Para Summary MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Para Summary - Download Free PDF
Last updated on Jun 10, 2025
Latest Para Summary MCQ Objective Questions
Para Summary Question 1:
The passage given below is followed by four alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The prevailing scientific consensus today posits that birds are not merely descendants of dinosaurs, but are, in fact, living dinosaurs themselves. This revolutionary reclassification, which emerged from meticulous paleontological and genetic research over the past few decades, overturned the traditional view of dinosaurs as exclusively large, scaly, extinct reptiles. Key evidence supporting this claim includes shared skeletal features, particularly in the hip and wrist bones, and the discovery of feathered dinosaurs. Archaeopteryx, a Jurassic-era fossil, serves as a crucial transitional form, exhibiting both reptilian and avian characteristics. Furthermore, molecular phylogenetics has reinforced the deep evolutionary connection, placing birds firmly within the Maniraptora clade, a group of theropod dinosaurs. This understanding reframes dinosaurs not as a bygone era, but as a lineage that adapted, survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, and continues to thrive in the form of birds, demonstrating an incredible evolutionary success story.
Which of the following best captures the essence of the passage?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 1 Detailed Solution
The correct answer is: Contemporary scientific understanding asserts that birds are living dinosaurs, a reclassification based on extensive skeletal and genetic evidence revealing their direct evolutionary lineage from theropod dinosaurs, thereby challenging previous perceptions of dinosaurs as entirely extinct.
Key Points
- Explanation: This option accurately captures the central thesis of the passage: the reclassification of birds as living dinosaurs. It correctly identifies the extensive evidence (skeletal and genetic) that led to this understanding of their direct lineage from theropod dinosaurs, and highlights the consequence of this new understanding, which is challenging the traditional view of dinosaurs as entirely extinct. This summary is comprehensive and faithful to the passage's main points.
Additional Information
- The other options are incorrect because:
- Archaeopteryx is a significant fossil that conclusively proves birds evolved from dinosaurs, representing a key link between ancient reptiles and modern avian species: While Archaeopteryx is mentioned as a "crucial transitional form," the passage states that the reclassification is based on "meticulous paleontological and genetic research" and "Key evidence," not solely on Archaeopteryx as conclusive proof, which makes this option too narrow.
- The discovery of feathered dinosaurs and similarities in hip and wrist bones were the sole pieces of evidence that led scientists to reclassify birds as direct descendants of ancient reptilian species: This option uses the word "sole," which is incorrect. The passage clearly states "Key evidence... includes shared skeletal features... and the discovery of feathered dinosaurs. Furthermore, molecular phylogenetics has reinforced the deep evolutionary connection," indicating multiple lines of evidence.
- Birds survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, unlike other dinosaurs, due to their unique adaptations like feathers and smaller size, allowing their lineage to continue into the modern era: This option describes a consequence or fact about bird evolution mentioned in the passage, but it is not the central essence of the passage, which is about the reclassification of birds as living dinosaurs and the evidence for that reclassification.
Para Summary Question 2:
The passage given below is followed by four alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The landscape of mental health treatment in America underwent a profound transformation with the advent of antidepressants in the mid-20th century. Before their widespread adoption, depression was often managed primarily through psychotherapy, institutionalization, or more drastic somatic treatments like electroconvulsive therapy. The introduction of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) in the late 1950s and early 1960s, followed by monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), offered a novel pharmacological approach to alleviate depressive symptoms. While initially hailed as breakthroughs, these early medications came with significant side effects and required careful monitoring. The true paradigm shift arrived with the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) in the late 1980s, exemplified by Prozac. Their perceived safety and efficacy, coupled with aggressive marketing, rapidly propelled them into the mainstream, profoundly altering public perception of depression as a biochemical imbalance treatable with medication. This ushered in an era of pharmaceutical dominance in mental health care, making antidepressants one of the most prescribed classes of drugs in the nation.
Which of the following best captures the essence of the passage?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 2 Detailed Solution
The correct answer is: The introduction of antidepressants in America, beginning with TCAs and MAOIs and culminating with SSRIs, dramatically reshaped mental health treatment by offering a pharmaceutical solution to depression, leading to their widespread prescription and a shift in public understanding of the condition.
