Hi Sir
Please find the attached RC of the Aimcat.
Thanks and Regards
Abhishek Parida
Saturday, 27 August 2016
Tuesday, 23 August 2016
Saturday, 13 August 2016
Fwd: Problem-PC
The sentences in the given paragraph are jumbled. Rearrange them in a logical sequence and answer the questions that follow.
A. The same dark humour prevails as in the Midwest, the same stoicism and gentility.
B. But the Danes would study the situation and work out the best deal they could, keeping their queen and flag, their chirpy language, their generous health and employment benefits.
C. They would see themselves, in every way, as the beautiful swan trapped in the realm of ducks.
D. The entire country of Denmark is a little smaller than Lake Michigan, and if it were slipped in here, in the Midwest, it would not be such a bad fit culturally.
E. They would make fun of everything American and lambaste the American foreign policy.
F. It would be a shock to land in a Great Lake.
sir ye smj n aya
why a after D?
DAFBEC
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: SHWETA ARORA <swetarora1401@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 13, 2016 at 3:19 AM
Subject: Problem-PC
To: tanveer.iqbal.ahmed.detafb786@blogger.com
From: SHWETA ARORA <swetarora1401@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 13, 2016 at 3:19 AM
Subject: Problem-PC
To: tanveer.iqbal.ahmed.detafb786@blogger.com
plz guide sir in this.
Friday, 12 August 2016
Monday, 8 August 2016
Sunday, 7 August 2016
analysis of an rc
sir ,
i am facing difficulty in analysis of rc's .cl proc mock 3 , 2011.the passage is on the concept of morality being perceived by economists adam smith . These are some of my take way from the rc :
a> the content on morality /evolution/darwin /adam smith /smithian model is unknown to me .
b> the qns were 1> inferential
2> most likely to agree
3>statements in line with the authors view.
c> after seeing the solutions and explanations of the above rc i found out that the use of elimination method was used to reach to a soln but i feel that this method is used only when i get a hold of the content otherwise its getting difficult.
my queries :
a> read on darwin/adam smith to get a feel ?
b> how do i summarize something im unable to comprehend ?
hope to get a reply from you soon.
Thanking you ,
Rahul chatterjee .
Saturday, 6 August 2016
CR - VARC CLASSROOM - 7th August
1
Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
A. The number of television assemblers in Vernland has increased by at least as much as the number of television assemblers in Borodia has decreased.
B. Televisions assembled in Vernland have features that televisions assembled in Borodia do not have.
C. The average number of hours it takes a Borodian television assembler to assemble a television has not decreased significantly during the past three years.
D. The number of televisions assembled annually in Vernland has increased significantly during the past three years.
E. The difference between the hourly wage of television assemblers in Vernland and the hourly wage of television assemblers in Borodia is likely to decrease in the next few year
2
Suncorp, a new corporation with limited funds, has been clearing large sections of the tropical Amazon forest for cattle ranching. This practice continues even though greater profits can be made from rubber tapping, which does not destroy the forest, than from cattle ranching, which does destroy the forest.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain why Suncorp has been pursuing the less profitable of the two economic activities mentioned above?
(A) The soil of the Amazon forest is very rich in nutrients that are important in the development of grazing lands.
(B) Cattle-ranching operations that are located in tropical climates are more profitable than cattle-ranching operations that are located in cold-weather climates.
(C) In certain districts, profits made from cattle ranching are more heavily taxed than profits made from any other industry.
(D) Some of the cattle that are raised on land cleared in the Amazon are killed by wildcats.
(E) The amount of money required to begin a rubber-tapping operation is twice as high as the amount needed to begin a cattle ranch.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain why Suncorp has been pursuing the less profitable of the two economic activities mentioned above?
(A) The soil of the Amazon forest is very rich in nutrients that are important in the development of grazing lands.
(B) Cattle-ranching operations that are located in tropical climates are more profitable than cattle-ranching operations that are located in cold-weather climates.
(C) In certain districts, profits made from cattle ranching are more heavily taxed than profits made from any other industry.
(D) Some of the cattle that are raised on land cleared in the Amazon are killed by wildcats.
