Comprehension
STRATIFICATION, CLASS, AND INEQUALITY
SOCIAL MOBILITY
In studying stratification, we must consider not only the differences between economic positions but what happens to the individuals who occupy them. Social mobility refers to the movement of individuals and groups between different class positions.
There are two ways of studying social mobility. First, we can look at people's own careers--how far they move up or down the socioeconomic scale in the course of their working lives. This is called intragenerational mobility. Alternatively, we can analyze where children are on the scale compared with their parents or grandparents. Mobility across the generations is called intergenerational mobility.
Another important distinction sociologists make is between structural mobility and exchange mobility. If there were such a thing as a society with complete equality of opportunity-where each person had the same chance of getting on in life as everyone else-there would be a great deal of downward as well as upward mobility. This is what is meant by exchange mobility: there is an exchange of positions, such that more talented people in each generation move up the economic hierarchy, while the less talented move down.
In practice, there is no society that even approaches full equality of opportunity, and most mobility, whether intra-or intergenerational, is structural mobility, upvI'ard mobility made possible by an expansion of hetter-paid occupations at the expense of more poorly paid ones. Most mobility in the United States since World War II has been dependent upon continually increasing prosperity. Levels of downward mobility, therefore, have been historically low.

MEASURlNG MOBILITY
The amount of mobility in a society is a major indication of its openness. Do individuals born into the lower strata see opportunities to move up the socioeconomic ladder'? How open arc the industrialized countries? Is there more equality of opportunity in the United States than elsewhere? The earliest studies of comparative social mobility were done by Pitrim Sorokin who included in his analysis a vast array of societies, ranging from traditional Rome and China to the United States. Sorokin concluded that opportunities for rapid ascent in the United States were more limited than American folklore suggested. The teclmiques he used to gather his data, however. were relatively primitive.
A classical study of social mobility was carried out by Seymour Martin Lipset and Reinhard Bendix (1959). Their research, drawing on data from Britain, France. West Gennany, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Denmark, Italy, and the United States,

concentrated upon the mobility of men from blue-collar to white-collar work. Contrary to the rescarchers' expectations, they also found no evidence that the United States was more open than the European societies. Upward mobility was 30 percent in the States, with the other societies varying between 27 and 31 percent. Lipset and Bendix concluded that all the countries were experiencing a similar expansion of white-collar jobs. This led to an "upward surge of mobility" of comparable dimensions in each.
Other researchers since have questioned thesc findings. They have argued that there arc significant differences between countries if more attention is paid to downward mobility and long-range mobility. A person with long-range mobility moves from a lowly social background to a high-status job. The classic case is "from log cabin to prcsident." There seems to more long-range mobility in the United States. for stance, than in most other Western societics. But on the whole, the similarities in patterns of mobility are more striking than the differences (Grusky Hauser, 1984).
Robert Erikson and John Goldthorpe (1986) carried out a substantial study of cross­national similarities and variations in mobility, focusing on England. Wales. Prancc. Sweden, Hungary and Poland, among other countries. The results again showcd a gcneral similarity between mobility rates and pattcrns. However, they also indicated some significant variations: Sweden, for example, was found to be considerably more open than the other Western countries.
There are also big differences within societies-for example, differences in the racial or ethnic groups to which people belong (Featherman and Hauser, 1978). The obvious comparison in the United Statcs is between African Americans and whites. Thc black middle class is much smaller than the white middle class relative to thc proportions of blacks and whites in the population as a whole. Someone born in a black city ghetto has only a fraction of the chance of a person from a white background of obtaining a white-collar or professional job.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR MOBILITY: WHO GETS AHEAD'?
Why is it more difficult for someone from the class of "ghetto poor" to become an uppcr-class professional? Many people in modern societies believe it is possible for anyone to reach the top through hard work and persistence. Why should it be difficult to do so? Sociologists have sought to answer these questions by trying to understand which social factors are most influential in determining an individual's status or position in society.
In a classic study of social mobility in the United States, the sociologists Peter Blau and Otis Dudley Duncan surveyed over twenty thousand men in order to assess intergenerational mobility (1967). Blau and Duncan concludcd that while there has been a great deal of vertical mobility, ncarly all of it was between occupational positions quite close to one another. Long-range mobility that is from working class to upper-middle class was rare. Why? Blau and Duncan sought to answer this question by assessing the impact of one's social background in determining one's