Key Points
- Explanation: This option provides a comprehensive summary of the passage. It accurately traces the chronological development of antidepressants (TCAs/MAOIs followed by SSRIs), highlights their core impact (reshaping mental health treatment by offering a pharmaceutical solution), and notes the significant consequences (widespread prescription and altered public perception of depression as a biochemical imbalance). It captures the essence of the "profound transformation" discussed.
Additional Information
- The other options are incorrect because:
- America's mental health care system transitioned from institutionalization and psychotherapy to a medication-centric approach due to the development of SSRIs like Prozac, which were safer and more effective than earlier antidepressants: This option is too narrow. While SSRIs were a paradigm shift, the passage states that the introduction of earlier antidepressants (TCAs and MAOIs) already offered a "novel pharmacological approach," initiating the shift, not just SSRIs. It also overstates "safer and more effective" as the sole reason for the transition, omitting aggressive marketing.
- Early antidepressants like TCAs and MAOIs were revolutionary but faced challenges due to severe side effects, paving the way for SSRIs to become the most prescribed drugs in America's battle against mental illness: This option focuses too heavily on the transition between early and later drugs, rather than the overall profound transformation of mental health treatment as a whole, which is the main theme. It misses the shift in public perception.
- The popularity of antidepressants in America reflects a problematic overreliance on pharmacological interventions, driven by pharmaceutical marketing and a reductionist view of depression as solely a biochemical imbalance: This option introduces a judgmental tone ("problematic overreliance") and specific critiques ("pharmaceutical marketing," "reductionist view") that, while mentioned, represent an interpretation or consequence rather than the core descriptive essence of the historical advent and impact of antidepressants presented in the passage. The passage aims to describe what happened and how things changed, not to critique it.
Para Summary Question 3:
The passage given below is followed by four alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The fear of the dark, or nyctophobia, is a common developmental stage for many young children, typically emerging between the ages of two and seven. While adults often attribute this fear to an imagined presence of monsters, the underlying psychological mechanisms are more nuanced. For children, darkness represents a loss of sensory information, primarily sight, which is crucial for their understanding and navigation of the world. This sensory deprivation triggers an innate survival mechanism, making the unknown inherently threatening. The developing imagination of a child can then fill this void with perceived dangers, amplifying anxieties about being alone, losing control, or the absence of protective figures. Furthermore, exposure to frightening stories or media can contribute to these fears. It is not the darkness itself, but the uncertainty and the lack of control associated with it, coupled with an active imagination, that primarily fuels a child's fear of the dark.
Which of the following best captures the essence of the passage?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 3 Detailed Solution
The correct answer is: 2) Nyctophobia is a natural developmental stage in children, stemming from the loss of visual sensory information in darkness, which their developing imagination fills with perceived threats.
Key Points
- Explanation: The passage explicitly identifies nyctophobia as a "common developmental stage." It attributes the core psychological mechanism to "darkness represents a loss of sensory information, primarily sight," which triggers an "innate survival mechanism." This void is then filled by the "developing imagination of a child" with "perceived dangers." The final sentence reinforces this by stating, "It is not the darkness itself, but the uncertainty and the lack of control associated with it, coupled with an active imagination, that primarily fuels a child's fear of the dark." Option 2 comprehensively captures all these essential elements.
- Why the other options are incorrect:
- 1) Children's fear of the dark is primarily caused by their vivid imaginations creating imaginary monsters and frightening scenarios: While imagination plays a role, the passage states it's the loss of sensory information that triggers the fear, and imagination then amplifies it by filling the void. It's not primarily caused by imagination alone.
- 3) The fear of the dark in children is largely learned from frightening stories and media, rather than being an innate response to darkness itself: The passage mentions that "exposure to frightening stories or media can contribute to these fears," but it explicitly states the core is an "innate survival mechanism" triggered by sensory deprivation. "Largely learned" contradicts the emphasis on innate response.
- 4) Children fear the dark because they are afraid of being alone and losing control, reflecting their general anxiety about separation from caregivers: The passage states these anxieties ("being alone, losing control, or the absence of protective figures") are amplified by the sensory deprivation and imagination, but they are not presented as the primary cause stemming directly from the darkness itself. The core is the loss of visual information and the subsequent uncertainty.
