British Colonial Policy

British colonial policy . . . went through two policy phases, or at least there were two strategies between which its policies actually oscillated, sometimes to its great advantage. At first, the new colonial apparatus exercised caution, and occupied India by a mix of military power and subtle diplomacy, the high ground in the middle of the circle of circles. This, however, pushed them into contradictions. For, whatever their sense of the strangeness of the country and the thinness of colonial presence, the British colonial state represented the great conquering discourse of Enlightenment rationalism, entering India precisely at the moment of its greatest unchecked arrogance. As inheritors and representatives of this discourse, which carried everything before it, this colonial state could hardly adopt for long such a self-denying attitude. It had restructured everything in Europe—the productive system, the political regimes, the moral and cognitive orders—and would do the same in India, particularly as some empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a massive laboratory of utilitarian or other theoretical experiments. Consequently, the colonial state could not settle simply for eminence at the cost of its marginality; it began to take initiatives to introduce the logic of modernity into Indian society. But this modernity did not enter a passive society. Sometimes, its initiatives were resisted by pre-existing structural forms. At times, there was a more direct form of collective resistance. Therefore the map of continuity and discontinuity that this state left behind at the time of independence was rather complex and has to be traced with care.

Most significantly, of course, initiatives for . . . modernity came to assume an external character. The acceptance of modernity came to be connected, ineradicably, with subjection. This again points to two different problems, one theoretical, the other political. Theoretically, because modernity was externally introduced, it is explanatorily unhelpful to apply the logical format of the ‘transition process’ to this pattern of change. Such a logical format would be wrong on two counts. First, however subtly, it would imply that what was proposed to be built was something like European capitalism. (And, in any case, historians have forcefully argued that what it was to replace was not like feudalism, with or without modificatory adjectives.) But, more fundamentally, the logical structure of endogenous change does not apply here. Here transformation agendas attack as an external force. This externality is not something that can be casually mentioned and forgotten. It is inscribed on every move, every object, every proposal, every legislative act, each line of causality. It comes to be marked on the epoch itself. This repetitive emphasis on externality should not be seen as a nationalist initiative that is so well rehearsed in Indian social science. . . .

Quite apart from the externality of the entire historical proposal of modernity, some of its contents were remarkable. . . . Economic reforms, or rather alterations . . . did not foreshadow the construction of a classical capitalist economy, with its necessary emphasis on extractive and transport sectors. What happened was the creation of a degenerate version of capitalism—what early dependency theorists called the ‘development of underdevelopment’.

251.

All of the following statements about British colonialism can be inferred from the first paragraph, EXCEPT that it:

• A. 

  was at least partly an outcome of Enlightenment rationalism.

• B. 

  faced resistance from existing structural forms of Indian modernity.

• C. 

  was at least partly shaped by the project of European modernity.

• D. 

  allowed the treatment of colonies as experimental sites.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The question asks which of the given statements cannot be inferred. Let us check each one by one.

Option 1 states British colonialism was at least partly an outcome of Enlightenment rationalism. The fact that the colonial state emerged at least partly as a result of Enlightenment rationalism can be inferred from paragraph 1: ‘the British colonial state represented the great conquering discourse of Enlightenment rationalism... As inheritors and representatives of this discourse, which carried everything before it, this colonial state could hardly adopt for long such a self-denying attitude...’

Option 2 states British colonialism faced resistance from existing structural forms of Indian modernity. This does not sound correct, as the passage only talks about European modernity, not Indian modernity. Paragraph 1 does mention that initiatives to introduce its logic of modernity on the Indian society by the British ‘were resisted by pre-existing structural forms’. Were these structural forms of Indian modernity? This is not mentioned in the passage.

Consider option 3. British colonialism was at least partly shaped by the project of European modernity. This is clearly true. See paragraph 1 : ‘the British colonial state represented the great conquering discourse of Enlightenment rationalism.... As inheritors and representatives of this discourse.... this colonial state could hardly adopt for long such a self-denying attitude. It had restructured everything in Europe...and would do the same in India’. The British colonial state inherited the discourse of Enlightenment rationalism which had restructured everything in Europe.

Option 4 states that British colonialism allowed the treatment of colonies as experimental sites. This can also be easily inferred from paragraph 1: ‘....some empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a massive laboratory of utilitarian or other theoretical experiments’.

252.

All of the following statements, if true, could be seen as supporting the arguments in the passage, EXCEPT:

• A. 

  the introduction of capitalism in India was not through the transformation of feudalism, as happened in Europe.

• B. 

  modernity was imposed upon India by the British and, therefore, led to underdevelopment.

• C. 

  throughout the history of colonial conquest, natives have often been experimented on by the colonisers.

• D. 

  the change in British colonial policy was induced by resistance to modernity in Indian society.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The question asks us to choose the statement which cannot be seen as supporting the arguments in the passage.

Option 1 states that the introduction of capitalism in India was not through the transformation of feudalism, as happened in Europe. This statement supports the arguments in the passage. See what paragraph 2 says about the introduction of modernity by the British: ‘First, however subtly, it would imply that what was proposed to be built was something like European capitalism. (And, in any case, historians have forcefully argued that what it was to replace was not like feudalism, with or without modificatory adjectives.)’ The passage argues here that what European modernity tried to introduce was not like European capitalism and that what it tried to replace was not like feudalism in Europe.

Option 2 states that modernity was imposed upon India by the British and, therefore, led to underdevelopment. This statement also supports the arguments in the passage. That modernity was imposed on India can be inferred from multiple references in the passage, to quote a few: ‘initiatives for modernity came to assume an external character. The acceptance of modernity came to be connected, ineradicably, with subjection’ and ‘...transformation agendas attack as an external force’. That modernity imposed by the British led to underdevelopment can be inferred from the last lines of the passage: ‘Economic reforms, or rather alterations did not foreshadow the construction of a classical capitalist economy, with its necessary emphasis on extractive and transport sectors. What happened was the creation of a degenerate version of capitalism—what early dependency theorists called the ‘development of underdevelopment’. That is, economic reforms imposed by the British in India only resulted in underdevelopment.

Option 3 states that throughout the history of colonial conquest, natives have often been experimented on by the colonisers. This statement, too, supports the arguments in the passage. See paragraph 1: ‘...empirically inclined theorists of that generation considered the colonies a massive laboratory of utilitarian or other theoretical experiments.’ That is, colonizers regarded colonies as laboratories of practical or theoretical experiments.

Option 4 states that the change in British colonial policy was induced by resistance to modernity in Indian society. This statement does not support the arguments in the passage. Did the resistance to modernity in India result in a change in British colonial policy? The passage does not say this. The passage only talks of resistance resulting in a ‘the map of continuity and discontinuity’ being left behind at the time of independence. So, option 4 is the correct answer.

253.

“Consequently, the colonial state could not settle simply for eminence at the cost of its marginality; it began to take initiatives to introduce the logic of modernity into Indian society.” Which of the following best captures the sense of this statement?

• A. 

  The colonial state’s eminence was unsettled by its marginal position; therefore, it developed Indian society by modernising it.

• B. 

  The colonial enterprise was a costly one; so to justify the cost it began to take initiatives to introduce the logic of modernity into Indian society.

