Chapter 4 - LOD EXERCISES

Chapter 4

LOD 1 Exercises

We have divided exercises into three levels of difficulty (LOD) going from easy (LOD-1) to difficult (LOD-3).

Exercises in this chapter contain relatively smaller passages and easy questions. This will give students reading practice and also a judgement as to what they should look for in a passage. The time given is indicative; students should concentrate on acquiring reading skills and keep time as a secondary consideration. Students should use these exercises as warm-up before proceeding to the next difficulty level.

Exercise 4.1

Questions: 25                          Time: 30 minutes

Directions: Each passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Read the given passages and answer the questions by ticking the appropriate choice from the options given.

Passage 1

The public sector is at the crossroads ever since the launch of economics reforms programme in India. The pendulum has been swinging between survival and surrender. It is the result of a confluence of several factors: a shift in global economic environment, the emergence of the market economy and myths surrounding the performance of the public sector. So virulent have been the onslaught that is becoming axiomatic that by the very concept, the public sector is inefficient and resource waster where as private enterprise is resource efficient.

            The reform programme in India commenced with the policy of restructuring of the public sector supported by greater public participation. With the passage of time, the process of liberalisation has shifted to privatisation in a disguised form couched as strategic sale. In the wake of the recent hot pursuit of the wholesale privatisation programme, a lively and poignant debate has emerged. It provides a golden opportunity to introspect and revisit the issue.

            At the very outset it must be made clear that in the worldwide liberalised economic environment and very high stake of the state in most public undertakings, disinvestment policy should be welcome. With public participation in the PSUs, there will be a good dose of accountability in the system. What needs to be reviewed are some basic issues; the priorities allocated to the enterprises selected for disinvestment, a comprehensive road map delineating the route, the modes and modalities, timing and its consequences. These basic issues require greater discussion and participative decision-making. In any event, the disinvestment programme in respect of the closed and non-revivable units is a must if the drain of further resources is to be prevented.

            Let it be understood that PSUs are a big repository of value and it will take quite some time for a privatisation programme to materialise despite the desire to expedite the process. Until then if a vacuum emerges, attended by uncertainty, it will do a great harm to the investments which were made with such great dedication although derided now.

            The government has withdrawn budgetary support over the last decade. If some support is extended, it is largely directed to closed or losing enterprises, which have no future. A large chunk of these are those which were taken over as closed or bankrupt enterprises from the private sector – a fact deliberately overlooked by the champions of privatisation. These undertakings need immediate attention. They are an unnecessary drain on the public exchequer. A high priority area for the disinvestment programme ought to be these enterprises but under one or the other argument these remain unattended. Maybe it involves a tougher task. If these cannot be sold lock, stock and barrel, asset stripping is the only option. Obviously the government cannot realise good prices from these assets but their disposal will help stop the drain. If the assets are depreciated or become obsolete, there is no point in holding on to them indefinitely and take to softer options of selling the vibrant and highly profit-making organisations to reduce the budgetary deficit.

Non-performers exist both in public and private sector. Why condemn the public sector as a whole? A better option will be closure or privatisation of loss making and non-viable units, supporting PSUs which could be turned around and become healthy and viable and providing autonomy to the boards of PSUs which are performing well and have potential to be globally competitive.

1. The basic issues requiring greater discussion and participative decision making regarding the disinvestment programme is/are

1. the priorities allocated to the enterprises selected for disinvestment.

2. a comprehensive road-map delineating the route.

3. the modes and modalities, timings and its consequence.

4. All the above.

2. "The public sector is inefficient and resource waster whereas private enterprise is resource-efficient". This opinion is due to

1. a shift in global economic environment.

2. the emergence of market economy.

3. the myths surrounding the performance of the public sector.

4. All the above.

3. The reform programme in India started with the policy of restructuring of PSUs has got shifted to

1. liberalisation                        2. privatisation             3. globalisation                        4. None of these

4. What were made with great dedication earlier, but now derided?

1. Disinvestments                                            2. Investments in PSUs                       

3. Wholesale privatisation programme             4. Strategic plans

5. According to the author, non-performers exist in

1. government                                                  2. public sector                       

3. private sector                                                           4. public and private sectors

6. An appropriate title to the passage will be

            1. "Disinvestment of PSUs"                            

            2. "Economic Reforms Programmes in India"

            3. "Liberalised Economic Environment"                     

            4. "Non-performing Assets"

Passage 2

Of the many aspects of public administration, the ethical aspects are perhaps the most important but the least codified. While administrative rules and procedure have been codified in various public documents and manuals, there is no manual for the ethics of public servants.

While organisational behaviour analyses the factors which influence the behaviour of individuals in an organisation, ethics refers to those norms and standards which behaviour of the people in an organisation must conform. While behaviour analysis deals with factual aspects, ethics relates to the normative aspects of administration. The normative aspects are of the greatest significance. Just as for an individual if character is lost, everything is lost, so also for an administration if the ethics is lost, everything is lost. Neither efficiency nor loyalty could be substitute for high ethical standards. In India, though there is no ethical code for public administrators, there are what are called, the Government Servants' Conduct Rules. These rules lay down what constitutes misconduct for the public servants. It is apparently implied that such misconduct, which is not permitted, is also unethical conduct.

7. As per the passage, organisational behaviour is

1. same as ethics in organisations                               

2. different from ethics in organisations

3. human behaviour in organisations including ethics 

4. None of these

8. Ethics is to an administration, what character is for

1. an administrator                                           2. an official               

3. an individual                                                            4. None of these

9. Government Servants' Conduct Rules are meant for

1. guiding the ethical conduct of government servants.

2. guiding what constitutes misconduct for public.

3. guiding what constitutes misconduct for government servants.

4. None of these.

10. The underlined word 'manual' in the context of the given passage means

1. hand operated          2. physical                   3. guide book               4. none of these

Passage 3

            Deciding whether a given population constitutes a ‘species’ can be difficult in part because there is no single accepted definition of the term.  Years ago, evolutionary biologist Ernst W Mayr propounding what is called the biological species concept, and proposed that the definition be based on reproductive compatibility.  Specifically, he considered a species to be a group of animals that can mate with one another to produce fertile offspring but cannot mate successfully with members of a different group.

            Yet this idea can be too restrictive.  First, mating between species (hybridization), as often occurs in the canine family, is quite common in nature.  Second, in some instances the differences between two populations might not prevent them from interbreeding, even though they are rather dissimilar in traits unrelated to reproduction; one might question whether such disparate groups should be considered a single species.  A third problem with the biological species concept is that investigators cannot always determine whether two groups that live in different places are capable of interbreeding.

            When the biological species concept is difficult to apply, some investigators use phenotype, an organism’s observable characteristics, as a surrogate.  Two groups that have evolved separately are likely to display measurable differences in many of their traits, such as the size of the skull or width of the teeth.  If the distribution of measurements from one group does not overlap those of the other group, the two groups might be considered distinct species.  Another widely discussed idea designates a species based on the presence of some unique characteristic not found in another closely related organism—for example the upright posture of humans—or a distinguishing sequence of nucleotides DNA (building blocks) in a gene.

            Proving that the red wolf fits any of these descriptions has been extremely challenging.  For instance, the red wolf is not a species by Mayr’s definition, because it can breed extensively with the coyote and the gray wolf.  And efforts to classify the red wolf based on its phenotypic traits have yielded ambiguous results.  John James Audubon and John Bachman, who described the red wolf in their classic 1851 book, Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, had difficulty distinguishing the red wolf from the physically similar coyote and gray wolf.  Modern researchers looking at phenotypic traits have variously concluded that the red wolf, a hybrid of the coyote and the gray wolf, is a full-fledged species.

11.   What does the passage mainly discuss?

1. The need to provide a strict definition for the term ‘species’

2. The weakness in Ernst W Mayr’s definition of the term ‘species’

3. The difficulty of defining the term ‘species’

4. Whether the red wolf meets the definition of the term ‘species’

12.  It can be inferred from the passage that two different species living in different locations

1. have different skull sizes    

2. might be able to breed with one another.

3. possess unique characteristics not found in other organisms.

            4. cannot be compatible in terms of reproduction .

