ఆగస్టు 24, 2014న యూపీఎస్సీ నిర్వహించిన సివిల్ సర్వీసెస్ (ప్రిలిమినరీ)  ఎగ్జామ్ -2014, జనరల్ స్టడీస్ పేపర్-2 (బుక్‌లెట్ సిరీస్- బి) కు అనుభవజ్ఞులైన సాక్షి నిపుణులతో ‘కీ’ని రూపొందించి అందిస్తున్నాం. గులాబీ రంగులో ఉన్న ఆప్షన్‌ను సరైన  సమాధానంగా గుర్తించగలరు. యూపీఎస్సీ విడుదల చేసే జవాబులనే అంతిమంగా పరిగణించాలి.
 Directions for the following 8 items:
 Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow each passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.
 
 Passage -1
 The Himalayan ecosystem is highly vulnerable to damage, both due to geological reasons and on account of the stress caused by increased pressure of population, exploitation of natural resources and other related challenges. These aspects may be exacerbated due to the impact of climate change. It is possible that climate change may adversely impact the Himalayan ecosystem through increased temperature, altered precipitation patterns, episodes of drought and biotic influence?. This would not only impact the very sustenance of the indigenous communities in uplands but also the life of downstream dwellers across the country and beyond. Therefore, there is an urgent need for giving special attention to sustain the Himalayan ecosystem. This would require conscious efforts for conserving all the representative systems.
 Further, it needs to be emphasized that the endemics with restricted distribution, and most often with specialized habitat requirements, are among the most vulnerable elements. In this respect the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, with rich endemic diversity, is vulnerable to climate change. The threats include possible loss of genetic resources and species, habitats and concomitantly a decrease in ecosystem services. Therefore, conservation of endemic elements in representative ecosystems/ habitats assumes a great significance while drawing conservation plans for the region.
 Towards achieving the above, we will have to shift toward contemporary conservation approaches, which include a paradigm of landscape level interconnectivity between protected area systems. The concept advocates a shift from the species-habitat focus to an inclusive focus on expanding the biogeographic range so that natural adjustments to climate change can proceed without being restrictive.
 1.    Consider the following statements:
     According to the passage, the adverse impact of climate change on an ecosystem can be a
 1.    permanent disappearance of some of its flora and fauna.
 2.    permanent disappearance of ecosystem itself.
     Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
     a) 1 only    b) 2 only
     c) Both 1 and 2  
     d) Neither 1 nor 2
 2.    Which one of the following statements best implies the need to shift toward contemporary conservation approach?
 a)    Exploitation of natural resources causes a stress on the Himalayan ecosystem.
 b)    Climate change alters precipitation patterns, causes episodes of drought and biotic interference.
 c)    The rich biodiversity, including endemic diversity, makes the Himalayan region a biodiversity hotspot.
 d)    The Himalayan biogeographic region should be enabled to adapt to climate change smoothly.
 3.    What is the most important message conveyed by the passage ?
 a)    Endemism is a characteristic feature of Himalayan region.
 b)    Conservation efforts should emphasize on biogeographic ranges rather than on some species or habitats.
 c)    Climate change has adverse impact on the Himalayan ecosystem.
 d)    Without Himalayan ecosystem, the life of the communities of uplands and downstreams will have no sustenance.
 4.    With reference to the passage, the following assumptions have been made:
 1.    To maintain natural ecosystems, exploitation of natural resources should be completely avoided.
 2.    Not only anthropogenic but also natural reasons can adversely affect ecosystems.
 3.    Loss of endemic diversity leads to the extinction of ecosystems.
     Which of the above assumptions is/are correct ?
     a) 1 and 2        b) 2 only    
     c) 2 and 3    d) 3 only
 Passage - 2
 It is often forgotten that globalization is not only about policies on international economic relationships and transactions, but has equally to do with domestic policies of a nation. Policy changes necessitated by meeting the internationally set conditions (by WTO etc.) of free trade and investment flows obviously affect domestic producers and investors. But the basic philosophy underlying globalization emphasizes absolute freedom to markets to determine prices and production and distribution patterns, and view government interventions as processes that create distortions and bring in inefficiency. Thus, public enterprises have to be privatized through disinvestments and sales; sectors and activities hitherto reserved for the public sector have to be opened to the private sector. This logic extends to the social services like education and health. Any restrictions on the adjustments in workforce by way of retrenchment of workers should also be removed and exit should be made easier by removing any restrictions on closures. Employment and wages should be governed by free play of market forces, as any measure to regulate them can discourage investment and also create inefficiency in production. Above all, in line with the overall philosophy of reduction in the role of the State, fiscal reforms should be undertaken to have generally low levels of taxation and government expenditure should be kept to the minimum to abide by the principle of fiscal prudence. All these are policy actions on the domestic front and are not directly related to the core items of the globalization agenda, namely free international flow of goods and finance.
 5.    According to the passage, under the globalization, government interventions are viewed as processes leading to
 a)    distortions and inefficiency in the economy
 b)    optimum use of resources.
 c)    more profitability to industries.
 d)    free play of market forces with regard to industries.
 6.    According to the passage, the basic philosophy of globalization is to
 a)    give absolute freedom to producers to determine prices and production.
 b)    give freedom to producers to evolve distribution patterns.
 c)    give absolute freedom to markets to determine prices, production and employment.
 d)    give freedom to producers to import and export.
 7.    According to the passage, which of the following is/are necessary for ensuring globalization?
 1.    Privatization of public enterprises
 2.    Expansionary policy of public expenditure
 3.    Free play of market forces to determine wages and employment
 4.    Privatization of social services like education and health
     Select the correct answer using the code given below :
     a) 1 only    b)  2 and 3 only
     c) 1, 3 and 4    d) 2, 3 and 4
 8.    According to the passage, in the process of globalization the State should have
     a) expanding role.   b) reducing role.
     c) statutory role.
     d) none of the above roles.
 Directions for the following 4 (four) items:
 The following graph shows the average profit of two fruit-sellers A and B in thousands (Rs.) per year from the year 1995 to 2000. Consider the graph and answer the 4 (four) items that follow :
 
