Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Over the years, there have been many cases of news breaking about plastic toys and their containment of toxins. In addition to the harmful ingredients that can be found in plastic, we also have to take into account the effect on the environment that plastic usage has.

The internet is flooding with ways to reduce plastic usage and people are more aware of the need to cut down on this. Still, it’s difficult to change behaviors and somehow parents easily end up with a great number of plastic toys at home. This happens partly because you receive gifts from friends and family, and to some extent because kids prefer bright-colored plastic toys more than bland, wooden ones.

Not all toys contain toxins, but they can be found in some cases. Toys that have toxins in them are hazardous to children mainly because of their tendency to swallow and chew on the toys, which can result in the toxins being absorbed by the body. When it comes to young children, even the smallest amounts of toxins can affect their health.

The toxins can either be found in the plastic itself or they can be included in the pigments used to color toys and make them more attractive to children.

Although there are EU regulations for which toxins may or may not be included in toys, there are products that can slip through the cracks. Plastic toys may, for example, be made of, or contain, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which contains lead and cadmium — both toxins that are harmful to children.

The CE mark is supposed to be a sign of quality. The toys have gone through and followed the rigorous EU standards for toys. The EU notes, though, that this marking should only be seen as an indication, as it has been misused due to counterfeiting.

As goes for all plastic, plastic toys are made using fossil fuels, and therefore the production of them contributes to the environmental crisis at hand. Therefore, it would be a good idea to minimize the buying of new plastic toys.

Environmentalists have raised awareness around the fact that plastic toys are a big part of the plastic that ends up in landfills and oceans, which adds to the ongoing issue of plastic pollution. According to a survey done by the British Heart Foundation, 1 in 3 parents admits to having thrown away toys in working conditions. Considering that 90 percent of toys are in some way made of plastic, that quickly adds up to a lot of plastic waste.

In conclusion, yes plastic toys are damaging to the environment. Even though they have a longer life cycle than single-use plastic, they will at some point end up in a landfill — or worse in the sea as non-recyclable waste. But how can we stop this issue?

Buy sustainable and non-plastic toys if you do want to buy new toys, try to aim for toys made from more sustainable materials. There are plenty of retailers that focus on environmentally-friendly toys. For example, smaller e-commerce sites like Frida & Fritiof focus on providing non-toxic and eco-labeled toys. If you do want to buy plastic toys, try to minimize the environmental impact by buying them second-hand. There are plenty of charity shops where you can buy toys, but if that is not for you, you can use a site like eBay or any other online marketplace to find second-hand toys. Be aware, though, when buying second-hand toys that security standards might have been updated since they were produced, so double-check that they are up to today’s standards.

Choose the correct option and state the synonym of the word crisis.

Directions: In the following passage, there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. Against every five words are suggested one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.

The world of finance can be __(A)_, but understanding key concepts and strategies can help investors make __(B)_ decisions. One important concept is the time value of money, which refers to the fact that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar in the future. This is because money can be invested and earn _(C)__ over time, meaning that a dollar today has the potential to grow into more than a dollar in the future. Risk tolerance is another important consideration when it comes to investing. The level of risk an investor is willing to take on should be carefully __(D)_ against the potential for return. Generally, the higher the risk of an investment, the higher the potential return, but also the higher the potential for loss.

When investing in the stock market, investors have several strategies to choose from. Value investing involves looking for stocks that are trading at a lower price than their intrinsic value, while growth investing involves looking for companies that are expected to grow at a faster rate than the overall market. Regardless of the strategy chosen, it's important to __(E)_ a portfolio across different asset classes to reduce overall risk and maximize potential gains.

Which of the following words most appropriately fits the blank labelled (C)?

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow

Plato is the earliest important educational thinker, and education is an essential element in ‘The Republic’ (his most important work on philosophy and political theory, written around 360 B.C.). In it, he advocates some rather extreme methods: removing children from their mothers' care and raising them as wards of the state, and differentiating children suitable to the various castes, the highest receiving the most education, so that they could act as guardians of the city and care for the less able. He believed that education should be holistic, including facts, skills, physical discipline, music and art. Plato believed that talent and intelligence is not distributed genetically and thus is be found in children born to all classes, although his proposed system of selective public education for an educated minority of the population does not really follow a democratic model.

Aristotle considered human nature, habit and reason to be equally important forces to be cultivated in education, the ultimate aim of which should be to produce good and virtuous citizens. He proposed that teachers lead their students systematically, and that repetition be used as a key tool to develop good habits, unlike Socrates' emphasis on questioning his listeners to bring out their own ideas. He emphasized the balancing of the theoretical and practical aspects of subjects taught, among which he explicitly mentions reading, writing, mathematics, music, physical education, literature, history, and a wide range of sciences, as well as play, which he also considered important.

