Reading Comprehension – Bank Exam Mock Test

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct/most appropriate options:
Taking another step towards equity, three women, Shruti Sharma, Ankita Agarwal, and Gamini Singla, secured the first, second, and third ranks, respectively, in the 2021 Civil Services examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Considered one of the toughest examination to crack, the girls emerged successfully at the top in their second attempt, and in the case of the second-ranker, in her third try . All three women agreed that it was a long, difficult and challenging journey. With 10 _______ the top 25 rank-holders being women, there is a lot to celebrate — and ponder over. According to the latest, All India Survey on Higher Education report, published by the Ministry of Education for 2019-2020, the gross enrolment ratio in higher education for the female population is 27.3%, compared to 26.9% for males. In this backdrop, women comprised only 26% — or 177 — of the total of 685 candidates recommended by the UPSC for appointment to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Central Services, Group A and B. This skewed statistic must change because public service offers a unique opportunity to bring about social change, and women can drive this, especially in a country where girls often have to drop out of school for a variety of reasons, from poverty, and early marriage to lack of toilets.
Ms. Sharma hails from Bijnor (Uttar Pradesh), Ms. Agarwal from Kolkata, and Ms. Singla from Sunam (Punjab), and each of their stories is that of struggle and persistence . It has been a hard-fought battle for women to come this far in the IAS, and sometimes a trickier road awaits them once inside the steel framework of the administrative setup. If three women are at the top today, they have a lot to thank for trailblazers such as Anna Rajam Malhotra (née George), the first woman to join the Indian Administrative Service in 1951, and C.B. Muthamma, the first woman to join the IFS in 1948 who fought a landmark case in the Supreme Court of India when she was looked over for a promotion for Ambassador, or even Anita Kaul who worked tirelessly to champion the Right to Education Act 2009 which made education a fundamental right for every child. The early part of a civil servant’s career is usually spent in rural or semi-urban India, giving her a vantage point over issues including women’s health, literacy, economic independence, caste, and gender disparities that are in need of reforms or policy intervention but are often overlooked due to lack of a proper understanding. To achieve this, education is the key. Also, if civil service has to represent all sections of the population, of which half are women, their representation in the services too must increase at all levels of the bureaucracy, starting with the highest rung.

Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given five alternatives .
The electrification of vehicles has started gaining momentum and has opened new mobility avenues for India to tap into. India is all set to position itself as one of the leading marketplaces for Electric Vehicles (EVs). The current outlook for EVs is optimistic as the sector has seen the evolution of several trends that are defining the growth of EVs. EV adoption can be seen across different vehicle segments as well as different business segments. Favourable plans and policies have been developed by the government like National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP), Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (FAME) Scheme to drive the transition towards the EV ambition of India The EV ecosystem comprises key elements on the demand side, supply side and facilitators/enablers. The development of all the ecosystem elements needs to be balanced to promote EV uptake. The demand side is supported by various fiscal and non-fiscal incentives provided to the users to increase the uptake. Facilitators or the enabler side is being planned by emergence of multiple business models, development of charging infrastructure, adopting a suitable charging standard, amendment of building byelaws, etc. But the supply side is yet to be evolved completely. It can be observed that the major components are not localised, i.e. either manufactured or assembled in India. In order to unlock India’s potential in the electric mobility domain, it is critical for India to become self-reliant and augment the capacity in manufacturing critical components over a period of time. The impetus should also focus on domestic manufacturing of batteries and its components in the long-term, for which India currently depends on other countries, including China. There are several major challenges to domestic battery production. Firstly, battery technology is currently evolving at a rapid pace with new chemistries gaining popularity. The associated R&D is technology intensive. The other challenges include unavailability of raw materials.  It is a harsh reality that the basic components, i.e., lithium cells that go into the manufacturing of li-ion batteries, are not yet produced in India. Hence, ensuring a reliable supply not just of the raw materials but also of the processed functional materials used in the anode and cathode, poses a challenge. Moreover, the technologies for making these batteries are also not available in India. The existing tax regime also poses a roadblock to the EV adoption in India. A battery is one of the key raw material for EVs but the capacity of Indian manufacturers is limited. The batteries contribute the largest to the EV cost. Also, the potential for localisation of chassis, bodies and BMS are high while localisation of specialized components such as batteries and motors could be limited. The import of finished product should be discouraged while at the same time manufacturing of the finished product be encouraged by altering the tax regime. Moreover, in order to facilitate the localisation in India, the phasing of the investments may begin with assembling and then gradually move to manufacturing. Thus, the phased focus on the sector will help in import substitution of key auto components and improve its export share, meeting global demand giving a shift towards electric mobility and making India ‘Atmanirbhar’. Some of the key components that may be planned as part of the phasing strategy includes the following. Achieving indigenisation across key components looks challenging, however, investment, innovation, research and development (R&D) across the right technologies will be the key. Innovations in battery manufacturing and setting up giga factories in the country will also be crucial. Indigenisation of EV components and battery pack assembly has a probability to produce a higher output value addition for the Indian auto industry in case of an EV transition. Policy interventions to enhance the competitiveness of EVs in India across various segments should be identified. One such government initiative which is pushing the localization of EVs includes Phased Manufacturing Plan (PMP). It identifies a graded duty structure to encourage indigenous manufacturing. The recently approved production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the automobile and battery manufacturing sectors could also enable the right ecosystem for indigenisation and value creation in the EV sector. OEMs should focus on R&D for providing a better value proposition and reduction in cost of the EV technology.