(E) The amount of money required to begin a rubber-tapping operation is twice as high as the amount needed to begin a cattle ranch.
3
Mayor of Plainsville: In order to help the economy of Plainsville, I am using some of our tax revenues to help bring a major highway through the town and thereby attract new business to Plainsville.
Citizens' group: You must have interests other than our economy in mind. If you were really interested in helping our economy, you would instead allocate the revenues to building a new business park since it would bring in twice the business that your highway would.
The argument by the citizens group relies on which one of the following assumptions?
(A) Plainsville presently has no major highways running through it.
(B) The mayor accepts that a new business park would bring in more new business than would the new highway.
(C) The new highway would have no benefits for Plainsville other than attracting new business.
(D) The mayor is required to get approval for all tax revenue allocation plans from the city council.
(E) Plainsville's economy will not be helped unless a new business park of the sort envisioned by the citizens' group is built.
Citizens' group: You must have interests other than our economy in mind. If you were really interested in helping our economy, you would instead allocate the revenues to building a new business park since it would bring in twice the business that your highway would.
The argument by the citizens group relies on which one of the following assumptions?
(A) Plainsville presently has no major highways running through it.
(B) The mayor accepts that a new business park would bring in more new business than would the new highway.
(C) The new highway would have no benefits for Plainsville other than attracting new business.
(D) The mayor is required to get approval for all tax revenue allocation plans from the city council.
(E) Plainsville's economy will not be helped unless a new business park of the sort envisioned by the citizens' group is built.
4
Although the ratio of violent crime to total population is about the same in Clarksville and Metroville, there are almost 15% more gun owners in Metroville. The difference in gun ownership is the most logical explanation for the fact that there are 23% fewer homicides in Clarksville than Metroville.
The explanation rests on the assumption that
A)Most violent crimes in Metroville is connected to groups of organized criminals that do not operate in Clarksville
B)Fire ammunition is easy to obtain in Clarksville than Metroville
C) Clarksville and Metroville are far apart that crime in one does not affect the other
D)The number of criminals in Metroville are not larger in number than the number in Clarksville.
E) Clarksville does not have significantly better emergency medical services than Metroville.
The explanation rests on the assumption that
A)Most violent crimes in Metroville is connected to groups of organized criminals that do not operate in Clarksville
B)Fire ammunition is easy to obtain in Clarksville than Metroville
C) Clarksville and Metroville are far apart that crime in one does not affect the other
D)The number of criminals in Metroville are not larger in number than the number in Clarksville.
E) Clarksville does not have significantly better emergency medical services than Metroville.
5
Twenty years ago, Balzania put in place regulations requiring operators of surface mines to pay for the reclamation of mined-out land. Since then, reclamation technology has not improved. Yet, the average reclamation cost for a surface coal mine being reclaimed today is only four dollars per ton of coal that the mine produced, less than half what it cost to reclaim surface mines in the years immediately after the regulations took effect.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to account for the drop in reclamation costs described?
A. Even after Balzania began requiring surface mine operators to pay reclamation costs, coal mines in Balzania continued to be less expensive to operate than coal mines in almost any other country.
B. In the twenty years since the regulations took effect, the use of coal as a fuel has declined from the level it was at in the previous twenty years.
C. Mine operators have generally ceased surface mining in the mountainous areas of Balzania because reclamation costs per ton of coal produced are particularly high for mines in such areas.
D. Even after Balzania began requiring surface mine operators to pay reclamation costs, surface mines continued to produce coal at a lower total cost than underground mines.
E. As compared to twenty years ago, a greater percentage of the coal mined in Balzania today comes from surface mines.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to account for the drop in reclamation costs described?
A. Even after Balzania began requiring surface mine operators to pay reclamation costs, coal mines in Balzania continued to be less expensive to operate than coal mines in almost any other country.
B. In the twenty years since the regulations took effect, the use of coal as a fuel has declined from the level it was at in the previous twenty years.
C. Mine operators have generally ceased surface mining in the mountainous areas of Balzania because reclamation costs per ton of coal produced are particularly high for mines in such areas.
D. Even after Balzania began requiring surface mine operators to pay reclamation costs, surface mines continued to produce coal at a lower total cost than underground mines.