 9.    In which year is the average profit of A and B same ?
     a) 1995  b) 1996  c) 1997  d) 1998
 10.    What is the difference between the average profit of B and A in the year 1998 ?
     a) - Rs. 100        b) - Rs. 1,000
     c) + Rs. 600    d) - Rs. 300
 11.    How much more average profit did A make in the year 2000 than in the year 1999 ?
     a) Rs.200    b) Rs.1,000
     c) Rs.1,500    d) Rs. 2,000
 12. What is the trend of the average profit of B from the year 1997 to the year 2000 ?
     a) Non-increasing b) Non-decreasing
     c) Steady    d) Fluctuating
 13. The following table shows the marks obtained by two students in different subjects :
 
    The difference in the mean aggregate percentage marks of the students is
     a)  2.5%     b) 13.75%
     c) 1.25%     d)  Zero
 14.    Examine the following figure :
 
 Which one of the following figures has the above figure embedded in it ?          
 
 15.    Consider the following matrix :
     Which one of the following figures fits into the blank part of the above matrix ?    
           
 16.    The following table gives population and total income of a city for four years:
  
     Which one of the following statements is correct in respect of the above data ?
 a)    Population increased by 5% or more every year.
 b)    Income increased by 10% or more every year.
 c)    Per capita income was always above Rs. 5,000.
 d)    Per capita income was highest in 1994.
 17.    Consider the table given below in which the numbers bear certain relationship among themselves along the rows :
      
     Which one of the following numbers is the missing number indicated above by X?
     a)  19      b) 15      c) 14     d) 8
 18.    Consider the following matrix with one empty block in the lower extreme corner:
      Which of the following figures could fit in the empty block and thus complete the matrix ?
      
 19.    With reference to the figure given below, the number of different routes from S to T without retracing from U and/or V, is
    
     a) 3       b) 6       c) 9       d) 18
 20.    Consider the following figures :
    
     Change in positions of beads in the four figures above follows a sequence. Following the same sequence, which of the figures below should appear as the fifth figure above ? 
         
