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[WpProQuiz 3031]
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Directions (1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.
According to a recent report by the International Labour Organisation, India and Pakistan have the lowest rates of women’s labour force participation in Asia, in sharp contrast to Nepal, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia that have the highest, with richer nations like Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia falling in between. Moreover, even this low rate of labour force participation seems to be declining. The National Sample Survey found that while in 1999-2000, 25.9% of all women worked, by 2011-12 this proportion had dropped to 21.9%. This is in stark contrast to worldwide trends. Of the 185 nations that are part of the ILO database, since the 1990s, 114 countries have recorded an increase in the proportion of women in the workforce, and only 41 recorded declines, with India leading the pack. A heartening explanation could be that with rising incomes, women have the opportunity to escape harsh labour in farms and on construction sites, and focus on their families. But a more pessimistic and possibly realistic explanation might be that with declining farm sizes, rising mechanisation, and consequently dwindling labour demands in agriculture, women are being forced out of the workforce. If true, this has serious implications for future policy. The India Human Development Survey, jointly organised by researchers from the National Council of Applied Economic Research and the University of Maryland, finds that the provision of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has brought more rural women into wage labour. Among MGNREGA workers in 2011-12, a whopping 45% were not in wage labour before the scheme was initiated.
Moreover, the provision of MGNREGA work has far greater impact on women’s paid work than that of men. Increased availability of wage work also enhances women’s control over household decision-making. Since NREGA work by itself cannot be expected to provide consistent stable employment for women, it is imperative to explore other avenues. From a policy perspective, two main challenges have to be addressed for augmenting women’s workforce participation rates. First, in view of shrinking farm work, we need to create opportunities for women to move from agricultural to non-agricultural manual work. Second, we must foster a work environment that allows more women, especially urban and educated women, to take up salaried jobs. Such work has a cascading effect as construction of concrete roads also improves transportation services such as buses, which, in turn, could facilitate movement of the rural workforce, especially women, into non-agricultural work in neighbouring villages and towns. At the other end of the employment spectrum, however, there is a need to make it possible for educated women to continue to work even while raising families. In a context where women continue to bear the major share of household work and childcare, the prevalence of a rigid work environment in India and the dearth of family-friendly work institutions create impediments to women’s access to white-collar jobs in the formal sector. Second, long distances between the home and the workplace increase both commuting time and work burdens, leaving workers with even less time for family duties. Another aspect of the skewed work-family equation for women in India is the demand for investing in children’s education over professional achievement. Research by Alaka Basu, a sociologist at Cornell University, and Sonalde Desai highlights the contrast between the reasons for fertility decline in the West, where it was fuelled by the desire for self-fulfillment among both men and women, and in India, where small families have emanated from the desire to promote future achievements of children by focusing on their education rather than on better employment prospects for the parents. This has led to urban and educated Indian women dropping out of the labour pool in contradistinction to their counterparts in Japan and Korea, for example, who have instead opted out of marriage, resulting in a dip in fertility rates in the latter countries to barely 1.3 children per couple.
Neither of these, however, seems an optimal outcome for society. The only way this conundrum can be addressed is by encouraging workplaces to become more responsive to family needs and to promote sharing of household responsibilities between both genders something that Scandinavian countries have emphasised. With rising global competition, Indian firms have chosen to follow the American model with demands for extended work hours as well as attendance on Saturdays and Sundays. This creates a time bind for both men and women where something must give. An interesting repercussion of this work dynamic is reflected in a recent study titled Millennial Careers 2020 Vision, by ManpowerGroup, conducted across 25 countries and encompassing 19,000 working millennials and 1,500 hiring managers. The study found that young workers in India worked 52 hours per week as against, say, 42 hours by their counterparts in Canada. Work-family balance requires increased participation by men in household chores and caring for children. However, the numeric consequences of reducing obstacles to women’s full economic participation far exceed the demographic advantages of having a larger pool of young workers. It is thus high time to talk of the gender dividend rather than the demographic dividend.