13.  The word ‘distinct’ in the passage is closest in meaning to:

            1. common                  2. unusual                    3. familiar                    4. different

14.  The author does each of the following EXCEPT

            1. refer to a book                     2. make a criticism      

            3. make a comparison              4. provide a definition

15.  With which of the following statements would the author be LEAST likely to agree?

1. The red wolf has been proven to be a hybrid of the coyote and the gray wolf.

2. Biologists have posed at least three different definitions for the term ‘species’.

3. Animals from different species are capable of mating and producing fertile offspring

4. Mayr’s definition of the term ‘species’ has been shown to be lacking.

PASSAGE 4

            The most important requirement for the data used in the strategic review process is that they be objective.  In addition, the criteria should be familiar, well-understood, and accepted measures of financial performance.  There are two reasons.  First, the ultimate responsibility of the board is to understand the impact of a given strategy on the value of the owners’ investment.  This obligation implies evaluating performance in financial terms.  Second, although it is inevitable that much of the evidence on the success of an evolving strategy is subjective, managers’ familiarity with the details of product-market and company specific issues, and their access to an incredible amount and variety of data gives them an advantage over outside board members.  Objective data consistently presented and reinforced by the cumulative evidence of past performance can strengthen the power and credibility of the board’s opinion.  Standard financial indicators facilitate discussion in terms that all parties can understand.

            Some will argue that using such indicators is just one more example of a myopic preoccupation with the corporate bottom line, leading to short-term decisions that erode long-term competitive strength and profitability in domestic and international product markets.  I must disagree.  Although I think that financial criteria should the central focus of board oversight, I do not think such a focus prevents the board from considering other kinds of progress.  It should certainly weigh all objective – or even subjective — evidence of strategic progress demonstrating long-term competitive strength and profitability in domestic and international markets.  But it is equally important for the board to intervene when it sees persistent, long-term erosion of the investment base, on which all corporate activity depends.

            The criteria best suited to the strategic oversight process share two important characteristics.  They focus on the sustainable rate of return on shareholder investment produced by the corporate income stream.  They also permit objective comparisons among the company’s separable income streams and with alternative investments in other companies inside or outside the industry.  These data should help the board determine whether the company’s chosen strategy, or a particular decision, will contribute to a long-term return of shareholder investment equal or superior to other investment alternatives of comparable risk.  They should also allow a comparison of the promise of future returns with the reality of past performance.

            In the final analysis, these criteria should reflect a fundamental economic reality: The long-term loyalty of the equity holders depends solely on sustaining a competitive return on investment.  Without that, no product-market strategy is safe.  Although professional managers might find this dictum hard to accept, it is nevertheless the reality of the public capital markets in which they operate.  Just doing better than other immediate investment alternatives better than last year, or even better than all major competitors in the same industry may not, in the end, be good enough to justify continued investor support.

            With this in mind, boards will find that several criteria satisfy the basic criteria of a strategic review process.  One is the reported return on book investment (ROI), particularly when it is disaggregated into its primary components.  It has the advantage of being based on data familiar to shareholders and management.  It shows profit per unit of sales (profit margin), sales per unit of capital employed (asset turnover), and capital employed per unit of equity invested (leverage).  When multiplied together, these ratios transform profit margin into return on equity. 

            This particular set of measurements has two weaknesses, however.  First, it may be subject to random changes in accounting practice, so that users may have to make appropriate retroactive adjustments to the raw data.  In addition, it does not provide an external standard of comparison. The underlying components of the corporate income stream need to be broken out and comparable data on companies inside and outside the industry gathered.  The data of review should also encompass information on investor response including price-to-earnings and market-to-book-value ratios.  These data reveal evidence of investors’ reaction to published information on company performance and are a measure of confidence. They are an essential supplement to any measurement based primarily on company-specific data.

16.  Which of the following would negate the author’s assumption of the manager’s advantage over outside board members in the strategic review process?

1. Familiarity with the multiplicity of details relating to the various product-market combination in which the company is involved.

2. Incomplete understanding of the various issues specific to the company which would need to be factored into the decision making process.

3. The existence of a well-developed management information system providing reliable information on the state of the company, competition and the industry.

4. The presence of internal mechanisms to identify the relative strengths and weaknesses prevailing in the company, with corresponding studies done across competitors and the industry.

17.  Which of the following would the author NOT consider a satisfactory criterion to be used in a strategic review?

1. Analysing the various components of the reported return on book investments

2. The pay scales within the company as compared to those prevailing in the industry.

3. Analysis of the various components of the company’s separable income streams, and their comparison with alternative investment opportunities

4. Information on the response of investors to the company’s performance as seen in ratio such as the market-to-book-value ratio

18.  The passage could be a part of

1. Book on management                2. Newspaper article          3. Financial journal

            4. Textbook on strategy

19.  Which of the following statements CANNOT be inferred from the passage?

1. The strategic review process would be unsuccessful if any non-objective criteria are applied in the process.

2. It is necessary that the criteria used for the strategic audit should be focused on monitoring that the company is achieving and sustaining a competitive return on investments at all times.

3. The analysis of financial ratios based on the information published by the company is not a sufficiently foolproof evaluation criterion in itself.

4. All the above.

20.  According to the author

1. evaluating business strategies from the point of view of their impact on the company’s bottom line is myopic and leads to short-term decision making.

2. there is no significant correlation between the company’s performance and the public perception of it  as manifested in various ratios  such as the price-to-earnings ratio.

3. although a particular  strategy may provide significant competitive gains, it should not be allowed to cause long-term erosion of the company’s investment base.

4. the promise of future returns should always be given greater always be given greater weightage in the strategic review process than analysis of past performance.

 

Passage 5

            Know your product. Believe in your Product and Sell with Enthusiasm.  These are the fundamental selling truths.  If you don’t know your product, people will resent your efforts to sell it; if you don’t believe in it, no amount of personality and technique will cover that fact; if you can’t sell with enthusiasm, the lack of it will be infectious.

            Nothing turns off a potential customer quicker than a salesman’s lack of familiarity with his products.  Have you ever walked into a department store, asked a clerk how a particular gadget or appliance worked, then stood by while he fiddled with the knobs and wondered out loud why they don’t make things simple anymore?

Even if he finally gets it to work, by that time your interest has diminished and you are not likely to make the purchase. 

            Knowing your product also means understanding the idea behind its projecting, how it is perceived – the relationship between it and what someone wants to buy.  How will it help the customer?  What problem is it solving? What is its promise?

            An understanding of these intangible features is at least as important as knowing a product’s mechanical features.  Yet precisely because they are intangible, and may even very from customer to customer, they are more prone to being misinterpreted and misunderstood.

            Knowing your product also means understanding the image it is projecting.  I believe all products project an image of some sort.  It may be a positive one, which you want to promote, or a negative one, which you need to overcome.  The home computer industry, for instance, really didn’t take off until it solved its image problem.  Here was the device that saved time and simplified all sorts of tasks, yet it looked complicated and difficult to use. Until it was made to seem “friendlier”, less forbidding, sales lagged.

            Part of knowing your product is knowing all the reasons someone might not want to buy it.  Anticipate the reasons.  State them clearly in your mind, spell them out on paper if necessary and have an answer ready for each of them.

            A good portion of almost any sales effort is spent overcoming objections.  Don’t try to convince a buyer that these objections aren’t valid.  Concentrate instead on altering his frame of reference. In anticipating and overcoming objections a salesman has to practice a kind of theory of relativity.  He has to ask himself, “compared to what?”  Think about a major purchase you have made—buying a house, for instance—and the mental gyrations you went through to get there.  At some point you were making comparisons.  Compared to another house that interested you but in a slightly less desirable neighborhood, it seemed expensive. Compared to what you could have bought it for ten years ago, it seemed outrageous.  But compared to its resale value, compared to what you deserve you were able to justify the price.

            In licensing the name of an athlete, I know the two objections we are most likely to encounter are the price, the size of the guarantees—and the athlete’s lack of availability to the licensers. The president of a major apparel firm once told me that he wasn’t going to pay an athlete more money than he was making himself.  By this criterion, the seven-figure guarantee that we were asking probably did seem outrageous.  But I was quick to point out that what he was buying was instant brand name identification, and compared to the tens of millions of dollars it would cost to develop a comparable degree of brand recognition, the guarantees were indeed reasonable.

            He also questioned why, if he agreed to pay that kind of money, he was only entitled to five days of the athlete’s time.  Again, it was a matter of altering his frame of reference.  From which would his company benefit more: additional department store promotions or this particular athlete winning more major tennis competitions? And didn’t he agree that the best use of athlete’s time, as far as his company was concerned, would be hitting millions of tennis balls to Centre court at Wimbledon?

            By helping the buyer see a different frame of reference, by altering his perceptions, we were able to finalize a license deal that has resulted in the company’s most successful line of apparel and several million dollars income to our client.

