aptitudetests4me.com
Aptitude Tests 4 Me

Download Free EBooks for Various Types of Aptitude Tests


1. Passage Reading 2. Verbal Logic 3. Non Verbal Logic 4. Numerical Logic 5. Data Interpretation 6. Reasoning 7. Analytical Ability 8. Quantitative Aptitude

Passage Reading and English Comprehension

The promise of finding long-term technological solutions to the problem of world food shortages seems difficult to fulfill. Many innovations that were once heavily supported and publicized, such as fish-protein concentrate and protein from algae grown on petroleum substrates, have since fallen by the wayside. The proposals themselves were technically feasible, but they proved to be economically unviable and to yield food products culturally unacceptable to their consumers. Recent innovations such as opaque-2 maize, Antarctic krill, and the wheat-rye hybrid triticale seem more promising, but it is too early to predict their ultimate fate.

One characteristic common to unsuccessful food innovations has been that, even with extensive government support, they often have not been technologically adapted or culturally acceptable to the people for whom they had been developed. A successful new technology, therefore, must fit the entire sociocultural system in which it is to find a place. Security of crop yield, practicality of storage, palatability, and costs are much more significant than had previously been realized by the advocates of new technologies. For example, the better protein quality in tortillas made from opaque-2 maize will be of only limited benefit to a family on the margin of subsistence if the new maize is not culturally acceptable or is more vulnerable to insects.

The adoption of new food technologies depends on more than these technical and cultural considerations; economic factors and governmental policies also strongly influence the ultimate success of any innovation. Economists in the Anglo-American tradition have taken the lead in investigating the economics of technological innovation. Although they exaggerate in claiming that profitability is the key factor guiding technical change—they completely disregard the substantial effects of culture—they are correct in stressing the importance of profits. Most technological innovations in agriculture can be fully used only by large landowners and are only adopted if these profit-oriented business people believe that the innovation will increase their incomes. Thus, innovations that carry high rewards for big agribusiness groups will be adopted even if they harm segments of the population and reduce the availability of food in a country. Further, should a new technology promise to alter substantially the profits and losses associated with any production system, those with economic power will strive to maintain and improve their own positions. Since large segments of the populations of many developing countries are close to the subsistence margin and essentially powerless, they tend to be the losers in this system unless they are aided by a government policy that takes into account the needs of all sectors of the economy. Therefore, although technical advances in food production and processing will perhaps be needed to ensure food availability, meeting food needs will depend much more on equalizing economic power among the various segments of the populations within the developing countries themselves.

47. Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph?

(a) A suggestion is made and arguments in its favor are provided.
(b) A criticism is levied and an alternative proposal is suggested.
(c) A generalization is advanced and supporting evidence is provided.
(d) An example is analyzed and general conclusions are derived from it.

48. It can be inferred from the passage that the author was unable to assess the truth of which of the following statements about opaque-2 maize?

(a) It is a more recent innovation than the use of fish-protein concentrate.
(b) It can be stored as easily as other varieties of maize.
(c) It is more susceptible to insects than are other varieties of maize.
(d) It is more popular than the wheat-rye hybrid triticale.

49. The passage mentions all of the following as factors important to the success of a new food crop EXCEPT the

(a) practicality of storage of the crop
(b) security of the crop yield
(c) quality of the crop’s protein
(d) cultural acceptability of the crop

50. According to the passage, the use of Antarctic krill as a food is an innovation whose future is

(a) basically gloomy but still uncertain
(b) somewhat promising but very tentative
(c) generally bright and virtually assured
(d) tied to the success of opaque-2 maize

51. The author suggests that, in most developing countries, extensive government intervention accompanying the introduction of a food innovation will

(a) usually be sufficient to guarantee the financial success of the innovation
(b) be necessary to ensure that the benefits of the innovation will be spread throughout the society
(c) provide the incentive necessary to convince landowners to try the innovation
(d) generally cost the country more than will be earned by the innovation

52. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements concerning the solution to food shortages in developing countries?

(a) The introduction of technological innovations to reap profits might alleviate food shortages to some degree, but any permanent solution can come only from effective governmental intervention in the socioeconomic system.
(b) Innovations in agricultural technology will be of little help, and perhaps even harmful, in combating food shortages, no matter how well designed they are to suit local circumstances.
(c) Long-lasting solutions will not be found until large landowners adopt improvements that will make production more efficient and thus more profitable.
(d) In order to achieve a meaningful solution to the problem of food shortages, the tastes of the general population must be educated to accept the new food products of modern agricultural technology.

53. The first paragraph of the passage best supports which of the following statements?

(a) Too much publicity can harm the chances for the success of a new food innovation.
(b) Innovations that produce culturally acceptable crops will generally be successful.
(c) A food-product innovation can be technically feasible and still not be economically viable.
(d) It is difficult to decide whether a food-product innovation has actually been a success.

54. The author provides a sustained argument to support which of the following assertions?

(a) Profitability is neither necessary nor sufficient for a new technology to be adopted
(b) Profitability is the key factor guiding technological change.
(c) Economic factors and governmental policies strongly influence the ultimate success of any innovation.
(d) Opaque-2 maize is of limited benefit to poor families in developing countries.

55. The primary purpose of the passage is to discuss the

(a) means of assessing the extent of the world food shortage
(b) difficulties of applying technological solutions to the problem of food shortages
(c) costs of introducing a new food technology into a developing country
(d) Anglo-American bias of those trying to alleviate world food problems

TOTAL

Detailed Solution




1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120
121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140
141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160
161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180
181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200
201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220
221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240
241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260
261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280
281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300
301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320
321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340
341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360
361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380
381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400
401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420
421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440
441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460
461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480
481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 433 494 495 496 497 498 499 500

bulletPassage Reading bulletVerbal Logic bulletNon Verbal Logic bulletNumerical Logic bulletData Interpretation bulletReasoning bulletAnalytical Ability bulletBasic Numeracy bulletAbout Us bulletContact bulletPrivacy Policy bulletMajor Tests bulletFAQ