24-12-2012, 01:06 PM
ATC Verbal Ability test
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DIRECTIONS: Read the passages given below and answer the questions that follow.
PASSAGE 1
The first thing that strike one about the discomfort in which our ancestors lived is that it was mainly voluntary. Some of the apparatus on modern comfort is of purely modern invention: people could not put rubber tyres on their carriages before the discovery of the rubber plant. But for the most part, there is nothing new about the material basis of our comfort. Men could have made sofas and spring mattresses, could have installed bathrooms and central heating and sanitary plumbing any time during the last three or four thousand years. And, as a matter of fact, at certain periods they did indulge themselves in these comforts. Two thousand years before Christ, the inhabitants of Cnossus were familiar with sanitary plumbing. The Romans had invented an elaborate system of hot air heating, and the bathing facilities in a smart Roman villa were luxurious, and completely beyond the dreams of modern man. As for the public baths, they were almost inconceivably luxurious. A single room of the baths of Emperor Diocletian has been transformed into a large church!
It would be possible to adduce many other examples showing what could be done, with the limited means at our ancestors’ disposal, in the way of making life comfortable. They show sufficiently clearly that if the men of the middle Ages and early modern epoch lived in dirt and discomfort , it was not for any lack or ability to change their mode of life; it was because they choose to live in this way , because filth and discomfort in with their principles and prejudices- political ,moral , religious.
What have comfort and cleanliness to do with politics, morals, religion? Let us begin with the consideration of arm-chairs and heating. Arm-chairs and central heating became possible only with the breakdown of the power of kings and great lords and the decay of social classes and the old family system. Sofas and modern arm-chairs exist for relaxation; indeed you can only loll or sit at ease in them. Mow this is not dignified or respectful. When we wish to appear impressive or to rebuke an inferior, we do not lie in a deep chair; we sit up and try to look majestic. Similarly; when we wish to be polite to a lady or show respect to the eminent, we cease to loll; we stand or sit up straight. Now, in the past, human society was a hierarchy of ranks in which every man was always engaged in being impressive towards his inferior or respectful to those above him. Relaxing in arm-chairs, in such societies, was utterly impossible. Old furniture reflects the physical habits of the class-society for which it was made.
1. The main idea of the passage is that
1) Our ancestors were inferior to us.
2) Our ancestors enjoyed all the comforts.
3) We always try to make life comfortable.
4) Politics, morals, religion have much to do with comfort and cleanliness.
2. The writer does not say that
1) Breakdown of the power of the kings made central heating possible.
2) Habits of a class are reflected by the furniture.
3) Romans knew about hot air heating system.
4) Sofas are not meant for relaxation.
3. The most appropriate title for the passage can be
1) Arm-chair Comforts
2) Comforts and cleanliness
3) Principles and Modes of Life
4) None of the above
4. What inference can be derived from the passage?
1) Our ancestors were civilized.
2) Our ancestors loved comforts.
3) Our ancestors had limited resources.
4) Modern man is more civilized
5. What is the approach of the writer?
1) Adduction 3) Description
2) Narration 4) Pedantic
6. A direct outcome of the hierarchies of the past was
1) a flexible social structure.
2) a rigid and inflexible social structure reflected in the objects of usage.
3) Living uncomfortably in conformance with principles and prejudices.
4) A painfully professional approach to life.
PASSAGE 2
Botany, the study of plants, occupies a peculiar position in the history of human knowledge. For many thousands of years it was the one field of awareness about which humans had anything more than the vaguest of insights. It is impossible to know today just what our Stone Age ancestors knew about plants, but from what we can observe of pre-industrial societies that still exist, a detailed learning of plants and their properties must be extremely ancient. This is logical. Plants are the basis of the food pyramid for all living things, even for other plants. They have always been enormously important to the welfare of people, not only for food, but also for clothing, weapons, tools, dyes, medicines, shelter , and a great many other purposes. Tribes living today in the jungles of the Amazon recognize literally hundreds of plants and know many properties of each. To them botany, as such, has no name and is probably not even recognized as a special branch of “knowledge” at all.
Unfortunately, the more industrialized we became the farther away we move from direct contact with plants, and the less distinct our knowledge of botany grows. Yet everyone comes unconsciously on an amazing amount of botanical knowledge, and few people will fail to recognize a rose, an apple, or an orchid. When our Neolithic ancestors, living in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago, discovered that certain grasses could be harvested and their seeds planted for richer yields the next season, the first great step in a new association of plants and humans was taken. Grains were discovered and from them flowed the marvel of agriculture: cultivated crops. From then on, humans would increasingly tale their living from the controlled production of a few plants, rather than getting a little here and a little there from many varieties that grew wild and the accumulated knowledge of tens of thousands of experience and intimacy with plants in the wild would begin to fade away.
7. Which of the following assumptions about early humans is expressed in the passage?
1) They probably had extensive knowledge of plants.
2) They divided knowledge into well-defined fields.
3) They did not enjoy the study of botany.
4) They placed great importance on ownership of property.
8. The word “peculiar” in the opening line is closest in meaning to
1) clear
2) large
3) unusual
4) important
9. What does the comment “This is logical” in the first paragraph mean?
1) There is no clear way to determine the extent of our ancestors’ knowledge of plants.
2) It is not surprising that early humans had a detailed knowledge of plants.
3) It is reasonable to assume that our ancestors behaved very much like people in pre-industrial societies.
4) Human knowledge of plants is well organized and very detailed.
10. The phrase ‘properties of each’ towards the end of the first paragraph refers to each
1) Tribe
2) hundred
3) plant
4) purpose
11. According to the passage, why has general knowledge of botany declined?
1) People no longer value plants as a useful resource.
2) Botany is not recognized as a special branch of science.
3) Research is unable to keep up with the increasing number of plants.
4) Direct contact with a variety of plants has decreased.
12. In the second paragraph, what is the author’s purpose in mentioning “a rose, an apple, or an orchid”?
1) To make the passage more poetic.
2) To cite the examples of plants those are attractive.
3) To give botanical examples that most readers will recognize.
4) To illustrate the diversity of botanical life.
13. The relationship between botany and agriculture is similar to the relationship between Zoology(the study of animals) and
1) deer hunting
2) bird watching
3) sheep raising
4) horseback riding
14. Where in the passage does the author describe the benefits people derive from plants?
1) In the beginning of first paragraph
2) In the middle of the first paragraph
3) Towards the end of the first paragraph
4) In the middle of the second paragraph
DIRECTIONS: In each of the following questions, choose the meaning of the given word from the given alternatives.
15. FURTIVE
(a) Baffling (b) fleeing © hasty (d) stealthy
16. FEIGN
(a) Pretend (b)abuse © encourage (d) condemn
In each question below, there is a sentence of which some parts have been jumbled up. Rearrange these parts which are labeled P, Q, R and S to produce the correct sentence. Choose the proper sequence
17. The national unity of a free people
P : to make it impracticable
Q : for there to be an arbitrary administration
R : depends upon a sufficiently even balance of political power
S : against a revolutionary opposition that is irreconcilably opposed to it
The Proper sequence should be:
A. QRPS
B. QRSP
C. RPQS
D. RSPQ
18. We must read
P : if we want to absorb the fruits of great literature
Q : but with concentration
R : them not as we do cricket stories
S : undefined
The Proper sequence should be:
A. QPSR
B. PSQR
C. PRSQ
D. PRQS