ultimate social status. They concluded that the key factor behind status was educational attainment. Put simply, a child's education is influenced by the family's social status; this, in tum, affects the child's social position later in life. The sociologists William Sewell and Robert Hauser later confirmed Blau and Duncan's conclusions (1980). They added to the argument by claiming the connection between family background and educational attainment occurs because parents, teachers, and friends influence the educational and career aspirations of the child, and that these aspirations then become an important part of the status attainment process throughout the child's life. Sewell and Hauser sought to prove that social status was influenced by a pattern of related social influences going back to one's birth: family background affects the child's aspirations, which in tum affect the child's educational attainment, which in tum affects the adult's later occupational prestige, and so on and so on.
The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has also been a major figure in examining the importance of family background to one's social status, but his emphasis is on the cultural advantages that parents can provide to their children (1984, 1988). Bourdieu argues that among the factors responsible for social status the most important is the transmission of cultural capital. Those who own economic capital often manage to pass much of it on to their children. The same is true, Bourdieu argues, of the cultural advantages that coming from a "good home" confers. These advantages are capital, which succeeding generations inherit, thus perpetuating inequalities. As we have seen, wealthier families are able to afford to send their children to better schools, an economic advantage that benefits the children's social status as adults. In addition to this material advantage, parents from the upper and middle classes are mostly highly educated themselves and tend to be more involved in their children's education-reading to them, helping with homework, purchasing books and learning materials, and encouraging their progress. Bourdieu notes that working-class parents are concerned about their children's education, but they lack the economic and cultural capital to make a difference. Bourdieu's study of French society confirmed his theory. He found that a majority of office professionals with high levels of educational attainment and income were from families of the "dominant class" in France. Likewise, office clerical workers often originated from the working classes.
The socio-economic order in the United States is similar. Those who already hold positions of wealth and power have many chances to perpetuate their advantages and to pass them on to their offspring. They can make sure their children have the best available education, and this will often lead them into the best jobs. Most of those who reach the top had a head start; they came from professional or affluent backgrounds. Studies of people who have become wealthy show that hardly anyone begins with nothing. The large majority of people who have "made money" did so on the basis of inheriting or being given at least a modest account initially-which they then used to make more. In American society, it's better to start at the top than at the bottom (Jaher, 1973; Rubinstein, 1986).

DOWNWARD MOBILITY

Although downward mobility is less common than upward mobility, about 20 percent of men in the United States are downwardly mobile intergenerationally, although most of this movement is short-range. A person with short-range mobility moves from one job to another that is similar-for example, from a routine office job to semiskilled blue-collar work. Downward intragenerational mobility, also a common occurrence, is often associated with psychological problems and anxieties. Some people are simply unable to sustain the life-style into which they were born. But another source of downward mobility among individuals arises through no fault of their own. During the late 1980s and early 1990s corporate America was flooded with instances in which middle-aged men lost their jobs because of company mergers or takeovers. These executives either had difficulty finding new jobs or could only find jobs that paid less than before.
Many of the intragenerational downwardly mobile are women. It is still common for women to abandon promising careers on the birth of a child. After spending some years raising children, such women often return to the paid workforce at a level lower than when they left-for instance, in poorly paid, part-time work. (This situation is changing, although not as fast as might be hoped,)
Downward mobility is particularly common today among divorced or separated women with children. As an illustration, we might take the life of Sandra Bolton, described by John Schwarz in his book The Forgotten Americans (1992). Sandra's fate belies the idea that people who work hard and follow the rules will be able to prosper. Sandra's husband had regularly assaulted her during the six years of their marriage, and child welfare officials considered him a threat to their two children. She divorced her husband after the Child Protective Services told her that the state would take her children if she didn't leave him.
Sandra receives no maintenance from her ex-husband, who, two weeks before the divorce was finalized, piled their furniture and valuables into a truck and drove away, not to be seen again. Whereas while married she sustained a moderately comfortable, middle-class way of life, Sandra now lives a hand-to-mouth existence. She tried to remain in college, supporting herself and her children by doing various menial jobs, but was unable to earn enough money to keep up.
A neighbor looked after her children while she took a full-time job as a secretary at a medical center. Taking courses at night and during the summers, she eventually completed a college degree. Although she applied at many places, she wasn't able to find a position paying more than her secretarial job. She took on a second job, as a checkout person in a supermarket, in the evenings just to make ends meet. "You try to do the responsible thing," she said, "and you're penalized, because the system we have right now doesn't provide you with a way to make it. I mean, I work so hard, There's only so much a person can do" (Schwarz and Volgy, 1992). As a result of her divorce, Sandra sunk from a life of some comfort to living in poverty. She is not alone.

Answer the following questions from the above passage:

1. The study of stratification involves

The study of economic positions

As much the study of economic positions as the movement of people between positions

The study of the movement of people between positions

The study of parents and children

2. Social mobility is

Social stratification of sociologists

Unrelated to social class

Is cultural diversity

The movement of people between different class positions

3. The social mobility of a person in a society is induced by

Education

Occupation

Income

All of the above

4. The study of social mobility involves engaging with

The movement between class positions

The working lives of people

People's own careers and that of their children

All of the above

5. Intragenerational mobility

Is the study of social stratification

Is between parents and children

Is the movement of people on the socio-economic scale in their own lifetime

Is also intergenerational stratification

6. Exchange mobility is possible

In societies with equality of opportunity

Where there is a dearth of talent

Intergenerationally

Intragenerationally

7. Economic prosperity at the national level results in

Downward social mobility

Exchange mobility

Upward social mobility

Equality of opportunities for all groups

8. The talented persons in better paid occupation gaining mobility at the expense of the less talented or poorly paid ones is an example of