E. As compared to twenty years ago, a greater percentage of the coal mined in Balzania today comes from surface mines.
5
Consumer Advocate: The new soft drink, Mango Paradise, contains at least 2.5% of Ephedra, a chemical supplement that stimulates the activity of the nervous system but may also result in serious cardiac problems. Therefore, this drink is harmful to consumer health and should be banned from distribution in our state.
Which of the following is an assumption made by the consumer advocate?
a)The new soft drink will soon be introduced into mass production.
b)Consumers are unlikely to enjoy the taste of Mango Paradise because of the high amount of Ephedra contained in the drink.
c)Any drink that contains at least 2.5% of Ephedra is harmful to consumer health.
d)The Consumer Advocate is not affiliated with the producer of Mango Paradise.
e)Most consumers who drink Mango Paradise will eventually experience serious cardiac problems.
6
Although the ratio of violent crime to total population is about the same in Clarksville and Metroville, there are almost 15% more gun owners in Metroville. The difference in gun ownership is the most logical explanation for the fact that there are 23% fewer homicides in Clarksville than Metroville.
The explanation rests on the assumption that
A)Most violent crimes in Metroville is connected to groups of organized criminals that do not operate in Clarksville
B)Fire ammunition is easy to obtain in Clarksville than Metroville
C) Clarksville and Metroville are far apart that crime in one does not affect the other
D)The number of criminals in Metroville are not larger in number than the number in Clarksville.
E) Clarksville does not have significantly better emergency medical services than Metroville.
7
Researchers have found that when very overweight people, who tend to have relatively low metabolic rates, lose weight primarily through dieting, their metabolism generally remain unchanged. They will thus burn significantly fewer calories at the new weight than do people whose weight is normally at that level. Such newly thin persons will, therefore, ultimately regain weight until their body size again matches their metabolic rate.
The conclusion of the argument above depends on which of the following assumptions?
A: Relatively few very overweight people who have dieted down to a new weight tend to continue to consume substantially fewer calories than do people whose normal weight is at that level.
B: The metabolisms of people who are usually not overweight are much more able to vary than the metabolisms of people who have been very overweight.
C: The amount of calories that a person usually burns in a day is determined more by the amount that is consumed that day than by the current weight of the individual.
D: Reseachers have not yet determined whether the metabolic rates of formerly very overweight individuals can be accelerated by means of chemical agents.
E: Because of the constancy of their metabolic rates, people who are at their usual weight normally have as much difficulty gaining weight as they do losing it.
8
Student Advisor: One of our exchange students faced multiple arguments with her parents over the course of the past year. Not surprisingly, her grade point average (GPA)over the same period showed a steep decline. This is just one example of a general truth: problematic family relationships can cause significant academic difficulties for our students.
Which of the following is an assumption underlying the general truism claimed by the Student Advisor?
(A) Last year, the exchange student reduced the amount of time spent on academic work, resulting in a lower GPA.
(B) The decline in the GPA of the. exchange student was not the reason for the student's arguments with her parents.
(C) School GPA is an accurate measure of a student's intellectual ability.
(D) If proper measures are not taken, the decline in the student's academic performance may become irreversible.
(E) Fluctuations in academic performance are typical for many students.
Friday, 5 August 2016
080616
Knowledge originates either in scientific, objective observation of the "real" world, or in emotional, highly
personal apprehension of values expressed as I like or approve of this. Rhetoric is not possible within this
duality. We, can however, question this duality and this involves some border crossing from the territory of
philosophy into the old world of rhetoric that turns to study the particular sites where writing takes place to
explore how writing and persuasion works. From this perspective the structure of a scientific report is not just
a matter of superficial style, but rather a complex stock of argumentative moves or commonplaces that serve
to reinforce and reproduce a view of the world that characterizes the discipline of science. In short, the
"common" topics have become, in their way, as specialized as the "special" topics (or specialized knowledge
that characterizes a particular discipline).
