Directions (1-8): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
One of the reasons the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class struggles in debt is because the subject of money is taught at home and not at school. Most of us learn about money from our parents. Schools focus on scholastic and professional skills. This explains how smart bankers, doctors and accountants, who earned excellent grades in school, may still struggle financially all their lives. Our staggering national debt is due in large part to politicians and government officials making financial decisions with little or no training on the subject of money. I often look ahead to the new millennium and what will happen when we have millions of people who will need financial and medical assistance. Because I had two influential fathers, I learned from both of them. I had to think about each dad’s advice and in doing so I gained valuable insight into the power and effect of one’s thoughts on one’s life. For example, one dad had a habit of saying, “I can’t afford it.” The other dad forbade those words to be used. He insisted I say “How can I afford it?” He did not mean you to buy everything you wanted. He was fanatical about exercising your brain, the most powerful computer in the world. He believed that automatically saying “I can’t afford it” was a sign of mental laziness.
Although both dads worked hard, I noticed that one dad had a habit of putting his brain to sleep when it came to money matters and the other had a habit of exercising his brain. The long term result was that one dad grew stronger financially and the other grew weaker. It is not much different from a person who goes to gymnasium to exercise on a regular basis versus someone who sits on the couch watching television. Proper physical exercise increases your chance for health, and proper mental exercise increases your chance for wealth. Laziness of both decreases health and wealth.
Money is one form of power. But what is more powerful is financial education. Money comes and goes, but if you have the education about how money works, you gain power over it and can begin building wealth. The reason why positive thinking alone does not work is because most people went to school and never learned how money works, so they spent their lives working for money.
Q1. The passage highlights one very important aspect that
(a) School education is not necessary to be rich.
(b) By working for money, one can be rich.
(c) School plays a very important role in making us rich.
(d) Training in the subject of money is very important to be rich.
(e) None of these
Q2. According to the passage, a nation cannot progress to economic independence if
(a) the politicians and government officials make financial decisions.
(b) the educated work for money.
(c) schools focus on scholastic and professional skills only.
(d) parents keep saying “we cannot afford it.”
(e) All the above
Q3. Most of the people are poor and are struggling in debt because,
(a) people have not been educated in schools to make money for them.
(b) schools focus on scholastic and professional skills.
(c) people have no “money power”.
(d) politicians and government officials make financial decisions.
(e) All the above
Q4. The reference “how can I afford it” in the passage
(a) emphasizes the importance of positive thinking.
(b) envisages how to make things happen and have it.
(c) emphasizes the point that how one can afford something which is not in one’s control.
(d) dismisses things which are not affordable.
(e) None of these
Q5. According to the author, to build wealth
(a) Education and learning about how money works, are a must.
(b) One must gain power over money, learning from parents.
(c) Positive thinking, power over money and exercising brain, are must.
(d) School education must improve on how to make money.
(e) All the above
Q6. The core learning one can gain from the above passage is best highlighted by the statement below:
(a) Those who taught money matters at home are more successful.
(b) Sound financial education, quality of thinking and exercising of body can make one healthy and wealthy.
(c) Parents, positive thinking and sound schooling can make people rich.
(d) If financial education is imparted in schools, everyone will be in a position to meet his/ her financial and medical needs on his/ her own.
(e) None of these
Directions (7-8): Choose the word/group of words which is MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
Q7. Scholastic
(a) academic
(b) economic
(c) political
(c) artistic
(e) None of these
Q8. Forbade
(a) banned
(b) stopped
(c) allowed
(d) prohibited
(e) None of these
Directions (9-15): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
Since time immemorial people have been communicating with each other verbally or nonverbally. No one can live in society without communicating. It may be in the form of silence. There are some expressions of emoting, like happiness, sadness, fear, and anger which are considered to be universal.
In today’s competitive world, it has become essential that one must have skills in more than one area. A person might possess a number of good qualities necessary for dealing with various problems of daily lives, but lack of effective communication might make the task difficult. Whether it is a corporate world or academic world or social world, the ability to communicate effectively has become a need today. Communication can make or break a relationship, begin or end a war. Perhaps, this is the most important thing, we do in our lives. It is said that motivation is very important, if a person wants to achieve something in life. How can people be motivated? It’s again through communication only. A person might achieve in life many things, if he/ she knows the art and science of communication.