 21. A bell rings every 18 minutes. A second bell  rings every 24 minutes. A third bell rings every 32 minutes. If all the three bells ring at the same time at 8 o'clock in the morning, at what other time will they all ring together ?
     a) 12 : 40 hrs    b) 12 : 48 hrs
     c) 12 : 56 hrs    d) 13 : 04 hrs
 22.    Price is not the same thing as value. Suppose that on a day the price of everything viz., coal, bread, postage stamps, a day's labour, the rent of houses, etc. were to double. Prices then would certainly rise, but values of all things except one would not."
     The writer wants to say that if prices of all things were doubled
 a)    the values of all things would remain constant.
 b)    the values of the things sold would be doubled.
 c)    the values of the things bought would be halved.
 d)    the value of money only would be halved.
 23.     A and B decide to travel from place X to place Y by bus. A has Rs. 10 with him and he finds that it is 80% of the bus fare for two persons. B finds that he has Rs. 3 with him and hands it over to A. In this context, which one of the following statements is correct ?
 a)    Now the money A has is just enough to buy two tickets.
 b)    A still needs Rs. 2 for buying the tickets.
 c)    After buying the two tickets A will be left with 50 paise.
 d)    The money A now has is still not sufficient to buy two tickets.
 24.    As per agreement with a bank, a businessman had to refund a loan in some equal instalments without interest. After paying 18 instalments he found that 60 percent of his loan was refunded. How many instalments were there in the agreement ?
     a) 22        b) 24   
      c) 30       d) 33
 25.    A worker reaches his factory 3 minutes late if his speed from his house to the factory is 5 km/hr. If he walks at a speed of 6 km/hr, then he reaches the factory 7 minutes early. The distance of the factory from his house is
     a) 3 km        b) 4 km  
     c) 5 km      d) 6 km
 26.    "Liberty, therefore, is never real unless the Government can be called to account when it invades rights."
     Which one of the following is the best justification of the above statement ?
 a)    In the realisation that the government can be brought to book in a court of law
 b)    In identifying a man as a political unit in a way which distinguishes him from other citizens
 c)    In a decentralized society wherein the basic needs of men can find satisfaction
 d)    In the understanding that liberty and restraints are complementary
 
 Directions for the following 5 (five) items :
 Read the following two passages and answer the items 'that follow each passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.
 
 Passage - 1
 In recent times, India has grown fast not only compared to its own past but also in comparison with other nations. But there cannot be any room for complacency because it is possible for the Indian economy to develop even faster and also to spread the benefits of this growth more widely than has been done thus far. Before going into details of the kinds of micro-structural changes that we need to conceptualize and then proceed to implement, it is worthwhile elaborating on the idea of inclusive growth that constitutes the defining concept behind this Government's various economic policies and decisions. A nation interested in inclusive growth views the same growth differently depending on whether the gains of the growth are heaped primarily on a small segment or shared widely by the population. The latter is cause for celebration but not the former. In other words, growth must not be treated as an end in itself but as an instrument for spreading prosperity to all. India's own past experience and the experience of other nations suggests that growth is necessary for eradicating poverty but it is not a sufficient condition. In other words, policies for promoting growth need to be complemented with policies to ensure that more and more people join in the growth process and, further, that there are mechanisms in place to redistribute some of the gains to those who are unable to partake in the market process and, hence, get left behind.
 A simple way of giving this idea of inclusive growth a sharper form is to measure a nation's progress in terms of the progress of its poorest segment, for instance the bottom 20 per cent of the population. One could measure the per capita income of the bottom quintile of the population and also calculate the growth rate of income; and evaluate our economic success in terms of these measures that pertain to the poorest segment. This approach is attractive because it does not ignore growth like some of the older heterodox criteria did. It simply looks at the growth of income of the poorest sections of the population. It also ensures that those who are outside of the bottom quintile do not get ignored. If that were done, then those people would in all likelihood drop down into the bottom quintile and so would automatically become a direct target of our policies. Hence the criterion being suggested here is a statistical summing up of the idea of inclusive growth, which, in turn, leads to two corollaries : to wish that India must strive to achieve high growth and that we must work to ensure that the weakest segments benefit from the growth.
 27. The author's central focus is on    
 a)    applauding India's economic growth not only against its own past performance, but against other nations.
 b)    emphasizing the need for economic growth which is the sole determinant of a country's prosperity.
 c)    emphasizing inclusive growth where gains of growth are shared widely by the population.
 d)    emphasizing high growth
 28. The author supports policies which will help
 a)    develop economic growth.
 b)    better distribution of incomes irrespective of rate of growth.
 c)    develop economic growth and redistribute economic gains to those getting left behind.
 d)    put an emphasis on the development of the poorest segments of society.
 29.    Consider the following statements :
     According to the author, India's economy has grown but there is no room for complacency as
     1. growth eradicates poverty.
     2. growth has resulted in prosperity for all.
     Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
     a) 1 only    b) 2 only
     c) Both 1 and 2    d) Neither 1 nor 2
 
