READING COMPREHENSION 1

1. (i) We can say that the Atlantic storms were fierce because it was the
combination of winds and high tides present in such storms that stri pped away
grass from one of the islands.
(ii) Not more than four houses would have been uncovered if the idea of
construction of a sea wall had not been proposed. This is because until
1925 only four houses had been discovered. Later when construction of, a
sea wall was started more houses were discovered.
(iii) The dwellings were all connected by a series of passageways covered
by stone slabs. This is considered as 'not a bad idea' because it allowed
the villagers to travel from one house to another without suffering the
harsh climate.
(iv) The stone buildings are still preserved because of the layer of sand
that protected the settlement from any wear and tear. As a result, the
interior fittings, furniture and household objects also survive to this day.
(v) Concrete purpose-built resorts are littered across the mountainsides.
(vi) In the context of life in the village, the writer states that people in the
village lived a quite comfortable life to point o ut that they had everything
that they needed. Further, they had a settlement which functioned
efficiently even under harsh weather conditions.
(vii) Students who had completed the program scored significantly higher
on standardised tests. (viii) We can say that the vil lage was occupied by
not more than 100 people as only eight dwellings were found in the village.
Out of those eight dwellings, two houses had different infrastructure and
use.
(ix) The eight houses were made while keeping in mind the conditions of
the isle. The houses and the
passages were built into a mound using 'midden', which provided both
stability and insulation against the harsh climate. There was only one main
passageway leading outside the village,
which could be sealed from the inside.
2. (i) By the phrase 'Bangladesh now stands as a model' the autho r wants
to highlight how Bangladesh has set an example in improving its human
development indicators especially girls education, faring well above its
South Asian neighbours on several fronts.
 (ii) The author says that'Educations outcomes for girls remain inadequate
as low and unequal levels of learning persist because the data from the
2017 Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics show
that dropout rates for girls are at a high and completion rates are low,
resulting in low female labour force participation
(iii) The figure shows that the education levels of males and females show
completely different outcomes. While male education saw an average rise,
the education levels of the girls have been decreasing
(iv) The Female Secondary School Assistance Project (FSSAP) was part of
a coordinated effort to
increase girls' enrolment and retention in secondary schools by providing
stipends and tuition waivers. It was instrumental in achieving gender parity
since it started in the early 1990s first as a
pilot and then as a nationwide program.
(v) Prioritising girls' education is the first vital step to economic
development in Bangladesh. This will ensure that female labour force
increases and promotes economic and social progress in the nation.
(vi) The collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare essential for female education because it will
address menstrual management, ensure separate sanitation facilities for
girls, and provide female students with cash incentives to attend
school.
(vii) Leverage

READING COMPREHENSION 2

1. (i) We can say that the author enjoys the Marina Beach because he takes
a stroll on the Marina beach in the evening. He feels that with the sea
glistening is refreshing. The breeze that flows there soothes the body,
refreshes the mind, sharpens the tongue and brightens the intellect.
(ii) Music is very important for the people of South India as one can find
humongous crowd in Music concerts. There is hardly any cult ural family in
Chennai that does not learn music and dance. Thousands of people come
to the temple 'maidans' to listen to the melodies of their favourite singers
even in extreme weather conditions.
(iii) The author points that the language, music and dance of South Ind ia
have a common connection as they are all very pure, enchanting and
divine.
(iv) The author compares Karnataka's music to nature by stating that the
charm of the music of South India is similar to that of the moon. It has the
moon's soft beauty and pace.
(v) A million passengers travel with us each year by and large.
(vi) Both Bharatnatyam and Kathakali are South India dance forms that
combine voluptuousness with purity. Bharatnatyam is a graceful and
enchanting dance form, while Kathakali is masculine and virile in its
movements.
(vii) It seems strange that people should marvel at what is really so
simple.
(viii) The author of the given passage states that the intellectual and
cultural life of Chennai is something of a marvel. Every street corner of
Chennai has a literary forum, a debating society and music, dance and
dramatic club. There is a young men's association which attracts brilliant
speakers and listeners. Music concerts and dance performances are also
found in abundance here.
(ix) The fact that you cannot distinguish a judge from an 'ardali' by their
dress is essential for a South Indian way of life because it ensures equality
amongst the people.