In this context, it is said that culture has a great impact on communication. In fact, culture is communication and communication is culture. When we talk about Indian culture, it is observed that people are very context sensitive. One has to be very cautious about the time and the context of communication, in order to make communication more effective.
Gender and communication is another important area, which has drawn the attention of scholars. Whereas many scholars are of the opinion that men and women differ in their communication styles, some scholars have found no significant difference. Are women better communicators than men? It is a question of debate. Perhaps, it may be due to the biology or socialization process or both. The researchers will strive to find out a suitable answer to this.
Who does not like a smiling face and friendly and warm communication? Whether it is boss or subordinate, teacher or student, husband or wife, father or son, everyone needs to develop skills in communication. This will not only help in getting accomplishment of difficult task done, but also will give a peace of mind which ultimately may lead to a successful and meaningful life.
Q9. It can be inferred from the passage that
(a) women are better communicators
(b) men are better communicators
(c) both are equally good communicators
(d) communication skill needs to be developed
(e) All of the above
Q10. According to the passage
(a) in Indian culture people are not context sensitive.
(b) Indian people are very context sensitive.
(c) women are very context sensitive.
(d) Both (b) and (c)
(e) None of the above
Q11. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
(a) There are some expressions of emotions, which are universal.
(b) No one can live in society without communicating.
(c) Silence is not a form of communication.
(d) Body language is an important part of communication.
(e) All of the above.
Q12. Which of the following alternatives is closest in meaning to “communication style”?
(a) Communication type
(b) Interaction type
(c) Way of communicating
(d) both (a) and (b)
(e) None of the above
Q13. Which of the following statements is correct?
(a) Silence is not communication.
(b) Silence is a type of verbal communication.
(c) Silence is one of the tool of communication.
(d) Silence is a written form of communication.
(e) All of the above
Q14. According to the passage, it is required
(a) for scholars to enhance their knowledge of communication.
(b) to analyze the communication.
(c) to know the art of communication.
(d) to interact effectively
(e) All
Q15. According to the passage, it can be inferred that
(a) motivation is necessary.
(b) one gets motivated through communication.
(c) motivation is necessary for good communication.
(d) Both (b) and (c)
(e) All of the above
Solutions
S1. Ans. (d)
Sol. The passage revolves around the theme of training that is crucial to be rich.
S2. Ans. (c)
Sol. Refer 3rd sentence of the passage “our staggering…..money” It is indicating that economic independence requires proper training on the subject of money.
S3. Ans. (a)
Sol. Refer the first few sentences of first paragraph “One of the reasons the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class struggles in debt is because the subject of money is taught at home and not at school.”
S4. Ans. (b)
Sol. Refer the last few lines of first paragraph.
S5. Ans. (c)
Sol. Refer the last paragraph of the passage “The reason why positive thinking alone does not work is because most people went to school and never learned how money works, so they spent their lives working for money.”
S6. Ans. (b)
Sol. Refer the second paragraph of the passage.
S7. Ans. (a)
Sol. Scholastic means of or concerning schools and education. Hence it has same meaning as academic.
S8. Ans. (c)
Sol. Forbade means refuse to allow. Hence it has opposite meaning as allowed.
S9. Ans. (d)
Sol. The passage conveys the message that communication skill needs to be developed. Option (a) (b) and (c) can be eliminated be referring to the 2nd line of the 2nd paragraph “Are women…..both”. Hence option (d) is the correct choice.
S10. Ans. (b)
Sol. Refer the third sentence of the third paragraph “When we talk about Indian culture, it is observed that people are very context sensitive.”
S11. Ans. (c)
Sol. Refer the third sentence of the first paragraph “. It may be in the form of silence. There are some expressions emoting, like happiness, sadness, fear, and anger which are considered to be universal.”
S12. Ans. (c)
Sol. communication style can be best understood in a manner as a ‘way of communicating’.
S13. Ans. (c)
Sol. Refer the first paragraph of the passage “No one can live in society without communicating. It may be in the form of silence.”
S14. Ans. (c)
Sol. Refer the last sentence of the second paragraph “A person might achieve in life many things, if he/ she knows the art and science of communication.”
S15. Ans. (b)
Sol. Refer the second and third last sentences of the second paragraph “How can people be motivated? It’s again through communication only.”
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