Challenge Prelims V1.0 – Day 79 – CSAT Paper

1.

Passage

Climate change may actually benefit some plants by lengthening growing seasons and increasing carbon dioxide. Yet other effects of a warmer world, such as more pests, droughts, and flooding, will-be less benign. How will the world adapt? Researchers project that by 2050, suitable croplands for four commodities — maize, potatoes, rice and wheat — will shift, in some cases pushing farmers to plant new crops. Some farmlands may benefit from warming, but others won’t. Climate alone does not dictate yields; political shifts, global demand, and agricultural practices will influence how farms fare in the future.

Which one of the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made _ logical, scientific and rational inference from the above passage?

2.

Passage

A bat’s wings may look like sheets of skin. But underneath, a bat has the same five fingers as an orangutan or a human, as well as a wrist bones connected to the same long bones of the arm. What can be more curious than that the hand of a man, formed for grasping, that of a mole for digging, the leg of the horse, the paddle of the porpoise, the wing of the bat, should all be constructed on the same pattern?

Which one of the following is the most logical, scientific and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?

3. Passage

Around 56 million years ago, the Atlantic Ocean had not fully opened and animals, perhaps including our primate ancestors, could walk from Asia to North America through Europe and across Greenland. Earth was warmer than it is today, but as the Palaeocene epoch gave way to Eocene, it was about to get much warmer still – rapidly and radically. The cause was a massive geologically sudden release of carbon. During this period called Palaeocene — Eocene Thermal Maximum or PETM, the carbon injected into the atmosphere was roughly the amount that would be injected today if humans burned all the Earth’s reserves of coal, oil and natural gas. The PETM lasted for about 1,50,000 years, until the excess carbon was reabsorbed. It brought on drought, floods, insect plagues and a few extinctions. Life-on Earth survived — indeed, it prospered — but it was drastically different.

Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

1. Global warming has a bearing on the planet’s biological evolution.
2. Separation of land masses causes the release of huge quantities of carbon into the atmosphere.
3. Increased warming of Earth’s atmosphere can change the composition of its flora and fauna.
4. The present man-made global warming will finally lead to conditions similar to those which happened 56 million years ago.

Which of the assumptions given above are valid?

4.

Passage

Low-end IoT (Internet of Things) devices are cheap commodity items: addressing security would add to the cost. This class of items is proliferating with new applications; many home appliances, thermostats, security and monitoring devices and personal convenience devices are part of the IoT. So are fitness trackers, certain medical implants and computer-like devices in automobiles. The IoT is expected to expand exponentially — but new security challenges are daunting.

Which one of the following statements is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?

5. Passage

A changing climate, and the eventual efforts of governments (however reluctant) to deal with it, could have a big impact on investor’s returns. Companies that produce or use large amounts of fossil fuels will face higher taxes and regulatory burdens. Some energy producers may find it impossible to exploit their known reserves and be left with “stranded assets” – deposits of oil and coal that have to be left in the ground. Other industries could be affected by the economic damage caused by more extreme weather – storms, floods, heat waves and droughts.

On the basis of the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

1. Governments and companies need to be adequately prepared to face the climate change.
2. Extreme weather events will reduce the economic growth, of governments and companies in future.
3. Ignoring climate change is a huge risk for investors.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?