Direction: Read the passage given below and answer the following questions.
India’s economy could contract 7.7 percent in the financial year that ends on March 31, ________ mainly by the coronavirus pandemic and the weeks-long nationwide lockdown to contain the disease, Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian has estimated in the Economic Survey 2020-21, tabled in Parliament on Friday. Real GDP growth could be 11 percent in the next financial year, the survey said. ""Agriculture has remained the silver lining, while contact-based services, manufacturing, and construction sectors were the worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the survey. It predicted a V-shaped economic recovery spurred by India's Covid-19 vaccination programme.


The survey sees headline inflation moderating going forward: a development that could open up room for the Reserve Bank of India to resume monetary policy easing to complement fiscal measures to support the economy, said a Bloomberg report.
The Economic Survey, presented in Parliament by the finance minister two days before the Union Budget, analyses the trends in agricultural and industrial production, employment, money supply, and other sectors.
The Union Budget, to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday, is expected to increase spending on healthcare, raise levies on a range of imported goods, and likely introduce a Covid-19 cess. ""Send me your inputs so that we can see a Budget which is a Budget like never before, in a way. Hundred years of India wouldn't have seen a Budget being made post-pandemic like this,"" Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told a business summit in December.

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.
It is well accorded that COVID-19 extracts a huge toll on the mental health of patients and leaves behind a slew of neurological sequelae in its wake. However, what is alarming is the wide gamut of mental and neurological disorders seen even in those with milder symptoms. Such patients frequently reported being anxious, depressed and having difficulty in sleeping. A higher incidence of frank psychosis manifesting as disorganization of thought processes and personality disorders was also reported. Many survivors of COVID-19 had to battle substance abuse in its immediate aftermath. There was a steep increase in the amount of alcohol consumed by regular drinkers. Persons who had stopped smoking and consuming alcohol resumed their habit in disconcerting numbers.
The occurrence of neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinsonism is concerning as this would bring long-term disability in the form of impaired mobility and memory decline. It has been hypothesized that the causative mechanism for many of the neurological conditions due to COVID-19 may be the direct invasion of the nervous system by the virus, an increased tendency to blood clotting or an exaggerated immune response by the body. Various other factors like pre-existing psychiatric illness, prolonged quarantine, perceived lack of organizational support, and social stigma are risk factors. Anxiety, Nervousness, and Post-traumatic stress disorder are often fuelled by fear of infecting other family members, physical distancing, loneliness, and ________ at home in cramped quarters.
The pandemic has radically transformed the way businesses function and services delivered. Remote working disrupts a healthy-work life balance. Face to face contact and human interactions which were considered so essential for emotional well-being has taken a backseat. Lack of comforting physical contact like shaking hands and hugging friends is stressful and disconcerting. Online classes and home-schooling have placed a gargantuan burden both on students and parents. Lack of access to reliable computer hardware and spotty internet connections, particularly in rural areas and in the economically backward have created a new class divide. Children have been deprived of co-curricular activities, participation in group events and sports which is essential for their holistic development. Mental stress and fatigue have increased manyfold due to the rigours imposed by virtual learning.