• C. 

  The colonial state felt marginalised from Indian society because of its own modernity; therefore, it sought to address that marginalisation by bringing its modernity to change Indian society.

• D. 

  The cost of the colonial state’s eminence was not settled; therefore, it took the initiative of introducing modernity into Indian society.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The British colonial state could not settle for eminence at the cost of its marginality. That is, the British colonial state believed its superior modernity set it apart from the Indian society. But it did not want to be marginalised because of its modernity. So, it began to take initiatives to introduce the logic of modernity into Indian society. Option 3 best captures this.

254.

Which one of the following 5-word sequences best captures the flow of the arguments in the passage?

• A. 

  Military power—arrogance—laboratory—modernity—capitalism.

• B. 

  Colonial policy—Enlightenment—external modernity—subjection—underdevelopment.

• C. 

  Colonial policy—arrogant rationality—resistance—independence—development.

• D. 

  Military power—colonialism—restructuring—feudalism—capitalism.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The passage can be summed up as follows. British colonial policy was guided by the idea of Enlightenment rationalism/ European modernity. Because they believed colonies could be used as laboratories, the British resolved they would do the same in India. However, this imposed modernity came to assume an external character. External modernity was associated with subjugation and met with stiff resistance. What the economic reforms resulted in was only a degenerate version of capitalism and underdevelopment.

Option 2 captures key ideas like ‘external modernity’ and ‘underdevelopment’ that none of the other options mention.

255.

Which of the following observations is a valid conclusion to draw from the author’s statement that “the logical structure of endogenous change does not apply here. Here transformation agendas attack as an external force”?

• A. 

  The endogenous logic of colonialism can only bring change if it attacks and transforms external forces.

• B. 

  Indian society is not endogamous; it is more accurately characterised as aggressively exogamous.

• C. 

  Colonised societies cannot be changed through logic; they need to be transformed with external force.

• D. 

  The transformation of Indian society did not happen organically, but was forced by colonial agendas.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

‘Endogenous change’ means change from within. The first line means that the transformation of the Indian society did not proceed due to changes within the system. ‘Transformation agendas attack as an external force’ means the agenda to transform the society was imposed upon by external forces. Here, the external force is the colonial agenda. Option 4 sums this up best.

Linguistics

For two years, I tracked down dozens of . . . Chinese in Upper Egypt [who were] selling lingerie. In a deeply conservative region, where Egyptian families rarely allow women to work or own businesses, the Chinese flourished because of their status as outsiders. They didn’t gossip, and they kept their opinions to themselves. In a New Yorker article entitled “Learning to Speak Lingerie,” I described the Chinese use of Arabic as another non-threatening characteristic. I wrote, “Unlike Mandarin, Arabic is inflected for gender, and Chinese dealers, who learn the language strictly by ear, often pick up speech patterns from female customers. I’ve come to think of it as the lingerie dialect, and there’s something disarming about these Chinese men speaking in the feminine voice.” . . .

When I wrote about the Chinese in the New Yorker, most readers seemed to appreciate the unusual perspective. But as I often find with topics that involve the Middle East, some people had trouble getting past the black-and-white quality of a byline. “This piece is so orientalist I don’t know what to do,” Aisha Gani, a reporter who worked at The Guardian, tweeted. Another colleague at the British paper, Iman Amrani, agreed: “I wouldn’t have minded an article on the subject written by an Egyptian woman—probably would have had better insight.” . . .

As an MOL (man of language), I also take issue with this kind of essentialism. Empathy and understanding are not inherited traits, and they are not strictly tied to gender and race. An individual who wrestles with a difficult language can learn to be more sympathetic to outsiders and open to different experiences of the world. This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense of understanding and connection—is invariably transformative. In Upper Egypt, the Chinese experience of struggling to learn Arabic and local culture had made them much more thoughtful. In the same way, I was interested in their lives not because of some kind of voyeurism, but because I had also experienced Egypt and Arabic as an outsider. And both the Chinese and the Egyptians welcomed me because I spoke their languages. My identity as a white male was far less important than my ability to communicate.

And that easily lobbed word—“Orientalist”—hardly captures the complexity of our interactions. What exactly is the dynamic when a man from Missouri observes a Zhejiang native selling lingerie to an Upper Egyptian woman? . . . If all of us now stand beside the same river, speaking in ways we all understand, who’s looking east and who’s looking west? Which way is Oriental?

For all of our current interest in identity politics, there’s no corresponding sense of identity linguistics. You are what you speak—the words that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or your gender. And sometimes it’s healthy to consider human characteristics that are not inborn, rigid, and outwardly defined. After all, you can always learn another language and change who you are.

251.

Which of the following can be inferred from the author’s claim, “Which way is Oriental?”

• A. 

  Learning another language can mitigate cultural hierarchies and barriers.

• B. 

  Globalisation has mitigated cultural hierarchies and barriers.

• C. 

  Goodwill alone mitigates cultural hierarchies and barriers.

• D. 

  Orientalism is a discourse of the past, from colonial times, rarely visible today.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The main idea of the passage is summed up in the last paragraph: ‘You are what you speak—the words that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or your gender.’

The author asks, ‘Which way is Oriental?’ to help readers realise that cultural hierarchies and barriers are not fixed and that they can be mitigated by learning another language.

252.

A French ethnographer decides to study the culture of a Nigerian tribe. Which of the following is most likely to be the view of the author of the passage?

• A. 

  The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to first learn the language of the Nigerian tribe s/he wishes to study.

• B. 

  The author would encourage the ethnographer, but ask him/her to be mindful of his/her racial and gender identity in the process.

• C. 

  The author would discourage the ethnographer from conducting the study as Nigerian ethnographers can better understand the tribe.

• D. 

  The author would encourage the ethnographer and recommend him/her to hire a good translator for the purpose of holding interviews.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The author firmly believes that learning another language can help transcend cultural barriers. See paragraph 3: ‘An individual who wrestles with a difficult language can learn to be more sympathetic to outsiders and open to different experiences of the world.’

253.

The author’s critics would argue that:

• A. 

  Empathy can overcome identity politics.

• B. 

  Language is insufficient to bridge cultural barriers.

• C. 

  Linguistic politics can be erased.

• D. 

  Orientalism cannot be practiced by Egyptians.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The author observes ‘both the Chinese and the Egyptians welcomed me because I spoke their languages. My identity as a white male was far less important than my ability to communicate.’ That is, he believes language can help overcome identity politics. His critics’ view would be the opposite: language is insufficient to bridge cultural barriers.

254.

According to the passage, which of the following is not responsible for language’s ability to change us?

• A. 

  The ups and downs involved in the course of learning a language.

• B. 

  Language’s intrinsic connection to our notions of self and identity.

• C. 

  Language’s ability to mediate the impact of identity markers one is born with.

• D. 

  The twists and turns in the evolution of language over time.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Observe what the author says about how the language learning process changes one’s identity: ‘This learning process—the embarrassments, the frustrations, the gradual sense of understanding and connection—is invariably transformative.’

