English Language and Comprehension Passage For questions 21–30 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
The four-year tiger census report, Status of Tigers in India, 2018, released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi shows numbers of the cat have increased across all landscapes. The Global Tiger Forum, an international collaboration of tiger-bearing countries, has set a goal of doubling the count of wild tigers by 2022. More than 80% of the world’s wild tigers are in India, and it’s crucial to keep track of their numbers. The total count in 2018 has risen to 2,967 from 2,226 in 2014 — an increase of 741 individuals an increase of 33%, in four years. This is by far the biggest increase in terms of both numbers and percentage since the fouryearly census using camera traps and the capture-mark-recapture method began in 2006. The 2018 figure has a great degree of credibility because, according to the report, as many as 2,461 individual tigers (83% of the total) have actually been photographed by trap cameras. In 2014, only 1,540 individuals (69%) were photographed. The tiger census is needed because the tiger sits at the peak of the food chain, and its conservation is important to ensure the well-being of the forest ecosystem. The tiger estimation exercise includes habitat assessment and prey estimation. The numbers reflect the success or failure of conservation efforts. This is an especially important indicator in a fast-growing economy like India where the pressures of development often run counter to the demands of conservation. Where has the tiger population increased the most? The biggest increase has been in Madhya Pradesh — a massive 218 individuals (71%) from 308 in 2014 to 526. However, since tigers keep moving between states, conservationists prefer to talk about tiger numbers in terms of landscapes. So, why have the numbers gone up? The success owes a lot to increased vigilance and conservation efforts by the Forest Department. From 28 in 2006, the number of tiger reserves went up to 50 in 2018, extending protection to larger numbers of tigers over the years. Healthy increases in core area populations eventually lead to migrations to areas outside the core; this is why the 2018 census has found tigers in newer areas. Over the years, there has been increased focus on tigers even in the areas under the territorial and commercial forestry arms of Forest Departments. The other important reason is increased vigilance, and the fact that organized poaching rackets have been all but crushed. According to Nitin Desai of Wildlife Protection Society of India, there has been no organized poaching by traditional gangs in Central Indian landscapes since 2013. The increased protection has encouraged the tiger to breed. Tigers are fast breeders when conditions are conducive. The rehabilitation of villages outside core areas in many parts of the country has led to the availability of more inviolate space for tigers. Also, because estimation exercises have become increasingly more accurate over the years, it is possible that many tigers that eluded enumerators in earlier exercises were counted this time.
Passage For questions 36–45 Read the following passage and fill in each blank with words chosen from options given-
I was friends with the artist Bhupen Khakar. He was one of the (1) ______ human beings I have ever met. I learnt (2) ______ from him. When we were in Baroda we (3) ______ meals together all the time. I _____ (4) ______ remember how his caretaker (5) ______ family to him and he would often (6) ______ his children to school and taught _______(7) ______ mathematics. His studio was in the (8) ______ of the house and (9) ______ for anyone to come in (10) ______ at his work.
Passage For questions 92–100 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
According to a new American study headed by Dr. Willis, it has been found that people who exercise in the morning seem to lose more weight than people completing the same workouts later in the day. These findings help shed light on the vexing issue of why some people shed considerable weight with exercise and others almost none. The study adds to the growing body of science suggesting that the timing of various activities, including exercise, could affect how those activities affect us. The relationship between exercise and body weight is somewhat befuddling. Multiple past studies show that a majority of people who take up exercise to lose weight drop fewer pounds than would be expected, given how many calories they are burning during their workouts. Some gain weight. But a few respond quite well, shedding pound after pound with the same exercise regimen that prompts others to add inches. The Midwest Trial 2, was conducted in the University of Kansas, U.S. on how regular, supervised exercise influences body weight. The trial involved 100 overweight, previously inactive young men and women who were made to work out five times a week at a physiology lab, jogging or otherwise sweating until they had burned up to 600 calories per session. After 10 months of this regimen, almost everyone had dropped pounds. But the extent of their losses fluctuated wildly, even though everyone was doing the same, supervised workout. A team of researchers started brainstorming what could be responsible for the enormous variability in the weight loss. They hit upon activity timing. They decided to do a Follow -up study of the Mid West Trial 2. In this new study,the Mid West Trial 2 Follow up study the researchers now studied a team of participants who could visit the gym whenever they wished between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. They also tracked everyone’s calorie intakes and daily movement habits throughout the 10 months. They knew, too, whether and by how much people’s weights had changed. Now, they checked weight change against exercise schedules and quickly noticed a consistent pattern. Those people who usually worked out before noon had lost more weight, on average, than the men and women who typically exercised after 3 p.m. The researchers uncovered a few other, possibly relevant differences between the morning and late-day exercisers. The early-exercise group tended to be slightly more active throughout the day, taking more steps in total than those who worked out later. They also ate less. These factors may cumulatively have contributed to the striking differences in how many pounds people lost, Dr. Willis says. Thus it seems that people who worked out before noon lost more weight, on average, than those who typically exercised after 3 p.m. But Dr. Willis also points out that most of those who worked out later in the day did lose weight, even if not as much as the larkish exercisers, and almost certainly became healthier. “I would not want anyone to think that it’s not worth exercising if you can’t do it first thing in the morning,” he says. “Any exercise, at any time of day, is going to be better than none.”
Passage For questions 131–135 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
A few years ago it seemed as if the moment for stand-up comedy had arrived. By the end of 2017, stand-up comedians were on the cover of a magazine, signaling the coming of age of the industry. The stand-up game attracted investors in the right places: on platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, apart from increasing open mic schedules in venues across cities. Two major companies Comedy Store and Canvas Laugh Club arrived on the scene and were game changers. But despite a heady start, the comic landscape has changed drastically today with stand- up comedians feeling the brunt of faltering payments and cancelled shows. Despite a good start, the Indian stand-up industry is still unorganized and uncertain for comics. If you ask viral comic Kunal Kamra about the scene, he says that the audience isn’t really ‘invested’ in the art form at the moment and that only ten or twenty tickets would sell if comics weren’t on the internet promoting themselves. And this is despite the surge in open mics and more stand-ups coming in. Last year, new-age Indian comedy’s reputation came under strain when allegations under the #MeToo movement exposed a darker side of the circuit. Since then, the big three comedy groups: All India Bakchod, SNG Comedy and East India Comedy, have either disbanded or had founding members quit. Jeeya Sethi, a leading comedian says, “It’s a good thing that these -collectives have died because they mostly had men with no women being showcased.” Sethi adds saying that it isn’t as easy as it sounds. “In a fledgling industry, a viral YouTube video isn’t a sign that you’ve made it”. Craft takes time. Every comic who does two open mics calls himself a comedian. In my opinion, you have to do comedy for more than 20 years to be a comic. It takes at least five years to find your voice.”
Passage For questions 154–158 Read the following passage and fill in each blank with words chosen from options given.
As he started his speech, Harsh was aware that people were listening to him quite (1) ______ . Things seemed to be going quite well. (2) ______ , halfway through the talk, he saw his friend, Ravi look ( 3) ______ his pal Sunil, roll his eyes and whisper in his ear. Harsh (4) ______ understood that Ravi ,who had been upset ever since his promotion, was now (5) ______ disturbance intentionally.
Passage For questions 169–178 Read the following passage and fill in each blank with words chosen from options given
One can soon feast (1) ______ eyes on Humayun’s Tomb (2) ______ Safdarjung Tomb at night ,with the government deciding to keep 10 heritage (3) ______ open to the (4) ______ from sunrise (5) ______ 9 p.m. The announcement was made (6) ______ morning by the Union Minister for Culture and (7) ______ . Currently, most monuments (8) ______ for visitors at 6pm.The change in timings (9) ______ effective for a period (10) ______ 3 years.
Passage For questions 184–188 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
The United Kingdom’s Social Mobility Commission study reports that disadvantaged children in England are being priced out of a cultural hinterland. Children aged 10-15 from low-income families are three times less likely than wealthier peers to engage in out-of-school musical activities, such as learning an instrument etc. There were also differences according to race – 4% of British Pakistani children took part in music classes, compared with 28% of Indian children and 20% of white children – and regional divides: 9% of children in north-east England played a musical instrument, compared with 22% in the south-east. Disadvantaged children are also more likely to miss out on extracurricular sports (football, boxing, cricket) and drama, dance and art. The commission set out recommendations, including bursaries, better funding and support for schools – let’s hope they’re taken on board. As well as the activities themselves, children are missing out on other crucial gains including confidence-building, team spirit and social skill, and are less likely to go on to higher education. Extracurricular activities tend to cost money, but there are also problems with a lack of availability and access, such as schools being unable to afford to run after-school clubs or stay open during holidays. Another barrier is the kids’ “fear of not fitting in”. In this sense, certain children are self-excluding from, say, learning an instrument, singing in a choir, playing cricket or acting. They decide by themselves that they’re “undeserving” of music, sport, art and drama. Unbelievably, in 2019, children as young as 10 are already hard-wired with the selflimiting poverty notion of “not for the likes of us”. This is heartbreaking. It’s hardly news that life is tougher for poorer children, but it’s an outrage if all sense of curiosity, artistry and playfulness is knocked out of them so early. Something is wrong if better-off children feel entitled to explore and participate in areas that interest and excite them, while the disadvantaged are cast from the start as cultural wallflowers – doomed to sit out every dance. This isn’t about every child learning the piano or violin (but why not?), it’s about sowing the seeds for a cultural hinterland that will sustain and enrich them for life. It’s about people exploring their passions and refusing to have their horizons artificially limited. Regardless of circumstances, all children should know that their faces “fit” – automatically and forever. Culture belongs to everyone.