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct/most appropriate options:
Taking another step towards equity, three women, Shruti Sharma, Ankita Agarwal, and Gamini Singla, secured the first, second, and third ranks, respectively, in the 2021 Civil Services examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Considered one of the toughest examination to crack, the girls emerged successfully at the top in their second attempt, and in the case of the second-ranker, in her third try . All three women agreed that it was a long, difficult and challenging journey. With 10 _______ the top 25 rank-holders being women, there is a lot to celebrate — and ponder over. According to the latest, All India Survey on Higher Education report, published by the Ministry of Education for 2019-2020, the gross enrolment ratio in higher education for the female population is 27.3%, compared to 26.9% for males. In this backdrop, women comprised only 26% — or 177 — of the total of 685 candidates recommended by the UPSC for appointment to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Central Services, Group A and B. This skewed statistic must change because public service offers a unique opportunity to bring about social change, and women can drive this, especially in a country where girls often have to drop out of school for a variety of reasons, from poverty, and early marriage to lack of toilets.
Ms. Sharma hails from Bijnor (Uttar Pradesh), Ms. Agarwal from Kolkata, and Ms. Singla from Sunam (Punjab), and each of their stories is that of struggle and persistence . It has been a hard-fought battle for women to come this far in the IAS, and sometimes a trickier road awaits them once inside the steel framework of the administrative setup. If three women are at the top today, they have a lot to thank for trailblazers such as Anna Rajam Malhotra (née George), the first woman to join the Indian Administrative Service in 1951, and C.B. Muthamma, the first woman to join the IFS in 1948 who fought a landmark case in the Supreme Court of India when she was looked over for a promotion for Ambassador, or even Anita Kaul who worked tirelessly to champion the Right to Education Act 2009 which made education a fundamental right for every child. The early part of a civil servant’s career is usually spent in rural or semi-urban India, giving her a vantage point over issues including women’s health, literacy, economic independence, caste, and gender disparities that are in need of reforms or policy intervention but are often overlooked due to lack of a proper understanding. To achieve this, education is the key. Also, if civil service has to represent all sections of the population, of which half are women, their representation in the services too must increase at all levels of the bureaucracy, starting with the highest rung.

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.
Screaming is exhibited by many animals, but no species uses this extreme vocalization in as many different contexts as humans. Though we're pretty good at recognizing a scream when we hear one, the wide variety of screams makes it difficult to pin down what defines them.
To study screams is to probe the fuzzy boundary that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. It is a way to explore our pre-linguistic past. Although we are fully symbolic creatures today, on occasion a trace of our primal selves bubbles to the surface in the form of a scream. Understanding its characteristics could improve the treatment of nonverbal patients, help fight crime, or simply make movies more frightening. But first scientists need to explain what makes a scream a scream.
To that end, researchers at Emory University’s Bioacoustics Laboratory recruited 181 volunteers to listen to short recordings of 75 nonverbal human vocalizations, such as screams, laughter, and crying. For each of the 75 sounds, the volunteers were asked to indicate whether they thought it was a scream. The researchers then analyzed 28 acoustic signatures of the sounds, such as pitch, frequency, and timbre, to determine which parameters influence the perception of a sound as a scream.
Most people would say that the defining characteristic of a scream is that it is a focused loud and high-pitched, but previous scream research suggests otherwise. In 2015, David Poeppel, a neuroscientist at New York University and the Max Planck Institute, led a study to determine the acoustic qualities that differentiate fearful screams from other nonverbal vocalizations. To do this, Poeppel and his colleagues compiled a corpus of screams lifted from YouTube videos and ones recorded in their lab, then asked volunteers to rank them according to how alarming the sound was. Poeppel also imaged the brains of his volunteers as they listened to screams to see how these sounds affected neural activity.