Para Summary Question 4:
The passage given below is followed by four alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Marxist ideologies, born from the socio-economic conditions of 19th-century industrial capitalism, propose a critique of class struggle and advocate for a classless society. While some tenets, like the analysis of power dynamics and critiques of rampant consumerism, continue to resonate with contemporary issues, the broader revolutionary prescriptions and historical failures of Marxist states often lead to skepticism. Nevertheless, a discernible resurgence of interest in Marxist thought is evident among segments of the younger generation today. Faced with widening wealth inequality, precarious employment, and perceived systemic injustices exacerbated by globalization and technological shifts, many young people find in Marxist frameworks a vocabulary to articulate their discontent and analyze the structural flaws they observe. This engagement, however, often involves a selective adoption of concepts, focusing on aspects like alienation or exploitation, rather than a wholesale embrace of historical materialism or violent revolution. It reflects a search for critical tools to understand current challenges, rather than a blueprint for an immediate political overthrow.
Which of the following best captures the essence of the passage?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 4 Detailed Solution
The correct answer is: 3) Modern youth selectively engage with Marxist concepts, using them to analyze current economic disparities and systemic issues, rather than adopting its full revolutionary program.
Key Points
- Explanation: The passage highlights a "discernible resurgence of interest in Marxist thought" among the younger generation due to "widening wealth inequality, precarious employment, and perceived systemic injustices." It explicitly states that this engagement "often involves a selective adoption of concepts, focusing on aspects like alienation or exploitation, rather than a wholesale embrace of historical materialism or violent revolution." The essence is the selective use of Marxist frameworks for contemporary critique, not a full endorsement of its historical tenets.
- Why the other options are incorrect:
- 1) Marxist ideologies, though outdated and historically problematic, are experiencing a limited revival among young people seeking a framework to critique modern capitalism: While partially true, it misses the crucial nuance that the engagement is selective and not a full embrace of the problematic parts. It also doesn't fully capture the reason for the revival (addressing current issues).
- 2) Despite the historical failures of Marxist states, young people are fully embracing Marxist revolutionary ideas to address contemporary issues like wealth inequality: This is directly contradicted by the passage, which states the engagement is "selective" and not a "wholesale embrace of historical materialism or violent revolution."
- 4) Marxist thought remains highly relevant for today's youth as it accurately predicted the global economic crises and the eventual downfall of capitalism: The passage does not claim that Marxist thought accurately predicted global economic crises or the downfall of capitalism. It states young people find a "vocabulary to articulate their discontent and analyze the structural flaws," implying a utility for analysis rather than prophetic accuracy.
Para Summary Question 5:
The British Empire’s unprecedented global expansion in the 18th and 19th centuries was driven by a combination of naval supremacy, innovative industrial technology, and strategic economic policies. Their control over sea routes allowed rapid deployment of military forces and resources, while industrial advancements fueled economic strength and superior weaponry. Additionally, the establishment of trade monopolies and colonial administrative systems enabled efficient governance and resource extraction. Together, these factors contributed to Britain’s dominance over vast territories across continents.
Which of the following statements most accurately captures the primary drivers behind the British Empire's global expansion, as presented in the passage?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 5 Detailed Solution
The correct answer is: The British Empire's widespread influence stemmed from a synergistic interplay of its superior naval forces, transformative industrial innovations, and meticulously crafted economic strategies.
Key Points
- Explanation: The passage explicitly states that the expansion was "driven by a combination of naval supremacy, innovative industrial technology, and strategic economic policies." Option 3 perfectly synthesizes these three core elements, using strong, accurate descriptors ("superior naval forces," "transformative industrial innovations," "meticulously crafted economic strategies") and emphasizing their combined effect ("synergistic interplay"). This option is the most comprehensive and precise summary of the primary drivers mentioned.
- Why the other options are incorrect:
- British imperial success was fundamentally rooted in its dominant naval power, which ensured control over global trade and military logistics: This option is partially correct but incomplete. While naval supremacy is indeed highlighted, the passage states the expansion was driven by a combination of factors, not "fundamentally rooted" in naval power alone. It omits the crucial roles of "innovative industrial technology" (which fueled economic strength and weaponry) and the broader "strategic economic policies" (like monopolies and administration) as distinct drivers.