Structural Mobility

Exchange Mobility

Both

Neither

9. Exchange mobility means a society

With equality of opportunity

Where there is both downward and upward mobility

In which the talented people move upward at the expense of the less capable

All of the above

10. Structural mobility

Encompasses both intragenerational and intergenerational mobility

Encompasses only intragenerational mobility

Encompasses only intergenerational mobility

Is equivalent to exchange mobility

11. Mobility can be both internal to a generation and across generations

Agree with the proposition

Disagree with the proposition

The statement is confusing

None of the above

12. Changes in social status between different generations within the same family can be described as

Intergenerational mobility

Intragenerational mobility

Both

Upward mobility

13. Full equality of opportunity implies

Intergenerationa1 mobility

Uniform distribution of chances to succeed in life

Exchange mobility

Structural mobility

14. Structural mobility involves

Upward mobility

Diversification of occupations

Increase in incomes

All of the above

15. Historically, the more prosperous societies have

Exchange mobility

Low levels of downward mobility

Less occupational diversity

Both better and more poorly paid occupations

16. The studies of comparative social mobility in modem sociology were pioneered by

Pitrim Sorokin

Rome and China

American Folklore

World War II

17. Lipset and Bendix

Were the first feminist scholars of social mobility

Used the methods introduced by Pitrim Sorokin to study comparative social mobility

Restricted their study to the mobility of male workers from blue collar to white collar jobs

Collected data only from Europe

18. Studies of comparative social mobility done by Pitrim Sorokin, Seymour Martin Lipset and Reinhard Bendix concluded that

The United States was more open to mobility than the European societies

The United States was no more open to mobility than the European societies

Rome, China, France, Germany experienced downward mobility varying between 27 and 31 percent

None of the above

19. Long-range mobility

Is a move from a working class job to a high status job

Is possible only in a colonial nation

Is impossible in the United States after 1942

Is a mythical entity

20. Robert Erickson and John Goldthorpe conducted a study of cross-national similarities and variations in mobility. The details of the study includes:

It focussed on England, Wales, France, Sweden, Hungary and Poland exclusively

Mobility rates and patterns were found to be in incongruity

Sweden was found to be more open than the other Western countries

All of the above

21. Blau and Duncan's study showed that

Women were more mobile than men

Blacks are more mobile than whites

There has been a great deal of vertical mobility in the US

Erickson's methodology was weak

22. A key factor accounting for differences in the patterns of mobility internal to societies is

Researcher's expectations

American folklore

Cross-national similarities

Race and ethnicity

23. Sewell and Hauser

Completely disproved the Blau and Duncan findings

Made the connection between educational attainment and family background

Thought that ascribed status had nothing to do with mobility

Replicated the findIngs ofLipset and Bendix

24. Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital makes the connection between

The advantages of a 'good home' and opportunities

Social status and racial prejudice

Parental background and the national GDP

Aspirations and ideology

25. Downward social mobility

Is most studied by sociologists in America

Is usually intragenerational

Is not associated with psychological factors

Cannot happen to skilled workers

26. The occupational shift from a routine office job to semi-skilled blue-collar work exemplifies

Short-range mobility

Downward intragenerational mobility

Downward mobility

Structural mobility

27. During the late 1980's and early 1990's corporate America was flooded with instances in which middle-aged men lost their jobs because of company mergers or takeovers. This is an instance of

Short-range mobility

Downward mobility

Downward intragenerational mobility

Downward intergenerational mobility

28. In terms of opportunities for social mobility, both United States and France prove that

The process is broad-based

The process is top-heavy rather than bottom-up

Inequalities are absent

The process is working class oriented.

29. Downward intragenerational mobility is mostly associated with

Psychological problems and anxieties

Corporate mergers and associated layoffs

Single women especially with children

All of the above

30. The book, The Forgotten Americans, was written by

Sandra Bolton

John Schwarz

Both and

Neither nor

Arithmetic and Reasoning

31. In a journey of 14 hours a man completes the first half at the rate of 23 km/hr and the second half at the rate of 26 km/hr. What is the distance covered in the total journey?

135 km

250km

150 km

140 km

32. A shop keeper buys 16 pens for some amount and gets back the amount by selling just 10 pens. What is the gain percentage?

18%

60%

50%

45%

33. Ravi, Rahul and Rohan can do a piece of work in 24 days, 30 days and 40 days respectively. They started working together but Rohan left 4 days before the completion of the work. How many days were spent on completing the work?