Read the question and answer the following questions:
The economic and labour crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic could increase global unemployment by almost 25 million, according to a new assessment by the International Labour Organization (ILO). However, if we see an internationally coordinated policy response, as happened in the global financial crisis of 2008/9, then the impact on global unemployment could be _______ lower.
The preliminary assessment note, COVID-19 and the world of work: Impacts and responses, calls for urgent, large-scale and coordinated measures across three pillars: protecting workers in the workplace, stimulating the economy and employment, and supporting jobs and incomes. These measures include extending social protection, supporting employment retention (i.e. short-time work, paid leave, other subsidies), and financial and tax relief, including for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, the note proposes fiscal and monetary policy measures, and lending and financial support for specific economic sectors.
Based on different scenarios for the impact of COVID-19 on global GDP growth, the ILO estimates indicate a rise in global unemployment of between 5.3 million (“low” scenario) and 24.7 million (“high” scenario) from a base level of 188 million in 2019. By comparison, the 2008-9 global financial crisis increased global unemployment by 22 million. Underemployment is also expected to increase on a large scale, as the economic consequences of the virus outbreak translate into reductions in working hours and wages. Self-employment in developing countries, which often serves to cushion the impact of changes, may not do so this time because of restrictions on the movement of people (e.g. service providers) and goods.
Fall in employment also means large income losses for workers. The study estimates these as being between USD 860 billion and USD 3.4 trillion by the end of 2020. This will translate into falls in the consumption of goods and services, in turn affecting the prospects for businesses and economies. Working poverty is expected to increase significantly too, as “the strain on incomes resulting from the decline in economic activity will devastate workers close to or below the poverty line”. The ILO estimates that between 8.8 and 35 million additional people will be in working poverty worldwide, compared to the original estimate for 2020 (which projected a decline of 14 million worldwide).

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct/most appropriate options:
Nine civilians have been killed in targeted killings by militants in the past 22 days in Kashmir, including a Kashmiri Pandit employee, a Hindu schoolteacher from Jammu and a bank manager from Rajasthan. This has triggered a wave of protests in the Valley from the minority communities. Protesting since May 12 when Rahul Bhat, a Pandit employee, was killed in his office, over 4,000 Pandit employees recruited under a special package are on the verge of another migration as in the 1990s. Their leaders say they are contemplating mass exodus and resignations unless relocated outside the Valley. The abominable terrorist violence and the predicament of the Pandits and Hindus denote a grim reversal of all the gains towards peace and reconciliation in the last decade or so. The Valley had welcomed a subtle and slow return of Kashmiri Pandits, a segment of those who left in the face of a surge in violence and targeted killings in the 1990s. Their return was encouraged by the comprehensive policy of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who in 2008 worked on a strategy: a political outreach to stakeholders of Kashmir’s political spectrum for creating a conducive atmosphere and, at the same time, extending permanent financial support to Pandits willing to return.
The Prime Minister’s Package for Return and Rehabilitation of Kashmir migrants not only offered jobs to Pandit youths but also doled out initial financial assistance of ₹7.5 lakh per family, which was later increased to ₹20-₹25 lakh — in three instalments for those who settled in the Valley. It is not a mere coincidence that a turn for the worse coincided with the Centre’s new push to alter Kashmir’s relations with India, starting with the termination of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and special constitutional status in 2019. On December 31, 2020, a Hindu goldsmith was killed; a series of targeted killings of members of the minorities, including Kashmiri Pandits, started on October 6, 2021, when Makhan Lal Bindroo who ran the famous Bindroo Medicate was killed in his shop in Srinagar. Guest workers in the Valley from other parts of the country have also been felled. Policies implemented by the Centre regarding land and government jobs are perceived in Jammu and Kashmir as disadvantageous to locals, increasing the sense of alienation that is being exploited by separatists and Pakistan-backed terrorists. The Centre must take measures to ensure the security of Hindus, and migrant workers in the Valley, at any cost as an immediate response. It must also think afresh about its Kashmir policy and create space for political dialogue. It seems the dilution of Article 370 was not the end of the problem but the beginning of fresh challenges in Kashmir, which need careful handling rather than just muscular triumphalism.

