IAS Prelims Sample Test By S.K. Mishra, IAS (Retd.) & Manoj K. Jha GENERAL STUDIES PAPER- II Time Allowed: Two Hours Maximum Marks: 200 INSTRUCTIONS 1. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE EXAMINATION, YOU SHOULD CHECK THAT THIS TEST BOOKLET DOES NOT HAVE ANY UNPRINTED OR TORN OR MISSING PAGES OR ITEMS, ETC. IF SO, GET IT REPLACED BY A COMPLETE TEST BOOKLET. 2. ENCODE CLEARLY THE TEST BOOKLET SET NUMBER IN THE APPROPRIATE PLACE IN THE ANSWER SHEET. 3. You have to enter your Roll Number on the test Booklet in the Box provided alongside. DO NOT write anything else on the Test Booklet. 4. This Test Booklet contains 80 items (questions). Each item is printed in English only. Each item comprises four responses (answers). You will select the response which you want to mark on the Answer Sheet. In case you feel that there is more than one correct response, mark the response which you consider the best. In any case, choose ONLY ONE response for each item. More than one response will be treated as wrong answer. 5. In case you find any discrepancy in this test booklet in any question(s) or the Responses; a written representation explaining the details of such alleged discrepancy, be submitted within three days, indicating the Question No(s) and the Test Booklet Series, in which the discrepancy is alleged. Representation not received within time shall not be entertained at all. 6. You have to mark all your responses ONLY on the separate Answer Sheet provided. 7. All items carry equal marks. 8. For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate, one third (-0.33 %) of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty. There will be no penalty for a question which is left blank. 9. Before you proceed to mark in the Response Sheet, the response to various items in the Test Booklet, you have to fill in some particulars in the Response Sheet as per instructions sent to you with your Admit Card and Instructions. 10. While writing Name and Roll No. on the top of the Response Sheet in appropriate boxes use "ONLY BLACK BALL POINT PEN". 11. After you have completed filling in all your responses on the Response Sheet and the examination has concluded, you should hand over to the Invigilator only the Response Sheet. You are permitted to take away with you the Test Booklet.I 9953595114 Head Off: Rajender Nagar Off No. 06 Ist Floor, Apsara Arcade, Karol Bagh, New Delhi-5 www.facebook.com/iasscore Website:iasscore.in Passage I OR About twothird of the illiterate adults in the world are females. As the world works to implement the goals of Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Women's literacy occupy a place of importance. The United Nation's Literacy Decade (UNLD 200312) provides a special focus for enhanced collective endeavors and is a chance that must not be lost. In his book "Development as Freedom", Amartya Sen observes repeatedly that expansion of literacy specially female literacy, has a positive effect on basic aspirations such as life expectancy and political voice. It is at this level, the discrimination is conceived putting a stop to her Education and Development. The neglect of education during colonial times combined with social distortions had made the quest for learning a rather difficult task especially for those belonging to under privileged social groups mainly SCs/STs and women. The problem of illiteracy was further aggravated by social constraints, which inhibit female literacy and educational development of women. Gender inequality is one of the most crucial and yet one of the most persistent disparities in India where differences in female and male literacy rates are glaring, more so in the rural areas and among the disadvantaged sections of society. The growth rate for female literacy in the last decade has been 3% higher than the growth rate for male literacy resulting in a decline in the absolute numbers of illiterate women from 200.7 million in 1991 to 190 million in 2001. Gender differential in education, however, continues to be high at 21.7%. This can be attributed to a number of factors lack of access to schools, lack of toilets and drinking water, parents feeling insecure about sending girl children, poor quality of education in government schools, and high fees charged by the private ones. E Directions for question 1 to 3: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Your answers to these questions should be based on the passage only. GS SC There is a growing sense of momentum and recognition globally around literacy in general and Women's Literacy in particular. The global commitment to overcome illiteracy or reducing the imbalance between the literates and illiterates is clearly endorsed by the UN Literacy decade (2003 2012) and by the report on the World Social Situation (2005). Governments are engaged and a lot has been done in this area. The millennium development goals (MDG) have added an additional spur to action. Failure to address this illiteracy predicament will impede the Human Resource Development. Literacy is both an Indicator and an Instrument of development, and its attainment is a major factor behind accumulation of Human Capital. Education in general and mass literacy in particular, is a key contributor to Human Resource Development and is thus basic to any programme of Social and Economic progress. The Gender Achievements and Prospects in Education report (GAP, 2005) quotes "Illiteracy is a catastrophe for any child, but particularly devastating for girls. Girls who are denied education are more vulnerable to poverty, hunger, violence, abuse, exploitation, trafficking, HIV/AIDS and other diseases and maternal mortality. If they become mothers, there is a greater chance that they will bequeath literacy and poverty to the next generation." 2 According to the Census of India 2001, the female literacy rate increased from 39.29 per cent in 1991 to 54.16 in 2001 (i.e. by 14.87 percentage points): whereas, in case of males it increased from 64.13 percent to 75.85 per cent (i.e. by 11.69 percentage points) during the same period. It means female literacy in the last 10 years has grown at a faster rate then the male literacy rate. This has resulted in narrowing down of the gender gap in literacy rate from 24.84 in 1991 to 21.69 percentage points in 2001. 1. According to the passage what has been the main reason that has made the quest for learning a difficult task? (a) The neglect of education during colonial times combined with social distortions. (b) The neglect of education since independence as this has been the area where the budget allocation has always been less. (c) Only the social distortions that has lead to learning being a difficult task. (d) Gender differential in education. 