Knowledge is also discovered through dialectic. Knowledge is not created through the isolated self interacting
with the physical world, nor even by groups of selves attempting to achieve Platonic certainty through the
discursive testing of logical propositions or mathematical axioms. Rather, knowledge is developed communally
through the process of making an intelligible world with my fellow human being. Hence we have the
idea of an ongoing conversation with persuasion a necessary means of keeping the conversation (as a form of
social interaction) going.
But how do we influence each other through language? In 'Why Does Rhetoric Need a Theory of Reading'?
Doug Brent says:
Traditional rhetoric simply had to have faith that an audience could interpret accurately. Rhetoric is traditionally
defined as the art of using language to influence others' behaviour and belief. This implies that discourse
is a reasonably reliable means by which one person can affect another. The rhetor must know that what he
puts into his discourse will be roughly reflected in what the audience takes out. Otherwise persuasion is
meaningless, for the rhetor has no predictable influence on his audience. To do his job, the rhetor must
believe human beings act not at random, but rather for reasons that he can predict and use. This assumption,
however, has been treated simply as an assumption, an article of faith.
51. A suitable title for the passage is
(1) Ways through which knowledge is discovered.
(2) Knowledge can be discovered only through rhetoric.
(3) Rhetoric and the discovery of knowledge.
(4) Traditional Rhetoric and its assumptions.
(5) Philosophy and Rhetoric.
52. The tone of the passage is predominantly
(1) Descriptive (2) Argumentative (3) Analytical
(4) Subjective (5) Skeptical
53. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(1) The 'duality' as regards the origin of knowledge takes into account communal interactions.
(2) The effectiveness of Rhetoric as a means to discover knowledge is suspect.
(3) Persuasion is one of the factors which impede the discovery of knowledge through rhetoric.
(4) The Rhetor can influence his audience even if the audience is not interested in what he is saying.
(5) 'The rhetorical philosophy' seeks to increase universal brotherhood and universal love.
DIRECTIONS for Questions 54 to 56: The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose
the most appropriate answer to each question.
PASSAGE 2
Farmers who used "slash and burn" methods of clearing forests to grow crops thousands of years ago could
have increased carbon dioxide levels enough to change the climate, researchers claimed today.The US scientists
believe that small populations released carbon emissions as they cleared large tracts of land to produce
relatively meagre amounts of food.They were much less efficient than farmers using today's agricultural
practices because there were no constraints on land.
A study published online in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews by researchers at the University of
Virginia and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) said that early farmers could have cleared
five or more times as much land as they used at any one time.According to the researchers, today's population
of six billion people uses about 90% less land per person for growing food than the early farming
societies.William Ruddiman, the paper's lead author and emeritus professor of environmental sciences at the
University of Virginia, said the early farmers were likely to have cleared land by burning forests, planted crop
seeds among the dead stumps and moved on to a new area once the yields declined."They used more land for
farming because they had little incentive to maximise yield from less land, and because there was plenty of
forest to burn. They may have inadvertently altered the climate," he said.
Ruddiman first published a hypothesis five years ago suggesting people began altering the global climate
thousands of years ago, with human activity accounting for rises in carbon dioxide that began about 7,000
years ago.His theory was criticised by scientists who believe the human impact on the climate began with the
industrial revolution because earlier populations were too small to influence the level of carbon emissions in
the atmosphere.
But Ruddiman said that early farming methods, with around 10 times the amount of land per person than is
used today, could have created an impact on the climate despite the small number of people in early civilisations.
54. Which of the following would be strongly supported by Ruddiman's critics ?
(1) Land use in the past was similar to land use today and that the great population explosion of the past
centuries has increased land use proportionally.
(2) The modes of farming have become more efficient since the industrial revolution.
(3) Farmers today use lesser land per person than farmers before the industrial revolution.
(4) The proportion of carbon emitted by vehicles is much more as compared to that emitted by
agricultural practices.
(5) Farmers of the earlier ages used 10 times more land per person than the present day farmers.
55. The passage is trying to establish which of the following facts ?
A. Much smaller earlier populations used more land than the current populations and may have more
greatly affected climate than current models reflect.
B. Much smaller earlier populations burnt and cleared a lot of forest land and may have more greatly
affected climate than current models reflect.
C. Much smaller earlier populations used lesser land than the current populations and may have more
greatly affected climate than current models reflect.