21.  What according to the author, would selling without enthusiasm result in?

1. No sale at all                                                           

2. Absence of enthusiasm in the buyers as well.

3. Lack of confidence of the sales man                      

4. Lack of knowledge on the part of the salesman.

22.  What does the author say about the image your product should project?

1. It is always in harmony with customers’ needs.

2. Its knowledge is necessary to make your product sell.

3. The better is the image the higher would your product sell.

4. It serves to lift up the sagging sales.

23.  How does the author relate the intangible features of product to its mechanical ones?

1. The intangible features are more powerful than the mechanical.

2. The mechanical features cause the sales of the product.

3. Not understanding the mechanical features can sag the sales.

4. The product can be thoroughly known only by the knowledge of both.

24.  What according to the author caused the initial debacle in the computer industry?

1. The misplacement of brand in the market

2. The lack of faith in the product capacity

3. The computers were highly complicated

4. The range of costs being very high

25.  In reference to the athlete, what does the author mean by additional departmental store promotions?

1. The author means additional expenses on advertisements.

2.  He means chasing between overspending and thriftiness.

3.  He means concentrating on the athlete’s tennis instead.

4.  He means advertising in the athlete’s leisure time.

Exercise 4.2

Questions: 25                          Time: 30 minutes

Directions: Each passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Read the given passages and answer the questions by ticking the appropriate choice from the options given.

Passage 1

            Management is a set of processes that can keep a complicated system of people and technology running smoothly. The most important aspects of management include planning, budgeting, organising, staffing, controlling and problem solving. Leadership is a set of processes that creates organisations in the first place or adapts them to significantly changing circumstances. Leadership defines what the future should look like, aligns people with that vision, and inspires them to make it happen despite the obstacles. This distinction is absolutely crucial for our purposes here. Successful transformation is 70 to 90 per cent leadership and only 10 to 30 per cent management. Yet for historical reasons, many organisations today don’t have much leadership. And almost everyone thinks about the problem here as one of managing change.

            For most of this century, as we created thousands and thousands of large organisations for the first time in human history, we didn’t have enough good managers to keep all those bureaucracies functioning. So many companies and universities developed management programmes, and hundreds and thousands of people were encouraged to learn management on the job. And they did. But people were taught little about leadership. To some degree, management was the main item on the twentieth-century agenda because that’s what was needed. For every entrepreneur or business builder who was a leader, we needed hundreds of managers to run their ever-growing enterprises.

            Unfortunately for us, today, this emphasis on management has often been institutionalised in corporate cultures that discourage employees from learning how to lead. Ironically, past success is usually the key ingredient in producing this outcome. The syndrome, as I have observed it on many occasions, goes like this: success creates some degree of market dominance, which in turn produces much growth. After a while keeping the ever-larger organisation under control becomes the primary challenge. So attention turns inward, and managerial competencies are nurtured. A strong emphasis on management but not leadership, bureaucracy and an inward focus take over. But with continued success, the result mostly of market dominance, the problem often goes unadressed and an unhealthy arrogance begins to evolve. All of these characteristics then make any transformation effort much more difficult.

            Arrogant managers can overvaluate their current performance and competitive position, listen poorly, and learn slowly. Inwardly focussed employees can smother those who want to respond to shifting conditions. And the lack of leadership leaves no force inside these organisations to break out of the morass.

1. What is the main topic of the passage?

1. Importance of management schools in the present context

2. Good managers

3. Importance of leadership in an organisation

4. Management and success of an organisation.

2. Why did companies and Universities develop programmes to prepare managers in large numbers?

1. Companies and Universities wanted to generate funds through these programmes.

2. Organisations wanted to create communication network through trained managers.

3. Large number of organisations were created and they needed managers in good numbers.

4. Only trained managers could lead an organisation to success.

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

1. Bureaucratic culture smothers those who want to change conditions.

2. Leadership involves carrying out important functions such as budgeting and planning.

3. Pressure on managers comes mostly from within.

4. Leadership has the potential to establish direction.

4. Management education was emphasised in the management programmes because:

1. motivating employees was thought to be done by managers.

2. organisations wanted to create a powerful guiding coalition.

3. establishing direction was the main force of organisations.

4. management was the main item of agenda in organisations.

5. What is the historical reasons for many organisations not having leadership?

1. Leaders allow too much complacency in organisations.

2. Leaders are not adept in carrying out managerial functions and organisations need good managers only.

3. The view that leaders are born and not made.

4. Socio-political pressure.

6. Which of the following is similar in meaning to the underlined word ‘nurtured’ as used in the passage?

1. created                     2. developed                3. surfaced                   4. thwarted

7. What, according to the author, is leadership?

1. Inspiring people to realise the vision.                                  

2. Planning and budgeting resources

3. Carrying out the crucial functions of a manager                 

4. Keep the technology running smoothly

8. Which of the following characteristics help organisations in their transformation efforts?

1. Bureaucratic and inward looking approach             

2. A strong and dogmatic culture        

3. Emphasis on leadership rather than management                

4. Emphasis on customer satisfaction

9. Why were people taught little about leadership in management programmes?

1. Enough study material was not available.               

2. Leadership was considered a political phenomenon.

3. Focus of these programmes was on developed managers

4. None of these

10. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

1. Bureaucracy fosters arrogant culture.

2. Leadership competencies are nurtured only in very large size organisations.

3. Successful transformation in organisations is largely possible because of leadership.

4. Managers tend to stifle innovation.

Passage 2

Of all the areas of learning the most important is the development of attitudes. Emotional reactions as well as logical thought processes affect the behaviour of the people. "The burnt child fears the fire" is one instance, and the second is the rise of despots like Hitler. Both of these examples also point to the fact that attitudes stem from experience. In the one case the experience was direct and impressive, in the other it was indirect and cumulative. The Nazis were indoctrinated largely by the speeches they heard and the books they read. The classroom teacher in the elementary school is in a strategic position to influence attitudes. This is true partly because children acquire attitudes from these adults whose word they respect.

            Another reason is that pupils often develop somewhat deeply into a subject in school that has only been touched upon at home or has possibly never occurred to them before. To a child who had previously acquired little knowledge of Mexico, his teacher's method of handling such a unit will greatly affect his attitude towards Mexicans.

The media through which the teacher can develop wholesome attitudes are innumerable. Social Studies (with special reference to races, creeds and personalities), science, matters of health and safety, the very atmosphere of the classroom … these areas are few of the fertile fields for the inculcation of proper emotional reactions.

            However, when children come to school with undesirable attitudes, it is unwise for the teacher to attempt to change their feelings by cajoling or scolding them. She can achieve the proper effect by helping them to obtain constructive experiences.

            To illustrate, first grade pupils afraid of policemen will probably alter their attitude after a classroom chat with the neighbourhood officer in which he explains how he protects them. In the same way, a class of older children can develop attitudes through discussion, research, outside reading and all-day trips.

            Finally, a teacher must constantly evaluate her own attitudes, because her influence can be deleterious if she has personal prejudices. This is especially true in respect of controversial issues and questions on which children should be encouraged to reach their own decision as a result of objective analysis of all the facts.

11. The central idea conveyed in the above passage is that

1. attitudes affect our actions.

2. teachers play a significant role in developing or changing pupils' attitudes.

3. attitudes can be changed by some classroom experience

4. by  their attitudes, teachers inadvertently affect pupils' attitude.

12. The author implies that

1. the teacher should guide all discussion by revealing her own attitudes.

2. in some aspects of social studies a greater variety of methods can be used in the upper grades than in the lower grades.

3. people usually act on the basis of reasoning rather than on emotion.

4. children's attitudes often come from those of other children.

13. A statement not made or implied in the passage is that:

1. attitudes can be based on the learning of falsehoods.

2. a child can develop in the classroom an attitude about the importance of brushing his teeth.

3. attitude cannot easily be changed by rewards and lectures.

4. the attitude of elementary school aged children are influenced primarily by the way they were treated as infants.

14. The passage specifically states that

1. direct experiences are more valuable than indirect ones.

2. whatever attitude a child developed in school has already been introduced at home.

3. teachers should always conceal their own attitudes.

4. teachers can sometimes have an unwholesome influence on children.

15. The first and fourth paragraph have all the following points in common, except

1. the importance of experience in building attitudes.

2. how fear sometimes governs attitudes.

3. how attitudes can be changed in the classroom.

4. how reading affects attitudes.

Passage 3

            By the time the immensely popular Raja Ravi Varma died in 1906, he had painted innumerable kings, princes and others who could afford his high prices. Through the amazing dissemination of his oleographs, he had familiarised the people of India with his mythological images. The ripples created by the oleographs continued to spread effortlessly through the decades that followed.

