Questions
Once I bumped into a cop and asked him the reason as to why the police was unable to tackle road rage among drivers. Answering my question, the cop said “We can enforce laws in states, not in souls”.
What would best explain the meaning of the cop's words?
- It is very difficult to check the conduct of a person when he loses his head.
- You can enforce laws; you can't force persons.
- People should do soul searching to check themselves from road rage.
- You can check outward expression, not the thinking of people.
The students in a particular school generally showed poor grades. It was suggested that most of the students had no time for leisure activities to freshen their minds. The students took extra tutorials after the school hours, which possibly dulled their minds. The principal decided to do away with the tutorials to enable the students to schedule their time according to their own needs. Even after quitting tutorial, the students showed no considerable improvement in grades.
Which of the following statements would best explain the reason for the unexpected outcome?
- The extra time after the school hours was not utilized judiciously.
- As per the program originally scheduled, half the extra time was to be utilized for physical activities.
- The reason for poor grades had not been analyzed beforehand.
- It is too early to know the results of the change.
- The students could always engage in sports related exercises at home.
The Green Revolution of the seventies (in the developing countries) has dissipated over the past few decades and productivity has more or less stabilized at levels attained in eighties. The agricultural scientists have been trying to bring a second green revolution through GM crops. They are, however, facing resistance not only from the farming community, but also from the government. It appears that the governments have not been able to see the point that by making crops disease resistant, GM farming will lead to increase in productivity.
What can be the best reason for governments not taking due cognizance of the potential of GM crops?
- There is not enough GM seed in India.
- This brings artificiality into farming.
- The concept of GM crops has not yet caught the imagination of farmers.
- GM seed may have other unseen ramifications.
- GM seed is costly.
Alpha and Beta are twin cities having a common airport. Alpha City is entrusted with the development work of the airport, the cost of which will be shared by Beta City. Alpha City completes the job and sends the 50% bill to Beta City for development of the airport as well as the road network from the two cities. Beta City is, however, reluctant to foot the 50% bill although there was a prior understanding that 50% of the airport development cost will be borne by the city.
Which of the following provides the best reason for the stand of Beta City?
- The understanding was only about the airport.
- Beta City is closer to the airport than Alpha City.
- The road development work is more in the Alpha City than in the Beta City.
- Alpha City will derive more benefit from the airport.
- Alpha City is closer to the Airport than Beta City.
These days physical verification of address is a mandatory step for activation of a mobile phone connection. This process takes more than a week’s time and sometimes results in great amount of inconvenience too. Although telecom service providers have proposed instant activation that requires no verification, government seems reluctant to approve the same.
What if true would be the best reason for government not approving waiver of address verification?
- There have been instances of telephone subscribers vanishing into thin air without paying their bills.
- The mobile phones have occasionally been used to carry out immoral acts.
- Often it is necessary to establish the identity of the caller.
- The verification of address has come in handy to establish the identity of perpetrators of crime.
- The government proposes to defer the approval till a single national identity number system is introduced.
'The Vertical Velocity' is considered as one of the scariest rides in the world. In the last 30 years, there have been a few mishaps involving this ride, which resulted in a total of 6 deaths. People have been protesting for years that the ride should be shut down, but authorities seem to have ignored these protests and have decided to keep the ride open. In fact, they have reduced the admission tickets for the scary rides such as 'The vertical velocity'.
What if true, would explain the disinclination of the authorities to close down 'The Vertical Velocity'?
- The scare is more psychological than physical.
- As many as 60 thousand people have taken 'The Vertical Velocity' over the past 30 years.
- Similar other rides have witnessed higher fatality rates.
- Some of the deaths were due to cardiac arrest.
- The advisory boldly displayed at the site specifically forbids people with weak hearts to take the ride.
The reduction in personal and corporate tax rates came as a Christmas present for the common man. People believe that high taxes were hindering growth of industry and business and added to the miseries of the common man. The government is not enthused by the public response and feels that in trying to earn public goodwill it has dug its own grave.
Which of the following statements would explain the phrase “dug its own grave” in the above context?
- The government realized that there might be a hue and cry for further reductions.
- The tax reduction was supposed to be a temporary gimmick designed to pull in public vote at the ensuing elections.
- The government expected lukewarm response to the measures and strong criticism from the opposition for doling out public money.
- The government will have to curtail its unproductive expenses to bear the losses.