- Britain's extensive colonial reach was primarily a consequence of its advanced industrial capabilities and astute economic management: This option, like option 1, is incomplete. It correctly identifies industrial capabilities and economic management but completely omits "naval supremacy," which the passage lists as the first driver in the combination. The phrase "primarily a consequence" implies these two factors were overwhelmingly dominant, which is not what the passage states when it lists three equally important components of the "combination."
- Global territorial acquisition by Britain was predominantly achieved through efficient resource extraction and robust administrative systems, bolstered by technological progress: This option focuses on the outcomes or means of maintaining control (resource extraction, administrative systems) and the support of technology ("bolstered by technological progress"), rather than the core drivers of the "unprecedented global expansion" as initially stated. While these elements are present in the passage, they are described as enabling "efficient governance and resource extraction" after the expansion was "driven by" the combination of naval, industrial, and strategic economic policies. It also omits naval supremacy as a primary driver.
Top Para Summary MCQ Objective Questions
Direction: Identify the most appropriate summary for the paragraph.
As Soviet power declined, the world became to some extent multipolar, and Europe strove to define an independent identity. What a journey Europe has undertaken to reach this point. It had in every century changed its internal structure and invented new ways of thinking about the nature of international order. Now at the culmination of an era, Europe, in order to participate in it, felt obliged to set aside the political mechanisms through which it had conducted its affairs for three and a half centuries. Impelled also by the desire to cushion the emergent unification of Germany, the new European Union established a common currency in 2002 and a formal political structure in 2004. It proclaimed a Europe united, whole, and free, adjusting its differences by peaceful mechanisms.
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 6 Detailed Solution
Download Solution PDFThe correct answer is 'Europe has chosen to lower political and economic heterogeneity, in order to adapt itself to an emerging multi-polar world.'
Key Points
- The given passage is about Europe that really worked hard to define its own identity and the passage is describing the journey it has been on to achieve that independence.
- Option 2 gets eliminated as it means that the unification of Germany and the emergence of a multipolar world facilitated the establishment of a formal political structure in Europe. Instead, a formal political structure in Europe led to the unification of Germany and the emergence of a multipolar world.
- Option 3 gets eliminated because in the passage it is given that Europe had changed its internal structure and invented new ways of thinking about the nature of international order in each century.
- Option 4 gets eliminated as it fails to mention the main idea of the passage about Europe adapting to the multipolar world.
- The passage says that Europe restructured its internal structure and devised new forms of international order. To adapt to an emerging multi-polar world, it chose to reduce political and economic diversity by establishing a common currency in 2002 and a formal political structure in 2004.
- According to the given explanation, it can be understood that sentence 1 is the most appropriate summary for the paragraph.
- Therefore, option 1 is the correct answer.
Additional Information
- Let's refer to some important words from the given passage:
- declined: diminish in strength or quality; deteriorate.
- multipolar: polarized in several ways or directions.
- strove: make great efforts to achieve or obtain something.
- culmination: the highest or climactic point of something, especially as attained after a long time.
- obliged: make (someone) legally or morally bound to do something.
- Impelled: drive, force, or urge (someone) to do something.
- cushion: something providing support or protection against impact.
- unification: the process of being united or made into a whole.
Which one of the options does NOT describe the passage below or follow from it?
We tend to think of cancer as a ‘modern’ illness because its metaphors are so modern. It is a disease of overproduction, of sudden growth, a growth that is unstoppable, tipped into the abyss of no control. Modern cell biology encourages us to imagine the cell as a molecular machine. Cancer is that machine unable to quench its intial command (to grow) and thus transform into an indestructible, self-propelled automaton.
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 7 Detailed Solution
Download Solution PDFConcept:
We tend to think of cancer as a ‘modern’ illness because its metaphors are so modern. It is a disease of overproduction, of sudden growth, a growth that is unstoppable, tipped into the abyss of no control.
Modern cell biology encourages us to imagine the cell as a molecular machine. Cancer is that machine unable to quench its initial command (to grow) and thus transform into an indestructible, self-propelled automaton.
From the given information we can clearly see that modern cell biology uses figurative language, such as metaphors to describe modern illnesses like cancer.
Hence, the correct option is (D).
Direction: Identify the most appropriate summary for the paragraph.