2. According to the passage what are the main factors for Gender Differentials in Education? 1. Lack of access to schools 2. Parents feeling insecure about sending girl children. IAS TEST SERIES 2014 4. Teacher's lack of interest in teaching the girl child. Select the correct code: (a) Only 1 (b) Only 1 & 2 (c) Only 1, 2 & 3 (d) All of the above 3. Failure to address this illiteracy predicament will impede the development of …? (a) Human Resource. (d) World Social Situation. Directions for question 4 to 8: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Your answers to these questions should be based on the passage only. SC Passage II GS "Public service delivery is an integral component for achieving growth oriented governance. Citizen centricity with the aim of ensuring citizens' welfare and satisfaction is critical for any governmentlocal, state or nationalwhich aims to provide good governance. India has an elaborate legal framework and institutional structures underpinned by the Constitutionarticulated vision of a welfare state and by implication, provide for creation of a citizen centric governance structure. The average citizen is concerned less with the convolutions of governance and politics, or the myriad structures and levels of government departments than with obtaining rapid and equitable access to government services, whether regulatory or developmental or welfare oriented, preferably at his doorstep. Therefore, stability, transparency, efficiency and continuity in the governance systems that the citizens are most immediately concerned with, is so necessary. That is why, our priority in India must be to place the citizen at the centre of a modern public administration. India is a developing country and there are special requirements of them. It is through public service that inclusive and sustainable economic development can be achieved. The Government is responsible both for accelerating the pace of growth and also for making the growth process inclusive. The former calls for economic modernization and liberalisation, IAS TEST SERIES 2014 4. According to the passage: (i) The average person is more concerned about the corruption free administration than anything else. (ii) The Indian Constitution has provided a machinery which enables the goal of a welfare state. (iii) Inclusive growth can only be achieved in India if local, state and national governments work in perfect coordination. (iv) In order to have growth process inclusive, public delivery system requires priority. OR (b) The millennium development goals (MDG). (c) The Gender Achievements and Prospects in Education. for making government less intrusive and more transparent. The latter calls for greater attention being paid to public service delivery systems, in areas like education, healthcare urban and rural infrastructure and services and employment generation." E 3. Poor quality of education in government schools. Which of the statements given above are correct? (a) (ii) and (iii) only (b) (ii) and (iv) only (c) (iii) and (iv) only (d) (i) and (ii) only 5. According to the passage, good governance will require: (a) Citizen's welfare and satisfaction. (b) Education, healthcare, urban and rural infrastructure and services and employment generation. (c) Stability, transparency, efficiency and continuity in the governance system. (d) Good public service along with inclusive and sustainable economic development. 6. Government is duty bound for accelerating the pace of growth. This can be achieved by: (i) Modernising the economy, ensuring deregulation, delicensing, etc. (ii) By ensuring privatization and making the system opaque. (iii) By making government bare minimum noticeable. (iv) By making government more open and accountable. Select the correct answer from the code given below: (a) (i) and (ii) only (b) (i) and (iii) only (c) (ii) and (iii) only (d) (i) and (iv) only 3 (a) Ensuring inclusive growth satisfaction of the citizen. for the (b) Ensuring education, healthcare, urban and rural infrastructure. (c) Sustainable development with centrality of the common people. (d) Public service delivery ensuring peoples' satisfaction. Six friends went on a vacation to a hill station. They are to be accommodated in a row of nine cottages, numbered 1 to 9 from left. Each of them is assigned only one Cottage. Mohan, Tanya and Roma do not want to live in a cottage at the end of a row. Babu and Mohan must not have anybody adjacent to their cottages. There is only an empty cottage between Mohan and Roma. Chander is adjacent to both Jayanthi and Roma. Tanya is next to the cottage at the beginning. OR 8. According to the passage, the average citizen is least interested to understand the hierarchical structure and mystical shape of government, rather more interested to know the outcome and quick service delivery. Of the following, which conveys his feelings? Directions for questions 10 to 13: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below: E 7. What essential message does the author want to convey through the passage? (b) People are fed up with the formal structure and politician's role. In fact they expect the government machinery to act fast and ensure speedy justice at their doorstep. GS (c) People have nothing to do with extremely large structure of the government which is complicated and difficult to comprehend. What they require is enabling governance that should facilitate all their requirements. (d) People hardly bother what the rules and acts say and who are authorities, who have to act, they are more concerned with obtaining rapid and equitable services in a time bound manner. 9. Two positions of a dice are shown below: (a) Roma (b) Babu (c) Mohan (d) Tanya 11. Which cottages are empty? SC (a) People are least concerned with long list of rules and regulations and in govt., rather they require quick redressal of their grievances. 10. Who has empty cottages in both sides? (a) 1, 6, 8 (b) 1, 5, 8 (c) 4, 5, 6 (d) 5, 6, 8 12. Who is in the third cottage? (a) Jayanthi (b) Chander (c) Nobody (d) Roma 13. What is the maximum number of consecutive cottages that are occupied? (a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 1 (d) 4 14. Four friends P, Q, R and S go to four different movies Predator, MI2, True Lies and Tarzan in four different theatres A, B, C and D. It is known that: 1. P did not go to A or B nor did he see MI 2 or True Lies. 2. S went to C but did not watch MI2 or Predator. 