11 days

12 days

13 days

14 days

34. Find the odd one 286,396,462,566,682,781.

396

462

566

682

35. In a competitive examination 2 marks are given for every correct answer and 1 mark is cut for every wrong answer. If a candidate attempts all 75 questions and . secures 75 marks how many questions were attempted correctly by the candidate

45

50

40

52

36. A shop keeper sells goods worth of Rs 8230, Rs. 6900, Rs. 7820, Rs. 8430 and Rs. 5780 for 5 days in a row. If he has to get an average sale of Rs. 7500 for six days, how much should he sell on the sixth day?

7500

6780

6980

7840

37. In the following question you find some letters along with corresponding numbers 5 and 6 below. Find the correct combination of numbers which can make a meaningful word from the given four options containing combinations of these numbers.
C N P I L E
1 2 3 4 5 6

461235

342651

362145

124365

38. Should smoking scenes in movies be banned? Arguments:

Yes, they indirectly promote smoking

II: No, because workers employed in cigarette industry will lose their jobs

If only argument I is strong

If only argument II is strong

If both arguments I and II are strong

If neither argument I nor II is strong

39. What is the sum of the numerator and the denominator when 0.32 is written in simplest form?

14

33

54

23

40. Rs. 943 is to be shared by three Sriya, Vinay and Gopal in the ratio of 3/4. How much would Vinay get

Rs.246

Rs.328

Rs.369

Rs.410

41. In the students' elections two candidates contested for the position of President. The winning candidate got 60% of the total valid votes, 15% of the votes were invalid. If the total number of votes was 5200, the number of valid votes that the losing candidate got was

2562

1700

2652

1768

42. A cricket player's average runs in 10 matches is 46. If he wants to increase the average to 50 how many runs should he score in the next innings?

60

80

90

70

43. The total of the ages of Akash, Suresh and Kamal 90 years. What was the total of their ages four years ago?

78 years

72 years

74 years

77 years

44. Each roll has to be cut into equal lengths of 9 pieces. If a person cuts at the rate of 40 cuts a minute, how many rolls would he be able to cut in 20 minutes?

800 rolls

100 rolls

200 rolls

180 rolls

45. A farmer intends to fence his square plot. He wants to put 18 poles on each side of the plot. How many poles are needed altogether?

72

68

80

86

46. If SUMMER is coded as RUNNER, the code for WINTER is

SUITER

WALKER

VIOUER

SFFER

47. Reptile is to lizard, as flower is to:

Petal

Steam

Daisy

Alligator

48. Find the odd one out:

Inch

Centimetre

Yard

Ounce

49. Which of the answer is true based on the given information: Kamala is twelve years old. For three years, she has been asking her parents for a pet dog. Her parents have told her that they believe a dog would not be happy in an apartment, but they have given her permission to have a bird. Kamala has not yet decided which bird she would like to have.

Kamala's parents like birds more than dogs

Kamala does not like birds

Kamala and her parents live in an apartment

Kamala and her parents would like to move out

50. Which of the conclusion follows from the given statements?

Statements:
Some doctors are fools.
Some fools are rich
Conclusions:
Some doctors are rich,
Some rich are doctors

Only conclusion follows

Only conclusion follows

Neither conclusion nor follows

Both conclusion and follow

51. Tanya is older than Eric. Cliff is older than Tanya. Eric is older than Cliff. If the first two statements are true, the third statement is:

TRUE

FALSE

UNCERTAIN

Information not enough

52. In a joint family, there are father, mother, 4 married sons and three unmarried daughters. of the sons, two have 2 daughters each, and two have a son and a daughter each. How many female members are there in the family?

15

12

14

11

53. Five girls are standing in a row facing east. Savita is to the right ofUrvashi. Tina and Urmila. Urvashi, Tina and Urmila are to the right ofKanika. Urmila is between Urvashi and Tina. If Tina is fourth from left end, how far is Urvashi from the right end?

First

Second

Fifth

Fourth

54. If means -means means and x means then

43

7

3

6

55. A room is 11.5 m long and 6.3 m wide. Its floor is to be covered with rectangular size tiles of23 cm by 9 cm. What will be the cost of flooring at the rate ofRs. 4.25 per tile?