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct/most appropriate options:
It is not often that by-elections are of any significant consequence. But Uttarakhand, where the Chief Minister was in a do-or-die battle; Kerala, where the main Opposition, the Congress, was fighting for survival; and Odisha, where the ruling party was seeking another vote of confidence; all saw high-stakes contests. An impressive victory in the Thrikkakara Assembly by-election has revived the Congress in Kerala from the slumber and the chaos that had gripped the party following two consecutive Assembly election defeats, in 2016 and 2021. The seat is a Congress stronghold that stayed with the party even in 2021 when the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) won 99 of the 140 seats. The seat had fallen vacant following the demise of P.T. Thomas, who had shown great courage to stand up to the Catholic Church on issues of public policy. His wife Uma Thomas was the Congress candidate. The LDF was criticized on grounds that it sought to align its selection of candidates and campaign with the wishes of the Church. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) also turned the election into a referendum on the Silver Line semi-high speed railway project that the Pinarayi Vijayan government was championing. The victory, by an increased margin in comparison with 2021, reinforces the leadership of V.D. Satheesan, the leader of the Opposition, and K. Sudhakaran, the President of the Congress State unit. The CPI(M) and the LDF must take the lessons from the results with humility and appropriately recalibrate their positions.
In Odisha’s Brajarajnagar Assembly constituency, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate, Alaka Mohanty, won by a margin of 66,122 votes, defeating the Congress that pushed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the third position. The by-poll was necessitating by the death of the winner’s husband Kishore Mohanty . The result has further strengthened the hands of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who revamped his Council of Ministers immediately after the victory. The BJP that has been nurturing ambitions to replace the BJD in the State had to eat humble pie in the seat, though it is part of the Bargarh Parliamentary Constituency which it had won in 2019. In 2024, Mr. Patnaik will be on his way to becoming one of the longest-serving Chief Ministers. In Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami won the Champawat Assembly seat as expected, tightening his grip over the party. The BJP has been _______ through a churn in the State, leading to the elevation of Mr. Dhami who was not an MLA, after the Assembly elections in February-March. But the path ahead will depend on how smartly Mr. Dhami navigates the dangerous roads in the hill State’s politics.

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.
Screaming is exhibited by many animals, but no species uses this extreme vocalization in as many different contexts as humans. Though we're pretty good at recognizing a scream when we hear one, the wide variety of screams makes it difficult to pin down what defines them.
To study screams is to probe the fuzzy boundary that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. It is a way to explore our pre-linguistic past. Although we are fully symbolic creatures today, on occasion a trace of our primal selves bubbles to the surface in the form of a scream. Understanding its characteristics could improve the treatment of nonverbal patients, help fight crime, or simply make movies more frightening. But first scientists need to explain what makes a scream a scream.
To that end, researchers at Emory University’s Bioacoustics Laboratory recruited 181 volunteers to listen to short recordings of 75 nonverbal human vocalizations, such as screams, laughter, and crying. For each of the 75 sounds, the volunteers were asked to indicate whether they thought it was a scream. The researchers then analyzed 28 acoustic signatures of the sounds, such as pitch, frequency, and timbre, to determine which parameters influence the perception of a sound as a scream.
Most people would say that the defining characteristic of a scream is that it is a focused loud and high-pitched, but previous scream research suggests otherwise. In 2015, David Poeppel, a neuroscientist at New York University and the Max Planck Institute, led a study to determine the acoustic qualities that differentiate fearful screams from other nonverbal vocalizations. To do this, Poeppel and his colleagues compiled a corpus of screams lifted from YouTube videos and ones recorded in their lab, then asked volunteers to rank them according to how alarming the sound was. Poeppel also imaged the brains of his volunteers as they listened to screams to see how these sounds affected neural activity.