3. Q did not go to B but watched MI2 4. R did not watch any movie starting with letter 'T'. Which of the following is incorrect? 4 When three (3) dots are at the top, how many will be at the bottom? (a) P went to D and did not watch Predator. (a) 1 (b) 2 (c) R went to B and watched Predator. (c) 4 (d) 5 (d) S went to C and watched Tarzan. (b) Q went to A and Watched MI2. IAS TEST SERIES 2014 Directions for question 15 to 18: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Your answers to these questions should be based on the passage only. The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the entire surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connections everywhere, Passage III 15. Which of the assumptions are correct as per the passage? 2. Bourgeoise has altered social relationships. Select the correct code: (a) Only Assumption 1 is correct. SC OR The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his ‘natural superiors’, and has left no other nexus between man and man than naked selfinterest, than callous ‘cash payment’. It has drowned out the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervour, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom—Free Trade. In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation. 1. Bourgeoise (capitalist) causes a constant change in the means and processes of production. E The bourgeoisie, historically, has played the most revolutionary part. GS The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honoured and looked up to with reverent awe. It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage labourers. The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced family relations into a mere money relation. The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionising the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society. Conservation of the old modes of production in unaltered form, was, on the contrary, the first condition of existence for all earlier industrial classes. Constant revolutionising of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainty and agitation distinguish the bourgeoise epoch from all earlier ones. All fixed, fast frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all newformed ones become antiquated before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real condition of life and his relations with his kind. IAS TEST SERIES 2014 (b) Only Assumption 2 is correct. (c) Both Assumptions 1 and 2 are correct. (d) Neither Assumption 1 nor 2 is correct. 16. What is the revolutionary part, which the author refers to, which the bourgeoise has played? (a) It has transferred the social powers from the serbs to the feudal class. (b) It has contributed to funding of revolutions and consequent change of power. (c) It has made monetary interest the focal point of relationship between individuals and society. (d) It has brought radical change in the means of production. 17. Which one of the following is correct interpretation of the views of the author? 1. Free trade has ended the exploitation earlier carried out in the garb of religious and political beliefs. 2. Bourgeoise has brought a degree of honour to the paid wage labourers as it has freed them from the clutches of feudalism and guildship, to earn money directly for themselves. Select the correct code: (a) Only Interpretation 1 is correct. (b) Only Interpretation 2 is correct. (c) Both Interpretations 1 and 2 are correct. (d) Neither Interpretation 1 nor 2 is correct. 5 1. Bourgeoise had to change the means and tools of production to cater to the rising demand of expanding market, thereby bringing in social changes. 2. Bourgeoise had to break the shackles of guilds to wrest control over means of production and the market. This brought change in social relations. 3. The bourgeoise were resentful of the old means of production, which did not have space for them. Select the correct code: (a) 1, 2, 3, 4 (d) Only 4 GS 19. 4 men and 6 boys can do a piece of work in 12 days. 6 men and 15 boys can do the same work in 6 days. In how much time can 2 men and 15 boys complete double the same work? (a) 16 days (b) 24 days (c) 36 days (d) None of these 20. If 4%of the total births result in twins, then what percentage of infants are twins? (Assuming that there are no infant deaths). (a) less than 4% (b) 4% (c) 7.7% (d) Cannot be determined 21. Two brothers Dharma and Bhim have two sons each. Ram and Laxman are the sons of Dharma whose ages are in the ratio 9 : 8 respectively. Bharat and Sharat are the sons of Bhim whose ages are in the ratio of 7 : 6. After seven years Ram is elder than Sharat by 24 years. Given that the ages of Ram, Laxman, Bharat and Sharat are in A.P. Find the sum of the present ages of Laxman and Bharat? (a) 32 years (b) 48 years (c) 120 years (d) 64 years 6 (b) 50 (c) 30 (d) 20 23. Two friends Ram and Rahim started from two places A and B towards B and A respectively at 11:40 a.m. The speeds of Ram and Rahim are in the ratio 3 : 4. They meet at C (in between A and B) spent some time together and both started towards their destination at 12:40 p.m. If Ram reached B at 1: 44 p.m. how much time did they spend together? SC (b) 1, 2 & 4 (c) Only 1 & 4 (a) 40 OR 4. The bourgeoise value only money and profit, which ushered in a culture of value of money over relationships thus changing the social relations. 22. A certain hostel block has ten times as many rooms as there are floors in it and each floor contains equal number of single occupancy rooms. When 5 persons came to know that 10% of the rooms in the block were unoccupied they applied for accommodation and one of them was rejected accommodation because the block was full after the accommodation was provided to the other four. Find the total number of rooms in the block. E 18. Why did the bourgeoise bring about a change in relations in the society? (a) 18 minutes (b) 16 minutes (c) 12 minutes (d) Cannot be determined 24. A train of length L overtakes a cyclist travelling in the same direction in 20s. It travels for 15 minutes from the time it starts overtaking the above cyclist before it starts overtaking a second cyclist coming in the opposite direction in 18s. In how many seconds after the train has crossed the second cyclist do the two cyclists meet each other? (a) 8750 s (b) 8962 s (c) 8982 s (d) Cannot be determined 25 If a person can buy at 20% less than usual and sell at 10% more than usual his profit increases by 33% of the usual cost price. Find the initial profit percentage. (a) 15% (b) 33% (c) 20% (d) Cannot be determined IAS TEST SERIES 2014 1. Media plays a passive role in the growth of the people in general. 