, says zoologist Anne Innis Dagg of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, who has been studying giraffes since the 1950s. "The other giraffes don't get much breeding opportunity." There is also evidence that females are more receptive to advances from larger males.

According to the passage, ‘necking’ is the: