DPM 24

A to E

A. Words along with their meaning, Pronunciation and usage

Baleful /ˈbeɪlfʊl, ˈbeɪlf(ə)l/

[Adjective]

 threatening harm; menacing.

 having harmful or destructive effect.

Usage

 He shot a baleful glance in her direction.

 The baleful influence of that minister lead to the political party’s ruin.

Origin – Old English bealufull "dire, wicked, cruel," with -ful + bealu "harm, injury, ruin, evil,
mischief, wickedness, a noxious thing," from Proto-Germanic *balu- (source also of Old
Saxon balu, Old Frisian balu "evil," Old High German balo "destruction," Old Norse bol,
Gothic balwjan "to torment").

Barrage /ˈbarɑːʒ/

[Noun]

 a concentrated artillery bombardment over a wide area.

 an overwhelming number of questions, criticisms, complaints, etc. delivered
simultaneously or in rapid succession.
 an artificial barrier across a river or estuary to prevent flooding, aid irrigation or
navigation, or to generate electricity by tidal power.

[Verb] - bombard (someone) with questions, criticisms, complaints, etc.

Usage

 The students welcomed the professor with a barrage of questions.

 He barraged his friend with unsolicited advice.

Origin – from French, from barrer ‘to bar’, of unknown origin.

Bathetic /bəˈθɛtɪk/

[Adjective] - Producing an unintentional effect of anti-climax.

Usage – The movie manages to be poignant without become bathetic.

Origin – 1834, from bathos on the model of pathetic (q.v.), which, however, does not come
directly from pathos, so the formation is either erroneous or humorous.

Bedlam /ˈbɛdləm/

[Noun]

 a scene of uproar and confusion.

 (Archaic) an institution for the care of mentally ill people.

Usage – After the witness’s statement, there was bedlam in the courtroom.

Origin – Late Middle English: early form of Bethlehem, referring to the hospital of St Mary of
Bethlehem in London, used as an institution for the insane.

Behemoth /bɪˈhiːmɒθ, ˈbiːhɪˌməʊθ/

[Noun]

 a huge monstrous creature.

 something enormous, especially a large and powerful organization.

Usage

 Behemoths like the Brontosaurus roamed the earth freely once.

 Shoppers are now more loyal to their local shops than to faceless behemoths.

Origin – Late Middle English: from Hebrew bĕhēmōṯ, intensive plural of bĕhēmāh ‘beast’.

Blandishment /ˈblandɪʃm(ə)nt/

[Noun] - A flattering or pleasing statement or action used as a means of gently persuading

someone to do something.

Usage – The blandishments of the shopping brochure proved an effective marketing

strategy.

Origin – Related to the old-fashioned verb blandish meaning "to coax with flattery, or kind
words."
Basket case

[Phrase] An infirm or failing person or thing - unable to function properly.

Usage – This whole peace accord is a basket case.

Bated breath

[Phrase] to hold one's breath due to suspense, trepidation or fear.

Usage – The audience waited for the movie’s climax with bated breath.

Bel esprit

[French, Noun, Adjective] wit, elegance. Literally “beautiful spirit”, but the sense is more of
intelligence than elegance.

Usage – There is no better example of bel esprit than Oscar Wilde.

Bon vivant

[French, Noun] person of refined tastes, gourmand.

Usage – Since moving to Paris, he has become quite the bon vivant.
B. RC Passage (with link)

Article 1: Uttam-Kumar-obituary-by-satyajit-ray

http://diptakirti.blogspot.com/2011/10/uttam-kumar-obituary-by-satyajit-ray.html

Summary: This is a blogpost that reproduces an obituary penned by the acclaimed director
Satyajit Ray on legendary Bengali actor Uttam Kumar. The obituary is unique because Ray is
able to infuse it with his tremendous insight about Uttam Kumar, the person and the actor.
Ray directed him in a now standout film called Nayak—and later in Chiriyakhana(both
National Film Awardees). This write-up takes us behind the scenes of those two films to
introduce newer facets of the cine star.

Article 2: A day in the life of an ASHA worker

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/day-life-asha-worker-122412

Summary: This article profiles a typical day in the life of Omana, who works as an ASHA
(Accredited Social Health Activist) in the state of Kerala. ASHAs have been crucial in helping
the government and the public deal with the outbreak of COVID-19. ASHAs like Omana have
been tasked with making sure that people who are to be quarantined, stay isolated. They
are also expected Tobe alert to people developing symptoms of COVID-19. The hour-by-
hour breakdown of Omana’s day educates us all on the challenges of this sort of life-saving
work. A short video-diary on Omana is part of the online article.

Article 3: Resiliency May Come at a Physical Cost for Some Kids

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/resiliency-may-come-at-a-physical-
cost-for-some-kids.html

Summary: Hormones are important for adapting to stress, particularly stress associated
with financial hardship. When used frequently over time, stress hormones can compromise
immune system functions and other bodily systems, potentially speeding up disease
processes — meaning that they can end up with chronic diseases at a much younger age.
Article 4: The Maya dealt with a form of climate change, too. Here's how they survived.
The Classic civilization could only respond to their changing climate. We can do far more if
we choose to.

https://www.popsci.com/misreading-story-climate-change-and-maya/

Summary: Many people believe that the ancient Maya civilization ended when it
mysteriously "collapsed." And it is true that the Maya faced many climate change
challenges, including extreme droughts that ultimately contributed to the breakdown of
their large Classic Period city-states. Maya communities' ability to adapt their resource
conservation practices played a crucial role in allowing them to survive for as long as they
did. Instead of focusing on the final stages of Classic Maya civilization, society can learn from
the practices that enabled it to survive for nearly 700 years as we consider the effects of
climate change today.

Article 5: Origins of human language pathway in the brain at least 25 million years old

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200420125519.htm

Scientists have discovered an earlier origin to the human language pathway in the brain,
pushing back its evolutionary origin by at least 20 million years.
C. RC Passage (with Questions)

The essence of freedom of opinion is not in mere toleration as such, but in the debate which
toleration provides; it is not in the venting of opinion, but in the confrontation of opinion.
That this is the practical substance can readily be understood when we remember how
differently we feel and act about the censorship and regulation of opinion purveyed by
different media. We find in then that, in so far as the medium makes difficult the
confrontation of opinion in debate, we are driven towards censorship and regulation.

At a higher level there is the moving picture, a most powerful medium for conveying ideas,
but a medium which does not permit debate. A moving picture cannot be answered
effectively by another moving picture; in all free countries there is some censorship of the
movies, and there would be more if the producers did not recognize their limitations by
avoiding political controversy. Then there is the radio. Here debate is difficult; it is not easy
to make sure that the speaker is being answered in the presence of the same audience.
Inevitably, there is some regulation of the radio.

When we reach the newspaper press, the opportunity for debate is so considerable that
discontent cannot grow to the point where, under normal circumstances, there is any
disposition to regulate the press. But when newspapers abuse their power by injuring
people who have no means of replying, a disposition to regulate the press appears. When
we arrive at the lower house of Parliament we find that, because the membership if the
House is so large, full debate is, impracticable. So there are restrictive rules. On the other
hand, in the Upper House, where the conditions of full debate exist, there is almost absolute
freedom of speech.

This shows us that the preservation and development of freedom of opinion are not only a
matter of adhering to abstract legal rights, but also, and very urgently, a matter of
organizing and arranging sufficient debate. Once we have a firm hold on the central
principle, there are many practical conclusions to be drawn. We then realize that the
defence of freedom of opinion consists primarily in perfecting the opportunity for an
adequate give and take of opinion; it consists also in regulating the freedom of those
revolutionists who cannot or will not permit or maintain debate when it does not suit their
purposes.

We must insist that free oratory is only the beginning of free speech; it is not the end, but a
means to an end. The end is to find the truth. The practical justification of civil liberty is not
that self-expression is one of the rights of man. It is that the examination of opinion is one
of the necessities of man. For experience tells us that it is only when freedom of opinion
becomes the compulsion to debate that the seed which our fathers planted would have
produced its fruit. When that is understood, freedom will be cherished not because it is a
vent for our opinions but because it is the surest method of correcting them.
The unexamined life, said, Socrates, is unfit to be lived by man. This is the virtue of liberty,
and the ground on which we may best justify our belief in it, that it tolerates error in order
to serve the truth. When men are brought face to face with their opponents, forced to listen
and mend their ideas, they cease to be children and savages and begin to live like civilized
men. Then only is freedom a reality, when men may voice their opinions because they must
examine their opinions.

Q 1) It can be inferred from the passage that the censorship and regulation mentioned in
the passage is based on which of the following assumptions?

(A) sometimes it is not feasible to contest an opinion to test its defensibility.

(B) In the absence of restrictions, freedom of speech becomes abstract and eccentric.

(C) Liberty of opinion is relevant only where one is vitally concerned.

(D) The constitutional right of freedom of speech is in contravention of practical human

experience.

Q2) Which of the following statements, about opportunity for debate in different
mediums, is supported by the passage?

(A) It is not in film producer’s interest to court controversy by defying content

guidelines, since there is no opportunity for debate.
(B) The opportunity for debate on the radio is valid only when opinions are contested in
the presence of the same audience.
(C) The opportunity for debate in the print media renders unnecessary any regulations,
except in libelous circumstances.
(D) All of the above.

