Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension: English Reading Comprehension Exercises with Answers, Sample Passages for Reading Comprehension Test for GRE, CAT, IELTS preparation
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English Reading Comprehension Test Questions and Answers. Improve your ability to read and comprehend English Passages
Q106. > There is nothing undesirable in science or technology. But the
> question of science and ethics is complex. A few dominant groups may
> take decisions affecting whole populations. Therefore, we have to
> learn as quickly as possible how to manage emerging technology in a
> true public- interest perspective. The best way to do this is to
> encourage participatory decision making so that science and technology
> policies are a natural consequence of wider democratic processes. As
> most countries today are moving towards democratic forms of society,
> decisions are now increasingly being taken not by experts alone, but
> by the public at large. We have seen this with nuclear power stations,
> hydroelectric dams, toxic-waste disposal etc. Technology assessment
> and forecasting can be usefully based on the views of several
> organisations including non-scientific people. Such a forecasting
> system should come out with scenarios on the basis of which decisions
> can be taken at the national and the global levels.
>
> The science-communication capability of a society, at the grass-roots
> level, is of critical importance. However, we have very little
> expertise in this direction. The scientific community may not be well
> equipped to understand the social implications of its research. So, it
> should work closely with social scientists, public interest groups,
> the bureaucracy and the political system. Scientists have to inform
> the end users about the developments in science and technology and
> their consequences in a language which they can understand. Earlier,
> we used to talk about superstitions and inculcating scientific temper
> among people. Now, a new cadre of science communicators with an
> entirely new orientation is needed. Also, each new science and
> technology project must earmark allocations for educating the public.
> Even in the case of social development problems, such as health,
> malnutrition, and sanitation, the problem is essentially of delivery.
> It is largely a question of involving people in the delivery system.
>
> Globalisation has created both concerns and opportunities for
> scientific research. The cost of research is going up because it is
> increasingly instrument-oriented and instruments are expensive.
> Moreover, research is seen as a business investment and business looks
> for heavy and quick returns. There is a tendency to closely guard
> intellectual knowledge to become competitive in the market. As a
> consequence, many people with good ideas are kept away from practising
> science. This is a major concern for developing countries. These
> countries possess the maximum number of talented and original minds,
> yet the number of scientific people for research from these countries
> is dwindling. Our science and technology delivery system is weak. When
> a technology is developed, its efficacy depends upon the delivery
> mechanism adopted, how we take results of the laboratory to the end
> users. Our scientists and technologists in the West contribute greatly
> to the world’s economy but the same people cannot do it here because
> of the weak delivery system. The issues of technology transfer,
> commercialisation and adoption need to be addressed seriously. We have
> to adjust our research and development priorities and technology
> development paths in view of the competitive market conditions.
> Globalisation has increased the mobility of trained people.
>
> But it has also resulted in huge financial compensations and human
> resource costs. Now, a person trained in infotech for a mere three
> months may be paid far more than the highest paid scientist in the
> country. This is not because of the value of the expertise, but is an
> insurance in lieu of increased mobility. For us, the rapidly expanding
> global market for trained human resources is a big opportunity. Out of
> 20 million students in the country, even if we manage to train one
> million in emerging technologies, we can soon emerge as a world leader
> in this field.
Who are the ‘end-users’?
- Retailer
- Scientists
- Rearch and development wing
- Market and society
- World
Solution : Market and society
Q107. > It was once believed that the brain was independent of metabolic
> processes occurring elsewhere in the body. In recent studies, however,
> we have discovered that the production and release in brain neurons of
> the neurotransmitter serotonin (neurotransmitters are compounds that
> neurons use to transmit signals to other cells) depend directly on the
> food that the body processes. Our first studies sought to determine
> whether the increase in serotonin observed in rats given a large
> injection of the amino acid tryptophan might also occur after rats ate
> meals that change tryptophan levels in the blood. We found that
> immediately after the rats began to eat, parallel elevations occurred
> in blood tryptophan, brain tryptophan, and brain serotonin levels.