2. Media does help the government by informing the people about various achievements of government. 3. Media has become very important also because it has become a link between the government and citizens. Choose the correct answer from following codes: (a) All 1, 2, 3 (b) Only 1 & 2 (c) Only 2 & 3 (d) Only 1 & 3 OR 27. Two vessels contain mixtures of water and milk in the ratio of 3 : 5 and 5 : 3. Find the ratio in which they should be mixed to obtain a mixture that has water and milk in the ratio of 1 : 1. (a) 1 : 1 (b) 1 : 3 (c) 2 : 1 (d) 1 : 2 29. Consider the following statements based on the passage. E 26. A 50 litres jar is filled with the finest wine. There are two measuring jars of 5 litres and 3 litre capacities each without any calibration. A quantity of 4 litres is to be given to a customer using the jars. What is the least number of operations required to measure exactly 4 litres. An operation is said to be complete every time an amount of wine is transferred from one jar to another. (a) 5 (b) 6 (c) 7 (d) 8 SC 28. 7 coins are thrown simultaneously. What is the probability of getting more number of heads than tails (a) 1/3 (b) 1/4 (c) 1/2 (d) 1/7 Directions for question 29 to 32: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Your answers to these questions should be based on the passage only. GS Passage IV In democratic systems of governance, media enjoys a very high status because of its role as a watchdog over the three pillars of democracy the legislature, the judiciary and the executive. The media also plays another important role, that of an intermediary between the government and the people. In this role, the media becomes the purveyor of information, facilitator, exposer, aggregator of people's opinions and people's advocate. It informs people of the government's good work; it reports on achievements as well as failings of the public delivery systems; it analyses social, economic and political issues; generates and supports debate on government initiatives and policies; provides feedback on public perception of an elected government's performance; and so on. It also helps nongovernmental actors in the society; communicate with the people and the government. By doing so, the media acts as an active participant in the socioeconomic development of the nation. IAS TEST SERIES 2014 30. What the author means by 'failings of the public delivery systems'. 1. Poor functioning and supervision of fair price shops. 2. Poor municipal services. 3. High level of pollution. 4. Poor railway services. Choose the correct answer from code given below: (a) Only 1 & 2 (c) Only 2, 3 & 4 (b) Only 1, 2 & 4 (d) All 1, 2, 3 & 4 31. What is your understanding about the term 'aggregator of people's opinion'? 1. The media collects people's opinion, compiles it and brings into the notice of all concerned. 2. The media scans people's opinion and selectively projects before concerned authorities. Choose the correct answer from code given below: (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 & 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 32. According to passage what is not being done by media. (a) It provides an assessment of people's opinion about policies of government. (b) It facilitates citizen group's communication with government functionaries and with people. 7 (c) People come to know about various good works done by government. (d) Media helps the government in implementation of its various schemes. Directions for question 33 to 35: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Your answers to these questions should be based on the passage only. heterogeneous economic activities in terms of income generating capacities, ownership of work, skills, work status, productive capacity, links to other sectors and to the state. 33. What is the thematic highlight of the passage? (a) The powerlessness of the informal economy (b) The informal economyone word too many? (c) ILO studies and the informal economy Passage V 34. With the reference to the passage, consider the following statements: 1. Only statistics can help us arrive at a comprehensive definition of the informal economy. OR The word 'informal economy' is rather strongly embedded in the economic and policy literature today. Conceived in the course of some ILO studies (as part of the ILO's World Employment Programme) in Africa by Hart in 1972, it nevertheless has been severely criticized by some mainly because till date there is no clear definition. From the 'informal sector', we moved to 'informal economy', and soon other terms such as informal work and informal employment also emerged. E (d) Informal employment a myth? Select the correct answer using the codes given below: GS SC Strictly speaking each of these have different interpretations, though obviously are closely related. And depending on how we define each, statistics also vary. Yet, despite all these problems and harsh criticism, the concept has survived. To understand why, it may be useful to go back to the person who coined the concept in the first placeKeith Hart, the economic anthropologist. According to Hart this was simply a means of giving expression to 'the gap between my experience there (in Africa) and anything that my English education had taught me before'. 2. The concept of an informal economy has been criticized for having no clear definition. Anyone sifting through the vast literature on the informal economy will be surprised at the various ways it has been described'marginal', 'survivalist', 'working poor', 'small capitalist sector', 'dynamic', 'people's economy', 'entrepreneurial' are among the descriptions. While there are those who highlight the vulnerability, voicelessness and powerlessness of those in the informal economy, some others speak of work in the informal economy as a means to reclaim some economic power that centralized agents deny them. The fact that the informal economy has been used to describe such varying types of economic activities some stagnant, low productive, what can best be termed 'underemployment', and some others profitable and dynamic only means that there exist within this vast amorphous informal economy 8 (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 & 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 35. Which of the following has not been mentioned in relation to the informal economy? 1. The workers in the informal economy work for centralized agents. 