DPM 27

A to E

A. Words along with their meaning, Pronunciation and usage

Harangue /həˈraŋ/

[Noun] - a lengthy and aggressive speech.

[Verb] - lecture (someone) at length in an aggressive and critical manner.

Usage

 They were subjected to a ten-minute harangue by the guard.

 The officer harangued the public on their ignorance.

Hegemony /hɪˈdʒɛməni, hɪˈɡɛməni/

[Noun] - leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others.

Usage – India was tyrannized by British hegemony for many decades.

Origin - mid 16th century: from Greek hēgemonia, from hēgemōn ‘leader’, from hēgeisthai
‘to lead’.

Homily /ˈhɒmɪli/

[Noun]

 A religious discourse which is intended primarily for spiritual edification rather than
doctrinal instruction.
 A tedious moralizing lecture.

Usage - She delivered her homily about the need for patience.

Origin - late Middle English: via Old French from ecclesiastical Latin homilia, from Greek,
‘discourse, conversation’ (in ecclesiastical use, ‘sermon’), from homilos ‘crowd’.
Hubris /ˈhjuːbrɪs/

[Noun]

 excessive pride or self-confidence.

 (in Greek tragedy) excessive pride towards or defiance of the gods, leading to
nemesis.

Usage – The self-assured hubris among politicians usually leads to their downfall.

Origin – 1884, a back-formation from hubristic or else from Greek hybris "wanton violence,
insolence, outrage," originally "presumption toward the gods”.

Hubbub /ˈhʌbʌb/

[Noun]

 a chaotic din caused by a crowd of people.

 a busy, noisy situation.

Usage

 a hubbub of laughter and shouting.

 she fought through the hubbub.

Origin – mid-16th century: perhaps of Irish origin; compare with the Irish exclamations
ababú, abú, used in battle cries.

Harp on

[Phrase] to talk about (a subject) constantly or repeatedly in an annoying way.

Usage – They are always harping on the importance of a good diet.

Hissy fit

[Phrase] an angry outburst; a temper tantrum.

Usage – The child screamed, kicked the furniture and threw a hissy fit.

Haute couture

[French, Noun]

 expensive, fashionable clothes produced by leading fashion houses.

 the designing and making of haute couture clothing.
Usage – The paths of haute couture are fraught with competition.

Origin - French, literally ‘high dressmaking’.

Herculean task

[Phrase] - an extremely difficult task; an almost impossible undertaking.

Usage - Unless one of the parties gives evidence, it is a Herculean task to prove that the
receipt of money was for a corrupt purpose.
 A. RC Passage (with link)

Article 1: Why the Wealthy Fear Pandemics

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/opinion/coronavirus-economy-history.html

Summary: This article examines why the wealthy fear pandemics. It looks at historical trends
to discover that every pandemic—starting with the bubonic plague of 1347 that struck Europe
and the Middle East—has led to shrinkage of the workforce, and a consequent power
imbalance between labour and capital, resulting in the narrowing of the inequality gap. The
coronavirus too, could shift the balance between the rich and the poor, but not to the same
degree as with earlier pandemics since the world today relies less on manual labour. The
author does however predict that the crisis would necessitate ‘redistributive reforms’ unless
‘entrenched interests’ are too powerful to overcome.

Article 2: Covid-19-racism-and-health-outcomes

https://discoversociety.org/2020/04/15/covid-19-racism-and-health-outcomes/

Summary: In this article, the authors argue that acts of racism have been rife during the
COVID-19 pandemic, and that racial bias remains prevalent—in overt and covert ways. Citing
reports of racial attacks in western countries, the authors find that people belonging to
racially minoritized groups are being disproportionately affected by the pandemic. This is no
surprise to the academia, as these discriminated groups of people happen to be in low-skilled,
low-paid occupations and reside in the more densely populated parts of urban areas. For
better preparedness in dealing with future pandemics, the article advises the medical and
scientific fraternity to guard against ‘racial pseudoscience’ which still manifests in ‘subtle but
potentially deadly ways’ among decision makers.