Rs.15725

Rs.14800

Rs.16795

Rs. 14875 18 PART-C (20 Marks) Literary Passage We sit in semi-darkness, for all the blinds are closed against the angry glare outside. A quiet glow emanates from the corner of the room, where a glass box containing a plastic model of the Taj Mahal fluoresces in alternating colours. The fan churns like the rotors of a helicopter. Gautam and I have stopped here to pick up one of his friends, Ranjit. But he is not back from work; we sit in the front room and chat to his father, Baljeet, while his mother brings more snacks from the kitchen. We sit on sofas covered with white sheets. Ranjit's mother flicks on a fluorescent light in honour of our arrival, which bathes the room in green. Baljeet is rotund, and gives his weight entirely to the support of a worn armchair. He wants to tell us about his latest scheme, in which there have been some encouraging recent developments. He takes out a scruffy bit of paper from the pocket of his white kurta and hands it to me, chuckling conspiratorially. It is a receipt for 2,000 rupees, and it is dated April 1980. "This is a receipt from a DDA lottery." The Delhi Development Authority was set up by Nehru's government as a consolidation of the capital's various planning and development agencies. It had sole responsibility for the city's development and, in order to fulfil this, it had the right to acquire land forcibly and at greatly reduced prices. It was a development monopoly, whose exclusivity was guaranteed by laws making it impossible for private individuals or companies to own more than a few acres of land within the Delhi borders. At various points, however, it released plots of land to individuals through lotteries. Entrants paid a non-refundable fee to enter the lottery and waited, sometimes years, to hear if they had been selected for a plot. If so, they could then buy it at a guaranteed rate. "This lady entered a lottery in 1980 and she still hasn't heard anything. But this year she is likely to get a plot. I mean, she will get a plot. She doesn't know she'll get it of course. But I know because I have contacts in the So I am trying to buy her receipt from her. After thirty years she won't care about it anymore: she'll be happy to give it up. In fact she has already said she wants to sell. So the plot will be allotted to me. It should be worth about 15 lakhs "You have to know people in the DDA for this kind of business. DDA officials are transferred every two to three years to prevent corruption, so you have to keep building those relationships: take them out, take them gifts. "When the plot is finally allotted to me, I'll pay all my contacts. Twenty thousand here, twenty thousand there." In Baljeet's universe, this is what business is. Business is a lottery run by cheats, and anyone who gets involved had better be prepared for the consequences. This time you might be lucky enough to outwit others. Next time round, it will probably be different. Baljeet retired some time ago from a long career with the Bank of Maharashtra. Since this was one of the banks nationalised during the prime 19 ministership of Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi, Baljeet was effectively an employee of the Indian government. Much of his career was devoted to delivering on Mrs Gandhi's populist promises for the state-run banks: he worked in some of the remotest parts of the country to set up branches which were, in many cases, the first contact those regions had with formal banking services. In 1976, while still working for the bank, Baljeet began to speculate in property. This is what occupies his time, and especially his thoughts, now. "I never travel the same route twice. I vary my route every time. And I don't bring cash into the house. I keep it in a briefcase in the car. People never imagine that anyone would be so mad as to leave 30 lakhs in their car." While we are talking, Baljeet's other son, Jimmy, drops in. He's been out walking his dog: he lives just around the comer, in the other family house. He wears stone-washed jeans and sunglasses, and he is sweating. His mother brings him a glass of water which he downs in one go and sets back on the tray she holds patiently in front of him. There is a great weight of gold on him: gold necklaces, gold bangles, gold watch. He is in the property business too. He starts telling Gautam about a new apartment complex that's just being built and that he thinks will do very well. We say goodbye to the parents. Jimmy follows us out of the apartment so he can check up on his dog, which is tied up downstairs. It's a young mastiff, large and full of energy; it goes nearly hysterical when it seems us coming down the stairwell. We venture out under the gong of the sky. Jimmy lets the dog off the leash and even in this enervating heat it bounds majestically into the distance. We are in Shalimar Bagh, in the northern outskirts of Delhi, on the site of the long-forgotten gardens built by the emperor Shah Jahan; space is generous here -as it was in Bhalswa, which, though it is a separate universe, is only a twenty-minute walk away. In front of the apartment block, a great area of empty land slopes away to a surprisingly sparkling canal, which is itself a relic of the Mughal water system. The buildings are run down, but there is a sense of ease about things: the cars are parked indolently, and trees grow where they want. Ranjit is on the phone as we drive. He runs a small travel agency, and he is trying to sort out the crisis of a client who has been denied a visa to Canada. "This guy," says Ranjit between calls, "pays 70 lakhs income tax a year. He's a businessman with a wife and two children. But his travel history is weak. That's the problem." The evening is only just beginning: we still have to pick up another of Gautam's friends from his shop in Sadar Bazaar, a large wholesale market near the railway station. The roads around there are packed with activity, and before long we have ground to a halt in the commercial melee. The driver in front of us takes advantage of the stasis to open his door and spit a red stream of paan onto the street. Cycle rickshaws manoeuvre around us, piled with chemicals in drums and stacks of printed packing boxes. I watch a group of women sitting on the sidewalk making brooms. Further down, mechanics are putting the finishing touches to a stretched "Hummer" limo. They have welded this thing together entirely from the parts of a Jeep. But it looks a lot like a Hummer and they have put a Hummer sign on the front. Now they are spray-painting it gold. We arrive at Pratap's metal shop. He is not there. We wait in the heat. The shop, whose front is open to the street, is not large enough to drive a small car into. Pratap's son, Amitabh, is perched on a huge stack of one-kilograrnme nickel plates, talking on the phone. More plates are being unloaded in front of the shop: they clang loudly as they are put down, but this is incidental to the background din of car horns and auto-rickshaw engines. Amitabh must shout for his deals to go through. Pratap buys metal in bulk and sells it to big consumers: manufacturers ofcar components, bicycles, bathroom fittings, and the like. The whole business rests on the vagaries of metal prices, which are in constant flux. Amitabh's mobile phone is hung on the wall so he can watch the flickering prices on the London Metal Exchange throughout the day. "It's very intense," says Amitabh, joining us. "You invest money in a quantity of metal and you have to make it back. But prices can fall at any time. Of course we read reports, we keep on top of everything that's going on in the metal markets. But it's basically unpredictable. And now we've started importing our own metal, in addition