2. Income generating capacities are uniform within the informal economy. Select the correct answer using the codes given below: (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 & 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Directions for question 36 to 37: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Your answers to these questions should be based on the passage only. Passage VI The real clients for any national government tourism policy initiatives are those who comprise the regional and local communities across India. Tourists and the tourism industry are simply the actors. The tourism industry is very good at spreading the mantra that tourism will bring major economic IAS TEST SERIES 2014 Directions for question 38 to 41 : Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Your answers to these questions should be based on the passage only. Passage VII E When small economic crises crop up repeatedly over a relatively short period of time, policymakers in each country may treat each such episode as an independent event requiring independent action but, in reality, such 'cluster crises' may be a sign of some fundamental shift taking place in the global economy. Hence, faced with cluster crises, it is important to occasionally step back and take a more holistic view of the situation. There has been some research trying to do precisely that. OR benefits. But how often do those benefits flow back to the travel company, the hotel chain or the tourism operator who might be based overseas? What good are thousands, even millions, of tourists to the national economy if most of what they spend goes elsewhere? The host country, or region for an international event, must provide and maintain airports, ports, roads and public amenities, sustain natural and cultural heritage sites, provide water and sewerage infrastructure for the increased traffic, but few international visitors rarely stay long in most of the places they visit. Few in the local community can identify what benefits are actually captured from the tourist traffic. The critical issue for tourism policy development in India is for the local economy to retain as much tourism revenue as possible. SC 36. What does the author imply by the question "But how often do those benefits flow back to the travel company, the hotel chain or the tourism operator who might be based overseas?" 1. It is important to understand whether the economic benefits from tourism benefit the national economy or not. 2. It is important to understand whether the tourism industry is sustainable or not. GS Select the correct answers using the codes given below: (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 & 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 37. Consider the following statements: 1. For countries hosting international events, people in local communities mostly do not benefit from the tourist traffic. 2. In the case of international events, the improved infrastructure does not benefit local communities in the host country. With reference to the passage, which of the above statements is/are valid? (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 & 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 IAS TEST SERIES 2014 At one level, it is not difficult to see what is happening. With rapid globalisation since the end of World War II, goods and services and also capital have begun moving much more freely across nations. In addition, and maybe even more importantly, the advance of IT has meant that it is possible for people with a modicum of skills to sit in one country and do work for another country. In brief, one of the most precious resources for economic progress, namely skilled labour, which earlier sat walled in within the boundaries of their respective nations, has suddenly become available to needs arising in distant parts of the world. What this has meant is that all emerging economies with a little ability to organise their workspace and impart skills to their workers are now capable of taking advantage of this windfall. As a consequence, the bottom end of the skilledlabour spectrum in the US and Europe is now coming under competition from the top end of the skilled labour band of India, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, and several other emerging economies. This has energised large corporations in rich and poor countries and caused booms in various regions, like Silicon Valley in the United States. But this is also causing inequality to rise in both industrialised nations and emerging economies. In a recent paper, Spence highlights how this process is one of the causes of growth and employment trends, within the US economy, diverging and inequality rising. And "the major emerging economies are becoming more competitive in areas in which the US economy has historically been dominant, such as the design and manufacture 9 of semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and information technology services". By the same argument, the skilled end of the labour markets in India and China is competing with its counterparts in industrialised nations and, as a consequence, its salaries are rising, resulting in growing inequality in these countries. 1. The growth of IT and availability of cheaper skilled labour has helped economies to grow but has also led to rise of inequality across the economies. There are other domains where these kinds of inter country tensions have been building up. Disparities in savings rates across nations have often led to acrimonious debate and search for first cause. It has been suggested that China's huge savings rate may not be entirely because of domestic structural factors in China but a response to the fact that the savings rate in the U S dropped sharply between 1960 and 2010. Select the correct answer from the following options: 2. The growth of IT and cheap skilled labour has also given rise to disparities in savings rates across nations. E (a) Only Assertion 1 is correct. (b) Only Assertion 2 is correct. (c) Both Assertions l and 2 are correct. OR (d) Neither Assertion 1 nor 2 is correct. (a) To emphasise on the need for taking a holistic view of problems and issues in a cluster crises situation GS SC These adjustments give rise to economic turmoil and crisis and, in addition, are politically sensitive matters that can lead to protectionism, which can do more harm than good. It is important for us to recognise that none of these structural shifts are caused by the actions of any one individual or nation. Millions of little actions and thousands of scientific discoveries over decades and human inventiveness in general have given rise to globalisation and we have inherited the world we have. It is for us to take the givens as given and use collective bodies such as the G20 to ensure that we do not fall victim to protectionism. It is important to remember that through all this turmoil the global pie is expanding. Hence, by having effective coordinated action, it is possible to convert what appears at first as adversity into advantage. 