Which of these statements is NOT true?

Directions : You have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

Long ago men spent most of their time looking for food. They ate anything they could find. Some lived mostly on plants. They ate the fruit, stems, and leaves of some plants and the roots of others. When food was scarce, they ate the bark of trees. If they were lucky, they would find a bird’s nest with eggs. People who lived near the water ate fish or anything that washed ashore, even rotten whales. Some people also ate insects and small animals like lizards that were easy to kill.

Later, men learned to make weapons. With weapons, they could kill larger animals for meat. These early people had big appetites. If they killed an animal, they would drink the blood, eat the meat, and chew the bones. When they finished the meal, there was nothing left.

At first men wandered from place to place to find their food. But when they began to grow plants, they stayed in one place and ate what they could grow. They tamed animals, trained them to work, and killed them for meat. Life was a little better then, but there was still not much variety in their meals. Day after day people ate the same food.

Gradually men began to travel greater distances. The explorers who sailed unknown seas found new lands. And in these lands they found new food and spices and took them back home.

The Portuguese who sailed around the stormy Cape of Good Hope to reach China took back “Chinese apples”, the fruit we call oranges today. Later, Portuguese colonists carried orange seeds to Brazil. From Brazil oranges were brought to California, the first place to grow oranges in the United States. Peaches and melons also came from China. So did a new drink, tea.

Where did oranges come from?

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct/most appropriate options.

AU Small Finance Bank Limited is an Indian Small Finance Bank, based in Jaipur, India. It was founded as vehicle finance company AU Financiers (India) Ltd. in 1996 and converted to a small finance bank on April 19, 2017.

AU Small Finance Bank serves low and middle-income individuals and micro and small businesses that have limited or no access to formal banking and finance channels. The Bank offers loans, deposits, and payment products and services. AU Small Finance Bank ranked 355 in the list of Fortune India 500 (2019) companies, with annual revenue of 3410.87 crore (US$427 million) and Total B/S Assets of 31198.68 crore (US$ 3.9 billion).

AU Bank enjoys a long-term credit rating of "AA-/Stable" from CRISIL Ratings, ICRA Ratings, India Ratings and CARE Ratings.

The company was founded by Sanjay Agarwal (Managing Director and CEO of AU Small Finance Bank) as a private limited company, and publicly listed in an IPO on June 29, 2017. A merit holder Chartered Accountant and a first-generation entrepreneur, he holds ~ 28.5% stake in the bank. He is supported by a team of 23486 employees.

AU Small Finance Bank is listed on NSE and BSE with a market capitalisation of ~ 37942 crore. On its first day of trading, the stock rose 51% to be the most expensive bank in India based on price-to-book. In November 2017, the Reserve Bank of India added the bank to its schedule of commercial banks, further improving the bank's growth prospects by reducing the cost of short-term funds and improving the bank's ability to provide services.

Over the years, the Bank has attracted marquee investors like IFC, Warburg Pincus, Temasek Holdings, Nomura, Kotak Mahindra MF, etc. Private equity companies that provided venture capital, including Warburg Pincus and International Finance Corporation, made partial exits for as much as nine times their original investment.

Due to its history as a vehicle finance company, as of March 2018 almost all the loans made by AU Small Finance Bank were secured, unlike most small finance banks that have unsecured loans due to their background in microfinance. This provides lower yields (lower interest rates) than unsecured loans, so the bank has been particularly active in growing its deposits, as bank deposits have a lower cost than other sources of funds. It has also sought to diversify into savings products like deposits, payment/transaction banking, distribution of third-party products, and additional loan products thereby positioning itself as a holistic financial products and services provider.

As on June 30, 2021, AU Small Finance Bank's distribution network............... 758 Banking Touchpoints and 23486 employees spread contiguously across 15 states and two Union Territories with over 2 million customers.

The bank has operations in 15 States and two Union Territories, with Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh being key states. It is one of the largest banks by a number of locations in its home state of Rajasthan.

What will fit in the blank taken from the passage: on June 30, 2021, AU Small Finance Bank's distribution network_______758 Banking Touchpoints and 23486 employees spread contiguously across 15 States and two Union Territories with over 2 million customers. "

Comprehension: Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

Since September, at least 25 people have died and thousands have been made homeless. Every state and territory in Australia has experienced fires this summer. But the biggest fires burn along stretches of the eastern and southern coast, where most of the population lives. This includes areas around Sydney and Adelaide. More than 6.3 million hectares (63,000 sq km or 15.6 million acres) have been burned so far – one hectare is roughly the size of a sports field. To put that in perspective, around 800,000 hectares were engulfed in a bush fire in 2018 in California. Australia has always experienced bushfires – it has a "fire season". But this year they are a lot worse than normal.