            There is, in fact, a dual and contradictory movement between his paintings and his oleographs. The mass appeal of his oleographs has never abated, influencing the public imagination in many ways. His paintings, on the other hand, had to face the criticism of the intellectual elite. Sister Nivedita, Ananda K Coomaraswamy and, later, Ramananda Chatterjee found much that was wrong with his genre of painting. He also found disfavour with the Bengal School and the nationalistic mood of that time. The advent of the Progressive Artists Groups, which brought in the fresh air of modernism from the west in the ‘40s, completed the circle of obscurity that his paintings encountered.

            His paintings hung neglected on dam palace walls, merging with the background. Or else, they were removed, pushed into corners and placed under staircases. They squatted in these forgotten places, waiting patiently for the tide to turn.

            In 1992, the gifted artist A Ramachandram and I decided that it was essential to place Ravi Varma in the correct historic perspective, which he certainly deserved. It was necessary to review what was perceived to be the outdated quality of his works and to understand his relevance in the altered perceptions of our times. With the support of the Department of Culture and the National Museum in Delhi, the Sri Chitra Art Galley in Thiruvananthapuram was convinced to lend the National Museum a large selection of Ravi Varma works. Paintings from private collections as well as cinema posters and Tanjore paintings were collected to show how Ravi Varma had influenced other art forms. It was also essential to illustrate his impact on later painters like Hemen Mazumdar (1894 -1948), MV Dhurandhar (1867-1944) and Mr MF Pithawala (1872-1937).

            The inexpensive, gaudy coloured oleographs also found their place on the hallowed museum walls. It was historically necessary to show their impact on popular vision and their eventual deterioration into ‘calendar art’ as also manifested in labels for matchboxes and other sundry articles of use. With the help of the Department of Culture and the National Museum, an abundantly illustrated catalogue on Ravi Varma was published containing contributions from art historians and critics and a section on the artist’s diary.

            The impact of the 1993 exhibition surprised us. Alost immediately there was a made scramble for Ravi Varmas as their monetary value shot up. A Varma painting, which, before the exhibition would have been valued for Rs. 50,000, was now going for Rs. five lakh.

16. What is the passage about?

1.  Raja Ravi Varma’s greatness as a painter.              

2.  The distinction between his paintings and oleographs

3.   the revival of Raja Ravi Varma                            

4.   The neglect of Raja Ravi Varma

17. What was the subject of Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings?

1.  The masses                         2.  The royalty                         3.   The intellectual elite           4.   Cinema

18. Why have Raja Ravi Varma’s oleographs been so successful?

1.  They are uncorrupted by 20th century art. 

2.  they have not been reviewed by the critics.

3.   They are modern.                         

4.   They have had a mass appeal.

19. Why were cinema posters and Tanjore paintings collected?

1.  To show now inexpensive they were                     

2.  To have an abundantly illustrated catalogue on Raja Ravi Varma

3.   To prove his influence on other art forms

4.   To weed out fakes from the market

20. According to the author, the price of a painting

1.  determines the success of its painter.                     

2.  indicates how good it is.

3.   is more than that of an oleograph.            

4.   serves only in distancing the painter from the masses.

Passage 4

Indian stock exchanges took a major step forward with the introduction of single stock futures on 31 actively traded stocks. Stock futures such as options are called derivative instruments, because their value is derived from an underlying asset, say a currency, shares, a stock index (the last two relate to the capital market. , agricultural commodities, precious metals such as gold. (Enron, the energy major now in the news for all the wrong reasons both here and in America, is a pioneer in enlarging derivatives trading to things such as bandwidth. .

            India has had a tradition of forward trading in agricultural commodities but it was only recently its application to either the capital market or the foreign exchange market was considered. In the forex market, the relative lack of integration with the outside world and the exchange control regulations here are impediments.

            The stock markets were not ready for them for at least two reasons: the age-old badla system (a uniquely Indian innovation.  and permitted carry-forward of stock market positions. Though at various times, the badla system was blamed for most of the ills and was actually banned before it was immensely popular among the market intermediaries such as brokers. Finally, when badla had to finally go in the face of unrelenting governmental and regulatory pressure, liquidity in the market dried. The introduced earlier, of course, is the absence of investor education which alone will put these products in the domain of common investors’ comprehension. It is obvious that the stock market derivatives will succeed if only they bring in liquidity and vibrancy to the present lackluster market. All classes of investors should be enabled to participate for that to happen.

            Derivatives in the capital market have, therefore, made their advent quite recently in India, first with the index-based futures on the two principal exchanges, the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, followed by option contracts. If Friday’s favourable reaction is anything to go by, the stock-specific futures will win hands down in the popularity chart. (Actually, all the derivative instruments have a role and are often used in conjunction with one another. .

            It may be early days still but stock market experts say that the stock futures will succeed because they resemble the badla in many ways. Like the badla, they fit into the Indian stock market ethos which is principally grounded on tradition. In one respect they score over the badla. Stock futures are issued as contracts for three months. The earlier carry-forward extended to one settlement period of one week.

            The other advantages are low margin requirements. Because an investor can leverage his funds over many contracts volumes in the market will go up. Liquidity in the stock market will further get a boost because arbitrage between the cash and futures market will be possible. On the minus side, there is a feeling that the popularity of the instruments - confined to 31 specific stocks - will further polarise the stock market trades between liquid and illiquid stock. second, greater investor awareness is needed. For both, the stock market reform including investor education has to be carried forward.

21. What is the author’s attitude towards futures trading?

1.  cautious      2.  optimistic    3.   cautionary 4.   dismissive

22. Which of the following is an obstacle in the application of forward trading to foreign exchange market?

1.  Volatility of the market                   2.  A somewhat insular market           

3.   Governmental pressure                  4.   Liquidity in the market

23. Which of the following will ensure the success of junctures in the stock market?

1.  That they bring liquidity to the market       

2.  That they prove themselves better than badla

3.   That they keep margin requirements low  

4.   That they be issued for not more than three months

24. What could the phrase “favourable reaction” refer to in the fourth para?

1.  A number of stock exchanges allowed single-stock futures trading.          

2.  Bearish sentiment prevailed in the market.

3.   Badla trading came to a complete halt.                             

4.   The stock market index went up.

25. According to the passage, investor education in India

1.  is missing                                       

2.  is one of the reasons why the stock market was not ready for forward trading.

3.   has added to the liquidity of the market.

4.   None of these

Exercise 4.3

Questions: 25                          Time: 30 minutes

Directions: Each passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Read the given passages and answer the questions by ticking the appropriate choice from the options given.

Passage 1

All Great Thinkers live and move on a high plane of thought. It is only there that they can live harmoniously and attain that serenity which comes from ideal companionship. The studies of all great thinkers must range along the highest altitudes of human thought. I cannot remember the name of any illuminative genius who did not drink his inspiration from the fountains of ancient Greek and Hebrew writers; or such among the moderns as were pupils in ancient thought, and in turn, became masters in their own. I have always thought that the strongest argument in favour of the Baconian theory was that no man, however indubitable his genius, could have written the plays and sonnets that have come down to us under Shakespeare's name who had not the liberal education of Bacon. How this habit of intercourse with the gods makes one impatient of mere men. The magnificent ideals that have ever haunted the human mind, and given us our highest proofs of a future immortality by reason of the impossibility of their fullfilment here, are splintered into atoms by contact with life's realities. Hence comes our sublime discontent. You will notice that your first sensation after reading a great book is one of melancholy and dissatisfaction. The ideas, sentiments, expressions, are so far beyond those of ordinary working life that you cannot turn aside from one to the other without an acute sensation and consciousness of the contrast. And the principles are so lofty, so superhuman that it is a positive pain, if once you become imbued with them, to come down and mix in the squalid surroundings or ordinary humanity. It may be spiritual or intellectual pride that is engendered on the high plane of intellectual life. But whatever it is, it becomes inevitable. A habitual meditation on the vast problems that underline human life, and are knit into human destinies; thoughts of immortality, of the littleness of mere men, of the greatness of man's soul, of the splendours of the universe that are invisible to the ordinary traffickers in the street, as the vastness of St Peter's is to the spider that weaves her web in a corner of the dome. These things do not fit men to understand the average human being, or tolerate with patience the sordid wretchedness of the unregenerate masses. It is easy to understand therefore, why such thinkers fly to the solitude of their own thoughts or the silent companionship of the immortals; and if they care to present their views in prose or verse to the world, that these views take a sombre and melancholy setting form -- "the pale cast of thought'' in which they were engendered.