40. The objective of the passage is 38. The progress in the field of information technology (IT) helped in the growth of world economy as 1. IT field attracted skilled manpower and big investment. 2. IT growth enabled outsourcing of services. 3. IT field enabled channelising of skills of cheaper labour of developing countries in growing enterprises of developed nation. Select the correct code: (a) 1, 2 & 3 (b) Only 2 & 3 (c) Only 2 (d) Only 3 39. Examine whether the following assertions are correct as per what is stated in the passage. 10 (b) To highlight, how growth of IT and trans border movement of skilled labour and services has helped in growth of economy as well as created inequalities and other problems (c) To emphasise on the need for eschewing protectionism in the present day world economy (d) All of the above 41. Which of the following statements are correct in light of what is stated in the passage? 1. Cluster crises are a certain sign of some fundamental shift taking place in the economy. 2. Post World War II there has been much freer movement of goods, services and capital across nations. 3. Due to freer movement of skilled labour, the bottom end of spectrum of skilled labour in many developed economies is facing competition with the bottom end of spectrum of skilled labour of many emerging economies. Select the correct code: (a) 1, 2 & 3 (b) Only 2 & 3 (c) Only 2 (d) Only 3 IAS TEST SERIES 2014 Spending by advertisers and viewers 25 22 % Expenses 22 19 20 20 17 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 Year 5 42. The expenses of which year added to one fourth the expenses of another year equal the expenses of each of two other years? (a) 4 (b) 3 (c) 2 (d) 1 SC 43. In how many years from Year 2 has the expenditure risen by the around 15%? (a) 1 (b) 3 (c) 2 (d) Insufficient data 44. If in Year 6 the expenses increase at the same rate as they did from Year 3 to Year 5, what will be the expenditure in Year 6 (Rs. Crore )? 1. MGNREGS has improved the overall internal security in rural areas. 2. The programme has been able to provide gender Justice. 3. MGNREGS can fully succeed only when people start using it as a right. Choose the correct statement from the code given below: (a) Only 1 & 2 (b) Only 2 & 3 (c) Only 3 & 1 (d) All 1, 2 & 3 46. MGNREGS is playing a role of catalyst in the rural economy because 1. It has provided employment with dignity. 2. It has empowered the women. (b) 24.2 GS (a) 28.2 45. Consider the following statements in respect of above passage. OR Total for all five years = Rs.100 crores. to a great extent due to MGNREGS. The programme has immense potential to provide better livelihood opportunities to poor rural people, focuses on poverty alleviation. A notable aspect of this programme is the participation of large number of rural women who have sought work under MGNREGS. The scheme is poised to progress from a mere wage employment to sustainable development programme. The success of MGNREGS however, will depend on people's realization of the Act as a right. E DIRECTIONS for questions 42 to 44: Questions are based on the graph below: (c) 25.2 (d) 23.2 Directions for question 45 to 47: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Your answers to these questions should be based on the passage only. Passage VIII MGNREGS is playing the role of a catalyst in the rural economy. It is playing an important role in the overall development of the rural area. MGNREGS addresses itself mainly to working people and their fundamental rights to live with dignity. This is one of the greatest experiments undertaken by the Government of India to eradicate rural poverty. It has provided protection against extreme poverty, helped in economic independence of women, reduced crime and child labour in the rural areas. The socio economic conditions of the rural people has improved IAS TEST SERIES 2014 Choose the correct option from code given below: (a) Only 1 (b) Only 2 (c) Both 1 & 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 47. Of the following which benefit is not coming out of MGNREGS? (a) Cases of child labour has been reduced. (b) It is a right based programme and the people are fully understanding it. (c) It has been able to arrest rural poverty. (d) It has provided livelihood with dignity. Directions for questions 48 to 50: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given in the line chart. The following line chart gives the birth figures (in hundreds) for a small town called Jiasarai from 1990 to 1998. 11 53. The members of the family belong to how many generations? (a) Four (b) Two (c) Three (d) Either two or three Births (in '00s) 50 40 54. D has two children. One is A and who is the other one? (a) E (b) C (c) B (d) F 35 30 25 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Years OR 48. In which year did the birth of female children decrease from the previous year for the first time during the given period? (a) 1991 (b) 1993 (c) 1994 (d) Indeterminate 55. Two tanks of equal volume contain chemical A & B. The first tank contains half as much A as B. The second tank contains one fourth as much chemical B as A. The mixtures of the two tanks are mixed in the third tank in the ratio 3 : 5. What is the ratio of A : B finally? (a) 4 : 1 (b) 5 : 3 (c) 4 : 3 (d) 1 : 5 E Males New Births Total 45 49. What is the average annual growth rate of female births from 1990 to 1998? (a) 140% (b) 20% (c) 15.5% (d) 17.5% Six friends Arun, Brian, Cory, Dorthy, Eela and Faruq decided to go on a road trip on three bikes each having a rider and a passenger. If Arun is riding then neither Brian nor Eela will sit with him. If Eela is riding then Cory will sit with him. Faruq sits with Brian and Dorthy is a rider. SC 50. If 2500 children (born in the same year) can be vaccinated in 1996 in Jiasarai and atleast 50% of the female children born in the same year have to be vaccinated, the maximum percentage of male children born in the same year that can be vaccinated is: (a) 50% (b) 63% (c) 37% (d) Indeterminate Directions for questions 56 to 58: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below: GS Directions for questions 51 to 54: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below: A family consists of 6 members namely A, B, C, D, E and F. B is the brotherinlaw of C's mother. C is father of F. D is father of A and F is grandson of D. There are two female members in the family. 