2. (i) By stating that 'marketers move from one strategy to another to

another, the author wants to highlight the task of every organisation to
reach its potential audience. This task includes looking and adopting
better strategies to do the same.
(ii) Social media capabilities are the birth of platforms such as YouTube,
Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Pinterest. This has resulted in the
creation of a new and attractive way in which the world has become a
global entity in which information is disseminated on a larger scale.
(iii) With reference to the figure, we can state that people are increasingly
becoming active on social media. This is paving the way for the emergence
of social media marketing as a larger part of marketing propaganda that
organisations will have to adopt.
(iv) the fact that there are people who access social media platforms
throughout the day shows that some percentage of these people may
wholly depend on these platforms for their decisions. If not they consider
social media views to be important and consider it crucial to their buying
decisions.
(v) The modern-day consumers especially millennials are increasingly
using online tools, for example, blogs, Facebook, and You Tube to share
their opinions about products and services they consume. This has led to
the new form of marketing known as Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM).
(vi) Yes, I would recommend social media marketing to any brand as a
marketing tool. Social media today has become the new growth strategy for
any company that wishes to realise growth and have a mark in this new
and uptight market.
(vii) The rise in Internet accessibility and availability of smartphones along
with new technology innovations and social media platforms, to name a
few Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest, provide users with a
variety of communication tools at their disposal.

READING COMPREHENSION 3

1. (i) The entire process of sending out invitations is called painstaking

because one has to make a
thousand calls to collect the addresses, write each of them on the card and
then courier or post
them. There is also the task of delivering them personally to some people.
(ii) E-vites can also be non-traditional in the sense that they can send
light, amusing messages in the
e-vites all the while retaining the main purpose of the invite.
(iii) The author of the passage states that excess doesn't always impress
because most of the invites,
no what how expensive or exotic it is, eventually lands up in tras h.
(iv) E-vites are better than traditional invites because they are
environment friendly. They save paper, time and money and can be
personalised to suit the couple. They are also very experimental as people
can change fonts, colours and even add light, amusing messag es in them.
(v) Certainly it's safer here than braving the storm to find shelter.
(vi) The cons of e-vites are that they make a wedding feel less formal.
People may think that e-vites can be a part of a scam and guests may still
keep waiting for a physical invite and not send RSVPs .

(vii) He'd been content to play around with the others and test his magic.
(viii) The fact that Desievite.com can make e-invites in ten Indian
languages apart from English shows how it is catering to their Indian
audience. Further, it had templates for Indian festivals as well that show
that it is in fact assimilating Indian culture.
(ix) The content of e-vites can be personalised as there are many websites
and apps that allow people to create their e-vites with around 390 free
designs. It also lets you use the same design for digital as well as physical
invites in which users can play around with fonts and colours of the text as
well as the texture and shade of the envelope.

2. (i) By pointing out that the survey shows a bleak pict ure, the author
wants to state that the COVID
pandemic has changed the world. People now think that life would not go
back to normal very soon.
(ii) Japan was pessimistic in its view that it will take long for life to go
were angered about the Olympic Games going ahead with spectators in the
country in the middle of a life threatening disease.
(iii) The given figure shows that on an average people do not think that life
is returning back to
normal anytime soon. They know that it will happen but it would take more
than a year for life to
become normal again.
(iv) People in countries like the UK or the US thought that the pandemic
would only last six more
months or that life had already normalised because of the successful
vaccination campaigns.
(v) The survey conducted by Ipsos was carried out for the World Economic
Forum, among more
than 21,000 adults on average across 30 countries and markets under the
age of 75 between
19th February, 2021 and 5th March, 2021 on Ipsos' Global Ad visor online
platform.
(vi) For people across the world it is essential that to return to 'normal' life,
we must work towards
containing the pandemic. (vii) Fueled