Article 3: The lure of fascism - Fascism promised radical national renewal and supreme
power to the people. Are we in danger of a fascist revival today?
https://aeon.co/essays/what-1930s-political-ideologies-can-teach-us-about-the-2020s

Summary: While the demonised guardians of freedom are belittled, brushed aside or
destroyed, vulnerable groups, such as refugees, immigrants, minorities and those living in
poverty, bear the brunt. What can be done to halt or reverse this process? And what will
happen if we simply stand by and watch? Some commentators see parallels with the rise of
fascism in the 1930s. Others agree that democracy is under threat but suggest that the
threats are new. A fair point, but with its dangers.

Article 4: The Apathy Syndrome: How We Are Trained Not to Care about Politics

https://academic.oup.com/socpro/article/doi/10.1093/socpro/spz019/5527807?searchr
esult=1#137398445

Summary: The role of emotions in social movements and mobilization has been an
important focus of recent research, but the emotional mechanisms producing apathy and
non-participation remain under studied. This article explores the thinking and feeling
processes involved in the production of apolitical attitudes, paying particular attention to
their social and cultural context. Cultural norms of appropriateness and emotional
expression can hinder or boost the emotions involved in the mobilizing processes.

Article 5: I-T dept., GSTN, CBIC caution people against phishing emails promising refunds

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/i-t-dept-gstn-cbic-
caution-people-against-phishing-emails-promising-
refunds/articleshow/75522423.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&
utm_campaign=cppst

The two apex tax bodies - income tax department and CBIC - on Sunday asked taxpayers to
beware of phishing emails promising refund. It further said that some fraudulent messages
are being circulated on WhatsApp, Email and SMS claiming to process refund.
C. RC Passage (with Questions)

Bulldogs under a carpet is the famous description of past Russian power struggles. As the
present round of grappling between the President and the speaker of the Congress of
Peoples’ Deputies painfully shows, democracy has changed nothing except to remove the
carpet. The origins of the present no hold barred conflict between the Congress and the
President lies in the country's tatterdemalion constitution. Written by Joseph Stalin and
amended to the point of illegibility, it is a blueprint for chaos. The division of powers
between the various arms of government is so ill-defined, a crisis would have been possible
even in the best of times. Today, with the president attempting drastic economic changes
that would undercut the influence of the new apparatchik industrialists, conflict is all but
written in the stars.

For months, Congress has stymied the President's reforms. He reacted last year by forcing a
showdown that only revealed how much his own support had slipped. It was a defeat that
cost him his Prime Minister. Ever since, the balance of power has been tilting in the
speaker's favour. Hyperinflation and his subservience to the West has further eroded the
President’s support. The two rivals put together an agreement earlier this year by which the
President handed over more authority to the legislature in return for a constitutional
referendum in April. Cancelling this referendum is the primary aim of the speaker and the
deputies because it would result in elections that would unseat most of them.
Unfortunately, the President’s standing with Congress is so weak he has suffered only
repeated humiliation past week.

Despite the resolutions stripping him of authority, the President still has some irons in the
fire. The military is not one of them. He has tried signing them up the army on his side
before without success. He has, however, three key sources of support that the speaker
cannot ignore. One is the West. The US president's recent statement is a blunt warning; the
Russian president is the West’s favoured man in the Kremlin. Throw him out and Russia's aid
lifeline comes under risk. Another is the regional leadership. The Russian president has gone
out of his way to woo the various heads of the autonomous republics whose clout has
increased as Moscow's grasp as grown feebler. Finally, and most important, is that the
Russian president is still miles ahead of the speaker and his ilk in popularity. The president
has the legitimacy of an election behind him. Most of the deputies do not. His present
political setbacks and his frustrations with the constitutional setup will tempt the Russian
president to take a leave from August 1991 and return to the politics of the streets. The
recent strike threat by Siberian miners in favour of the president is an indication of what
part Mr. President will take if pushed far enough. Until Russia straightens out its
government, extra constitutional means of building power will remain a perpetual
temptation and administrative panel paralysis the norm rather than the exception.
Q1) By using the expression, “Bulldogs under the carpet”, the author means that

(A) Potential candidates possess animal instincts

(B) Russian power struggles are no longer concealed from the west.
(C) The serious infighting for power in Russia is shielded from the outside eyes.
(D) The power struggles in Russia are kept under control by coercion

Q2) The word “Tatterdemalion constitution” means a

(A) Confused constitution

(B) Well -organized constitution
(C) ill-defined constitution
(D) weak constitution

Q3) Everything about the Russian constitution is true except:

(A) It was written by Stalin

(B) Repeated amendments made it to be a basis for confusion
(C) The division of power among various departments of the Government is systematic
(D) It is one of the reasons of conflict between the Russian President and the Speaker of
the Congress of Peoples’ Deputies

Q4) The Russian President forced a showdown with the Congress because

(A) He was very confident of his power

(B) The Congress thwarted and opposed his reforms
(C) He was under pressure from the West
(D) The heads of the independent states forced him to do so
D. Quantitative Aptitude

Q1. Twenty - four minutes from now, the time will be 5T minutes past 9:00 am. 3T minutes
ago, the time was 10:00 am. What is the time after 30 minutes from now?