> These findings suggested that the production and release of serotonin
> in brain neurons were normally coupled with blood-tryptophan
> increases. In later studies, we found that injecting insulin into a
> rat’s bloodstream also caused parallel elevations in blood and brain
> tryptophan levels and in serotonin levels. We then decided to see
> whether the secretion of the animal’s own insulin similarly affected
> serotonin production. We gave the rats a carbohydrate-containing meal
> that we knew would elicit insulin secretion. As we had hypothesized,
> the blood tryptophan level and the concentrations of tryptophan and of
> serotonin in the brain increased after the meal. Surprisingly,
> however, when we added a large amount of protein to the meal, brain
> tryptophan, and serotonin levels fell. Since protein contains
> tryptophan, why should it depress brain tryptophan levels? The answer
> lies in the mechanism that provides blood tryptophan to the brain
> cells. This same mechanism also provides the brain cells with other
> amino acids found in protein, such as tyrosine and leucine. The
> consumption of protein increases the blood concentration of the other
> amino acids much more, proportionately, than it does that of
> tryptophan. The more protein is in a meal, the lower is the ratio of
> the resulting blood-tryptophan concentration to the concentration of
> competing for amino acids, and the more slowly is tryptophan provided
> to the brain. Thus the more protein in a meal, the less serotonin
> subsequently produced and released.
According to the passage, an injection of insulin was most similar in its effect on rats to an injection of
- tyrosine
- leucine
- blood
- tryptophan
- protein
Solution : tryptophan
Q108. > It was once believed that the brain was independent of metabolic
> processes occurring elsewhere in the body. In recent studies, however,
> we have discovered that the production and release in brain neurons of
> the neurotransmitter serotonin (neurotransmitters are compounds that
> neurons use to transmit signals to other cells) depend directly on the
> food that the body processes. Our first studies sought to determine
> whether the increase in serotonin observed in rats given a large
> injection of the amino acid tryptophan might also occur after rats ate
> meals that change tryptophan levels in the blood. We found that
> immediately after the rats began to eat, parallel elevations occurred
> in blood tryptophan, brain tryptophan, and brain serotonin levels.
> These findings suggested that the production and release of serotonin
> in brain neurons were normally coupled with blood-tryptophan
> increases. In later studies, we found that injecting insulin into a
> rat’s bloodstream also caused parallel elevations in blood and brain
> tryptophan levels and in serotonin levels. We then decided to see
> whether the secretion of the animal’s own insulin similarly affected
> serotonin production. We gave the rats a carbohydrate-containing meal
> that we knew would elicit insulin secretion. As we had hypothesized,
> the blood tryptophan level and the concentrations of tryptophan and of
> serotonin in the brain increased after the meal. Surprisingly,
> however, when we added a large amount of protein to the meal, brain
> tryptophan, and serotonin levels fell. Since protein contains
> tryptophan, why should it depress brain tryptophan levels? The answer
> lies in the mechanism that provides blood tryptophan to the brain
> cells. This same mechanism also provides the brain cells with other
> amino acids found in protein, such as tyrosine and leucine. The
> consumption of protein increases the blood concentration of the other
> amino acids much more, proportionately, than it does that of
> tryptophan. The more protein is in a meal, the lower is the ratio of
> the resulting blood-tryptophan concentration to the concentration of
> competing for amino acids, and the more slowly is tryptophan provided
> to the brain. Thus the more protein in a meal, the less serotonin
> subsequently produced and released.
It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following would be LEAST likely to be a potential source of aid to a patient who was not adequately producing and releasing serotonin?
- Meals consisting almost exclusively of protein
- Meals consisting almost exclusively of carbohydrates
- Meals that would elicit insulin secretion
- Meals that had very low concentrations of tyrosine
- Meals that had very low concentrations of leucine
Solution : Meals consisting almost exclusively of protein
Q109. > It was once believed that the brain was independent of metabolic
> processes occurring elsewhere in the body. In recent studies, however,
> we have discovered that the production and release in brain neurons of
> the neurotransmitter serotonin (neurotransmitters are compounds that
> neurons use to transmit signals to other cells) depend directly on the
> food that the body processes. Our first studies sought to determine
> whether the increase in serotonin observed in rats given a large
> injection of the amino acid tryptophan might also occur after rats ate
> meals that change tryptophan levels in the blood. We found that
> immediately after the rats began to eat, parallel elevations occurred
> in blood tryptophan, brain tryptophan, and brain serotonin levels.