While prescription drugs have shown a steep and sustained increase in prices over the past few years, increase in price of over-the-counter drugs has rather been subdued.
Which of the following statements best explains the reason for the marked difference in the price trends of the two types of drugs?
- Over-the-counter drugs could enjoy the economy of scale.
- Over-the-counter drugs are more easily available.
- Sale of prescription drugs is brand dependent.
- Prescription drugs use some ingredients that need to be imported.
- What are prescription drugs today will become over-the-counter drugs tomorrow.
The real estate prices in Golden Globe Estate have been stagnant over the past year, although the real estate prices in the neighboring localities are shooting through the roof. This is despite the fact that the properties and the infrastructure in these other localities are nowhere comparable with those in Golden Globe Estate.
Which of the following helps resolve the apparently paradoxical situation?
- Golden Globe Estate started with highly inflated prices.
- The real estate market is passing through turbulence.
- Golden Globe Estate prices last year were artificially high.
- Golden Globe Estate started with prices markedly higher than the prevalent prices for neighboring localities.
- Golden Globe Estate properties have turned out to be inferior to what they were expected to be.
Two neighboring cities A and B have the same population features and a similar proportion of older people. City A has wider spaces, more spacious lawns and generally more health friendly environs. Yet the number of dentists, ophthalmologists and other health specialists in City A is much more than that in City B, and on the whole they are doing better business than their counterparts in City B. This indicates that people in City B maintain better health than people in City A.
Which of the following, if true, could be the most logical reason for the paradox?
- Some people in City B also visit specialists in City A.
- The health specialists in City A charge higher consultation fee.
- People in City B don't believe in home remedies.
- People in City A prefer prevention to cure.
- City A has a medical college, where dentists and ophthalmologists are trained.
The launch of hybrid cars has brought a revolution in the automobile market. The sale of cars has gone up manifold in just 3 months. Earlier 3 out of 10 people owned a car. Now there will be that many more. Environmentalists are alarmed and apprehend a steep increase in pollution levels in tune with the increase in the number of cars on road. The manufacturers, however, downplay the threat of emissions and have presented a recent report last week, which shows a little decline in pollution levels.
What if true can best resolve the paradox in the above argument?
- The alarm of the environmentalists is not based on actual study.
- The report covered pollution levels during peak traffic hours only.
- The increased sales reflect the addition of hybrid cars only.
- All the cars are not on the road at the same time.
- All the cars follow the latest emission norms.
Vaccination against H1N1 virus is in the advanced stage of development and it is likely that the vaccine will be commercially marketed by the year end. But some scientists are not greatly enthused by the development of vaccine although they admit that it will certainly lead to immediate gains.
Which of the following helps resolve the apparently paradoxical situation?
- The vaccine has not passed the human test yet.
- Such viruses are known to metamorphose through mutation.
- The same vaccination will not be effective against other viruses like H5N1 (bird flu)
- The vaccine is likely to cost a lot initially.
- The vaccine will be effective only if administered at least a month before facing the viral attack.
24-hour news channels provide round the clock news and news analysis, apart from sprinkling of entertainment. They have been doing roaring business and the number of channels has mushroomed. An increasing trend has recently been noticed where people switch on the news channels only to watch the headline news, after which they quickly change to entertainment or sports channels. The TRPs of these channels have not taken a nosedive, not yet in any case.
Which of the following, if true, could best resolve the conflict of the argument?
- The TRP's will come down subsequently.
- Almost all TV homes visit news channels one time or the other.
- The increasing competition among news channels is eating into their profits.
- Lucrative advertisements are placed close to the timings of transmission of headlines.
- The TRP's do not reflect the revenue earning of the channels.
B Mart has been losing business to Smart Stores ever since the latter came up in the neighborhood about a year back. Last month the Director of B Mart decided to slash the prices of all the grocery items well below the prices charged by Smart Stores for the same quality and brand. Over the month, the overall sales at B Mart went down further, instead of going up.
Which of the following helps resolve the apparently paradoxical situation?
- Groceries provide a small fraction of the overall business of Smart Stores.
- Groceries provide a significant fraction of the overall business of B Mart.
- People like to buy their groceries along with their other requirements.
- B Mart has not advertised the price reductions over local cable TV network.
- Smart Stores has announced a reduction in prices of some other items of purchase.