1) According to the passage what are the main challenges to be addressed to increase women’s workforce participation?
- There is a need to create opportunities for women to move from agricultural to non-agricultural manual work.
- There is a need you encourage workplaces to become more responsive to family needs
- There is a need to nurture a work environment that allows more women, especially urban and educated women, to begin salaried jobs
a) Only iii
b) ii and iii
c) i and ii
d) i and iii
e) None of these
2) Which of the following given statement is mentioned in the study titled Millennial Careers 2020 Vision?
- It has been found that there is a dip in fertility rates in the Japan and Korea to barely 1.3 children per couple.
- It has been found that young workers in India worked 52 hours per week as against, 42 hours by their counterparts in Canada.
- It has been found that 25.9% of all women worked, by 2011-12 had dropped to 21.9%.
a) i and iii
b) only ii
c) ii and iii
d) only i
e) All are correct
3) Which of the following is not true in the context of the passage?
- Indian firms have chosen to follow the European model with demands for extended work hours as well as attendance on Saturdays and Sundays
- The foundation of MGNREGA work has far greater impact on women’s paid work than that of men
- The India Human Development Survey was jointly organised by researchers from the National Council of Applied Economic Research and the University of Queensland
a) Only iii
b) i and ii
c) i and iii
d) ii and iii
e) None of these
4) According to the passage which of the following given statements is not mentioned in the report by International Labour Organisation?
- India and Pakistan have the lowest rates of women’s labour force participation in Asia
- Countries like Nepal, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia that have the highest women’s labour force participation
- Among MGNREGA workers in 2011-12, an immense 45% were not in wage labour before the scheme was initiated.
a) i and ii
b) ii and iii
c) all except i
d) only iii
e) None of these
5) Which of the following has been mentioned as an explanation of declined women’s workforce in India since1990s?
a) With rise in incomes women have the opportunity to run out of harsh labour in farms construction sites.
b) Decreased farm sizes
c) Rising mechanisation
d) Diminishing labour demands in agriculture
e) All of these
6) Which of the following is true in the context of the passage?
- The India Human Development Survey finds that the provision of work under NSS has brought more rural women into wage labour
- As per the data of International Labour Organisation, since the 1990s of the185 nations 114 countries have recorded an increase in the proportion of women in the workforce
- According to the research by Alaka Basu and Sonalde Desai it had found the reasons for fertility decline in the West which is incited by the desire for self-fulfillment among both men and women
a) i and ii
b) only iii
c) ii and iii
d) i and iii
e) All are true
7) Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the word “augmenting” printed in bold as used in the passage.
a) Abridge
b) Truncate
c) Summarize
d) Exacerbate
e) Abbreviate
8) Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the word “emanated” printed in bold as used in the passage.
a) Retention
b) Tenacity
c) Clinched
d) Occupancy
e) Radiate
9) Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word “cascading” printed in bold as used in the passage
a) Disgorge
b) Splashed
c) Descend
d) Plunge
e) Heave
10) Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word “conundrum” printed in bold as used in the passage
a) Enigma
b) Dilemma
c) Acknowledged
d) Stumper
e) Poser
Direction (11-15): In each of the following questions on phrase has been given and it has been followed by four sentences. You have to find out on which sentences phrase has been used properly according to its meaning and mark your answer from the options denoted a),b),c),d)Mark e) as your answer of you find that the phrase has been applied properly in all sentences.
11) Put through
i. He could not work out why he could not put through a call.
ii. The company put the new employee through work immediately.
iii. I had to work two jobs to put my child through college.
iv.Several questions were put through me, and I couldn’t answer any of them
a) iii and iv
b) i and ii
c) ii and iv
d) i and iii
e) All are correct
12) Come into
i. Kristi came into all of that money when her grandmother died.
ii. After some rearrangement, our plans came into good shape.
iii. Once the storm comes into, be ready to contend with much stronger winds.
iv. I gave that patient to Sally when she came into last night.
a) i and iv
b) iii and iv
c) i and ii
d) ii and iii
e) All are correct
13) Run past
i. I was leading in the race, but then someone ran past me.