The embarrassments, the frustrations= the ups and downs of learning a new language

The gradual sense of understanding and connection = Language’s ability to mediate the impact of identity markers one is born with

In the last paragraph, the author states ‘the words that run throughout your mind are at least as fundamental to your selfhood as is your ethnicity or your gender.’ This relates to language’s intrinsic connection to our notions of self and identity.

Only language evolution is not related to language’s ability to change us. The author does not talk about language evolution in the passage.

Urban Settlements

The magic of squatter cities is that they are improved steadily and gradually by their residents. To a planner’s eye, these cities look chaotic. I trained as a biologist and to my eye, they look organic. Squatter cities are also unexpectedly green. They have maximum density—1 million people per square mile in some areas of Mumbai—and have minimum energy and material use. People get around by foot, bicycle, rickshaw, or the universal shared taxi.

Not everything is efficient in the slums, though. In the Brazilian favelas where electricity is stolen and therefore free, people leave their lights on all day. But in most slums recycling is literally a way of life. The Dharavi slum in Mumbai has 400 recycling units and 30,000 ragpickers. Six thousand tons of rubbish are sorted every day. In 2007, the Economist reported that in Vietnam and Mozambique, “Waves of gleaners sift the sweepings of Hanoi’s streets, just as Mozambiquan children pick over the rubbish of Maputo’s main tip. Every city in Asia and Latin America has an industry based on gathering up old cardboard boxes.” . . .

In his 1985 article, Calthorpe made a statement that still jars with most people: “The city is the most environmentally benign form of human settlement. Each city dweller consumes less land, less energy, less water, and produces less pollution than his counterpart in settlements of lower densities.” “Green Manhattan” was the inflammatory title of a 2004 New Yorker article by David Owen. “By the most significant measures,” he wrote, “New York is the greenest community in the United States, and one of the greenest cities in the world . . . The key to New York’s relative environmental benignity is its extreme compactness. . . . Placing one and a half million people on a twenty-three-square-mile island sharply reduces their opportunities to be wasteful.” He went on to note that this very compactness forces people to live in the world’s most energy-efficient apartment buildings. . . .

Urban density allows half of humanity to live on 2.8 per cent of the land. . . . Consider just the infrastructure efficiencies. According to a 2004 UN report: “The concentration of population and enterprises in urban areas greatly reduces the unit cost of piped water, sewers, drains, roads, electricity, garbage collection, transport, health care, and schools.” . . .

[T]he nationally subsidised city of Manaus in northern Brazil “answers the question” of how to stop deforestation: give people decent jobs. Then they can afford houses, and gain security. One hundred thousand people who would otherwise be deforesting the jungle around Manaus are now prospering in town making such things as mobile phones and televisions. . . .

Of course, fast-growing cities are far from an unmitigated good. They concentrate crime, pollution, disease and injustice as much as business, innovation, education and entertainment. . . . But if they are overall a net good for those who move there, it is because cities offer more than just jobs. They are transformative: in the slums, as well as the office towers and leafy suburbs, the progress is from hick to metropolitan to cosmopolitan . . .

251.

Which one of the following statements would undermine the author’s stand regarding the greenness of cities?

• A. 

  The compactness of big cities in the West increases the incidence of violent crime.

• B. 

  Sorting through rubbish contributes to the rapid spread of diseases in the slums.

• C. 

  The high density of cities leads to an increase in carbon dioxide and global warming.

• D. 

  Over the last decade the cost of utilities has been increasing for city dwellers.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

According to the author, high urban density makes cities green. The argument that high density of cities results in an increase in carbon dioxide and global warming goes against this.

Options 1 and 2 are unrelated to the idea of greenness of big cities.

According to the author, high urban density forces ‘minimum energy and material use’, thereby making cities green. Option 4 only talks of increasing cost of utilities for city dwellers, ignoring the point about recycling and reduced opportunities to be wasteful in big cities mentioned in the passage. So, it does not really help undermine the author’s stand.

252.

According to the passage, squatter cities are environment-friendly for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

• A. 

  their transportation is energy efficient.

• B. 

  they recycle material.

• C. 

  they sort out garbage.

• D. 

  their streets are kept clean.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Energy efficient transportation, recycling of material and sorting of garbage all relate to environment friendliness. Keeping streets clean, on the other hand, does not relate to environment friendliness as such.

253.

We can infer that Calthorpe’s statement “still jars” with most people because most people:

• A. 

  regard cities as places of disease and crime.

• B. 

  do not consider cities to be eco-friendly places.

• C. 

  do not regard cities as good places to live in.

• D. 

  consider cities to be very crowded and polluted.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The author says that Calthorpe calling the city ‘the most environmentally benign form of human settlement’ jars most people. Why? Because people believe the opposite: that cities are not eco-friendly.

Of the given options 1 and 3 are easily ruled out. Calthorpe argues that the very fact that cities are crowded contributes to their environmental benignity. The point here is not the crowding, but the fact that Calthorpe regards this extreme compactness to be environment friendly.

254.

In the context of the passage, the author refers to Manaus in order to:

• A. 

  explain how urban areas help the environment.

• B. 

  describe the infrastructure efficiencies of living in a city.

• C. 

  explain where cities source their labour for factories.

• D. 

  promote cities as employment hubs for people.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Note the context in which the author mentions Manaus: ‘One hundred thousand people who would otherwise be deforesting the jungle around Manaus are now prospering in town making such things as mobile phones and televisions’. The idea the author wants to convey is that employment in the city helps stop deforestation.

255.

From the passage it can be inferred that cities are good places to live in for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that they:

• A. 

  offer employment opportunities.

• B. 

  help prevent destruction of the environment.

• C. 

  contribute to the cultural transformation of residents.

• D. 

  have suburban areas as well as office areas.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

That cities have suburban as well as office areas does not meaningfully relate to the idea that cities are good places to live in. In the passage, the author mentions employment opportunities (‘give people decent jobs. Then they can afford houses, and gain security’), prevention of destruction of the environment (example of Manaus) and cultural transformation (‘the progress is from hick to metropolitan to cosmopolitan’) as reasons for cities being good places to live in.

Preservation

War, natural disasters and climate change are destroying some of the world's most precious cultural sites. Google is trying to help preserve these archaeological wonders by allowing users access to 3D images of these treasures through its site.
But the project is raising questions about Google's motivations and about who should own the digital copyrights. Some critics call it a form of "digital colonialism."
When it comes to archaeological treasures, the losses have been mounting. ISIS blew up parts of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria and an earthquake hit Bagan, an ancient city in Myanmar, damaging dozens of temples, in 2016. In the past, all archaeologists and historians had for restoration and research were photos, drawings, remnants and intuition.
But that's changing. Before the earthquake at Bagan, many of the temples on the site were scanned. . . . [These] scans . . . are on Google's Arts & Culture site. The digital renditions allow viewers to virtually wander the halls of the temple, look up-close at paintings and turn the building over, to look up at its chambers. . . . [Google Arts & Culture] works with museums and other nonprofits . . . to put high-quality images online.
The images of the temples in Bagan are part of a collaboration with CyArk, a nonprofit that creates the 3D scanning of historic sites. . . . Google . . . says [it] doesn't make money off this website, but it fits in with Google's mission to make the world's information available and useful.
Critics say the collaboration could be an attempt by a large corporation to wrap itself in the sheen of culture. Ethan Watrall, an archaeologist, professor at Michigan State University and a member of the Society for American Archaeology, says he's not comfortable with the arrangement between CyArk and Google. . . . Watrall says this project is just a way for Google to promote Google. "They want to make this material accessible so people will browse it and be filled with wonder by it," he says. "But at its core, it's all about advertisements and driving traffic." Watrall says these images belong on the site of a museum or educational institution, where there is serious scholarship and a very different mission. . . .
[There's] another issue for some archaeologists and art historians. CyArk owns the copyrights of the scans — not the countries where these sites are located. That means the countries need CyArk's permission to use these images for commercial purposes.
Erin Thompson, a professor of art crime at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, says it's the latest example of a Western nation appropriating a foreign culture, a centuries-long battle. . . . CyArk says it copyrights the scans so no one can use them in an inappropriate way. The company says it works closely with authorities during the process, even training local people to help. But critics like Thompson are not persuaded. . . . She would prefer the scans to be owned by the countries and people where these sites are located.