to what we buy from dealers. It takes a whole month for your metal to arrive, once you sign the deal. In that time anything can have happened to the price. And price is everything. If you are one rupee more expensive than the next guy, no one will buy from you. "The mental pressure can be huge. Sometimes you make a crore f$200,000] in a few minutes, sometimes you lose it. Sometimes you have to scll property to cover losses. There are men in this business who drink a bottle of whisky every night to deal with the tension, and they take it out on their wives and kids. My dad was never like that. He never spoke about it at the end of the day, even when he'd lost a lot of money. He knows how to relax. He takes us for weekends in Hong Kong or Bangkok just so we can all chill out." "How much docs your business make?" "We turn over about 100 crores million] a year." "And irs just you and your dad?" "And my cousin. My father brought his sister's son into the business too." Pratap came to Delhi in 1980 from a small town in Uttar Pradesh. A friend of his Crom the same village had migrated some years before to Sadar Bazaar, where he found work as a broker with a successful metal trader dubbed the Metal King. The friend arranged for Pratap to apprentice with thc same trader and, since brokers are entrusted with a lot of cash, he gave guarantees to his boss that he would pay for the losses should Pratap disappear. Pratap's monthly salary was 600 rupees (then "He worked hard and he learned. He had a dream; He saved his money: he used to walk three kilometres to work to save fifty paise (then $0.06). He wanted to eliminate the label 'broker'. A broker is nothing. A broker gets ignored. Some of them earn a lot of money. But they are just middlemen, and if they come into the room, no one takes any notice. A businessman is something else. You give value to that person." After fifteen years of learning and saving, Pratap struck out on his own. He bought his own stock and got himself this shop. He worked methodically, never risking too much, always knowing his limits. Ranjit, too, is a businessman in his own right. But he has a different experience, and a different vision for himself. In a friendly conversation during a dinner party Mr. Pratap hosted for us, Ranjit opens his heart: "When I watched my father and brother in the real estate business. I knew I didn't want to live like that. No standards. No permanent income. You have to drink every night with the police -my father would drink two or three bottles a day and come home dead. If you want to be in the property business you have to work like that. And every night you say, I did this today. Please forgive me.' "I don't like that world. I don't like how those people have no respect for money: money comes easily and just disappears on clothes and drink and trips. If you work hard for your money, you will save that money. "Not only that, but real estate people have no respect in society. You only need a table, three chairs and a phone to do that business. People say, you can't do anything else, you do that.' My brother cannot sit still on a chair all day long and concentrate on a screen. He has to jump around all day and be on the phone. "Now happy with my life. I'll work as long as I live because I love this work. I want to make it on my own. I want to look after my children and give them a better education. The only thing I still need to sort out is my wife. I don't like her working so far away from me. planning to train her in the travel agency business so she can work with me." "Every day," says Gautam, "he drives two extra hours so he can drop her to her office before he goes to work, and pick her up again afterwards. He won't let her travel the streets on her own." "But my closest relations are with my friends," says Ranjit. "Not with my family. Not even my wife. If I need help, I call my friends first. One thing I don't like is that I work so hard now, I don't see my friends as much as I used to. I keep asking Gautam ifhe wants to go on a trip. But he doesn't have time for me." He says it with some edge. Actually it approaches a conflict in their relationship. Gautam has recently married a white American woman, of whom Ranjit does not totally approve, and sometimes it is awkward for them to be together. "Ranjit never says it to me because he is a very nice man," says Gautam "But inside him those issues are deep. Hindus and Muslims. He can't stand it if I have Muslim friends." I am slightly confused. "But your wife is not Muslim," I say. "Muslim, Christian all the same. It's not Hindu. It's not Hindu culture. Ranjit is bothered by everything that disrupts Hindu culture. For instance, I don't live with my parents and Ranjit always tells me this is not our culture, and I say, 'But my sister lives with and he says, try to escape your duty. It is the son who should take care of his parents. It's your responsibility.'" I finish eating and run away from the table to wash my hands. With this food, the passage from pure animal craving to incapacitation and remorse is remarkably rapid. Afterwards you are desperate for hydration, because it is constituted, overwhelmingly, of oil. At some point in the conversation I am forced to make an exit so I can catch the last Metro. I bid farewell to the company, drunken by now. Gautam leaves with me, and drops me to the Metro station. It's deserted. I get into an empty carriage. The air conditioning is powerful, the ride smooth. I feel drowsy. At the other end, I pick up my car and head for home. I am nearly at the house when I see a peculiar sight. A woman in a glittery nightclub negligee is walking down the dark street, so unsteadily that it seems she might fall at any moment, and behind her, two men are following at walking pace 22 on a motorbike. I am not sure what to do. It is well after midnight, and the woman seems oblivious to everything around her: not drunk, but flying on the wings of some other potion. I draw level and put down the passenger window. "Are you okay?" I ask. She looks in the window. She cannot focus too well on my face. "What did you say?" "I just asked if you were okay." "Me? fine!" I watch her walk away. I put the window up. I look ahead, ready to drive on, and see that one of the men on the motorbike has run in front of my car, which he now proceeds to beat violently with both his palms. While he is doing so, the other man jerks open my car door and grabs my arm. "Get out!" "Why?" "She is a prostitute. You are under arrest." "For what?" "What did you say to her?" "I asked her if she was okay." "How do you know her?" "1 don't." "Get out of the car." "Who are you?" "We are police." I get out of the car. r look around for the woman. who seems to have completely disappeared. "Driver's license?" I can't believe this situation. I get my driver's license out, and I watch vhile he inspects it. "Which country is this from?" "The UK," I say. "You are British?" "Yes," 1 say. He looks at me strangely. He begins writing down the number of my driving licence. While he is doing so, I hear my car engine rev, and turn round to watch it being driven away by the other man. "Where's he going?" I cry. "Police station." He is unperturbed. I am dumbfounded. He continues making his quiet notes. Then he hands me back my driver's license. "Get on the hike." 1 climb on the back of the motorbike, and he drives away at speed in the direction already taken by my car. We whizz round dark corners and out into the neon sea of the main road. A U-turn, a side road, more dark comers, and finally the police station. My car is meekly parked out front, under a sign offering helpful advice to all who visit the Delhi police: "A Person Who Has No Opinion Will Seldom Be Wrong".