> These findings suggested that the production and release of serotonin
> in brain neurons were normally coupled with blood-tryptophan
> increases. In later studies, we found that injecting insulin into a
> rat’s bloodstream also caused parallel elevations in blood and brain
> tryptophan levels and in serotonin levels. We then decided to see
> whether the secretion of the animal’s own insulin similarly affected
> serotonin production. We gave the rats a carbohydrate-containing meal
> that we knew would elicit insulin secretion. As we had hypothesized,
> the blood tryptophan level and the concentrations of tryptophan and of
> serotonin in the brain increased after the meal. Surprisingly,
> however, when we added a large amount of protein to the meal, brain
> tryptophan, and serotonin levels fell. Since protein contains
> tryptophan, why should it depress brain tryptophan levels? The answer
> lies in the mechanism that provides blood tryptophan to the brain
> cells. This same mechanism also provides the brain cells with other
> amino acids found in protein, such as tyrosine and leucine. The
> consumption of protein increases the blood concentration of the other
> amino acids much more, proportionately, than it does that of
> tryptophan. The more protein is in a meal, the lower is the ratio of
> the resulting blood-tryptophan concentration to the concentration of
> competing for amino acids, and the more slowly is tryptophan provided
> to the brain. Thus the more protein in a meal, the less serotonin
> subsequently produced and released.
It can be inferred from the passage that the authors initially held which of the following hypotheses about what would happen when they fed large amounts of protein to rats?
- The rats’ brain serotonin levels would not decrease.
- The rats’ brain tryptophan levels would decrease.
- The rats’ tyrosine levels would increase less quickly than would their leucine levels.
- The rats would produce more insulin.
- The rats would produce neurotransmitters other than serotonin.
Solution : The rats’ brain serotonin levels would not decrease.
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Q110. > Civilisation, so far, has not succeeded, in creating an environment
> suitable to mental and moral activities of mankind. The low
> intellectual and spiritual value of most human beings is largely due
> to deficiencies of their psychological atmosphere. The supremacy of
> matter and the dogmas of industrial religion have destroyed culture,
> beauty and morals. The immense spread of newspapers, cheap literature,
> radios and cinemas has contributed only to the degeneration of
> culture. Unintelligent is becoming more and more general, in spite of
> the course given in schools, colleges and universities. School
> children and students form their minds on the silly programmes of
> public entertainment. Social environment, instead of favouring the
> growth of intelligence, opposes it with all its might.
>
> Moral sense is almost completely ignored by modern society. We have,
> in fact, suppressed its manifestation. All are imbued with
> irresponsibility. Those who discern good and evil, who are industrious
> and provident, remain poor and are looked upon as morose. The woman
> who has several children, who devotes herself to their education
> instead of to her own career, is considered weak-minded. If a man
> saves a little money for his wife and the education of his children,
> this money is stolen from him by enterprising financiers or taken by
> the Government and distributed to those who have been reduced to want
> by their own improvidence and the short-sightedness of manufacturers,
> bankers and economists. Artists and men of science supply the
> community with beauty, health and wealth. They live and die in
> poverty. Robbers enjoy prosperity and peace. Gangsters are protected
> by politicians and respected by judges. They are the heroes whom
> children admire at the cinema and imitate in their games. A rich man
> has every right. He may discard his aging wife, abandon his old mother
> to penury, rob those who have entrusted their money to him, without
> losing the consideration of his friends. Sexual morals have been cast
> aside. Psychoanalysts supervise men and women in their conjugal
> relations. There is no difference between wrong and right, just and
> unjust. No one makes any objection to their presence. Ministers have
> rationalised religion. They have destroyed its mystical basis. But
> they do not succeed in attracting modern men. In their half-empty
> churches, they vainly preach a weak morality. They are content with
> the part of policemen, helping in the interest of the wealthy to
> preserve the framework of present society. Or, like politicians, they
> flatter the appetites of the crowd.
>
> Men are powerless against such psychological attacks. They necessarily
> yield to the influence of their group. If one lives in the company of
> fools or criminals, one becomes a fool or criminal. Isolation is the
> only hope of salvation. But where will the inhabitants of the new city
> find solitude? Said Marcus Aurelius, ‘No retreat is more peaceful or
> less troubled than that encountered by man in his own soul.’ But we
> are not capable of such an effort. We cannot fight out social
> surroundings victoriously.
What is being rejected completely in the modern society?
- The acquisitive social tendency
- The thriving habit
- The civic sense
- The normal sense
- None of these
Solution : The normal sense
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Solution :
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