A.) 12:36 pm B.) 12:06 pm C.) 1:12 pm D.) 12:30 pm

Q2. The ratios of milk and water in three mixtures of milk and water are 11: 9, 3: 1, and 17: 3.
If equal quantities of the mixtures are drawn and mixed, the concentration of milk in the
resulting mixture is ______.
1 2 1 2
A.) 75 3 % B.) 75 3 % C.) 71 3 % D.) 71 3 %

Q3. There are two groups of children A and B. A certain number of chocolates are distributed
among the children in each group. Each child receives the same number of chocolates. If 200
less chocolates were distributed among the children in A and 400 more chocolates were
distributed among the children in B, the number of chocolates received by the two groups
would be the same. If there were 10 less children in A and 20 more children in B, both the
groups would have the same number of children. Find the number of chocolates received by
each child in A.

Q4. A grain merchant sells his stock at a discount of 20% and makes a profit of 36% on his cost
price. If he offers a discount of only 15%, his profit would be ______.

A.)44.5% B.) 41% C.) 45% D.) None of these

Q5. Six times the ninth term of an arithmetic progression (AP) comprising distinct terms is
equal to three times the twelfth term. If t i denotes the ith term of the AP, which of the
following expressions can be uniquely determined?

A.) t1 + t2 + t14 B.) t3 + t5 + t9 C.) t2 + t4 + t12 D.) t4 + t5 + t10

𝑆
Q6. S is the sum of four consecutive two-digit odd numbers. √10 is an integer.

Consider the following statements:

I. The least of the four odd numbers ends with 7.

II. The sum of the possible values of the least of the four odd numbers is 124.
A.) Only I B.) Only II C.) Both I and II D.) Neither I nor II

Q7. X = {1, 2, 3, …., 30}

How many non-empty subsets of X are there such that the product of all the elements of the
subset is a multiple of 3?

A.)230 – 220 – 1 B.) 230 – 220 – 2 C.) 220(210 – 1) D.) 210(220 – 1)

Q8. If 0 ≤ θ ≤ 360o, the number of solutions of 𝑆𝑖𝑛3 𝜃 + 𝐶𝑜𝑠 3 𝜃 = 1 is

Q9. A, B and C are distinct positive integers satisfying AB + BC + CA ≥ 6(8x 2 + 1), where x is a
positive integer. The sum of A, B and C is ______.

A.) at least 12x B.) at most 12x C.) less than 12x D.) greater than 12x

Q10. Anil has a certain number of chocolates with him which he wants to distribute among a
group of n children. If he distributes them in packets of 14 to each child, he would be left with
13 chocolates. If he distributes them in packets of 11 to each, which of the following is a
possible value for the number of chocolates that he would be left with?

A.)27 B.)32 C.)37 D.) 42

E. DILR SET-1

Directions for questions 1 to 4: These questions are based on the information given below.

Five boys P, Q, R, S and T- are standing in a queue in that order, from first to last. These five
boys are the top five rankers, not necessarily in that order, in each of the three subjects -
mechanics, philosophy and criminology. No persons got the same rank in any two subjects
and no two persons got the same rank in any subject. Further, for any person, none of his
ranks is the same as his position in the queue.

We also have the following additional information about them:

(A) P got the second rank in mechanics.

(B) Q got the third rank in philosophy.

(c) T got the first rank in criminology.

(D) Sum of ranks obtained by S is 9.

(E) The sum of ranks obtained by Q is not more than that of R.

Directions for questions 1 to 4: Write your answer in the input box provided below the
question.

1. What is the sum of the ranks obtained by Q?

2. What is the rank of R in criminology?

3. In philosophy, at least how many persons have got ranks which are numerically between
that of R and S?

4. What is the difference in the ranks obtained by Q and S in criminology?