(1) Only A (2) Only B (3) A and B (4) B and C (5) A, B and C
56. The author's tone in the passage is?
(1) Supportive (2) Analytical (3) Neutral (4) Expounding (5) Can't say
DIRECTIONS for Questions 57 to 59: In each question, there are five sentences or parts of sentences that
forms a paragraph. Identify the sentence(s) or part(s) of sentence(s) that is/are incorrect in terms of grammar
and usage. Then, choose the most appropriate option.
57. A. A Farewell to Arms is a very dramatic book.
B. Many scholars, such as Ray B. West, Jr., have compared its five-book structure to the traditional
English five-act play.
C. There are similarities to be drawn between the structure of the novel and tragic drama.
D. The first book, like the first act in a play, introduces the characters and the situation of the story, and
in the second book the romantic plot is developed.
E. Book III provides the climactic turning point: Frederic's desertion of his post in the army and his
decision to return to Catherine.
(1) D & E (2) A & D (3) B only (4) B, C & D (5) A, B & D
58. A. Development is a process whereby insignificant and imperceptible
B. quantitative changes lead to fundamental, qualitative changes.
C. The latter occur not gradually, but rapidly and abruptly, in the form of a leap from one state to
another.
D. A simple example from the physical world might be the heating of water: a one-degree increase in
temperature is a quantitative change,
E. but on 100 degrees there is a qualitative change-water to steam.
(1) A, C & D (2) A & D (3) C only (4) E only (5) B, C & D
59. A. The next step towards globalisation comes from an unexpected quarter–global farmlands.
B. Stung by growing food shortages, the Chinese government is encouraging
C. its agricultural firms to buy or lease farmlands in Africa
D. and South America to bolster food security back home. The new government policy comes in the
wake of higher income levels that encourage
E. spending away from staple rice diets and towards increasing consumption of meat.
(1) C & E (2) A & C (3) B, C & D (4) A only (5) None of the above
personal apprehension of values expressed as I like or approve of this. Rhetoric is not possible within this
duality. We, can however, question this duality and this involves some border crossing from the territory of
philosophy into the old world of rhetoric that turns to study the particular sites where writing takes place to
explore how writing and persuasion works. From this perspective the structure of a scientific report is not just
a matter of superficial style, but rather a complex stock of argumentative moves or commonplaces that serve
to reinforce and reproduce a view of the world that characterizes the discipline of science. In short, the
"common" topics have become, in their way, as specialized as the "special" topics (or specialized knowledge
that characterizes a particular discipline).
Knowledge is also discovered through dialectic. Knowledge is not created through the isolated self interacting
with the physical world, nor even by groups of selves attempting to achieve Platonic certainty through the
discursive testing of logical propositions or mathematical axioms. Rather, knowledge is developed communally
through the process of making an intelligible world with my fellow human being. Hence we have the
idea of an ongoing conversation with persuasion a necessary means of keeping the conversation (as a form of
social interaction) going.
But how do we influence each other through language? In 'Why Does Rhetoric Need a Theory of Reading'?
Doug Brent says:
Traditional rhetoric simply had to have faith that an audience could interpret accurately. Rhetoric is traditionally
defined as the art of using language to influence others' behaviour and belief. This implies that discourse
is a reasonably reliable means by which one person can affect another. The rhetor must know that what he
puts into his discourse will be roughly reflected in what the audience takes out. Otherwise persuasion is
meaningless, for the rhetor has no predictable influence on his audience. To do his job, the rhetor must
believe human beings act not at random, but rather for reasons that he can predict and use. This assumption,
however, has been treated simply as an assumption, an article of faith.
51. A suitable title for the passage is
(1) Ways through which knowledge is discovered.
(2) Knowledge can be discovered only through rhetoric.
(3) Rhetoric and the discovery of knowledge.
(4) Traditional Rhetoric and its assumptions.
(5) Philosophy and Rhetoric.
52. The tone of the passage is predominantly
(1) Descriptive (2) Argumentative (3) Analytical
(4) Subjective (5) Skeptical
53. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(1) The 'duality' as regards the origin of knowledge takes into account communal interactions.