ii. He ran many ideas past us, but we disliked them all.
iii. He ran the car past the grass and washed it.
iv.A flock of wild turkeys ran past the barn.
a) i and ii
b) ii and iv
c) iii and iv
d) all except iii
e) All are correct
14) Come down with
i. I feel like I’m coming down with a cold.
ii. Our goalie came down with the flu and missed the game.
iii. I didn’t go to work because I came down with the pox
iv.Susan came down with a bad fever and had to cancel her trip.
a) iii and iv
b) i and ii
c) ii and iv
d) all except i
e) All are correct
15) Think ahead
i. You must learn to think ahead if you want to get ahead.
ii. I thought ahead and brought a snack in case I got hungry.
iii. The new year is a natural time to think ahead and make plans for the future.
iv.I thought ahead all the fine things we used to do.
a) i and iv
b) ii and iii
c) ii and iv
d) all except iv
e) All are correct
Direction (16-20): In each of the following sentences there is one blank space. Below each sentence there are four words denoted by a), b), c) d) and e). Find ONE word that to be fitted in both the sentences I and II and another word that to fit in sentence III and to make it meaning fully complete.
16)
i. They are trying to ask us to do or promise something which, as a matter of fact, they know it would be both impossible and ______ to promise.
ii. They were advised that it would be _______ to become over-reliant on foreign markets.
iii. He was awoken by a sharp ______ pain in her chest.
a) Inexpedient, twinges
b) Imprudent, stabbing
c) Circumspect, pricking
d) Heedless, ache
e) Temerarious, incision
17) i. Despite a quiet, modest manner, and his politically moderate stance, he was a witty, often_________ speaker.
ii. He then launched a_________ attack on previous leaders.
iii. The explosive failed to _______ instead only giving off large quantities of smoke.
a) Scathing, detonate
b) Trenchant, blasted
c) Amiable, fulminate
d) Scorching, bursting
e) Withering, triggered
18) i. A lot of oil has _______ out of the car onto the driveway.
ii. Rolling clouds of poisonous gases had ________ into their lungs and killed them where they stood
iii. Opponents are unlikely to be able to ______ enough votes to override the veto.
a) Exude, assemblage
b) Percolated, aggregation
c) Seeped, muster
d) Transude, gathering
e) Oozed, summon
19)i. However, for some reason local authorities now want to ______ that responsibility.
ii. She spurns the doctrine that it is woman’s position to _______ and to immolate herself.
iii. Most of the old road has been _________ by the great interstate highways.
a) Abstained, overthrew
b) Refrain, repudiated
c) Forswear, supplant
d) Relinquished, discard
e) Abnegate, superseded
20)
- I am too pitched to compose a ledgable argument, though not too ______ to drive.
- It is early, therefore I am currently ______ as I write this urban dictionary entry.
- The TV series continues its haphazard ______ around the globe – this week in Portugal.
a) Launch, peregrinate
b) Pitched, meander
c) Flipped, twisted
d) Heave, ramble
e) Propelled, recoiling
Direction (1-10)
1) Answer: d)
It is mentioned in para 2-First, in view of shrinking farm work, we need to create opportunities for women to move from agricultural to non-agricultural manual work. Second, we must foster a work environment that allows more women, especially urban and educated women, to take up salaried jobs.
2) Answer: b)
It is mentioned in para 3-The study found that young workers in India worked 52 hours per week as against, say, 42 hours by their counterparts in Canada.
3) Answer: c)
It is clearly mentioned in para 1, 2&3- With rising global competition, Indian firms have chosen to follow the American model with demands for extended work hours as well as attendance on Saturdays and Sundays, The India Human Development Survey, jointly organised by researchers from the National Council of Applied Economic Research and the University of Maryland, Moreover, the provision of MGNREGA work has far greater impact on women’s paid work than that of men.