Answer the following

56. Which style of narration does the above passage follow?

The first person narration

The third person narration

The omniscient narration

and

57. How are Ranjit and Jimmy related to each other?

Just friends

Very close friends

Brothers

Brothers-in-law

58. Who among the following drive together from Baljeet's house to Sadar Bazaar?

Jimmy, Gautam, Ranjit and the Narrator

Ranjit, Gautam and the Narrator

Gautam and the Narrator

None of the above

59. "Business is a lottery run by cheats, and anyone who gets involved had better be prepared for the consequences. This time you might be lucky enough to outwit others. Next time

You may not be lucky enough to see the same fortune

You will surely be lucky if you know the right code

it will certainly be different

it will probably be different

60. The Delhi Development Authority was set up

As a consolidation of the capital's planning and development agencies (both private and public) that work for the improvement of citizens amenities

As an agency solely responsible for the capital's development

As an agency responsible for coordination between various private players working for Delhi's development

As a Government owned real-estate agency to acquire lands at greatly reduced prices and market them for profits 24

61. Which of the following rightly describes Pratap' s business?

It runs on the whims and fancies of metal market, where the prices keep changing all the time

It is a stable trade that runs on the fixed prices of precious metal, without succumbing to the vagaries of market

It is based purely on stock market index in Mumbai

and

62. What is the medium through which Pratap's metal business is informed about the fluctuating prices in the global market?

Frequent updates from his former boss, the Metal King

The television Set in his Shop

His Son's mobile phone

His own mobile phone

63. How do some men in the metal business deal with their day-to-day tensions?

They drink a bottle of whisky every night and go to bed

They take it out on their wives and kids

They indulge in both of the above

They indulge in none of the above

64. Pratap's business is actually run by

Himself

Himself with occasional support from his son

His son and himself jointly

His son, his brother-in-law and himself jointly

65. Broker and Businessman

Earn equal money but the latter gets more respect than the former

Earn equal money but the former receives more respect than the latter

Earn equal money and equal respect

Earn neither money nor respect

66. Pratap could succeed so quickly because

He always worked hard without expecting anything in return

He worked methodically, taking big risks

He knew his limits

People around him had been highly generous

67. Ranjit always wanted to

Walk in his father's shoes and excel like him in business

Work hard and save money

Save money at any cost

Bribe the officials and develop his business

68. Who among the following have similar business ethics?

Pratap and Ranjit

Pratap and Baljeet

Baljeet and Ranjit

None ofthe above has business ethics similar to others

69. When compared

Gautam is more religiously orthodox than Ranjit

The narrator and Gautam have stronger views on marriage and family than Ranjit

Ranjit is more liberal in religious views than others in the passage

Ranjit is more religiously orthodox than Gautam

70. Which of the following is a lucrative business that can be carried out with just a table, three chairs and a phone?

The metal trade

The real estate

Tourism and hospitality

Car sales

71. What is the most probable point of consternation for the friendship between Gautam and Ranjit?

Gautam's marriage with a non-hindu woman

Gautam's marriage with a white American woman

Gautam's inability to spend time and go on a trip with Ranjit and his family

Two different businesses they both carry out

72. What was our narrator's immediate reaction when he saw "a woman in a glittery nightclub negligee" walking down the dark street, with two men following her on a motorbike?