READING COMPREHENSION 4

1. (i) We can state that the author is skeptical of westernisation in India

when he/she mentions that
while India is moving towards becoming better it is doing so at the cost of
its precious environment, culture, traditions and values.
(ii) The author holds a pessimistic view of westernisation because it is
promoting a western lifestyle based on consumerism, individualism and
meaninglessness. This life does not necessarily make one happy.
(iii) The given line highlights how the western culture sees many
possibilities in India and has been travelling to the nation for financial or
political purposes. This, in turn, has been boosting the Indian Economy.
(iv) The author says that the West is not always exporting its very best to
India because it's not just
higher standards of safety or environmental friendliness, or valuable
technologies and knowhow that are flowing from the western world. It is
also bringing in capitalism and consumerism at
extremities.
(v) You know, go a bit starry-eyed about her essays or whatever.
(vi) The author proves the increasing consumerism and capitalism by
comparing the shopping habits of old people with the young generation.
According to him, the older Indians would buy a new product only when
the previous one's life had ended. However, the young generation want the
latest gadgets because they have more money and access to such goods.
(vii) The sheer immensity calms the mind and soothes the soul.
(viii) The author say that the people of the West are not the happier lot on
the basis of a survey which shows that their happiness has declined in
correlation with the development of consumerism. Moreover, people in the
West suffer from obesity, loneliness depression and addiction to
prescribed drugs.
(ix) The author of the passage point out how some Indian habits are better
than that of West. For example traditional squatting toilet which is not only
cheaper, more hygienic and better adapted to the human anatomy, but also
requires much less of water. Further strong extended family ties, respect
for elders, kriya yoga and tongue-scrapers can help better the people in
the West.
2. (i) By pointing out 'intentionality' the author wants to highlight that
going out of the house for even getting a coffee is now a well thought of
activity. One needs to plan and decide to get out of the house in the
pandemic times.
(ii) The reason behind conducting the survey was to understand how
coffee consumption habits
have changed due to the Covid pandemic and its restrictions.
(iii) From the given figure, we can conclude that people are still buying
coffee through walk-ins and take outs (18.8%), while most people prefer
online purchase of their coffee.
(iv) As per the data received by the website, it concluded that before
coronavirus people were consuming on average 2.45 cups of coffee a day.
That number has since gone up by an over 13% increase. On average,
those who cut down on their consumption did so by 56%, whereas those
who increased consumption did so at a rate of 112%.
(v) The data revealed by the survey points out that due to social
distancing, the majority of coffee respondents are purchasing via del ivery.
47% of people state they are ordering their coffee online, with another
nearly 12% receiving theirs via a subscription. Grocery stores and coffee
shops make up the remaining purchasers, at 14% and 18%, respectively.
(vi) The statement states how it was expected that coffee consumption
would godown during the coronavirus pandemic. However, the data reveals
that coffee consumption had gone up.
(vii) Ritual

READING COMPREHENSION 5
1. (i) The author of the given passage is skeptical of Indian education as it
is focused on getting good
grades and job offers, rather than being creative and unique. It does not
talk about getting out into the field, for gaining practical experience.
(ii) The paradigm shift that has taken place in 21st century education is
that now Indian education is focusing on the overall development of a child
and not just the academic development.
(iii) Co-curricular activities that take place outside the classroom but
reinforce or supplement classroom curriculum. Thes e activities help in the
growth of the child, mentally, socially and individually.
(iv) When students step out into the outside world, they pave the way for
aesthetic development such as team-building, character-building, and
physical growth. To validate this point, the author gives an example of a
student who is a part of school football team.
(v) There have been claims that these sunscreens may cause eye damage,
but this appears to be a hoax.
(vi) B-schools have accepted the change in education paradigm by
introducing regular guest lectures, industrial visits, conferences, seminars,
cultural festivals, and so on, so that students have practical exposure.
(vii) Points of focus reflected how generous a manufacturer had been, the
executive added.
(viii) Industry visits are important as with them students are able to better
identify their prospective
areas of work in the overall organisational function. They help enhance
interpersonal skills and communication techniques.
(ix) The combination of curricular and co-curricular activities helps in
overall personality development of a child. Classroom teaching provides
the foundation, and co-curricular activities
provide practical exposure and opportunities to implement what students
learn in the classroom.