4) Answer: d)
It is clearly mentioned in para 1-According to a recent report by the International Labour Organisation, India and Pakistan have the lowest rates of women’s labour force participation in Asia, in sharp contrast to Nepal, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia that have the highest, with richer nations like Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
5) Answer: e)
It is clearly mentioned in para 1-A heartening explanation could be that with rising incomes, women have the opportunity to escape harsh labour in farms and on construction sites, and focus on their families. But a more pessimistic and possibly realistic explanation might be that with declining farm sizes, rising mechanisation, and consequently dwindling labour demands in agriculture, women are being forced out of the workforce
6) Answer: c)
It is clearly mentioned in para 1&2-Of the 185 nations that are part of the ILO database, since the 1990s, 114 countries have recorded an increase in the proportion of women in the workforce, and only 41 recorded declines, with India leading the pack, The India Human Development Survey, jointly organised by researchers from the National Council of Applied Economic Research and the University of Maryland, finds that the provision of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has brought more rural women into wage labour, Research by Alaka Basu, a sociologist at Cornell University, and Sonalde Desai highlights the contrast between the reasons for fertility decline in the West, where it was fuelled by the desire for self-fulfillment among both men and women
7) Answer: d)
The meaning of word augmenting is to make something greater by adding to it
8) Answer: e)
The meaning of word emanated is to discharge, spread out or originate from; be produced by.
9) Answer: b)
The meaning of word cascading is to pour downwards rapidly and in large quantities or pass something on to a succession
10) Answer: c)
The meaning of word conundrum is a confusing and difficult problem or question.
Direction (11-15)
11) Answer: d)
The meaning of “put through” is to cause someone or something to complete a process or to connect some telephone call and the phrase has been applied properly in i and iii sentences.
12) Answer: c)
The meaning of “come into” is to inherit or otherwise acquire something or to attain some state or condition and the phrase has been applied properly in i and ii sentences.
13) Answer: d)
The meaning of “run past” is to overtake someone or something by running, to run near or alongside someone or to demonstrate something and the phrase has been applied properly in i, ii and iv sentences.
14) Answer: e)
The meaning of “come down with” is to become or to be sick with some illness and the phrase has been applied properly in all the sentences
15) Answer: d)
The meaning of “think ahead” is to consider or think about the future; think proactively and the phrase has been applied properly in i, ii and iii sentences
Direction (16-20)
16) Answer: b)
The meaning of “imprudent” is not showing care for the consequences of an action or incautious and it is suitable for i and ii blanks and the meaning of “stabbing” is a sudden pain so it is appropriate for iii blank.
17) Answer: a)
The meaning of “scathing” is severely critical or devastating and it is suitable for i and ii blanks and the meaning of “detonate” explode or cause to explode is so it is appropriate for iii blank.
18) Answer: c)
The meaning of “seeped” is to flow or leak slowly through porous material or small holes and it is suitable for i and ii blanks and the meaning of “muster” is to collect or assemble (a number or amount)so it is appropriate for iii blank.
19) Answer: e)
The meaning of “abnegate” is to renounce or reject something desired or valuable and it is suitable for i and ii blanks and the meaning of “superseded” is to replace or remove so it is appropriate for iii blank.
20) Answer: b)
The meaning of “pitched” is to throw roughly or casually and it is suitable for i and ii blanks and the meaning of “meander” is to follow a winding course or to bend so it is appropriate for iii blank.
Daily Practice Test Schedule | Good Luck
| Topic | Daily Publishing Time |
| Daily News Papers & Editorials | 8.00 AM |
| Current Affairs Quiz | 9.00 AM |
| Quantitative Aptitude “20-20” | 11.00 AM |
| Vocabulary (Based on The Hindu) | 12.00 PM |
| General Awareness “20-20” | 1.00 PM |
| English Language “20-20” | 2.00 PM |
| Reasoning Puzzles & Seating | 4.00 PM |
| Daily Current Affairs Updates | 5.00 PM |
| Data Interpretation / Application Sums (Topic Wise) | 6.00 PM |
| Reasoning Ability “20-20” | 7.00 PM |
| English Language (New Pattern Questions) | 8.00 PM |
English New Pattern Questions