For nearly a century most psychologists have embraced one view of intelligence. Individuals are born with more or less intelligence potential (I.Q.); this potential is heavily influenced by heredity and difficult to alter; experts in measurement can determine a person’s intelligence early in life, currently from paper-and-pencil measures, perhaps eventually from examining the brain in action or even scrutinizing his/her genome. Recently, criticism of this conventional wisdom has mounted. Biologists ask if speaking of a single entity called “intelligence” is coherent and question the validity of measures used to estimate the heritability of a trait in humans, who, unlike plants or animals, are not conceived and bred under controlled conditions.
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 8 Detailed Solution
Download Solution PDFThe correct answer is 'Biologists have questioned the long-standing view that ‘intelligence’ is a single entity and the attempts to estimate its heritability.'
Key Points
- The given passage is talking about the view of psychologists and biologists regarding intelligence.
- Options 1 and 2 get eliminated. Despite the fact that these two options discuss biologists questioning conventional wisdom, they make no mention of heritability, which is an important element in the given passage.
- Although option 4 appears to mention both intelligence and heritability, it is referring to the methods of inheriting intelligence rather than attempts to estimate its heritability.
- It is a long-held belief in psychologists that 'intelligence' is a single entity, and it can be measured by estimating its heritability.
- This long-held belief is being questioned by biologists. They question whether the concept of “intelligence” as a single entity is meaningful, and they question the validity of measures used to estimate the heritability of a trait in humans.
- From the given explanation, it can be understood that statement 3 is the most appropriate summary for the given paragraph.
- Therefore, option 3 is the correct answer.
Additional Information
- Let's learn some important words from the given passage:
- embraced: accept (a belief, theory, or change) willingly and enthusiastically.
- eventually: in the end, especially after a long delay, dispute, or series of problems.
- scrutinizing: examine or inspect closely and thoroughly.
- conventional: based on or in accordance with what is generally done or believed.
- mounted: grow larger or more numerous.
- coherent: (of an argument, theory, or policy) logical and consistent.
- heritability: Heritability is a statistic used in the fields of breeding and genetics that estimates the degree of variation in a phenotypic trait in a population that is due to genetic variation between individuals in that population.
- bred (breed): (of a person or animal) reared in a specified environment or way.
Direction: Identify the most appropriate summary for the paragraph.
For years, movies and television series like Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) paint an unrealistic picture of the “science of voices.” In the 1994 movie Clear and Present Danger an expert listens to a briefly recorded utterance and declares that the speaker is “Cuban, aged 35 to 45, educated in the [...] eastern the United States.” The recording is then fed to a supercomputer that matches the voice to that of a suspect, concluding that the probability of correct identification is 90%. This sequence sums up a good number of misimpressions about forensic phonetics, which have led to errors in real-life justice. Indeed, that movie scene exemplifies the so-called “CSI effect”—the phenomenon in which judges hold unrealistic expectations of the capabilities of forensic science.
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 9 Detailed Solution
Download Solution PDFThe correct answer is 'Movies and televisions have led to the belief that the use of forensic phonetics in legal investigations is robust and fool proof.'
Key Points
- The given passage is talking about the reality behind the “science of voices.”
- In the passage, the author emphasizes that films and television shows have painted an unrealistic picture of the "science of voices." It means that they picturise something that is not possible or achievable in real life. In movies and tv shows, they show that it is possible to identify the criminal using his voice records. Whereas in real life such experiments have been futile and resulted in failures.
- The author emphasizes that such sequences in movies or shows summarise a number of misconceptions about forensic phonetics that have resulted in errors in real-life justice.
- The word 'robust' means 'uncompromising and forceful' and the word 'foolproof' means 'incapable of going wrong or being misused.'
- From the given explanation, it can be understood that option 1 best summarizes the given paragraph.
- Therefore, option 1 is the correct answer.
Additional Information
- Let's learn some important words related to the given passage:
- robust: uncompromising and forceful.
- foolproof: incapable of going wrong or being misused.
- misimpressions: a faulty or incorrect impression.
- phonetics: the study and classification of speech sounds.
- exemplifies: be a typical example of.
- phenomenon: a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question.
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The weight of society’s expectations is hardly a new phenomenon but it has become particularly draining over recent decades, perhaps because expectations themselves are so multifarious and contradictory. The perfectionism of the 1950s was rooted in the norms of mass culture and captured in famous advertising images of the ideal white American family that now seem self-satirising. In that era, perfectionism meant seamlessly conforming to values, behaviour and appearance: chiselled confidence for men, demure graciousness for women. The perfectionist was under pressure to look like everyone else, only more so. The perfectionists of today, by contrast, feel an obligation to stand out through their idiosyncratic style and wit if they are to gain a foothold in the attention economy.