2. (i) The author blames global growth and resource consumption for the
unprecedented increase in Greenhouse gas emissions.
(ii) Electricity and heat production lead to a considerable increase in
Greenhouse gas emissions as there is a continuous burning of coal and
production of natural gas, and use of oil to meet the electricity and heat
requirements of the population.
(iii) The given figure presents economic sectors which cater to make our
live luxurious. However, to do so, these industries are harming the
environment by production of Greenhouse gases.
(iv) The sector 'industry' entails all chemical, metallurgical, and mineral
transformation processes not
associated with energy consumption and waste management activities.
(v) Greenhouse gas emissions from tranportation sector primarily involve
fossil fuels burned for road, rail, air, and marine transportation. Almost all
(95%) of the world's transportation energy comes from petroleum -based
fuels, largely gasoline and diesel
(vi) Agriculture, forestry is correctly mentioned in the production of
Greenhouse gas emissions as gas emissions from this sector come mostly
from agriculture (cultivation of crops and livestock) and deforestation
(vii) Refining

READING COMPREHENSION 6
1. (i) Mountaineering requires a decent level of athleticism and suppleness
of body because a mountaineer has to display a good degree of mental
fortitude to survive and succeed in withstanding the extreme climatic
conditions.
(ii) The author feels that the feat of climbing mountains and the
preparations that goes behind it is worth your while. He believes that there
is no better feeling than being out in the open, breathing in the pristine
mountain air, as close to the sky as it's humanly possible to be.
(iii) The author credits Edmund Hilary and George Mallory for making
mountaineering a popular activity all around the world while letting the
world know that the activity has also been known to build a person's
character.
(iv) Mountaineering has changed over the many years. In the 19th century,
people would climb just for pleasure, for the sheer thrill of conquering
peaks. But over time, the sport has split into separat e disciplines, each of
them calling for varying degrees of skills and preparation.
(v) I pray we have the fortitude to carry on fighting.
(vi) Mountaineering has become comparatively easy in the present times.
Men in ancient times had to rely on their feet, their legs, their hands and
their wits to climb mountains. In contrast, today, climbers have the comfort
of having the most advanced equipment and gear at their disposal.
(vii) Romantic comedies require some suspension of disbelief, but this
pushes the limits.
(viii) The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute has played a big part in the
conquest of the Greater Himalayas as it had successfully trained many
mountaineers for climbing the Himalayans ranges.
(ix) Mountaineering is not an easy sport. It demands a lot of physical
fitness, and attempts on the highest peaks can p ush one's body to the
limit. So, before attempting any climb, one must make sure to be fit enough
to endure everything that nature may throw.

2. (i) For the author, child labour creates a vicious cycle of illiteracy
because when children start earning at an early age, they are robbed of
education and other opportunities. It exploits children and deprives adults
of better employment opportunities and higher wages.
(ii) The main reason behind the rise of child labour is lack of awareness
and poverty. With low levels of awareness and poor living conditions,
parents who work as labourers cannot afford to fund their children's
education. Instead, they make them work to supplement family income.
(iii) The given figure points out that children from age group 10 -14 are
majorly engaged in labour. Even in that the average is higher for Odisha in
comparison to India.
(iv) The given data tells us that most of the children in Odisha is employed
in agricultural and allied activities comprising almost two -thirds of the
overall child labour percentage.
(v) Many children are engaged in va rious hazardous occupations such as
tobacco rolling, labelling and packaging, collection and assembly of
charcoal and coal; workhands in motor garages; labourers in brick kilns
and stone quarries; making and selling country liquor; and workers at
matchbox and fireworks factories.
(vi) Many occupations called hazardous for children because they rob the
children of many opportunities, take away their innocence and childhood,
and endanger their health and lives.
(vii) Disclose