251.

Based on his views mentioned in the passage, one could best characterise Dr. Watrall as being:

• A. 

  opposed to the use of digital technology in archaeological and cultural sites in developing countries.

• B. 

  dismissive of laypeople’s access to specialist images of archaeological and cultural sites.

• C. 

  uneasy about the marketing of archaeological images for commercial use by firms such as Google and CyArk.

• D. 

  critical about the links between a non-profit and a commercial tech platform for distributing archaeological images.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The passage states that Dr. Watrall is ‘not comfortable’ about the arrangement between CyArk and Google as he sees the project as ‘a way for Google to promote Google’, and, at its core, ‘about advertisements and driving traffic.’

Options 1 is easily ruled out, as Dr. Watrall is not opposed to the use digital technology in archaeological sites.

Option 2 is also incorrect. The fact that Dr. Watrall would like the images to belong to a museum or educational institution ‘where there is serious scholarship’ does not automatically imply that he is dismissive of laypeople’s access to specialist images.

Option 3 is incorrect as well. From the passage we gather that CyArk is a non-profit organisation that creates the 3D scanning of historic sites and that Google does not make money off the website. Option 3 labels both Google and CyArk as firms interested in the marketing of archaeological images for commercial use. This is false.

Option 4—that Dr. Watrall is critical about the links between a non-profit and a commercial tech platform for distributing archaeological images—is the correct choice.

252.

By “digital colonialism”, critics of the CyArk–Google project are referring to the fact that:

• A. 

  CyArk and Google have been scanning images without copyright permission from host countries.

• B. 

  the scanning process can damage delicate frescos and statues at the sites.

• C. 

  countries where the scanned sites are located do not own the scan copyrights.

• D. 

  CyArk and Google have not shared the details of digitisation with the host countries.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Note the context in which ‘digital colonialism’ is mentioned in the passage: ‘...the project is raising questions about Google's motivations and about who should own the digital copyrights. Some critics call it a form of "digital colonialism."’ The problem, according to the passage, is that the countries need CyArk's permission to use the images for commercial purposes.’ So, ‘digital colonialism’ is about the appropriation of the scan copyrights by CyArk-Google.

253.

Which of the following, if true, would most strongly invalidate Dr. Watrall’s objections?

• A. 

  Google takes down advertisements on its website hosting CyArk’s scanned images.

• B. 

  There is a ban on CyArk scanning archeological sites located in other countries.

• C. 

  CyArk does not own the copyright on scanned images of archaeological sites.

• D. 

  CyArk uploads its scanned images of archaeological sites onto museum websites only.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

In Dr. Watrall’s view, the CyArk-Google project is about Google promoting itself and benefitting through advertisements and traffic. Dr. Watrall believes these images, instead, belong on the site of a museum or educational institution, ‘where there is serious scholarship and a very different mission’. His concern relates, primarily, to how the images are put to use.

If CyArk uploads its scanned images of archaeological sites onto museum websites, Dr. Watrall’s objections are invalidated.

Option 1 talks about Google’s advertisements on the website hosting CyArk’s scanned images. This only addresses a very small part of the issue raised by Dr. Watrall.

Option 2 too is incorrect. Dr. Watrall is not opposed to CyArk scanning archaeological sites but is concerned about how the images are used.

Option 3 is tempting, but incorrect. Dr. Watrall does not raise the issue of copyrights—this is discussed later in the passage.

254.

In Dr. Thompson’s view, CyArk owning the copyright of its digital scans of archaeological sites is akin to:

• A. 

  tourists uploading photos of monuments onto social media.

• B. 

  the seizing of ancient Egyptian artefacts by a Western museum.

• C. 

  the illegal downloading of content from the internet.

• D. 

  digital platforms capturing users’ data for market research.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Dr. Thompson describes CyArk owning the copyright of its digital scans of archaeological sites as ‘the latest example of a Western nation appropriating a foreign culture’. Option 2 is the one that closely matches this.

Bureaucracy

Around the world, capital cities are disgorging bureaucrats. In the post-colonial fervour of the 20th century, coastal capitals picked by trade-focused empires were spurned for “regionally neutral” new ones . . . . But decamping wholesale is costly and unpopular; governments these days prefer piecemeal dispersal. The trend reflects how the world has changed. In past eras, when information travelled at a snail’s pace, civil servants had to cluster together. But now desk-workers can ping emails and video-chat around the world. Travel for face-to-face meetings may be unavoidable, but transport links, too, have improved. . . .

Proponents of moving civil servants around promise countless benefits. It disperses the risk that a terrorist attack or natural disaster will cripple an entire government. Wonks in the sticks will be inspired by new ideas that walled-off capitals cannot conjure up. Autonomous regulators perform best far from the pressure and lobbying of the big city. Some even hail a cure for ascendant cynicism and populism. The unloved bureaucrats of faraway capitals will become as popular as firefighters once they mix with regular folk.

Beyond these sunny visions, dispersing central-government functions usually has three specific aims: to improve the lives of both civil servants and those living in clogged capitals; to save money; and to redress regional imbalances. The trouble is that these goals are not always realised.

The first aim—improving living conditions—has a long pedigree. After the second world war Britain moved thousands of civil servants to “agreeable English country towns” as London was rebuilt. But swapping the capital for somewhere smaller is not always agreeable. Attrition rates can exceed 80%. . . . The second reason to pack bureaucrats off is to save money. Office space costs far more in capitals. . . . Agencies that are moved elsewhere can often recruit better workers on lower salaries than in capitals, where well-paying multinationals mop up talent.

The third reason to shift is to rebalance regional inequality. . . . Norway treats federal jobs as a resource every region deserves to enjoy, like profits from oil. Where government jobs go, private ones follow. . . . Sometimes the aim is to fulfil the potential of a country’s second-tier cities. Unlike poor, remote places, bigger cities can make the most of relocated government agencies, linking them to local universities and businesses and supplying a better-educated workforce. The decision in 1946 to set up America’s Centres for Disease Control in Atlanta rather than Washington, D.C., has transformed the city into a hub for health-sector research and business.

The dilemma is obvious. Pick small, poor towns, and areas of high unemployment get new jobs, but it is hard to attract the most qualified workers; opt for larger cities with infrastructure and better-qualified residents, and the country’s most deprived areas see little benefit. . . .