1. On what plane must Great Thinkers live and move?

1. on a high plane of thought                           2. on mundane plane  

3.  on mystical plane                                        4.  on psychological plane

2. Great Thinkers can live harmoniously only with

1. ordinary, down-to-earth people                   2. spirits like themselves         

3.  pedantic people                                          4.  monks

3. Most of the great souls were inspired by

1. ancient Indian scriptures                              2. Shakespeare            

3.  St. Peter                                                      4.  ancients Greek and Hebrew writers

4. Is liberal education necessary to produce great literature?

1. yes               2. no                3.  partly necessary                  4.  none of the above

5. What is the argument in support of the Baconian theory?

                  1. that Shakespeare was divinely inspired

2. that the plays  and poems that have come down to us under Shakespeare's name were not written by him

                  3.  that Shakespeare's writings were inspired by Baconian ideals

                  4.  that no man could have written the plays and sonnets that have come down to us under Shakespeare's name who had not the liberal education of Bacon

6. What is the unique feature of great literature?

1. the magnificent ideals of man's future immortality is interwoven with life's realities

2. man's immortality is seen as an impossibility

3.  man's immortality is possible here and now

4.  life's physical realities are given supermacy over life's spiritual realities

7. In the context of the passage what is meant by `sublime discontent'?

                  1. to be spiritually unhappy

                  2. discontent which is great in magnitude             

                  3.  melancholy and dissatisfaction followed by lofty, super-human pain             

                  4.  none of the above

8. Why does the reading of a great book make one melancholy and disappointed?

1. because the ideas, sentiments, expressions are far beyond the ordinary life

2. because of the lofty, super-human principles         

3.  none of the above  

4.  both (1) and (2)

9. What are the things that make it hard to understand to average human beings?

1. thoughts of immortality      

2. thoughts of the littleness of mere man, and of the greatness of man's soul 

3.  thoughts of the splendours of the universe

4.  all of the above

10. What do the great thinkers do when they are not understood by the common mass?

1. they escape to jungles                     

2. they become ascetics and live in `ashrams' 

3. they commit suicide            

4. they fly to the solitude of their own thoughts or the silent companionship of the immortals

Passage 2

Architecture is an expression of the emotional content of a society. In the period following industrialisation it meant the “emotional” content of industrial culture. The lack of emotional substance in industrial culture led modern architecture to replace this deficiency with ideology. It made itself an expression of the ideological content of industrial society.

            Indeed nothing could halt the rush for the surgical separation of art and architecture. Politicisation of architecture went further and demanded that architecture should represent itself, along with product design, as a rigorous and technocratic discipline, that it should cease to proclaim itself as architecture at all. The new theories proclaimed that the field should immediately embrace the heuristic methods of operational research and ergonomics. It was in the implementation of these rationalist theories that the architectural schools were re-christened  “schools of environment design''.

            The approach culminated in giving birth to "planned'' development theories, mass housing, grid systems and the ultimate obliteration of all exterior features -- features that had historically projected architecture as a tapestry of images enriching its environment and providing its inhabitants with a feel of belonging. The politicised architecture reduced the whole matter to a question of satisfying measurable needs by means of measurable ``resources''. One may argue that the very distortion of the objective world that is associated with art cannot be accepted in the case of architecture which is essentially functional.

            This argument ignores the fact that architecture, in all cases where it does more than fulfil the simplistic physical needs, is never entirely determined by external conditions. These merely provide the framework and within that framework the architect can dispose of practically unlimited possibilities. Form does not follow function. Form follows culture. No two cultures interpret a function in the same way. It is this variation of interpretation that gives each culture its unique qualities and injects a sense of belonging in the community and the individual.

            The function or architecture is to provide an emotional stimuli to people. Whenever it fails to fulfil this function man loses the equilibrium between thought and action. Psychologists have discovered that the rampant criminality of our times is a result of the growing lack of emotional element in architecture. Unlike traditional architecture, which provided fantasies with its symbolic features, modern architecture with its meaningless exteriors breeds only a sense of defeat and alienation.

            It is this sense of fear and alienation that is also held responsible for juvenile delinquency. Failing to find stimuli in the environment, the child quite simply compensates for it by a hyperactive desire for adventure.

            Trapped in a situation of its own making, politicised architecture is left with no choice but to expend itself in total abstraction. Abstraction is otherwise as a condensation of meaning or imagery, a pregnant symbol. But the way modern architecture exploited the term, it made abstraction synonymous with the lack of meaning and mere play with form.

11. Which of the following best summarises the central thesis of the passage?

1. Modern architecture has neither any emotional content nor has it any power to arouse a sense of belongingness among people. 

2. Bereft of any emotional content as it is, modern architecture is a major factor responsible for the rampant criminality and juvenile delinquency in modern societies.

3.  Modern architecture is too abstract to convey any aesthetic value.

4.  Under a regime of ‘planned' development, it is impossible to have any architecture of lasting aesthetic value.

12. Which of the following, according to the author, was the main feature of architecture in the pre-industrial era?

1. To provide physical facilities for dwelling and worshipping.

2. To express the uniqueness of a particular culture.

3.  To express content as against form.

4.  To provide a tapestry of images.

13. Which of the following does the architecture of the industrial era mainly attempt to express?

1. The emotional content of the industrial age.           

2. The ideology of the industrial age.
3.  Heuristic methods.                                     

4.  Rationalist theories.

14. According to the author, in an industrial society.

I. architecture and art tend to be separated from each other.

II. architecture does not have any aesthetically pleasing external features.

III. there is little architecture which can inspire a sense of belongingness among people.

1. I and III only                       2. I and II only             3.  II and III only         4.  I, II and III

15. Which of the following statements best summaries the author's stand on the question of architecture being `functional' or otherwise?

1. Architecture in the real sense of the term can never be functional.

2. Architecture is functional in as far as it fulfills basic needs of man.

3.  Only distorted architecture is made to serve functional purposes.

4.  Far from being merely functional, traditionally, architecture has served a more basic need of society.

16. By saying “Form does not follow function” the author means that

1. function is more important than form.

2. form and function are two sides of the same coin.

3.  form in architecture is governed by some other factors than function alone.

4.  none of the above.

17. With which of the following statements, the author would be least likely to agree?

1. The architecture of industrial society is totally bereft of emotional content.

2. The lack of widespread feeling of alienation among people is caused by a lack of emotionalism.

3.  Delinquency among children is often the results of a lack of adequate emotional stimuli in their environment.

4.  The dominant impact of modern architecture on man in a sense of loneliness and powerlessness.

18. Why, according to the author, does the architecture of the industrial age strive increasingly to be abstract? Because

1. it has nothing significant to express by way of content.

2. abstraction is the best form of condensing meaning.

3.  an abstraction is a pregnant symbol of imagery.

4.  the industrial age just wanted to exploit abstraction.

19. Which of the following statements is false?

1. Abstraction has no place in sound architecture.

2. Traditional architecture provided scope for human fantasies.

3.  Modern architecture mainly aims at satisfying the utilitarian needs of man.

4.  Art can co-exist with architecture.

20. Which of the following statements is false?

1. Schools of Environment Design emphasise rationalistic theories of art.

2. The physical needs of a society dictate the form which art assumes.

3.  Different cultures place different values on the same function.

4.  People belonging to a particular culture interpret functions in a similar fashion

Passage 3

Today, researches are being conducted to study the effect of mind over body. A few years ago, when the following incident occurred, I would have passed if off as a mere coincidence -- but not today. Darshan Singh was a 70-year-old man living in the neighbourhood. He was very sociable and a frequent visitor at home. But his sons were abroad and his married daughter was in Assam. One day, he developed a serious heart trouble and was admitted to the Intensive Cardiac Core Unit (ICCU) in my hospital. Over a period of 3-4 days, he showed improvement and was pronounced stable and out of danger. In the meantime, a telegram was sent to his daughter and she was to arrive in 3-4 days' time.

            Every evening, before I went home, I would pay him a courtesy call. One day, I suddenly had an urge to visit him in the morning. At about 11.30 a.m. when I visited him, he was looking a lot better and started asking me when our doctors would take him out from the ICCU. He again reminded me to get his daughter back in Mumbai as early as possible as he had an intense desire to see his little grand children. While talking to him, I noticed a team of doctors trying in vain to revive a young heart -- that of a 35-year-old man who had sustained a massive heart attack and was by then almost dead. Out of curiosity, I looked at the cardiac monitor of Shri Singh and, to my surprise, I saw a flat line. Singh suddenly collapsed and was pulseless. I raised an alarm and the team who had just about given up on reviving the young man's heart rushed to Singh and he was immediately revived. He was now critical though conscious. There was yet another request to trunk call his daughter. He lived for about six days till his daughter and grand children had a chance to see him and then he passed away peacefully. Human nature and intuition are inexplicable.