51. Who is the mother of C? (a) B (b) E (c) A (d) Cannot be determined 52. Which of the following pairs represents the female members in the family? (a) A and E (b) B and C (c) C and D (d) Cannot be determined 12 56. If Arun is riding, then who is his passenger? (a) Faruq (b) Dorthy (c) Cory (d) Eela 57. Who among the following can be the three Riders? (a) Arun, Dorthy, Eela (b) Brian, Eela, Dorthy (c) Cory, Faruq, Arun (d) Dorthy, Cory, Arun 58. Who among the following sits behind Dorthy if Arun is riding? (a) Eela (b) Cory (c) Faruq (d) Eelaither Eela or Cory Directions for questions 59 to 61: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below: Twelve friends Ajit, Bose, Castro, Daya, Eram, Francis, Gehna, Hanif, Ilena, Jatin, Khosla and Lamba are IAS TEST SERIES 2014 12 1 11 10 2 3 9 8 4 5 7 6 62. Who arrived in Mercedes car? (a) Aruna (b) Catherine (c) Drishti (d) Bharti 63. Who arrived the third? (a) Drishti (b) Bharti (c) Elena (d) Cannot be determined 64. If MAJOR is coded as NCMSW then what will be the code for ATTACK? (a) ZUUZDL (b) BVWEHQ (c) BVWEIQ (d) BVWEIP OR (1) Francis is sitting at chair number 1, is diagonally opposite Castro who is sitting opposite Daya. Volkswagen owner arrived just after the Fiat driver who arrived first. Three people arrived between Catherine and Aruna. E sitting around rectangular table to have dinner. There are 12 chairs around the table numbered from 1 to 12 (see figure) and only one person can sit on one chair (not necessarily in the same order). Some additional information is given below: (2) Eram is sitting opposite Ilena who is the only person sitting between Bose and Lamba. (3) Ajit is sitting opposite Khosla who is the only person sitting between Castro and Jatin. (a) Faisal (b) Eram (c) Lamba SC 59. If Jatin is not sitting opposite Lamba, then Francis is sitting next to whom? (d) Either Eram or Lamba GS 60. If Francis is not sitting next to Lamba then how many different seating arrangements are possible? (a) Three (b) Five (c) Four (d) Six 65. There are 8 million small cubes. Each cube is of side ½ cm.If all the cubes are piled one on the top of the other into single cube tower, what would be the height of the tower? (a) 50,000 cm (b) 500,000 cm (c) 10,00,000 cm (d) None of these 66. Six sides of a block are coloured Green, Blue, Red, Yellow, Orange and White in the following manner. WHITE GREEN ORANGE B L U E RED Y E L L O W 61. If Hanif is sitting at one of the corner seats, then who is sitting opposite him? (a) Francis (b) Daya (c) Ajit (d) Gehna Directions for questions 62 to 63: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below: Five friends Aruna, Bharti, Catherine, Drishti and Elena drive to a coffee parlor for a meeting. Each of them arrived by a different car at different times. Bharti arrived on a car other than Ambassador after Drishti has arrived. The person arriving on Limo car arrived the last. Elena arrived just before the last person and he did not drive a Mercedes car. The IAS TEST SERIES 2014 When Blue is on the top, which colour will be at the bottom? (a) Orange (b) Red (c) White (d) Yellow Directions for question 67 to 69: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Your answers to these questions should be based on the passage only. Passage IX After the next day's competition, I was in second place. My coach said I was "a dark horse for a medal". the Russian and Chinese divers had been 13 But my nexttolast dive was a disaster and plunged me into fifth place. I had one final shot at a medal. As I stood on the platform ready to take my last dive, I paused a bit longer than usual. The announcement came over the loudspeaker. "Mary Ellen Clark of the United States, doing a backward oneandahalf somersault with twoandahalf twists. Just at that moment, the tea was brought in and the chimpanzee greeted its appearance with loud hoots of joy. He watched me carefully while I halffilled his mug with milk and then added the tea. I had been told that he had a very sweet tooth so I put in six large spoons of sugar, an action which he greeted with grunts of satisfaction. He placed his cigarette on the table and seized the mug with both hands; then he stuck out his lower lip very carefully and dipped it into the tea to make sure it was not too hot. As it was a little warm, he sat there blowing on it vigorously until it was cool enough, and then he drank it all down without stopping once. When he had drained the last drops, he peered into the mug and scooped out all the sugar he could with his forefinger. After that, he tipped the mug up on his nose and sat with it like that for about five minutes until the very last of the sugar had trickled down into his mouth. For a few minutes, he was in a world of his own, far away from the threat of civilized man. OR I stepped up to the edge of the platform and turned my back to the water. With a quick prayer and an incredible sense of lightness, I was airborne, arcing out over the pool, twisting and tumbling, the Barcelona skyline flashing by. A microinstant later, I ripped into the water. I knew I had nailed the dive. When I shot back to the surface, Coach O'Brien was yelling, "Bronze, Mary Ellen, bronze!" one out of the box, struck it, lit his cigarette and threw the box down on the table. Lying back in his chair, he blew out clouds of smoke in the most professional manner. No one had told me that Chimpanzee smoked. I wondered rather anxiously what other undesirable habits he might have which his master had not warned me about. E heavily favored. At 29, I had been written off by most people as too old to win. "Maybe you should march before all your events," Coach joked. (c) Unlikely SC 67. "dark horse for medal means" _____ to win: (a) Likely (b) Highly likely (d) Highly unlikely 68. Final shot means: (a) The only chance (b) The only chance that day (c) The last chance that day (d) Last chance in tournament GS 69. Nailed the dive means: (a) Hurt in the dive (b) Broken the diving board (c) Dived successfully (d) Dived poorly Directions for question 70 to 72: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Your answers to these questions should be based on the passage only. Passage X While we