Q3) Which of the following most accurately describes the author’s opinion of Socrates’
position?

(A) The democratic system cannot be operated without effective opposition.

(B) Humans must examine their opinions to justify civil liberty
(C) Opponents keep one on the path of reason and good sense.
(D) A sensible human being learns more from opponents than from supporters
D. Quantitative Aptitude

1. Murali served in the Navy for 9 years more than Mohan and got Rupees 1500 more
pension then Mohan. The pension paid by the Navy is directly proportional to the square
root of the number of years of service and employee puts in it. Had Mohan put in 4 and 1
by 4 years more service in the Navy than what he actually did then their pension would
have been in the ratio of 10:9. How long did Murali serve in the Navy.

(A) 16 (B) 17 (C) 18 (D) 25

2. In an exam P, Q and R are scored 32%, 40% and 48% of the total marks respectively. Q
and R passed the exam and P failed the exam. One of Q and R got 37 marks more than
the pass mark. P failed by 23 marks. If the total mark of the exam is more than 300, find
the pass mark of the exam

(A) 143 (B) 263 (C) 203 (D) cannot be determined

3. John buys a new Honda bike which can normally travel at speeds up to speed of 90
kilometres per hour. It has the nitro boost facilities which can double the normal speed of
the bike. The nitro boost system works for 2 hours and then needs to be switched off for
two hours to get recharged again. He decides to show his bike to his parents who are
staying in a village which is 960 kilometre away from his place. What is the minimum
time (in hr.) in which he can reach the village on his bike?

4. Justin and Lars participate in doughnut making competition. Lars makes 3 times as many
doughnuts as justice in the same time. 2 hours after they started James join the
competition. Half an hour after that it was found that James made as many as Justin
made till then. How long after that is the number of doughnuts James made is same as
that made by Justin and Lars together?

(A) 7.5 hours (B) 10 hour (C) 12.5 hours (D) 15 hour

5. Raghu wrote the first few natural numbers on the blackboard. Ramu walked up and
erased one of the numbers. The sum of the remaining numbers is 747. Find the number
that Ramu has erased

(A) 17 (B) 18 (C) 19 (D) none of these

6. In the product of all co-primes of 59 that are less than 59, find the largest power of 10.
(A) 11 (B) 362 (C) 384 (D) 13

7. ∆PQR is an equilateral triangle and PO, QM and RM are the altitudes LR2 + QM2 + PO2= 51
√3 cm2, find the area of ∆PQR. (in cm2)

8. If 2 x + 3 y + 3 = 0 is the perpendicular bisector of the line segment AB and A (4, 5) then B

=___

(A) (4, 7) (B) (-4, -7) (C) (5, -4) (D) (-5, 4)

9. Neeraj writes all the whole numbers from 0 up-till 99999 one below the other in
ascending order on a piece of paper. Suraj then erases from the list all those numbers
which involve repetition of digits. Find the number in the 120th position of the list thus
generated.

10. Use information given in question 9, How many entries in the list exist below the entry
12345.
E. DILR SET-1

Directions for questions 1 to 5: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given
below:

Revenue earned by three Airways for the year ending 31.03.2002

Note: East, West, North and South are the four inland zones of the country.

1. Assuming that there are no other Airways operating in the inland market, what is the
inland market share of FUT Airways?

(A) 48.6% (B) 28.5 % (C) 25.2 % (D) 21.8 %

2. Considering the revenues generated by the three airways in each of the four inland zones,
which of the following is the second highest?

(A) South zone for Bharat Airways

(B) North zone for FUT Airways

(C) West zone for Lahiri Airways

(D) North zone for Bharat Airways

3. If the next year, the markets in the East, West, North and South zones increase by 10%,
20%, 10% and 30% respectively, and Bharat Airways captures half of the increase in the
market in each of the respective zones, then by approximately what percentage does the
total revenue of Bharat Airways increase, compared to that of the previous year?

(A) 15% (B) 18% (C) 21% (D) cannot be determined

4. Which of the following is not true?

(A) The revenue generated from the North zone for Bharat Airways is equal to the revenue
generated for Lahiri Airways from both North and South zones put together.

(B) For FUT Airways, the revenue generated from the North Zone is 50% more than the
revenue generated from the East and South Zone together.

(C) The revenue generated from the South zone for Bharat Airways is 33.33% more than the
revenue generated from the North zone for Bharat Airways.

(D) The revenue generated from the International zone for FUT Airways is more than the
total revenue generated by Lahiri Airways.

5. If in the North zone, these three airways form 20% of the total market, then the total
market (in Rs crore) in the North Zone is -

(A) 19,080 (B) 76,920 (C) 1,908 (D) 769