21. What was the team of doctors doing while the author was talking to Singh?

1. Watching the cardiac monitor of Singh.      

2. Treating Singh for his heart revival.

3.  Observing the cardiac monitor of Singh.    

4.  Attending on another patient in the ICCU

22. The author feels that Singh's survival was -

1. A mere coincidence                                     2. The effect of mind over body        

3.  The result of his daughter's arrival              4.  The result of his seeing his grandchildren

23. Which of the following was an unusual thing done by the author?

1. He visited Singh in the morning      

2. He attended on another patient in the ICCU

3.  He telephoned the daughter of Singh                     

4.  He paid a courtesy call to Singh in the morning

24. The author of the passage wants to convey that:

1. The advancement in medical field is appreciable   

2. Human nature and intuition go hand in hand

3.  Only alert and competent doctors can save patients           

4.  Intense desire and will-power can postpone death

25. The flat line on the cardiac monitor was an indication that -

1. The patient's condition was stable and out of danger.         

2. The patient was almost on the verge of death

3.  The pulse-rate of the patient was abnormally high

4.  The patient was unconscious but his condition was not critical

Exercise 4.4

Questions: 25                          Time: 30 minutes

Directions: Each passage given below is followed by a set of questions. Read the given passages and answer the questions by ticking the appropriate choice from the options given.

Passage 1

Like Makara Sankranti, Lohri is essentially a festival dedicated to the Sun god. It is not clear how Lohri assumed the nomenclature it now has. As the Sun moves towards the Uttarayan, the new configuration lends a touch of warmth to mother earth.

            The seeds that lay dormant thus far for want of heat, now sprout forth with the help of the Sun’s heat. In religious annals the Sun god enjoys a uniquely high rank for this reason and is worshipped with great devotion, especially because the Sun’s energy helps generate and re-generate life-nurturing produce.

            Makara Sankranti is therefore a celebration of plenty, propitiating the Sun god. This festival has strong regional flavours and is observed throughout India, and is most well-known as Lohri in Punjab, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Samkranti in Bengal, Magha Bihu in Assam and Tai Pongal in Kerala. It is believed that by worshipping the Sun, the energy-giver, humankind will be blessed and will enjoy peace and prosperity.

            In Tamil Nadu, Pongal celebrations are spread over three days -- Bhogi on the first day is followed by Pongal on Makara Sankranti when rice and lentils are cooked with ghee, jaggery and sugar, with the pot being allowed to boil over, signifying plenty and prosperity. New clothes are worn and prayers are offered to Lord Surya. The Pongal celebrations culminate on the third day, Maatu Pongal, when cows are revered and worshipped, after bathing them with turmeric paste.

            Lohri being central to Punjab, the festival seems to have acquired its name from Loh, a thick iron sheet (tawa) used for baking chapatis for the community langar (meals). Loh too signifies the supply of heat with which to bake and cook. Another mythical reference says that because the rays of the Sun shower benedictions, water is offered to the Sun as a part of the daily puja ritual at the time of sunrise. The significance of Lohri in Punjab has its origins in another legend. It is believed that during Makara Sankranti Punjab heralds the new year, and propitiating the Sun god gives an auspicious start to the new year.

            Yet another clue comes from the Mahabharata: Bheeshma Pitamah preferred to put up with the extreme physical discomfort and pain of lying on a cot of thorns in order to wait for the auspicious moment -- when the Sun moved to the Uttarayan -- in order to secure his entry into swargalok or heaven. Pieced together, all these accounts and references point to the significance of saluting the Sun. The Sun is a symbol of plenty; it gives us all we need.

1. Lohri got its name from

            1. The Sun god                        2. Loh              3.  Bheeshma Pitamah                         4.  Can’t say

2. The Sun god is worhsipped because he symbolises:

            1. new configuration    2. generation    3.  heat                                     4.  benediction

3. According to the passage, which day of the Pongal celebrations is the most important?

            1. First day                   2. Second day 3.  Third day                4.  All days carry equal weightage

4. Which of the following is not true about Lohri?

            1. It is a festival dedicated to Bheeshma Pitamah, according to one legend.

            2. It is celebrated in Punjab.

            3.  It has probably acquired its name from Loh.

            4.  It is not clear how it assumed the nomenclature it now has.

5. According to the passage, why did Beeshma Pitamah suspend his death?

            1. He decided to put up with extreme physical discomfort.

            2. He waited for the Sun to move a particular position.

            3.  He was desirous of attaining heavenly abode.

            4.  None of these

Passage 2

            “I see you’re admiring my little box,” the Knight said in a friendly tone. “It’s my own invention -- to keep clothes and sandwiches in. You see I carry it upside down, so that the rain can’t get in.”

            “But the things can get out,” Alice gently remarked. “Do you know that the lid’s open?”

            “I didn’t know it,” the Knight said, a shade of vexation passing over his face. “Then all the things must have fallen out! And the box is of no use without them.”
            “I was wondering what the mousetrap was for,” said Alice. “It isn’t very likely there would be any mice on the horse’s back.”

            “Not very likely, perhaps,” said the Knight; “but, if they do come, I don’t choose to have them running all about.”

            “You see,” he went on after a pause, “It’s as well to be provided for everything.”

            “The great art of riding, as I was saying is to keep your balance properly. Like this, you know…..”

            He let go of the bridle, and stretched out both his arms to show Alice what he meant, and this time, fell flat on his back, right under the horse’s feet.

            “Plenty of practice!” he went on repeating, all the time that Alice was getting him on his feet again. “Plenty of practice!”

            “It’s too ridiculous!” cried Alice, losing all her patience this time.

            Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass” here takes a shot at Victorian technology and Victorian fascination for new things. (Queen Victoria was born in 1819 shortly after the Industrial Revolution and was the crowned Queen of England until 1901). He mentions in his book, “In science and technology, the Victorians invented the modern idea of invention, the notion that one could create solutions to problems, that man can create new means of bettering himself and his environment.” Alice exposes the futility of the White Knight’s inventions when she notices the mousetrap on the Knight’s horse and remarks: “It isn’t very likely there would be any mice on the horse’s back.” One can say that because Alice’s adventures take place in a fantastic world, there may well be mice on horses’ backs. However, the Knight’s agreement with Alice, “Not very likely, perhaps,” indicates to the reader that Alice’s logic prevails in the Knight’s and Alice’s world. Instead of facilitating life, the Knight’s inventions pose problems; he loses the things he had placed in his own invention, the box: “Then all the things must have fallen out.”

            However, the flaw lies in the Knight’s lack of logic in using his inventions rather than in the inventions themselves. For example, placing mousetraps on the horse may have been useful if mice did approach horses. However, the Knight did not consider that in the world he lived such an event was unlikely. Likewise, putting the box upside down may have protected its contents from the rain, if the Knight had thought to close the lid. At this point it seems that perhaps Carroll cautions against invention getting out of hand and losing its original purpose: inventing for the sake of inventing, rather than facilitating life.

            The White Knight’s concern with the art rather than the basics and function of riding parallels his craze for inventing; he loses touch with the original purpose of riding, which was a means of transportation. Alice finally says in exasperation: “It’s too ridiculous!,” as the Knight falls off his horse. Alice’s cry can apply to the Knight’s entire mentality concerning inventions, riding, and the impractical way in which he thinks in general. The Knight’s numerous plans and inventions may reflect Victorian England’s “new technical epoch.” A learned reader and friend of Lewis Carroll lightheartedly comments, “If invention was a sign of modernization and industrialization in Victorian England, perhaps Carroll, through the passage, suggests that the surge of modernization is not the key to bettering oneself and the environment.”