were waiting for the tea to arrive, I sat down opposite the chimpanzee and lit a cigarette. To my surprise, he became very excited and held out his hand across the table to me. Wondering what he would do, I handed him the cigarette packet. he opened it, took out a cigarette and put it between his lips. He then reached out his hand again and I gave him the matches; to my astonishment, he took 14 70. What effect did Durrell's lighting of a cigarette have on the chimpanzee? It got (a) Surprised (b) Excited (c) Annoyed (d) Angry 71. The phrase "had a sweet tooth" means (a) Its tooth tasted sweet (b) Loved sweets (c) Was polite (d) Was wellmannered 72. By undesirable needs author means (a) Acceptable (b) Unacceptable (c) Expected (d) Unexpected Directions for question 73 to 75: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Your answers to these questions should be based on the passage only. Passage XI The fact that superior service can generate a competitive advantage for a company does not mean that every attempt at improving service will create IAS TEST SERIES 2014 Direction for questions (76 to 80): Given below are five items. Each item describes a situation and is followed by four possible responses. Indicate the response you find most appropriate. Choose only one response for each item. The responses will be evaluated on the level of appropriateness for the given situation. Please attempt all the items. There is no penalty provision for these five items. E 76. You are senior officer of the electricity department. A poor man has come before you with a grievance that your junior officers are threatening him to pay electricity bill otherwise they will disconnect his domestic connection. The poor man is repeatedly pleading for verification of inflated bill. You will… SC OR such an advantage. Investments in service, like those in production and distribution, must be balanced against other types of investments on the basis of direct, tangible benefits such as cost reduction and increased revenues. If a company is already effectively on a par with its competitors because it provides service that avoids a damaging reputation and keeps customers from leaving at an unacceptable rate, then investment in higher service levels may be wasted, since service is a deciding factor for customers only in extreme situations. This truth was not apparent to managers of one regional bank, which failed to improve its competitive position despite its investment in reducing the time a customer had to wait for a teller. The bank managers did not recognize the level of customer inertia in the consumer banking industry that arises from the inconvenience of switching banks. Nor did they analyze their service improvement to determine whether it would attract new customers by producing a new standard of service that would excite customers or by proving difficult for competitors to copy. The only merit of the improvement was that it could easily be described to customers. 73. Which of these facets of customer behavior was not immediately realized by the bank managers of the regional bank (a) Customers don’t enjoy waiting for tellers. GS (b) Service is not the most important factor in switching banks. (c) Customers only switch banks in extreme situations. (d) Cost reduction is not a tangible benefit. 74. What is consumer inertia in regards to banking? (a) Cost of improving service time. (b) Cost of attracting new customers. (c) Low motivation of consumers in switching banks. (d) Increased revenues in regards to new customers. 75. Which of these improvements did the reduced service time actually provide? (a) Change easy to explain to customers. (b) Helped in attracting new customers. (c) Impossible for competitors to copy. (d) Increased profit margins for the bank. IAS TEST SERIES 2014 (a) Ask the poor man to pay the pending bill first and then file a grievance petition. (b) Ask one of your subordinate to checkup inflated bill and in the mean time do not disconnect his connection. (c) Ask him to meet the concerned officer and place the problem before him. (d) Take a grievance petition from the poor man and endorse it to concerned officer for appropriate action. 77. You are a revenue officer and under your jurisdiction there is a disputed land on which some members of weaker section are making claim. An influential member of the locality is also making a claim. You are the competent officer to decide such claims and counterclaims. You will… (a) Issue notice to both parties and ask them to appear through their lawyer before you. (b) Seek instruction from your senior officer as it is a very sensitive matter. (c) Depute a subordinate officer for enquiry and take decision strictly as per his recommendations. (d) Make a personal enquiry and examine the records produced by both parties to take final decision. 78. You are a senior officer incharge of civil supply matters. Various reports are reaching to you regarding organized corruption and other 15 malpractices in which your subordinates are important beneficiaries. People of the rural areas are making complaints and you have finally decided to take appropriate steps. You will… (c) Constitute vigilance committee for each fair price shop and bring transparency and accountability. (d) Refer her case to local Panchayat for necessary assistance. 80. A village Panchayat has been provided with some discretionary grant from government for immediate expenditure. The grant should be utilized for... (d) Seek instruction from government. (a) Ask a local NGO to help her. (b) Purchase for medicines for local primary centre because people are very poor and cannot afford costly medical treatment. OR 79. You are an administrative officer and in course of your tour of rural area meet an old lady who does not have a support system and is on the verge of starvation. You will… (a) Developing village roads especially for connecting villages to main road so as to increase marketing of surplus agricultural commodities. E (a) You will recommend for mass transfer of your subordinates. (b) Computerize the whole system in order to reduce the element of discretion. the competent authority and she is an eligible person for such assistance. (b) Give Rs. 100 from your pocket so that she may not die. (d) Desilting of ponds to remove shortage of water for various purposes. SC (c) Sanction her old age pension as you are (c) Construction of a community toilet cum bath facility because total absence of this facility. GS 16 IAS TEST SERIES 2014
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