He wasn't bothered about that peculiar sight

He wasn't sure what to do

He decided to take her to the nearest police station

He wanted to drop her at home

73. Where do the events invoked in the passage occur?

London and Delhi

Delhi only

Delhi and Calcutta

Calcutta only

74. What helpful suggestion does the signpost in the police station offer to the visitors?

Hold a strong opinion and you will never be proved wrong

Don't hold any opinion so that you can be right all the time

Your opinions play no role in deciding whether you are right or wrong

None of the above

75. A close reading of the passage suggests that

The narrator was wrongly implicated in a police case and arrested for no fault on his part

One cannot conclude with certainty whether the narrator was actually arrested or left free after an initial interrogation

The police took him to the station but did not arrest him for sure

The police actually drove him home and left him there with a warning

PART-D

CURRENT AFFAIRS

76. India's first nuclear reactor was

Nag

Agni

Kamini

Apsara

77. India's first permanent settlement in Antarctica was named

Dakshin Gangotri

Bharat Parvatham

Nehru Point

Surya Kiran

78. Sentinelese are a tribal community living in

Chhattisgarh

Arunachal Pradesh

Andaman Nichobar Islands

The Nilgiris

79. Which of the following is responsible for fostering the development of dance, drama and music in India?

Lalit Kala Academy

Sahitya Academy

Sangeet Natak Academy

None of the above

80. Which of the following, spoken in Pakistan, is part of the Dravidian language family?

Brahui

Sindhi

Balochi

Pashto

81. Kota tribal community is one of the inhabitants of

Wayanad

Coorg

Araku valley

The Nilgiris

82. Govigama is

A caste among Sinhalese

A sport played by the Andaman Islanders

A popular cuisine among the hula tribals

The name of a boat used by fishermen of Lakshadeep

83. The Man who Knew the Infinity is a recent English film based on the life of

C.V.Raman

J.C.Bose

S.Ramanujan

S.Chandrasekhar

84. "The Apu Trilogy" refers to

Novels of Nirmal Verma

Musical composition of Zubin Mehta

Films of Satyajit Ray

Paintings of M. F. Husain

85. Numismatics refers to the study or collection of

Stamps

Coins and currencies

Maps

None of the above

86. Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the

Study of birds

Study of reptiles

Study of bacteria

None of the above

87. Siddhis living in Kamataka are

Descendants of South-East Africa

Folk Dancers

Traditional Artisans

Warrior clan

88. The oldest active synagogue in India is in

Mumbai

Kochi

Pune

Goa

89. Kishori Amonkar was primarily associated with

Hindustani Classical Vocal Music

Bharatanatyam

Marathi Theatre

Hindi Novels

90. Nagamandala is a play written by

U.R.Ananthamurthy

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer

Ashokamithran

Girish Karnad

91. Who among the following was Governor of Reserve Bank of India at the time of the introduction ofDemonetisation in the recent past?

Dr. Y V Reddy

Dr Rakesh Mohan

Dr Raghuram Rajan

Urjit Patel

92. Brexit is

A treaty

A pact

A referendum

An organization

93. The current Secretary General of the United Nations is

Ban Ki Moon

Kofi Annan

Antonio Gutteres

Bill Gates

94. Who among the following is a 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner?

Kailash Satyarthi

Prof. Amartya Sen

Mother Theresa

V S Naipaul

95. The Indian Constitution 123rd Amendment Bill, 2017 seeks to

provide Right to Education to all

give constitutional status to National Commission for Backward Classes

provide Right to Information

Swacch Bharat .

96. Bezawada Wilson is well known for

His work on urbanization and pollution in India

Leading a major campaign against manual scavenging

His environmental activism

His contribution to literature

97. Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is aimed at

Ensuring access to financial services in an affordable manner

Providing money for people below poverty line

Providing loans to needy

Providing finance for InfOlmation Technology

98. Identify the correct match among the following people with the art form they are well known for

Nataraja Ramakrishna -Bharatanatyam

Pandit Birju Maharaj -Kathak

Smt. Kishori Amonkar -Carnatic Music

Kalamandalam Gopi -Kodiyattam

99. URL stands for

Universal Resource Locator

Unity Resource Location

Uniform Resource Locator

Un identified Resource Location

100. When was the Indian Constitution formally adopted by the Constituent Assembly?

10 December 1946

15 August 1947

26 January 1949

26 January 1950