(2) The effectiveness of Rhetoric as a means to discover knowledge is suspect.
(3) Persuasion is one of the factors which impede the discovery of knowledge through rhetoric.
(4) The Rhetor can influence his audience even if the audience is not interested in what he is saying.
(5) 'The rhetorical philosophy' seeks to increase universal brotherhood and universal love.
DIRECTIONS for Questions 54 to 56: The passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Choose
the most appropriate answer to each question.
PASSAGE 2
Farmers who used "slash and burn" methods of clearing forests to grow crops thousands of years ago could
have increased carbon dioxide levels enough to change the climate, researchers claimed today.The US scientists
believe that small populations released carbon emissions as they cleared large tracts of land to produce
relatively meagre amounts of food.They were much less efficient than farmers using today's agricultural
practices because there were no constraints on land.
A study published online in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews by researchers at the University of
Virginia and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) said that early farmers could have cleared
five or more times as much land as they used at any one time.According to the researchers, today's population
of six billion people uses about 90% less land per person for growing food than the early farming
societies.William Ruddiman, the paper's lead author and emeritus professor of environmental sciences at the
University of Virginia, said the early farmers were likely to have cleared land by burning forests, planted crop
seeds among the dead stumps and moved on to a new area once the yields declined."They used more land for
farming because they had little incentive to maximise yield from less land, and because there was plenty of
forest to burn. They may have inadvertently altered the climate," he said.
Ruddiman first published a hypothesis five years ago suggesting people began altering the global climate
thousands of years ago, with human activity accounting for rises in carbon dioxide that began about 7,000
years ago.His theory was criticised by scientists who believe the human impact on the climate began with the
industrial revolution because earlier populations were too small to influence the level of carbon emissions in
the atmosphere.
But Ruddiman said that early farming methods, with around 10 times the amount of land per person than is
used today, could have created an impact on the climate despite the small number of people in early civilisations.
54. Which of the following would be strongly supported by Ruddiman's critics ?
(1) Land use in the past was similar to land use today and that the great population explosion of the past
centuries has increased land use proportionally.
(2) The modes of farming have become more efficient since the industrial revolution.
(3) Farmers today use lesser land per person than farmers before the industrial revolution.
(4) The proportion of carbon emitted by vehicles is much more as compared to that emitted by
agricultural practices.
(5) Farmers of the earlier ages used 10 times more land per person than the present day farmers.
55. The passage is trying to establish which of the following facts ?
A. Much smaller earlier populations used more land than the current populations and may have more
greatly affected climate than current models reflect.
B. Much smaller earlier populations burnt and cleared a lot of forest land and may have more greatly
affected climate than current models reflect.
C. Much smaller earlier populations used lesser land than the current populations and may have more
greatly affected climate than current models reflect.
(1) Only A (2) Only B (3) A and B (4) B and C (5) A, B and C
56. The author's tone in the passage is?
(1) Supportive (2) Analytical (3) Neutral (4) Expounding (5) Can't say
DIRECTIONS for Questions 57 to 59: In each question, there are five sentences or parts of sentences that
forms a paragraph. Identify the sentence(s) or part(s) of sentence(s) that is/are incorrect in terms of grammar
and usage. Then, choose the most appropriate option.
57. A. A Farewell to Arms is a very dramatic book.
B. Many scholars, such as Ray B. West, Jr., have compared its five-book structure to the traditional
English five-act play.
C. There are similarities to be drawn between the structure of the novel and tragic drama.
D. The first book, like the first act in a play, introduces the characters and the situation of the story, and
in the second book the romantic plot is developed.
E. Book III provides the climactic turning point: Frederic's desertion of his post in the army and his
decision to return to Catherine.
(1) D & E (2) A & D (3) B only (4) B, C & D (5) A, B & D
58. A. Development is a process whereby insignificant and imperceptible
B. quantitative changes lead to fundamental, qualitative changes.
C. The latter occur not gradually, but rapidly and abruptly, in the form of a leap from one state to
another.