Others contend that decentralisation begets corruption by making government agencies less accountable. . . . A study in America found that state-government corruption is worse when the state capital is isolated—journalists, who tend to live in the bigger cities, become less watchful of those in power.

251.

According to the passage, colonial powers located their capitals:

• A. 

  to showcase their power and prestige.

• B. 

  where they had the densest populations.

• C. 

  based on political expediency.

• D. 

  to promote their trading interests.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

See paragraph 1, line 1 :‘coastal capitals picked by trade-focused empires....’.So, empires picked their capitals in order to promote their trading interests.

252.

The “dilemma” mentioned in the passage refers to:

• A. 

  keeping government agencies in the largest city with good infrastructure or moving them to a remote area with few amenities.

• B. 

  concentrating on decongesting large cities or focusing on boosting employment in relatively larger cities.

• C. 

  encouraging private enterprises to relocate to smaller towns or not incentivising them in order to keep government costs in those towns low.

• D. 

  relocating government agencies to boost growth in remote areas with poor amenities or to relatively larger cities with good amenities.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Paragraph 6 explains the dilemma. Small, poor towns = new jobs in areas of high employment, but it is hard to attract the most qualified workers; Larger cities = infrastructure and better-qualified residents, but deprived areas do not benefit. Option 4 simply paraphrases this.

253.

People who support decentralising central government functions are LEAST likely to cite which of the following reasons for their view?

• A. 

  More independence could be enjoyed by regulatory bodies located away from political centres.

• B. 

  Policy makers may benefit from fresh thinking in a new environment.

• C. 

  It reduces expenses as infrastructure costs and salaries are lower in smaller cities.

• D. 

  It could weaken the nexus between bureaucrats and media in the capital.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

The question asks us to pick the option that those who support decentralisation are least likely to cite, i.e. the option that does not support the argument for decentralisation.

The last paragraph explains how decentralisation begets corruption: journalists in bigger cities are less likely to hold bureaucrats in smaller cities accountable. Those who support decentralisation are not likely to mention this while making their point.

More independence, fresh thinking and lower costs in smaller cities are, on the other hand, arguments for decentralisation.

254.

The “long pedigree” of the aim to shift civil servants to improve their living standards implies that this move:

• A. 

  is not a new idea and has been tried in the past.

• B. 

  has become common practice in several countries worldwide.

• C. 

  is supported by politicians and the ruling elites.

• D. 

  takes a long time to achieve its intended outcomes.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

‘Pedigree’ is used in the sense of ‘history’ here. That is, shifting civil servants in order to improve their living standards is something that is not new and has been tried in the past.

255.

According to the author, relocating government agencies has not always been a success for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

• A. 

  a rise in pollution levels and congestion in the new locations.

• B. 

  the difficulty of attracting talented, well-skilled people in more remote areas.

• C. 

  increased avenues of corruption away from the capital city.

• D. 

  high staff losses, as people may not be prepared to move to smaller towns.

   

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

Note the double negative in the question. It’s easier to pick the answer to this question by completing the sentence with the answer option and checking if the statement is true or false.

Relocating government agencies has not always been a success because of a rise in pollution levels and congestion in the new locations. The passage does not mention a rise in pollution levels in smaller cities. So, this option is not supported by the passage.

Relocating government agencies has not always been a success because of the difficulty of attracting talented, well-skilled people in more remote areas. This is true. (see paragraph 4 : ‘agencies that are moved elsewhere can often recruit better workers on lower salaries than in capitals, where well-paying multinationals mop up talent.’)

Relocating government agencies has not always been a success because of increased avenues of corruption away from the capital city. Again, this is true. (see last paragraph)

Relocating government agencies has not always been a success because of high staff losses, as people may not be prepared to move to smaller towns. This is also true. (see paragraph 4: ‘swapping the capital for somewhere smaller is not always agreeable. Attrition rates can exceed 80%.’)

So, options 2, 3 and 4 are true, while 1 is not.

The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

Understanding romantic aesthetics is not a simple undertaking for reasons that are internal to the nature of the subject. Distinguished scholars, such as Arthur Lovejoy, Northrop Frye and Isaiah Berlin, have remarked on the notorious challenges facing any attempt to define romanticism. Lovejoy, for example, claimed that romanticism is "the scandal of literary history and criticism" . . . The main difficulty in studying the romantics, according to him, is the lack of any "single real entity, or type of entity" that the concept "romanticism" designates. Lovejoy concluded, "the word 'romantic' has come to mean so many things that, by itself, it means nothing" . . .

The more specific task of characterizing romantic aesthetics adds to these difficulties an air of paradox. Conventionally, "aesthetics" refers to a theory concerning beauty and art or the branch of philosophy that studies these topics. However, many of the romantics rejected the identification of aesthetics with a circumscribed domain of human life that is separated from the practical and theoretical domains of life. The most characteristic romantic commitment is to the idea that the character of art and beauty and of our engagement with them should shape all aspects of human life. Being fundamental to human existence, beauty and art should be a central ingredient not only in a philosophical or artistic life, but also in the lives of ordinary men and women. Another challenge for any attempt to characterize romantic aesthetics lies in the fact that most of the romantics were poets and artists whose views of art and beauty are, for the most part, to be found not in developed theoretical accounts, but in fragments, aphorisms and poems, which are often more elusive and suggestive than conclusive.

Nevertheless, in spite of these challenges the task of characterizing romantic aesthetics is neither impossible nor undesirable, as numerous thinkers responding to Lovejoy's radical skepticism have noted. While warning against a reductive definition of romanticism, Berlin, for example, still heralded the need for a general characterization: "[Although] one does have a certain sympathy with Lovejoy's despair...[he is] in this instance mistaken. There was a romantic movement...and it is important to discover what it is" . . .

Recent attempts to characterize romanticism and to stress its contemporary relevance follow this path. Instead of overlooking the undeniable differences between the variety of romanticisms of different nations that Lovejoy had stressed, such studies attempt to characterize romanticism, not in terms of a single definition, a specific time, or a specific place, but in terms of "particular philosophical questions and concerns" . . .

While the German, British and French romantics are all considered, the central protagonists in the following are the German romantics. Two reasons explain this focus: first, because it has paved the way for the other romanticisms, German romanticism has a pride of place among the different national romanticisms . . . Second, the aesthetic outlook that was developed in Germany roughly between 1796 and 1801–02 — the period that corresponds to the heyday of what is known as "Early Romanticism" . . .— offers the most philosophical expression of romanticism since it is grounded primarily in the epistemological, metaphysical, ethical, and political concerns that the German romantics discerned in the aftermath of Kant's philosophy.

251.

According to the romantics, aesthetics:

• A. 

  is widely considered to be irrelevant to human existence.

• B. 

  permeates all aspects of human life, philosophical and mundane.

• C. 

  should be confined to a specific domain separate from the practical and theoretical aspects of life.