6. What is the central theme of the passage?

            1. Commentary on the modern idea of inventions.

            2. Parody of the Victorian technology and Victorian fascination with inventions.

            3.  The surge of modernization is not the key to bettering oneself and the environment.

            4.  Narrating an incident from “Alice in Wonderland.”

           

7. What do you think the author would like you to believe in?

            1. Art can override the utility of an invention.            

2. Utility can override the art of an invention.

            3.  Invention can create solutions.                              

4.  Invention can create problems.

8. From your reading of the narrative, whose judgment do you thing triumphs?

            1. Alice                        2. The Knight               3.  Lewis Carroll         

4.  Both Alice and the Knight        

9. What is your understanding of England’s “new technical epoch?”

            1. Modernization of the world                        

2. Industrialization in England

            3.  An era of inventions in England                            

4.  The Knight was an idealist

10. Alice showed her level headedness with her opinion that

            1. Utility outweighs form in an invention                   

            2. Form outweighs utility in an invention

            3.  Utility and form were equally important in an invention

            4.  Utility and form were not at all important for a successful invention

           

11. Which of the following describes the “Victorian Era” beast?

            1. Dogmatic                 2. Informal                  3.  Prevailing                4.  Lithe                      

12. From the passage it can be inferred that “The Victorian Era” lasted from

            1. 1819-1901               2. 1837-1901               3. 1819-1861              

4. 19th to 20^th century            

13. Which of the following statements do you think is the most plausible?

            1. The Victorian era had the remnants of the Industrial Revolution of Britain

            2. The Industrial Revolution of Britain was result of the shortcomings of the Victorian era

            3.  The Industrial Revolution in now way effected the Victorian era.

            4.  Lewis Carroll is strongly against the highhandedness of the aristocracy

14. Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations proposed that the only legitimate goal of national government and human activity is the steady increase in the overall wealth of the nation. His theory would be more congruous with:

            1. The Victorian era                                                    

2. The era of industrial revolution

            3.  Neither the Victorian era nor the period of the revolution.

4.  Pre-industrialization era

15. Suggest an appropriate title for the passage:

            1. Inventions for the sake of inventions                                 

2. Art and Utility of Inventions: a Victorian view

            3.  Technical epoch in Victorian England                   

4.  The invention of problems in England

Passage - 3

            Advertising agencies across the world have found a pot of gold. Millions of rupees are being spent for creating advertisements for dotcoms springing up by the day. The big question is whether this money is going down the drain or being well spent. The primary and immediate objective of advertising of most dotcoms is to make sure that their site name is top-of-mind. For, familiarity with the site name is what determines whether a person goes straight to a particular site or uses the search engines, where the probability of someone clicking on a particular site is much lower.

            What should the name of the site be? The craze seems to be getting a name that is as close to the generic name of the category/need as possible. So in the process, every site belonging to a certain category seems to have similar sounding names. For example, some of the sites that deal with the Indian stock market are Equitymaster.com, Sharekhan.com, Investsmartindia.com, Rrfinance.com and so on -- all generic, similar-sounding names.

            Every site that has missed out on getting the exact category name as the domain name should resist the temptation of ‘at least trying to be close to’ the category name. The dotcoms should choose name that is distinct, and make effort to popularize it. All the dotcoms, at the core, are providing a service, an intangible entity, to the consumer. So as in marketing of all successful service brands, providing a tangible cue about the service always helps. So instead of spending large sums of money to make people remember a domain name, a tangible image of the site can be engraved in consumer mind space with a much lesser amount.

            How should one choose a tangible image for a site? The site marketer should identify a single most important benefit that is sought by a consumer for coming to the site. This benefit should ideally translate into the tangible image of the site, as the bull logo of Merrill Lynch epitomises the core benefit from a financial services company.

            Today a surfer expects certain services from every site. For example, a site offering a chat service is an expected level of service. So it does not excite anyone. A site offering only expected or even augmented level services won’t have any competitive advantage. A site can attract new traffic and build loyalty among the existing users of the site only by offering services from the Unexpected Positive level. Care should be taken to advertise a site on its UPS. (Unexpected Positive Servic5)

            In Internet business there is absolutely no personal interaction between the buyer and the seller. This, no doubt increases the buyers’ anxiety during the buying transaction. This might be the most important factor that influences the very future of e-commerce.

            The dotcoms have to compensate for their lack of personal interaction. One way to compensate for this lack of personal interaction is through an ideal advertising strategy. The advertisements for any dotcom are possibly the only piece of communication that the buyer gets from the seller before she signs her cheque. So it should be in spirit, seen as a letter of contract that the seller sends to the buyer for her signature.

            Having created a visibility in the online world, companies should make sure they pay due diligence to the traditional media as well. In India, while ad spending is reportedly being slashed across all categories, outdoors has always remained a cheaper option compared to other media. But suddenly billboards, hitherto filled largely with dotcom and public issue ads, also seem to be going blank across metros. While the dotcom bust and the stock market crash may be responsible for billboard sites appearing vacant, there could be a demand-supply mismatch, which has resulted in blank sites.

            With no fixed rules for owning and setting up such sites, sanctions are usually obtained from the municipal corporations and collectorates, which give permission for hoardings to be put up without any fixed limit, mostly in a bid to fill empty coffers. This has resulted in an overcrowded marketplace where supply is more than demand. According to J C Giri, Managing Consultant, Outdoor, a division of Ogilvy & Mather, “Although the slump in the market is temporary, now there is excess supply compared to the demand in the market. Prices are already coming down by almost 20 percent from the days of the dotcoms when the rates did go up”.

            While it is doubtful whether prices will actually go down since strategically located sites will continue to command a premium, there might just be some elasticity built over a period of time to get prices down. Estimated at Rs. 650 crore, the outdoor media business now comprises about 10 percent of the total revenue spent on advertising. With the rate of growth hovering between 15 percent and 20 percent, it is mainly industries such as media, FMCG, textiles and private insurance companies, which continue to use hoardings extensively in spite of the existing slowdown in their business.

            The dotcoms too were responsible for hiking the hoarding rates when they wanted more visibility. Today site owners do not want to compromise on clients who want to slash their budgets. Although they know they cannot hold on to unrealistic rates and that prices are bound to fall, some of the site owners may be just holding on to these ‘unrealistic’ rates hoping to get business at the earlier rates.

            Besides, most corporates realize that today television is the best medium to get visibility considering its increasing penetration. The clutter of channels has led to increased airtime inventory, with prices dropping drastically in spite of what is printed in rate cards. This obviously would not apply to the leading premium channels such as Star and Sony, which can command steep rates, but smaller channels with lesser revenues have emerged as an option for advertisers looking for quicker and cheaper visibility with hoardings taking a back seat in their media strategy.

            At the same time, corporates prefer more options within outdoors itself. As S Yesudas, Vice-President, Initiative Media, says, “The market is not particularly down. It is just that clients are looking beyond billboards at other options.” Considering there has been advancement in technology to facilitate some innovation in this medium, the big moon floating on Marine Drive may just be an indication of things to come within this industry.

            For instance, Initiative Media, the media buying division of AP Lintas, is exploring more options within outdoors such as ‘street furniture’ which includes public utilities, dustbins and kiosks to give outdoor advertising a new dimension. Meanwhile the pioneers of the outdoor medium since 1945, Selvel Publicity & Consultants Ltd. are not too pleased about the present condition of their industry. States Nitin A Kshirsagar, Manager-Sales, Selvel Publicity & Consultants Ltd. “At the moment we are holding on to goodwill. Profits are just about average.”

            If the dotcoms truly raised the hopes of the outdoor industry last year, today it is just a matter of supply surpassing demand. Summing up the present situation, Mike Khanna, Chief Executive Officer, Hindustan Thompson Associates, says, “It was the dotcoms who strongly believed in this medium. Today it is just a case of excess supply in the market.”

16. What is the immediate objective of advertising for dotcom?

            1. To create awareness of the site                    2. To increase sales through e-commerce

            3.  To increase click-through                           4.  To educate customers

17. How should companies choose a site name?

            1. Choose a name similar to the product category                   

            2. Choose a name that is similar to the competitors.

            3.  Choose a distinct name with a cue to the service provided

            4.  Use the company’s name

18. How should one choose an image for the site?

            1. The image should be based on the most important benefit sought by a consumer

            2. The image should be based on the company’s goals

            3.  Image should be based on the intangible services provided.

            4.  Image is based on the advertisements

19. A site can attract and retain customers

            1. By offering the commonly expected services

            2. By advertising the site name

            3.  By offering not only augmented but also unexpected positive services

            4.  By giving customers freebies

20. Why are ad spends on billboards going down?

            1. Dotcom bust                        2. Stock market crash 3.  Demand-supply mismatch

            4.  None of the above

Passage 4

From apparel to aerospace, steel to software, the pace of technological innovation is quickening. No longer can companies afford to miss a generation of technology and expect to remain competitive. Adding to the pressure, innovations are increasingly crossing industry boundaries: a new fibre developed by the textile industry has potential for building materials and medical equipment. Some companies are adept at using a diversity of technologies to create new products that transform markets. But many others are floundering because they rely on technology strategy that no longer works in such a fast changing environment. The difference between success and failure is not how much a company spends on research and development, but how it approaches it.