READING COMPREHENSION 7
1. (i) We can learn the art of living by peeping into the lives of the great
and optimistic leaders in history, science and literature. The daily routines
of these great men not only reveal their different, maybe unique life styles,
but also help us learn certain habits and practices they followed.
(ii) Graham Greene had a secret workplace of which only his wife knew the
address and the telephone number because he needed a workplace where
he could work on his creation without any interruption.
(iii) One specific thing about Jane Austen's wo rkplace was that she had
asked that certain squeaky hinge should never be oiled so that she always
had a warning whenever someone was approaching the room where she
worked.
(iv) The family of Mark Twain used to blow a horn instead of knocking at
the door to draw him out of his workplace. This was so because, Twain did
not like getting disturbed during his work.
(v) Carry a small notepad in your pocket and jot down your observations
(vi) Erik Satie used to stop under street lamps to jot down ideas that came
on his journey on his long hikes from Paris to the working-class suburb
where he lived.
(vii) Remember, stay on the path and you'll be fine.
(viii) Francine Prose used to write when the school bus picked up her
children and stopped when it brought them back.
(ix) Routines are central to attaining success as it makes sure that one is
moving forward with the task. Routines makes it easier to stay on the path
of success
.
2. (i) The Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI) - released by the Health
Ministry aims to provide a base for national and state level programmes
and policies for the elderly population.
(ii) Bio-markers are tests that are conducted to diagnose chronic health
conditions, including hypertension, visual impairment, or obesity or under
nutrition and chronic respiratory diseases.
(iii) The given figure highlights how majority of elderly people (almost
55.30%) above 60 years suffer from eye related problems.
(iv) According to the figure, most elderly people suffer from cardiovascular
diseases and hypertension.
(v) The treatment rate for all chronic health conditions is higher among the
elderly in urban areas most probably because of the availability of better
service in urban areas.
(vi) The survey tested 72,250 individuals aged 45 and above and their
spouses. This included 31,464 people aged 60 and above 6,749 aged 75 and
above from all states and union territories, excluding Sikkim.
(vii) Multi morbidities

READING COMPREHENSION 8

1. (i) We know that the writer is in awe of his nation as he points out that
even though many nations have captured his lands, conquered his and
other people in his nation's minds, they had never tried to capture any
other nation.
(ii) The Freedom envisioned by the writer is associated with the freedom of
ourselves as well as others which brings respect. For him, if we are not
free, no one will respect us.
(iii) We respect the freedom of other by not attempting to conquer them.
We must not in any way try to affect their land, their culture, their history
and try to enforce our way of life on them.
(iv) The writer got the idea of freedom first in 1857, when people of his
nation started the war of independence.
(v) If something stands up to bad conditions, it is not damaged or harmed
by them.
(vi) The given line by the writer indicates unless India stands up to the
world, no one will respect us. We must be strong not only as a military
power but also as an economic power
(vii) "The hero should take acting lessons," my father said as an aside
when the intermission began.
(viii) The author believes that India-his nation is not an under developed
nation. It is a highlym developed nation in an advanced state of decay and
destruction.
(ix) The questions asked by the author in the passage reflects how being
conquered by other nations had deeply impacted the people who had no
belief in their own nation.

2. (i) By 'Crippling Lockdown', the researcher seems to indicate the

negative impact that the lockdown had on the society.
(ii) The survey was carried out through a SWOT analysis for the economy
where participants were
asked about things like what is helping India or what is making things
worse, and what lies ahead.
(iii) The given figure shows that the Indian economy, according to people,
could recover if there were riders or activities that would promote the
Indian economy all the while keeping the general livelihood in mind.
(iv) The responses on the possibility of a quick recovery appeared to be a
broad-based endorsement of government's Covid-fighting strategy. People
believe that a 'decisive leadership' is a big factor on India's side. They also
point out the need for a proactive RBI, less political squabbling and
benign oil prices.
(v) The factors that could complicate the economy's fight for survival,
include a possible second surge of the virus. Some people feared that the
consequences of a broken labour market, non-recovery of global trade and
deeply negative sentiment would also complicate the recovery process.
(vi) The given data reveals that majority of the people believe that the
economy would recover if notnow than later. Only 4% think it w ould not
recover at all.
(vii) Gleaned
 READING COMPREHENSION 9
1. (1) The author states that it is difficult to find the path to creativity as
our habits are so strongly ingrained in us, that sometimes even when a
conscious effort is made to be creative, automatic response takes over and
creativity is lost.
(ii) The author feels that the belief that creative people are born with their
talents as: gifts from God or nature is a myth. Creative genius or crea tivity
is latent within many of us, without our realising it.
(iii) As per the passage, or creativity is blocked by our actions and
behaviour. Our minds are clogged with habitual actions, preventing them
from operating freely and thereby blocking creativity.
(iv) The author says so because schools, university and then work, teach
us to regulate our lives. They impose a continuous process of restrictions
which is increasing exponentially with the advancement of technology.
(v) We didn't sleep at all. The fact that he cannot remember to take his
books to school worked on really setting me off.
(vi) The author of the given passage, states that setting off on the creative
path is also about using rules and regulations because once the rules and
regulations are learnt, there is also a knowledge that they can be br oken.
When one that recognises that rules and regulations are barriers, to be
raised and dropped at will.
(vii) The monster in the corner of her mind was a man, shrouded in
darkness.
(viii) Artificial barriers can increase the creative genius possessed by
man. As a form of stimulation, the participants in the task can be forbidden
to use particular solutions to solve a problem. In this way, they are obliged
to explore unfamiliar territory, which may lead to some startling
discoveries.
(ix) Creativity for the author of the passage, is like a Pand ora box which
has been covered in myths and legends. This myth stops people from
using their creative genius. However, once people realise their creativity, a
new world can be envisioned