• D. 

  is primarily the concern of philosophers and artists, rather than of ordinary people.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Note the lines, 'The most characteristic romantic commitment is to the idea that the character of art and beauty and of our engagement with them should shape all aspects of human life. Being fundamental to human existence, beauty and art should be a central ingredient not only in a philosophical or artistic life, but also in the lives of ordinary men and women.' So, according to the romantics, aesthetics permeates all aspects of human life, philosophical and mundane. Option B is the correct choice.

252.

Which one of the following statements is NOT supported by the passage?

• A. 

  Recent studies on romanticism seek to refute the differences between national romanticisms.

• B. 

  Romantic aesthetics are primarily expressed through fragments, aphorisms, and poems.

• C. 

  Many romantics rejected the idea of aesthetics as a domain separate from other aspects of life.

• D. 

  Characterising romantic aesthetics is both possible and desirable, despite the challenges involved.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Option A is the opposite of what the passage states: 'Recent attempts to characterize romanticism and to stress its contemporary relevance follow this path. Instead of overlooking the undeniable differences between the variety of romanticisms of different nations that Lovejoy had stressed, such studies..." So, option A is not supported by the passage.

 

Option B is true, based on the line:'Another challenge for any attempt to characterize romantic aesthetics lies in the fact that most of the romantics were poets and artists whose views of art and beauty are, for the most part, to be found not in developed theoretical accounts, but in fragments, aphorisms and poems...'

 

Option C is true, too: 'However, many of the romantics rejected the identification of aesthetics with a circumscribed domain of human life that is separated from the practical and theoretical domains of life.'

 

Option D is true, based on the line,'Nevertheless, in spite of these challenges the task of characterizing romantic aesthetics is neither impossible nor undesirable, as numerous thinkers responding to Lovejoy's radical skepticism have noted.'

 

253.

The main difficulty in studying romanticism is the:

• A. 

  absence of written accounts by romantic poets and artists.

• B. 

  elusive and suggestive nature of romantic aesthetics.

• C. 

  controversial and scandalous history of romantic literature.

• D. 

  lack of clear conceptual contours of the domain.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Easy question. Note the line, ' The main difficulty in studying the romantics, according to him, is the lack of any "single real entity, or type of entity" that the concept "romanticism" designates.' So, according to the passage, the main difficulty in studying romanticism is the lack of clear conceptual contours of the domain. Option D.

254.

According to the passage, recent studies on romanticism avoid "a single definition, a specific time, or a specific place" because they:

• A. 

  prefer to highlight the paradox of romantic aesthetics as a concept.

• B. 

  seek to discredit Lovejoy's scepticism regarding romanticism.

• C. 

  understand that the variety of romanticisms renders a general analysis impossible.

• D. 

  prefer to focus on the fundamental concerns of the romantics.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Option D is the correct choice, based on the lines, 'While warning against a reductive definition of romanticism, Berlin, for example, still heralded the need for a general characterization: "[Although] one does have a certain sympathy with Lovejoy's despair...[he is] in this instance mistaken. There was a romantic movement...and it is important to discover what it is"...'

The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

In 2006, the Met [art museum in the US] agreed to return the Euphronios krater, a masterpiece Greek urn that had been a museum draw since 1972. In 2007, the Getty [art museum in the US] agreed to return 40 objects to Italy, including a marble Aphrodite, in the midst of looting scandals. And in December, Sotheby's and a private owner agreed to return an ancient Khmer statue of a warrior, pulled from auction two years before, to Cambodia.

Cultural property, or patrimony, laws limit the transfer of cultural property outside the source country's territory, including outright export prohibitions and national ownership laws. Most art historians, archaeologists, museum officials and policymakers portray cultural property laws in general as invaluable tools for counteracting the ugly legacy of Western cultural imperialism.

During the late 19th and early 20th century — an era former Met director Thomas Hoving called "the age of piracy" — American and European art museums acquired antiquities by hook or by crook, from grave robbers or souvenir collectors, bounty from digs and ancient sites in impoverished but art-rich source countries. Patrimony laws were intended to protect future archaeological discoveries against Western imperialist designs. . . .

I surveyed 90 countries with one or more archaeological sites on UNESCO's World Heritage Site list, and my study shows that in most cases the number of discovered sites diminishes sharply after a country passes a cultural property law. There are 222 archaeological sites listed for those 90 countries. When you look into the history of the sites, you see that all but 21 were discovered before the passage of cultural property laws. . . .

Strict cultural patrimony laws are popular in most countries. But the downside may be that they reduce incentives for foreign governments, nongovernmental organizations and educational institutions to invest in overseas exploration because their efforts will not necessarily be rewarded by opportunities to hold, display and study what is uncovered. To the extent that source countries can fund their own archaeological projects, artifacts and sites may still be discovered. . . . The survey has far-reaching implications. It suggests that source countries, particularly in the developing world, should narrow their cultural property laws so that they can reap the benefits of new archaeological discoveries, which typically increase tourism and enhance cultural pride. This does not mean these nations should abolish restrictions on foreign excavation and foreign claims to artifacts.

China provides an interesting alternative approach for source nations eager for foreign archaeological investment. From 1935 to 2003, China had a restrictive cultural property law that prohibited foreign ownership of Chinese cultural artifacts. In those years, China's most significant archaeological discovery occurred by chance, in 1974, when peasant farmers accidentally uncovered ranks of buried terra cotta warriors, which are part of Emperor Qin's spectacular tomb system.

In 2003, the Chinese government switched course, dropping its cultural property law and embracing collaborative international archaeological research. Since then, China has nominated 11 archaeological sites for inclusion in the World Heritage Site list, including eight in 2013, the most ever for China.

251.

From the passage we can infer that the author is likely to advise poor, but archaeologically-rich source countries to do all of the following, EXCEPT:

• A. 

  to find ways to motivate other countries to finance archaeological explorations in their country.

• B. 

  allow foreign countries to analyse and exhibit the archaeological finds made in the source country.

• C. 

  adopt China's strategy of dropping its cultural property laws and carrying out archaeological research through international collaboration.

• D. 

  fund institutes in other countries to undertake archaeological exploration in the source country reaping the benefits of cutting-edge techniques.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

The author argues that strict cultural patrimony laws reduce incentives for foreign governments, nongovernmental organizations and educational institutions to invest in overseas exploration. So, the author suggests, source countries, particularly in the developing world, should narrow their cultural property laws so that they can reap the benefits of new archaeological discoveries. The author also substantiates this point with the example of China, which has dropped its cultural property law and embraced collaborative international archaeological research, thereby greatly increasing the number of archaeological sites for inclusion in the World Heritage Site list.

 

Options A, B and C relate to the author's ideas stated in the passage.

 

The author is unlikely to advise poor source countries to fund institutes in other countries. So, option D is the correct answer choice.

252.

It can be inferred from the passage that archaeological sites are considered important by some source countries because they:

• A. 

  give a boost to the tourism sector.

• B. 

  are a symbol of Western imperialism.

• C. 

  generate funds for future discoveries.

• D. 

  are subject to strict patrimony laws.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Note the lines, 'The survey has far-reaching implications. It suggests that source countries, particularly in the developing world, should narrow their cultural property laws so that they can reap the benefits of new archaeological discoveries, which typically increase tourism and enhance cultural pride'. So, it can be inferred from the passage that archaeological sites are considered important by some source countries because they give a boost to the tourism sector. Option A is the correct answer choice.