 Passage - 2
 It is easy for the government to control State-owned companies through nods and winks. So what really needs to be done as a first step is to put petrol pricing on a transparent formula - if the price of crude is x and the exchange rate y, then every month or fortnight, the government announces a maximum price of petrol, which anybody can work out from the x and the y. The rule has to be worked out to make sure that the oil-marketing companies can, in general, cover their costs. This will mean that if one company can innovate and cut costs, it will make greater profits. Hence, firms will be more prone to innovate and be efficient under this system. Once the rule is announced, there should be no interference by the government. If this is done for a while, private companies will re-enter this market. And once a sufficient number of them are in the fray, we can remove the rule-based pricing and leave it truly to the market (subject to, of course, the usual regulations of anti-trust and other competition laws).
 30.    Consider the following statements :
     According to the passage, an oil company can make greater profits, if a transparent formula for petrol pricing is announced every fortnight or month, by
     1. promoting its sales.
     2. undertaking innovation.
     3. cutting costs.
     4. selling its equity shares at higher prices.
     Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
     a) 1 only     b) 2 and 3
     c) 3 and 4    d) 1, 2 and 4
 31.    Consider the following statements :    
     According to the passage, private oil companies re-enter the oil producing  market if
 1.    a transparent rule-based petrol pricing exists.
 2.    there is no government interference in the oil producing market.
 3.    subsidies are given by the government.
 4.    regulations of anti-trust are removed.
     Which of the statements given above are correct ?
     a) 1 and 2    b) 2 and 3
     c) 3 and 4    d) 2 and 4
 32.    Five persons fire bullets at a target at an interval of 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12 seconds respectively. The number of times they would fire the bullets together at the target in an hour is
     a) 6     b) 7    c) 8    d) 9
 33.    A group of 630 children is seated in rows for a group photo session. Each row contains three less children than the row in front of it. Which one of the following number of rows is not possible ?
     a) 3     b) 4    c) 5     d) 6
 34.    There are seven persons up on a ladder, A, B, C, D, E, F and G (not in that order). A is further up than E but is lower than C. B is in the middle. G is between A and B. E is between B and F. If F is between E and D, the person on the bottom step of the ladder will be
     a) B    b) F    c) D    d) E
 35.    Consider that:
     1. A is taller than B.
     2. C is taller than A.
     3. D is taller than C.
     4. E is the tallest of all.
     If they are made to sit in the above order of their height, who will occupy the mid position ?
     a) A       b) B     c) C    d) D
 36.    Consider the following statements:
     There are six villages A, B, C, D, E and F.
     F is 1 km to the west of D.
     B is 1 km to the east of E.
     A is 2 km to the north of E.
     C is 1 km to the east of A.
     D is 1 km to the south of A.
     Which three villages are in a line ?
     a) A, C, B       b) A, D, E
     c) C, B, F    d) E, B, D
 37.    Four children are sitting in a row. A is occupying the seat next to B but not next to C. If C is not sitting next to D, who is/ are occupying seat/seats adjacent to D?
     a) B      b) A    c) B and A     d) Impossible to tell
 38.    Assume that
 1.    the hour and minute hands of a clock move without jerking.
 2.    the clock shows a time between 8 o'clock and 9 o'clock.
 3.    the two hands of the clock are one above the other.
     After how many minutes (nearest integer) will the two hands be again lying one above the other ?
     a) 60        b) 62    c) 65    d) 67
 Directions for the following 6 (six items):
 The following six items are based on two passages in English to test the comprehension of English language and therefore these items do not have Hindi version. Read each passage and answer the items that follow.
 
 Passage - 1
 In front of us was walking a bare-headed old man in tattered clothes. He was driving his beasts. They were all laden with heavy loads of clay from the hills and looked tired. The man carried a long whip which perhaps he himself had made. As he walked down the road he stopped now and then to eat the wild berries that grew on bushes along the uneven road. When he threw away the seeds, the bold birds would fly to peck at them. Sometimes a stray dog watched the procession philosophically and then began to bark. When this happened, my two little sons would stand still holding my hands firmly. A dog can sometimes be dangerous indeed.
 39.    The author's children held his hands firmly because
 a)    they were scared of the barking dogs.
 b)    they wanted him to pluck berries.
 c)    they saw the whip in the old man's hand.
 d)    the road was uneven.
 40.    The expression "a stray dog watched the procession philosophically" means that
     a) the dog was restless and ferocious.
 b)    the dog stood aloof, looking at the procession with seriousness.
 c)    the dog looked at the procession with big, wondering eyes.
 d)    the dog stood there with his eyes closed.
 (Continued in tomorrow City Plus Vidya page)