VA 11 April 24

Para Completion :

Q1. The Arab Spring is widely believed to have stemmed from dissatisfaction with the rule of local
governments, though some have speculated that wide gaps in income levels may have had a hand as well.
Issues such as political corruption, human rights violations, unemployment, and educated but dissatisfied
youth may have been responsible as well._____________________

A. Thus, youth unrest was the main reason for the Arab Spring
B. Some also cite the 2009-10 Iranian election protests as one of the reasons behind the Arab Spring
C. The Arab Spring was due to the wide gap between the haves and the have-nots
D. To sum up, the Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions
across the Arab world

Option D starts off as a summarizing statement, but does not talk about the income inequalities; further, there
is the mention of 'armed rebellion', which has not been talked about explicitly in the passage. So, option D can
be eliminated. Option A attributes Arab Spring to the youth unrest alone, which is incorrect. Hence, option A is
eliminated, too. Between options B and C, option B provides a fourth dimension to the three viewpoints put
forth in the passage already. The tone is consistent with the passage as well ("Some cite" goes well with
"widely believed", "speculated" and "may have been responsible"). Hence, the right answer choice is option B.

Q2. Few look forward to old age and all that it brings in its wake - deteriorating health, loss of vigour,
restricted mobility, increasing dependence on others, not to mention a sense of foreboding and anxiety.
Yet, one has to learn to cope with the onset of old age. Firstly, it is imperative to prepare to accept old age
in spite of the restrictions or limitations it imposes on one's mobility. Equally important is the need to adopt
a positive attitude towards life.

_______________Above all, peace of mind, is the efficacious balm that brings equanimity to one's life. We
must resign ourselves to growing old, and in the process let us try to make life as fulfilling and meaningful
as possible.

A. The role of humour and fun are indispensable as these are the spice of life and guaranteed to
bring cheer and bonhomie, besides keeping one's mind off life's grim realities.
B. Owing to advances in medical science, we can now expect to live well beyond 90 years.
C. Physical debility and stiffening body joints 'creaking' in protest may make mobility difficult -
something one should learn to take in one's stride stoically.
D. Turning nostalgic and recalling 'those good old days' when they were young and life was radically
different from what it is today, help one accept old age.
The passage talks about the realities of the old age, and how to cope with the limitations it brings about. The
statement before the blank ends with the need to adopt a positive attitude towards life, and the statement
after the blank talks about peace of mind. We are looking at a bridge to connect both these ideas, OR
something to substantiate with some channels of positive attitude.
Option D talks about "accepting old age", which is more of a negative connotation. Option C talks about
difficulties as well, hence C and D can be eliminated.
Though option B is a positive statement, it has nothing to do with "positive attitude"; it is just a probabilistic
fact. That leaves us only with option A, which is the eventual answer.

Q3. __________________Infrastructure, in the form of paved surfaces, disrupts water absorption and
lowers water retention. This leads to disastrous levels of flooding which diminishes the biodiversity and
impoverishes the people of the region.Land should be used mindfully to prevent water logging during heavy
rains.

A. Climate change is not the only cause for flooding.

B. Flooding can happen after heavy or low rainfall.
C. Infrastructure can actually cause a lot of trouble during flooding.
D. Water retention is less important to prevent flooding.

Option A
The right choice is Option A. Options D is more an inference than a passage opener, so it can be eliminated.
Option C can be eliminated because it mentions 'infrastructure', whereas in the passage, 'infrastructure' seems
to be a new idea introduced after the blank. The passage mentions nothing about 'low rainfall' and only about
flooding, hence option B is eliminated. That leaves us with option A, which rightly talks only about flooding
from a climate change point of view.

Q4. In strictly economic terms, the political character of a nation's trading partners should not matter.
However, in a world of strategic competition, international commerce can be, and usually is, an instrument
of policy, and its use in that context should not be denied simply because it breaches the sacred principle of
free trade.

A. This is the Rodrik trilemma: it is not possible to have the nation-state, democracy, and globalization at
the same time.
B. As Friedrich List, the nineteenth-century pioneer of economic nationalism, pointed out, free trade
assumes a peaceful world.
C. That is why, all over the world, nations have been revolting against globalization in the name of
democracy.
D. As limiting free trade inevitably leads to trade wars, it is not possible to achieve legitimate
protectionist aims without disrupting the world economic system.
Of the given options, option B completes the given paragraph best. The paragraph stresses the importance of
political context in international commerce. Option B carries forward the idea in the penultimate line: free
trade assumes a peaceful world.

Option A, which talks of the 'Rodrik trilemma', of the nation state, democracy and globalization, discusses
many new ideas. The paragraph does not explain any trilemma. So, option A is not a good option to complete
the paragraph.

Option C is ruled out for the same reason as A. The paragraph given does not talk of globalization or
democracy.

Option D is a good contender to B, as it touches upon the ideas mentioned in the paragraph: limiting free
trade and disruption of the world economic system. But while the paragraph is about how political context
influences trade policy, option D is about nations achieving "legitimate protectionist aims". Option D is about a
related, but slightly tangential idea. Between options B and D, B is better.

Q5. A series of fascinating papers suggest that in humans and other social mammals, social pain and
physical pain are processed by the same neural circuits. This might explain why, in many languages, it is
hard to describe the impact of breaking social bonds without the words we use to denote physical pain and
injury. Social contact even reduces physical pain.

A. As the prison system knows only too well, one of the most effective forms of torture is solitary
confinement.
B. This is why we hug our children when they hurt themselves: affection is a powerful analgesic.
C. Self-harm is often used as an attempt to alleviate distress: another indication that physical pain is not
as bad as emotional pain.
D. The impact of loneliness on physical health is comparable to that of smoking 15 cigarettes a day:
loneliness appears to raise the risk of early death by 26%.

Option B, which explains how social contact relieves pain, fits the given paragraph very well.

Option A is about the lack of social contact being a form of torture. This does not relate to how social contact
reduces physical pain.

Option C talks of self-harm or self-inflicted physical pain to alleviate emotional pain. This is an unrelated idea.

Option D talks of the impact of loneliness, or the lack of social contact on physical health. The penultimate
line, on the other hand, is about the positive impact of social contact on physical pain. These are two different
ideas.