PASSAGE-18

Along with the obscurantist language, bribe-taking culture around the world often involves the avoidance of physically handing the money from one person to another. One obvious reason is to avoid detection, which is why bribes are known as ―envelopes   in countries from China to Greece. But avoidance of a direct hand –over is common even where there is no chance of detection. There will always be some officials who will take money right from a bribe-player‘s hands, but most seem to prefer to find some way to hide the money from view. Rich Westerners may not think of their societies as plagued by corruption. But the definition of bribery clearly differs from person to person. A New Yorker might pity the third-world businessman who must pay bribes just to keep his shop open. But the same New Yorker would not think twice about slipping the $50 to sneak into a nice restaurant without a reservation. Poor people the world over are most infuriated by the casual corruption of the elites rather than by the underpaid, ―tip  -seeking soldier or functionary. Thus there is no single cultural or social factor that inclines a society towards corruption, but economic factors play a big part. Most clearly, poverty and bribery go together.  
( For Complete Passage :  http://www.economist.com/node/8401139 )

Questions:-
1.     What is the author likely to agree to in the following?
Option 1 : Some cultures suffer corruptions while others do not.
Option 2 : Social factors incline a society towards corruption.
Option 3 : Bribery is not a cultural phenomena.                   
Option 4 : None of these

2.     Which of the following the author does not identify as linguistic manifestation of corruption?
Option 1 : Asking for a favour.                                                          
Option 2 : Use of double meanings.
Option 3 : Use of quasi-official terminology.             
Option 4 : Relate to food item.

3.     What is bribe generally called in China?
Option 1 : Hand-over        Option 2 : Refresco            Option 3 : Envelopes         4 : Baksheesh

4.     In summary what does the passage primarily suggest and provide evidence for?
Option 1 : Corruption is always concealed in some way, both linguistically and in the process.
Option 2 : Corruption exists only in developing economies.
Option 3 : Corruption is an unethical practice.          4 : Corruption slows down GDP growth.

5.     What could be the meaning of the word dissimulation, as can be inferred from the context it is used in first line of the passage?
Option 1 : Hypocrisy         Option 2 : Clarity                Option 3 : Frankness         Option 4 : Insult

6.     What best represents the author's attitude towards the rich people in the West?
Option 1 : Appreciative    2 : Mildly critical                 3 : Heavily critical   4 : Mildly appreciative

7.     What is the author most likely to agree to?
Option 1 : People generally do not try to hide money taken as bribe.
Option 2 : People hide money taken as bribe primarily to avoid detection.
Option 3 : People hide money taken as bribe from view even if detection possibility is low.
Option 4 : None of these

8.     What could be the meaning of the word 'obscurantist' as inferred from the passage?
Option 1 : Clear      Option 2 : Unclear             Option 3 : Nasty                 Option 4 : Polite

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PASSAGE-6

AT THE end of the 19th century, India's maharajahs discovered a Parisian designer called Louis Vuitton and flooded his small factory with orders for custom-made Rolls-Royce interiors, leather picnic hampers and modish polo-club bags. But after independence, when India's princes lost much of their wealth, the orders dried up. Then in 2002  LVMH , the world's largest luxury-goods group, made a triumphant return to India, opening a boutique in Delhi and another in Mumbai in 2004. Its target was the new breed of maharajah produced by India's liberalised economy: flush, flash, and growing in number. Other purveyors of opulence followed, from Chanel to Bulgari. In recent months a multitude of swanky brands have announced plans to set up shop in India, including Dolce & Gabbana, Hermès, Jimmy Choo and Gucci. And Indian women will soon be invited to spend over $100 on bras made by La Perla, an Italian lingerie firm. Only a tiny fraction, of course, will do so. B...
Read more

PASSAGE-21

The Indian government‘s intention of introducing caste based quotas for the ―Other Backward Classes   in centrally funded institutions of higher learning and the prime minister‘s suggestion to the private sector to ‗voluntarily go in for reservation‘, has once again sparked off a debate on the merits and demerits of caste-based reservations. Unfortunately, the predictable divide between the votaries of ―social justice   on one hand and those advocating ―merit   on the other seems to have once again camouflaged the real issues. It is necessary to take a holistic and non-partisan view of the issues involved. The hue and cry about ―sacrificing merit   is untenable simply because merit is after all a social construct and it cannot be determined objectively in a historically unjust and unequal context. The idea of competitive merit will be worthy of serious attention only in a broadly egalitarian context. But then, caste is not the only obstacl...
Read more

PASSAGE-25

Rohit brushed quickly past an elderly woman waiting on the platform ahead of him to get onto the metro. He wanted to be sure to get a seat to read his Economic Times. As the train rolled out of the station, he lifted his head from the newspaper and stared at the man directly across from him. A tsunami - of antipathy came over him. Rohit knew this man, knew him all too well. Their eyes locked.            As the train reached full speed, the ruckus of speeding wheels against the winding rails and a wildly gyrating subway car filled Rohit's ears. To this frenetic beat, Rohit effortlessly listed in his head all the reasons this man, whose eyes he stared coldly into, was an anathema to him.                             He had climbed the upper echelons of his firm using an imperious m...
Read more