            There are two possible approaches. Either a company can invest in R & D that replaces an older generation of technology -- the “break through” approach -- or it can focus on combining existing technology into hybrid technologies -- the “technology fusions” approach. It blends incremental technical improvements from several previously separate fields of technology to create products that revolutionise markets.

In a world where the old maxim “one technology one industry” no longer applies, a singular breakthrough strategy is inadequate; companies need to include both the breakthrough and fusion approach in their technology strategy. Relying on breakthroughs alone fails because it focuses the R & D efforts too narrowly ignoring the possibilities of combining technologies. Yet many Western companies still rely almost exclusively on the breakthrough approach. The reasons are complex; a distrust of outside innovations, a not-invented-here engineering arrogance, an aversion to sharing research results.

           

21. Which of the following is FALSE according to the passage?

1. Technological innovation is happening at a fast pace

2. All technological innovations have applicability in other industries

3. Companies failing to adopt new technology may fail.

4. Companies which adopt technology of other industries have an advantage

22. Which of the following would correctly reflect the position regarding the two approaches to technology adoption?

1. Both the approaches are to be used at the same time

2. “Breakthrough” approach is only to be used.

3. “Technology fusion” approach is only to be used

4. “Breakthrough approach” is preferable for many companies

23. Which of the following features of technology has been highlighted most prominently by the author of the passage?

1. Its improper utilisation by some companies

2. The speed at which innovations are happening.

3. The expenses involved in developing technology.  

4. The two approaches to adopting technology

24. Which of the following has the SAME meaning as the word “generation” as it has been used in the passage?

1. family          2. class                         3. offspring                  4. phase          

25. What does the author want to highlight by using the example “apparel to aerospace” and “steel to software”?

1. Many industries are trying to improve technology  

2. His knowledge about the various industries.

3. The spread of technological innovation.     

4. The speed of the technological innovation.

Answers

Exercise 4. 1

1. 4      First paragraph: “It is the result of a confluence of several factors: a shift in global economic environment, the emergence of the market economy and myths surrounding the performance of the public sector.”

2. 4      As in Q 1

3. 2      “With the passage of time, the process of liberalisation has shifted to privatisation…”

4. 2      “it will do a great harm to the investments which were made with such great dedication although derided now.”

5. 4      Last paragraph: “Non-performers exist both in public and private sector…”

6. 1      The passage is about PSUs and the debate on privatisation.

7. 3      Explained in the second paragraph.

8. 3      Second para: “Just as for an individual if character is lost, everything is lost, so also for an administration…”

9. 3      Second paragraph: “These rules lay down what constitutes misconduct for the public servants.”

10. 3   

11. 1    First line of the passage.

12. 4    Second paragraph, last line.

13. 4   

14. 4    The author does not provide a definition.

15. 2    Three definitions of biologists have not been cited.

16. 2    If the manager has incomplete understanding, his advantage in the decision making would be wiped out.

17. 2    Pay scales are not part of the strategic review or markets.

18. 4    The passage is about strategic review process and the language is explanatory, hence 4

19. 4   

20. 1   

21. 2    …people will resent your efforts to sell it…

22. 4    “Until it was made to seem “friendlier”, less forbidding, sales lagged.”

23. 4    “An understanding of these intangible features is at least as important as knowing a product’s mechanical features.”

24. 1    The author says that “The home computer industry, for instance, really didn’t take off until it solved its image problem.” This means that the brand was misplaced in the market.

25. 3    The author says that rather than have the player do sales promotions, he should concentrate on the game and by doing so he would help the company.

Exercise 4.2

1. 3      Read the last line: “And the lack of leadership leaves no force inside these organisations to break out of the morass.” So the author is talking about the importance of leadership among managers.

2. 3      Second paragraph: “we didn’t have enough good managers …so many companies and universities developed management programmes.”    

3. 2      The first paragraph defines the role of leadership. Budgeting and planning are roles of management, not leadership.      

4. 4      Second paragraph: since we didn’t have enough managers, companies needed good managers and thus management was the main item of agenda in organizations.

5. 2      Third paragraph: “emphasis on management has often been institutionalised in corporate cultures that discourage employees from learning how to lead.” So it can be inferred that organizations needed managers only.

6. 2     

7. 1      Directly stated in the first paragraph.  

8. 3      Directly stated: “Successful transformation is 70 to 90 per cent leadership…”           

9. 3      As stated above, the focus of organizations was on management, not on leadership. 

10. 3   

11. 2    The passage talks about how teachers help children form attitudes.

12. 2    Can be inferred from the line, “a class of older children can develop attitudes through discussion, research, outside reading and all-day trips.”

13. 4    This is not mentioned in the passage.

14. 4    Only (4) is specifically stated: “her own attitudes, because her influence can be deleterious if she has personal prejudices.”

15. 3

16. 3    This is what A Ramachandran and the author did.

17. 2    He had painted kings, prices and others.

18. 4    While his paintings had to face the criticism of the intellectual elite, his oleographs had a mass appeal.

19. 3    See fourth para.

20. 1    This has to be inferred from the passage.

21. 2    See the beginning of the fourth para.

22. 2    This is what is meant by “the relative lack of integration with the outside world.”

23. 1   

24. 4

25. 1    That is why investor awareness is needed.

Exercise 4.3

1. 1      Mentioned in the very first line

2. 2      Since they can only live on a high plane, they can live with only people like themselves.

3. 4      Directly mentioned in the passage.

4. 1      It is mentioned: “who had not the liberal education…” which means that they had liberal education.

5. 4      Same as Q. 4

6. 1      “The magnificent ideals that have ever haunted the human mind, … are splintered into atoms by contact with life's realities.”

7. 3      “sublime discontent … your first sensation after reading a great book is one of melancholy and dissatisfaction.”

8. 4      Both (1) and (2) are directly mentioned in the passage.

9. 4      The line preceding “these things” mention all the answer choices.

10. 4    “It is easy to understand therefore, why such thinkers fly to the solitude of their own thoughts or the silent companionship of the immortals.”

11. 1    Modern architecture is functional and planned, hence it lacks a sense of belongingness among people.

12. 2    Architecture in the past, according to the author, expressed a particular culture.

13. 2    The architecture of the industrial era will express its own ideology.

14. 4    All the statements are mentioned in the passage.

15. 4    Since it is functional, we can say it serves a basic purpose.

16. 3    The meaning is clear from the phrase itself.

17. 2    This is the only statement which goes with the sense of the passage.

18. 1    Because it has nothing significant, it is abstract.

19. 1    Abstractionism is being applied, hence (1) is wrong.

20. 2    Obvious from the reading of the psaage.

21. 4    Mentioned in the second paragraph.

22. 2    He wanted his desire to meet his children, hence it was the effect of mind over body.

23. 4    The author had a sudden urge, hence it was unusual.

24. 4    Inferred from Q 12.

25. 2    Can be answered by common sense.

Exercise 4.4

1. 4      Second sentence of the first para.

2. 2      Second sentence of the second para.

3. 2      This can be inferred from the way the second day has been detailed.

4. 1     

5. 3      This is the end motive.

6. 2      The passage is about Victorians idea of invention, but which resulted in a number of useless inventions.

7. 2      It is stated that inventions should facilitate life, i.e. utility should over-ride the mere act of inventing.

8. 3      It is the author’s new of inventions that triumphs

9. 3      “numerous plans and inventions”

10. 1    It is clear from the passage that Alice regards utility more important.

11. 1    The knight wants to do things in a particular way even if they are useless and serve no purpose. Hence the best choice to describe Victorian era is (1).

12. 1    See brackets in the passage.

13. 2    From Victorian era, when some inventions did not serve any purpose, it moved to Industrial Revolution, during which all inventions were put to commercial use

14. 2    It was industrial era that produced wealth

15. 2    The passage talks about art and utility of inventions, hence the best choice is (2).

16. 1    “is to make sure that their site name is top-of-mind”, i.e. awareness.

17. 3    Third para: “providing a tangible are about the service always helps.

18. 1    Fourth para: “simple most important benefit that is sought by a consumer”

19. 3    Fifth para: unexpected positive service

20. 4    Spends or billboards are going down because advertisers are looking at other options, according to the passage.

21. 2    While the passage says that technological innovations are applicable in other industries, it would be wrong to say that all innovations are like that.

22. 1    Mentioned in the second paragraph.

23. 4    As above

24. 4    Can be inferred from the sentence.

25. 3    These are examples of innovation crossing boundaries.