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 10 Detailed Solution
Download Solution PDFThe passage discusses the evolution of societal expectations regarding perfectionism over time, contrasting the norms of the 1950s with those of today's attention economy:
- In the 1950s, perfectionism was about conforming to societal norms and mass culture ideals, portrayed through images like the ideal American family.
- Today, perfectionism involves standing out with unique style and wit to garner attention in the attention economy.
Now, let's evaluate the summaries:
-
Option 1: Incorrect
- This option focuses on the desire to attract attention but doesn't capture the contrast between conformity and non-conformism discussed in the passage.
-
Option 2: Incorrect
- While this option mentions the media's role in perpetuating ideals, it doesn't emphasize the evolution from conformity to non-conformism as central to the passage.
-
Option 3: Incorrect
- This option touches on the tension caused by changing definitions of perfectionism but doesn't clearly contrast the conformity of the past with the non-conformism of the present.
-
Option 4: Correct
- This option accurately summarizes the passage by highlighting the evolution of perfectionism from conformity in the 1950s to non-conformism today, where standing out is crucial in the attention economy. It encapsulates the essence of how societal expectations around perfectionism have changed over time.
Therefore, the correct summary that best captures the essence of the passage is Option 4: Though long-standing, the pressure to appear perfect and thereby attract attention, has evolved over time from one of conformism to one of non-conformism.
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Vance Packard’s The Hidden Persuaders alerted the public to the psychoanalytical techniques used by the advertising industry. Its premise was that advertising agencies were using depth interviews to identify hidden consumer motivations, which were then used to entice consumers to buy goods. Critics and reporters often wrongly assumed that Packard was writing mainly about subliminal advertising. Packard never mentioned the word subliminal, however, and devoted very little space to discussions of “subthreshold” effects. Instead, his views largely aligned with the notion that individuals do not always have access to their conscious thoughts and can be persuaded by supraliminal messages without their knowledge.
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 11 Detailed Solution
Download Solution PDFSolution :
There is a clear difference between the choices with respect to supraliminal and subliminal. The passage clearly tells us that Packard believed in supraliminal images, not subliminal. Thus 3 and 1 go out. We have to choose between 4 and 2.
Statement 2 says people are aware, while statement 4 says that people are not aware. The passage too says that people are not aware. Thus option 4 is the best choice.
This was a very simple question.
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Physics is a pure science that seeks to understand the behaviour of matter without regard to whether it will afford any practical benefit. Engineering is the correlative applied science in which physical theories are put to some specific use, such as building a bridge or a nuclear reactor. Engineers obviously rely heavily on the discoveries of physicists, but an engineer's knowledge of the world is not the same as the physicist's knowledge. In fact, an engineer's know-how will often depend on physical theories that, from the point of view of pure physics, are false. There are some reasons for this. First, theories that are false in the purest and strictest sense are still sometimes very good approximations to the true ones, and often have the added virtue of being much easier to work with. Second, sometimes the true theories apply only under highly idealized conditions which can only be created under controlled experimental situations. The engineer finds that in the real world, theories rejected by physicists yield more accurate predictions than the ones that they accept.
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 12 Detailed Solution
Download Solution PDFSolution :
The passage broadly talks about the difference between purse science and applied science, i.e. engineering. Further the author says that engineers might find even those theories of physics useful that from the point of view of pure physics are false. Option 2 precisely captures that. It says that engineering incorporates the constraints and conditions of physics in the real world.
Option 1 says the relationship is strictly linear, but that is not the case. Had that been the case, the false theories of pure science could not have been used by engineers for accurate predictions.
Option 3 goes out because it does not even mention the word pure science. It solely focuses on engineers, ignoring the relationship between purse science and engineering.
Option 4 gives a summary that is totally different from the what the passage discusses.
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
A distinguishing feature of language is our ability to refer to absent things, known as displaced reference. A speaker can bring distant referents to mind in the absence of any obvious stimuli. Thoughts, not limited to the here and now, can pop into our heads for unfathomable reasons. This ability to think about distant things necessarily precedes the ability to talk about them. Thought precedes meaningful referential communication. A prerequisite for the emergence of human-like meaningful symbols is that the mental categories they relate to can be invoked even in the absence of immediate stimuli.