253.

Which one of the following statements, if true, would undermine the central idea of the passage?

• A. 

  Affluent archaeologically-rich source countries can afford to carry out their own excavations.

• B. 

  Museums established in economically deprived archaeologically-rich source countries can display the antiques discovered there.

• C. 

  Western countries will have to apologise to countries for looting their cultural property in the past century.

• D. 

  UNESCO finances archaeological research in poor, but archaeologically-rich source countries.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

The central idea of the passage is that strict culture patrimony laws reduce incentives for foreign investment in archaeological research, thereby depriving poor, but archaeologically-rich source countries of the benefits of new archaeological research. If UNESCO finances archaeological research in poor, but archaeologically-rich source countries then there would be no need for these countries to drop strict cultural property laws. So, option D, if true, would undermine the central idea of the passage.

 

The author is specifically talking about the case of poor, but archaeologically-rich source countries. Option A, even if true, would not undermine the central idea of the passage.

 

Options B and C are not related to the central idea, which is about the need to drop strict cultural property laws.

254.

Which one of the following statements best expresses the paradox of patrimony laws?

• A. 

  They were intended to protect cultural property, but instead resulted in the neglect of historical sites.

• B. 

  They were aimed at protecting cultural property, but instead reduced business for auctioneers like Sotheby's.

• C. 

  They were aimed at protecting cultural property, but instead reduced new archaeological discoveries.

• D. 

  They were intended to protect cultural property, but instead resulted in the withholding of national treasure from museums.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Easy question, relating to the key point made by the author in the passage. The author's study shows that in most cases, the number of discovered sites diminishes sharply after a country passes a cultural property law. Therein lies the paradox. Though patrimony laws were aimed at protecting cultural property, they instead reduced new archaeological discoveries.

 

The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

Steven Pinker's new book, "Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters," offers a pragmatic dose of measured optimism, presenting rationality as a fragile but achievable ideal in personal and civic life. . . . Pinker's ambition to illuminate such a crucial topic offers the welcome prospect of a return to sanity. . . . It's no small achievement to make formal logic, game theory, statistics and Bayesian reasoning delightful topics full of charm and relevance.

It's also plausible to believe that a wider application of the rational tools he analyzes would improve the world in important ways. His primer on statistics and scientific uncertainty is particularly timely and should be required reading before consuming any news about the [COVID] pandemic. More broadly, he argues that less media coverage of shocking but vanishingly rare events, from shark attacks to adverse vaccine reactions, would help prevent dangerous overreactions, fatalism and the diversion of finite resources away from solvable but less-dramatic issues, like malnutrition in the developing world.

It's a reasonable critique, and Pinker is not the first to make it. But analyzing the political economy of journalism — its funding structures, ownership concentration and increasing reliance on social media shares — would have given a fuller picture of why so much coverage is so misguided and what we might do about it.

Pinker's main focus is the sort of conscious, sequential reasoning that can track the steps in a geometric proof or an argument in formal logic. Skill in this domain maps directly onto the navigation of many real-world problems, and Pinker shows how greater mastery of the tools of rationality can improve decision-making in medical, legal, financial and many other contexts in which we must act on uncertain and shifting information. . . .

Despite the undeniable power of the sort of rationality he describes, many of the deepest insights in the history of science, math, music and art strike their originators in moments of epiphany. From the 19th-century chemist Friedrich August Kekulé's discovery of the structure of benzene to any of Mozart's symphonies, much extraordinary human achievement is not a product of conscious, sequential reasoning. Even Plato's Socrates — who anticipated many of Pinker's points by nearly 2,500 years, showing the virtue of knowing what you do not know and examining all premises in arguments, not simply trusting speakers' authority or charisma — attributed many of his most profound insights to dreams and visions. Conscious reasoning is helpful in sorting the wheat from the chaff, but it would be interesting to consider the hidden aquifers that make much of the grain grow in the first place.

The role of moral and ethical education in promoting rational behavior is also underexplored. Pinker recognizes that rationality "is not just a cognitive virtue but a moral one." But this profoundly important point, one subtly explored by ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, doesn't really get developed. This is a shame, since possessing the right sort of moral character is arguably a precondition for using rationality in beneficial ways.

251.

The author refers to the ancient Greek philosophers to:

• A. 

  indicate the various similarities between their thinking and Pinker's conclusions.

• B. 

  reveal gaps in Pinker's discussion of the importance of ethical considerations in rational behaviour.

• C. 

  show how dreams and visions have for centuries influenced subconscious behaviour and pathbreaking inventions.

• D. 

  highlight the influence of their thinking on the development of Pinker's arguments.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option B is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Easy question. Refer to the lines, 'The role of moral and ethical education in promoting rational behavior is also underexplored. Pinker recognizes that rationality "is not just a cognitive virtue but a moral one." But this profoundly important point, one subtly explored by ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, doesn't really get developed'. Option B is the correct choice.

252.

The author mentions Kekulé's discovery of the structure of benzene and Mozart's symphonies to illustrate the point that:

• A. 

  great innovations across various fields can stem from flashes of intuition and are not always propelled by logical thinking.

• B. 

  unlike the sciences, human achievements in other fields are a mix of logical reasoning and spontaneous epiphanies.

• C. 

  Pinker's conclusions on sequential reasoning are belied by European achievements which, in the past, were more rooted in unconscious bursts of genius.

• D. 

  it is not just the creative arts, but also scientific fields that have benefitted from flashes of creativity.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Note the context in which the author mentions Kekulé's discovery of the structure of benzene and Mozart's symphonies: 'Despite the undeniable power of the sort of rationality he describes, many of the deepest insights in the history of science, math, music and art strike their originators in moments of epiphany. From the 19th-century chemist Friedrich August Kekulé's discovery of the structure of benzene to any of Mozart's symphonies, much extraordinary human achievement is not a product of conscious, sequential reasoning'. Here, the author is making the point that great innovations can stem from flashes of intuition and are not always propelled by logical thinking. Option A is the correct choice.

253.

According to the author, for Pinker as well as the ancient Greek philosophers, rational thinking involves all of the following EXCEPT:

• A. 

  the belief that the ability to reason logically encompasses an ethical and moral dimension.

• B. 

  an awareness of underlying assumptions in an argument and gaps in one's own knowledge.

• C. 

  the primacy of conscious sequential reasoning as the basis for seminal human achievements.

• D. 

  arriving at independent conclusions irrespective of who is presenting the argument.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

The passage states that unlike Pinker, whose main focus is on conscious, sequential reasoning, Socrates, while affirming the virtue of conscious, sequential reasoning, also 'attributed many of his most profound insights to dreams and visions'. Option C is the correct answer choice as the views of Pinker and ancient Greek philosophers differ on this point.

 

For both Pinker as well as the ancient Greek philosophers,the ability to reason logically encompasses an ethical and moral dimension: 'Pinker recognizes that rationality "is not just a cognitive virtue but a moral one." But this profoundly important point, one subtly explored by ancient Greek philosophers...'So, option A is true.

 

According to the passage, Socrates 'anticipated many of Pinker's points by nearly 2,500 years, showing the virtue of knowing what you do not know and examining all premises in arguments, not simply trusting speakers' authority or charisma'. So, options B and D are true.