2. (1) Duolingo fulfills its vision of creating a world where more money
can't buy you a better education by providing free language education to
people all across the globe.
(ii) Duolingo is a data driven company as they test and measure everything
they do, and use this data to constantly improve how they teach.
(iii) The given figure shows that while languag e learning on Duolingo was
rise and fall in 2019, it increased exponentially during 2020 especially
during the month of March.
(iv) Duolingo chose language education as they feel that the languages
that study around the world reflect our past history and our present
culture, and may hold clues to where our global society is heading.
(v) Duolingo is a free to use mobile app and a website that allows learners
from all backgrounds and profiles use their platform to learn languages.
They offer 98 language courses that teach 39
different languages.
(vi) The 2020 Duolingo Language Report is a study conducted by the
application Duolingo which includes trends, pattems and analyses about
language learning around the wo investigates which countries study which
languages, how interest in learning different languages has changed over
time, and how learner behaviour varies around the world.
(vii) Amassed

READING COMPREHENSION 10
1. (i) No, the writer of the passage does not want to scare people off of
becoming a writer. The purpose of the passage is just to indicate the tiring
process of getting a work published not scare people off. The author states
that it is not easy to give up writing.
(ii) The writer does not believe that writing as a profession is glamorous
as the process of writing includes many revisions of the text. It reaches a
level wherein the writer gets sick of editing the text.
(iii) Writing involves carrying out detailed research: first to establish
whether there is a market for the planned publication, and second into the
content of the book.
(iv) A first draft is rarely the final text of the book as nearly all books go
through countless hours of altering and reordering of text and deleting.
Then one has to also make alterations according to the publisher demands.
(v) Something she saw must have tipped her off, yet nothing looked out of
place.
(vi) While some people might think that with new technology the checking
and editing process is speeded up, the experienced writer would hardly
agree. This is so because even advanced technology does not allow
perfect in depth editing as required by the author.
(vii) The prime responsibility of the job is to vet a book for any errors.
(viii) It is suggested to show the text to other people for appraisal before
showing it to a literary agent as it may need further fine-tuning. Once an
agent has been approached and has rejected a draft
publication, it is difficult to go and ask for the revamped text to be
considered again.
(ix) The purpose of publisher's alterations is to make sure that the book
conforms to an in-house style as regards language, spelling or
punctuation, etc.

2. (1) India's media and entertainment industry is expected to soon reach

the top-10 worldwide. We know this as the overall media and entertainment
industry is expected to be valued at INR 3,224.24 Bn by 2025, growing at a
CAGR of 10% during 2020-2025 timeframe.
(ii) OTT platforms are application or websites that allow content to be
downloaded directly and
accessed by users on connected devices such as smart TVs, PCs, laptops,
smartphones, and gaming consoles via the internet. T hey are not cost-free
and enable users to subscribe by paying
monthly or yearly subscription fees.
(iii) The popularity of OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime has
reached a new high in April 2020 with both OTT platforms sharing 40% of
the market share together.
(iv) The popularity of the OTT platforms is increasing as industry
participants are investing heavily in the acquisition or creation of new
goods and services while enhancing the experience of consumers.
(v) The popularity of OIT platforms changed the Media market industry by
surpassing the print and film segments in terms of consumer revenue by
2025. Further, in both 2018 and 2019, the television segment accounted for
the largest share of the market which has now been taken over by OTT
platforms.
(vi) The overall media and entertainment industry can be segm ented into
television, print media, digital media, films, animation & VFX, out -of-home,
gaming and radio and music.
(vii) Premium