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 13 Detailed Solution
Download Solution PDFSolution :
Everything is good with option 1 except that it says only humans have the ability to think, something that is nowhere to found in the passage. 1 can be ruled out.
Option 3 goes out because displaced reference is a distinguishing feature of language, not of humans. Option 3 can be ruled out.
Option 4 goes out because the passage says that thought precedes all meaningful communication, while option 4 says that thought precedes all speech acts, something that may not always be the case. Thus option 4 too goes out.
Option 2 is succinct and does not have any distortions or misrepresentations.
The song of birds is one of the loveliest sounds in nature. Sometimes when we are out in the country and we hear birds singing, it seems to us they are calling back and forth, that they are telling one another something. The fact is that birds do communicate with one another, just as many other animals do. Of course, at times the sounds birds make are more expressions of joy, just as we may make cries of‘Oh!’ and ‘Ah!’. But for the most part, the sounds that birds make are attempts at communication. A mother hen makes sounds that warns her children of danger and causes them to crouch down motionless. Then she gives another call which collects them together. When wild birds migrate at night, they cry out. These cries may keep the birds together and help lost ones return to the flock. But the language of birds is different from language as we use it. We use words to express ideas and these words have to be learned. Birds don’t learn their language. It is an inborn instinct with them. In one experiment, for example, chicks were kept-away, from cocks and hens so they would not hear the sounds they made. Yet when they grew up they were able to make those sounds just like the chicks that had grown up with cocks and hens! This does not mean that birds can’t learn how to sing. In fact some birds can learn the songs of other birds. This is how the Mocking bird gets its name. Read carefully ,the above passage and answer the following question: Birds need not learn their language as..........
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 14 Detailed Solution
Download Solution PDF- The passage clearly states that birds’ ability to make sounds for communication is not learned but is an inborn instinct.
- It is explained that birds do not need to learn their language because it comes naturally to them from birth, as evidenced by the experiment with chicks.
- The other options: "it is tough to learn," "it is only a quality with humans," and "it is developed with extra intelligence" do not correctly describe the reason given in the passage.
Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 3'.
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Several of the world’s earliest cities were organised along egalitarian lines. In some regions, urban populations governed themselves for centuries without any indication of the temples and palaces that would later emerge; in others, temples and palaces never emerged at all, and there is simply no evidence of a class of administrators or any other sort of ruling stratum. It would seem that the mere fact of urban life does not, necessarily, imply any particular form of political organization, and never did. Far from resigning us to inequality, the picture that is now emerging of humanity’s past may open our eyes to egalitarian possibilities we otherwise would have never considered.
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Para Summary Question 15 Detailed Solution
Download Solution PDFThe correct answer is: Option 1: "We now have the evidence in support of the existence of an egalitarian urban life in some ancient cities, where political and civic organisation was far less hierarchical."
Key Points
- Option 1 captures the essence of the passage effectively by highlighting the existence of egalitarian urban life in some ancient cities and the less hierarchical political and civic organization.
- The passage emphasizes that the mere fact of urban life does not necessarily imply a particular form of political organization, and that some ancient cities were organized along egalitarian lines without temples, palaces, or a ruling stratum.
- Therefore, the primary message is about the historical evidence of egalitarian urban life and its implications for our understanding of political organization.
Hence, the correct answer is: Option 1.
Additional Information
- The other options are incorrect because:
- Option 2: "Contrary to our assumption that urban settlements have always involved hierarchical political and administrative structures, ancient cities were not organised in this way.": This option is incorrect because it focuses on challenging an assumption rather than highlighting the evidence of egalitarian urban life.
- Option 3: "The emergence of a class of administrators and ruling stratum transformed the egalitarian urban life of ancient cities to the hierarchical civic organisations of today.": This option is incorrect because it introduces the idea of transformation to today's hierarchical organizations, which is not discussed in the passage.
- Option 4: "The lack of hierarchical administration in ancient cities can be deduced by the absence of religious and regal structures such as temples and palaces.": This option is incorrect because it focuses on the deduction from the absence of structures rather than the broader point about egalitarian urban life.