 

254.

The author endorses Pinker's views on the importance of logical reasoning as it:

• A. 

  equips people with the ability to tackle challenging practical problems.

• B. 

  focuses public attention on real issues like development rather than sensational events.

• C. 

  provides a moral compass for resolving important ethical dilemmas.

• D. 

  helps people to gain expertise in statistics and other scientific disciplines.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Note the author's comments on Pinker's views on the importance of logical reasoning: 'Skill in this domain maps directly onto the navigation of many real-world problems, and Pinker shows how greater mastery of the tools of rationality can improve decision-making in medical, legal, financial and many other contexts in which we must act on uncertain and shifting information'. So, option A is the correct answer choice.

The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

The biggest challenge [The Nutmeg's Curse by Ghosh] throws down is to the prevailing understanding of when the climate crisis started. Most of us have accepted . . . that it started with the widespread use of coal at the beginning of the Industrial Age in the 18^th century and worsened with the mass adoption of oil and natural gas in the 20^th. Ghosh takes this history at least three centuries back, to the start of European colonialism in the 15^th century. He [starts] the book with a 1621 massacre by Dutch invaders determined to impose a monopoly on nutmeg cultivation and trade in the Banda islands in today's Indonesia.

Not only do the Dutch systematically depopulate the islands through genocide, they also try their best to bring nutmeg cultivation into plantation mode. These are the two points to which Ghosh returns through examples from around the world. One, how European colonialists decimated not only indigenous populations but also indigenous understanding of the relationship between humans and Earth. Two, how this was an invasion not only of humans but of the Earth itself, and how this continues to the present day by looking at nature as a 'resource' to exploit. . . . We know we are facing more frequent and more severe heatwaves, storms, floods, droughts and wildfires due to climate change. We know our expansion through deforestation, dam building, canal cutting – in short, terraforming, the word Ghosh uses – has brought us repeated disasters . . .

Are these the responses of an angry Gaia who has finally had enough? By using the word 'curse' in the title, the author makes it clear that he thinks so. I use the pronoun 'who' knowingly, because Ghosh has quoted many non-European sources to enquire into the relationship between humans and the world around them so that he can question the prevalent way of looking at Earth as an inert object to be exploited to the maximum. As Ghosh's text, notes and bibliography show once more, none of this is new. There have always been challenges to the way European colonialists looked at other civilisations and at Earth. It is just that the invaders and their myriad backers in the fields of economics, politics, anthropology, philosophy, literature, technology, physics, chemistry, biology have dominated global intellectual discourse. . . .

There are other points of view that we can hear today if we listen hard enough. Those observing global climate negotiations know about the Latin American way of looking at Earth as Pachamama (Earth Mother). They also know how such a framing is just provided lip service and is ignored in the substantive portions of the negotiations. In The Nutmeg's Curse, Ghosh explains why. He shows the extent of the vested interest in the oil economy – not only for oil-exporting countries, but also for a superpower like the US that controls oil drilling, oil prices and oil movement around the world. Many of us know power utilities are sabotaging decentralised solar power generation today because it hits their revenues and control. And how the other points of view are so often drowned out.

251.

On the basis of information in the passage, which one of the following is NOT a reason for the failure of policies seeking to address climate change?

• A. 

  The greed of organisations benefiting from non-renewable energy resources.

• B. 

  The marginalised status of non-European ways of looking at nature and the environment.

• C. 

  The decentralised characteristic of renewable energy resources like solar power.

• D. 

  The global dominance of oil economies and international politics built around it.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Only option C does not relate to why policies seeking to address climate change fail.

 

The reasons mentioned in options A and D are stated in the last few lines: 'He shows the extent of the vested interest in the oil economy – not only for oil-exporting countries, but also for a superpower like the US that controls oil drilling, oil prices and oil movement around the world. Many of us know power utilities are sabotaging decentralised solar power generation today because it hits their revenues and control'.

 

Option B, too, is mentioned:'There have always been challenges to the way European colonialists looked at other civilisations and at Earth. It is just that the invaders and their myriad backers...have dominated global intellectual discourse. . . . There are other points of view that we can hear today if we listen hard enough...'

 

252.

Which one of the following best explains the primary purpose of the discussion of the colonisation of the Banda islands in "The Nutmeg's Curse"?

• A. 

  To illustrate how systemic violence against the colonised constituted the cornerstone of colonialism.

• B. 

  To illustrate the first instance in history when the processes responsible for climate change were initiated.

• C. 

  To illustrate the role played by the cultivation of certain crops in the plantation mode in contributing to climate change.

• D. 

  To illustrate how colonialism represented and perpetuated the mindset that has led to climate change.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option D is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Note the context in which the passage takes the case of Banda islands: 'The biggest challenge [The Nutmeg's Curse by Ghosh] throws down is to the prevailing understanding of when the climate crisis started. Most of us have accepted...that it started with the widespread use of coal..Ghosh takes this history at least three centuries back, to the start of European colonialism in the 15th century. He [starts] the book with a 1621 massacre by Dutch invaders determined to impose a monopoly on nutmeg cultivation and trade in the Banda islands in today's Indonesia.'

 

So, the primary purpose of the discussion of the colonisation of the Banda islands in "The Nutmeg's Curse" is to illustrate how colonialism represented and perpetuated the mindset that has led to climate change.

253.

All of the following can be inferred from the reviewer's discussion of "The Nutmeg's Curse", EXCEPT:

• A. 

  academic discourses have always served the function of raising awareness about environmental preservation.

• B. 

  environmental preservation policy makers can learn a lot from non-European and/or pre-colonial societies.

• C. 

  the contemporary dominant perception of nature and the environment was put in place by processes of colonialism.

• D. 

  the history of climate change is deeply intertwined with the history of colonialism.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Option A is the exact opposite of what the passage states. The passage explains how European colonialists influenced the prevalent way of looking at Earth as a 'resource' to exploit. Though there have been challenges to this way of thinking, the passage says, 'the invaders and their myriad backers in the fields of economics, politics, anthropology, philosophy, literature, technology, physics, chemistry, biology have dominated global intellectual discourse.' Option A cannot be inferred; this is the correct answer choice.

 

All other options relate to key ideas that can be inferred from the passage..

254.

Which one of the following, if true, would make the reviewer's choice of the pronoun "who" for Gaia inappropriate?

• A. 

  Modern western science discovers new evidence for the Earth being an inanimate object.

• B. 

  Ghosh's book has a different title: "The Nutmeg's Revenge".

• C. 

  Non-European societies have perceived the Earth as a non-living source of all resources.

• D. 

  There is a direct cause–effect relationship between human activities and global climate change.

Correct Answer Explanatory Answer

Option C is the correct answer.

Video Explanation

Explanatory Answer

 

Note the reason stated by the reviewer for the choice of the pronoun, "who":'I use the pronoun 'who' knowingly, because Ghosh has quoted many non-European sources to enquire into the relationship between humans and the world around them..' The reviewer justifies his choice based on the understanding of Earth as a living entity by non-European societies. So, if option C were true, it would make the reviewer's choice of the pronoun "who" for Gaia inappropriate.