D. A simple example from the physical world might be the heating of water: a one-degree increase in
temperature is a quantitative change,
E. but on 100 degrees there is a qualitative change-water to steam.
(1) A, C & D (2) A & D (3) C only (4) E only (5) B, C & D
59. A. The next step towards globalisation comes from an unexpected quarter–global farmlands.
B. Stung by growing food shortages, the Chinese government is encouraging
C. its agricultural firms to buy or lease farmlands in Africa
D. and South America to bolster food security back home. The new government policy comes in the
wake of higher income levels that encourage
E. spending away from staple rice diets and towards increasing consumption of meat.
(1) C & E (2) A & C (3) B, C & D (4) A only (5) None of the above
Wednesday, 3 August 2016
RC 1
The case for constituting political authority democratically rested on two basic assumptions: first, that no
person was naturally superior to another, so any relations of authority between them stood in need of
justification – in other words, each person should enjoy equal political rights unless it could be shown that
everyone gained from having inequality; second, that the interests of the people were best safeguarded by
making them the final repository of political authority – anyone entrusted with special powers must be
accountable to the people as a whole. But this still left open exactly what role the people as a whole should
play in government. Should they be directly involved in legislating, as Rousseau argued in his Social
Contract, and if so how? Or should they only be involved at one step removed, by choosing representatives
who would wield authority on their behalf.
In practice those political systems we call democracies give their citizens only a very limited role in
government. They are entitled to vote at periodic elections, they are occasionally consulted through a
referendum when some major constitutional question has to be decided, and they are allowed to form
groups to lobby their representatives on issues that concern them, but that is the extent of their authority.
Real power to determine the future of democratic societies rests in the hands of a remarkably small
number of people – government ministers, civil servants, and to some extent members of parliament or
other legislative assembly – and it is natural to ask why this is so. If democracy is the best way to make
political decisions, why not make it a reality by letting the people themselves decide major questions
directly? One answer that is often given at this point is that it is simply impractical for millions of ordinary
citizens to be involved in making the huge number of decisions that governments have to make today. If
they were to try, not only would government be paralyzed, but they would leave themselves no time to do
all those other things that most people think are more important than politics. But this answer is not
adequate, because it is not difficult to envisage citizens making general policy decisions whose detailed
implementation would then be left to ministers and others. The electronic revolution means that it would
now be quite easy to ask citizens for their views on a wide range of issues ranging from war and peace
through taxation and public expenditure to animal welfare and environmental issues. So why is this done
only on those rare occasions when a referendum is called?
The reason is that there is a widespread belief that ordinary people are simply not competent to understand
the issues that lie behind political decisions, and so they are happy to hand these decisions over to people
they regard as better qualified to deal with them. An uncompromising statement of this point of view can be
found in Joseph Schumpeter's book Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1943), where it is argued that
the citizen's job is to choose a team of leaders to represent him or her, not to attempt to decide issues
directly. Schumpeter claims that whereas in economic transactions, for instance, people experience the
results of their decisions directly – if they buy a defective product, they soon discover their mistake – in the
case of political decisions there is no such immediate feedback mechanism
31. Which of the statements given below best supports the view of the author as inferred from the
passage?
(a) The interests of the people are best safeguarded by making them the final repository of political
authority.
(b) Democracy is the best way to make political decisions and this can become a reality only by
letting the people themselves decide major questions directly.
(c) Citizens should make general policy decisions and leave their implementation to ministers and
others.
(d) In practice those political systems we call democracies give their citizens only a very limited
role in government.
32. Why does the author discuss the fact that referendums are rarely called?
1. To underline that such an exercise needs to be justified.
2. To demonstrate that the citizen's job is to choose a team of leaders to represent him and not to
decide issues directly.
3. To explain that the ordinary citizen is disinterested in decision-making.
4. To describe the popular belief that ordinary people are not competent enough to understand
political decision-making.
(a) Only 1 (b) Only 4 (c) Both 2 and 4 (d) Both 3 and 4
33. How does the author conclude that democracies give their citizens only a very limited role in
government?
(a) Citizens are occasionally consulted on issues through a referendum.
(b) Citizens only form groups to lobby their representatives on issues that concern them.
(c) Real power lies in the hands of a small group of government ministers, civil servants and members
of parliament.
(d) All of the above
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