Fires are usually caused by lightning strikes or accidentally by a spark – but some fires are also started deliberately. This year, a natural weather phenomenon known as the ‘Indian Ocean Dipole’ has meant a hot, dry spell across the country. This year, Australia twice set a new temperature record: an average maximum of 41.9°C was recorded on 18 December. That comes on top of a long period of drought.

Scientists have long warned that this hotter, drier climate will contribute to fires becoming more frequent and more intense. The more extreme weather patterns and higher temperatures increase the risk of bushfires and allow them to spread faster and wider. Fire fighters are spraying water and fire retardant from planes and helicopters as well as from the ground. But fighting bush fires is extremely difficult and often authorities have to focus on just stopping the spread, rather than putting the fire out. The spread can for instance be best contained by digging earth boundaries to stop the flames from spreading. The priority is saving lives.

Professional fire fighters are the first in line to battle the flames, but they are outnumbered by the thousands of volunteers. Three of them have died. There's also help coming from abroad: the US, Canada and New Zealand have sent fire fighters to help. Australia's police, military and navy are involved in rescue and evacuation efforts. While people can flee the fires and are being evacuated if need be, the flames are devastating wildlife in the affected areas. One study estimated that half a billion animals have died in New South Wales alone.

Zookeepers take animals home to save them from fire, but the fires don't only kill animals directly, they also destroy the habitat, leaving the survivors vulnerable even when the fires have gone. So the true scale of loss isn't yet clear. Experts say more than 100,000 cows and sheep may also have been lost, which is devastating for farmers.

Each state runs its own emergency operation, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised better funding for fire-fighting and payouts for volunteer fire fighters, and an additional A$2billion ($1.4billion; £1billion) for the recovery. But the national government has come under strong criticism from its opponents that it has not been doing enough against climate change. The country is one of the world's biggest per capita greenhouse gas emitters but under international agreements it has committed itself to reduction targets

“Some fires are also started deliberately”. ‘Deliberately’ here means:

Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

The Celts who lived in Britain before the Roman invasion of 43 AD could be said to have created the first towns. Celts in southern England lived in hill forts, which were quite large settlements. (Some probably had thousands of inhabitants). They were places of trade, where people bought and sold goods and also places where craftsmen worked. The Romans called them oppida.

However, the Romans created the first settlements that were undoubtedly towns. Roman towns were usually laid out in a grid pattern. In the centre was the forum or market place. It was lined with public buildings. Life in Roman towns was highly civilized with public baths and temples.

From the 5th century Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded England. At first, the invaders avoided living in towns. However, as trade grew some towns grew up. London revived by the 7th century (although the Saxon town was, at first, outside the walls of the old Roman town). Southampton was founded at the end of the 7th century. Hereford was founded in the 8th century. Furthermore, Ipswich grew up in the 8th century and York revived. However, towns were rare in Saxon England until the late 9th century. At that time, Alfred the Great created a network of fortified settlements across his kingdom called ‘burhs’. In the event of a Danish attack, men could gather in the local burh. However, burhs were more than forts. They were also market towns. Some burhs were started from scratch but many were created out of the ruins of old Roman towns. Places like Winchester rose, phoenix-like, from the ashes of history.

The thing that would strike us most about medieval towns would be their small size. Winchester, the capital of England, probably had about 8,000 people. At that time a 'large' town, like Lincoln or Dublin had about 4,000 or 5,000 inhabitants and a 'medium sized' town, like Colchester had about 2,500 people. Many towns were much smaller. However, during the 12th and 13th centuries most towns grew much larger. Furthermore, many new towns were created across Britain. Trade and commerce were increasing and there was a need for new towns. Some were created from existing villages but some were created from scratch. In those days you could create a town simply by starting a market. There were few shops so if you wished to buy or sell anything you had to go to a market. Once one was up and running, craftsmen and merchants would come to live in the area and a town would grow.

“Some were created from scratch.” The towns which started from scratch were created by first:

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.

It is well accorded that COVID-19 extracts a huge toll on the mental health of patients and leaves behind a slew of neurological sequelae in its wake. However, what is alarming is the wide gamut of mental and neurological disorders seen even in those with milder symptoms. Such patients frequently reported being anxious, depressed and having difficulty in sleeping. A higher incidence of frank psychosis manifesting as disorganization of thought processes and personality disorders was also reported. Many survivors of COVID19 had to battle substance abuse in its immediate aftermath. There was a steep increase in the amount of alcohol consumed by regular drinkers. Persons who had stopped smoking and consuming alcohol resumed their habit in disconcerting numbers.

The occurrence of neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinsonism is concerning as this would bring longterm disability in the form of impaired mobility and memory decline. It has been hypothesized that the causative mechanism for many of the neurological conditions due to COVID-19 may be the direct invasion of the nervous system by the virus, an increased tendency to blood clotting or an exaggerated immune response by the body. Various other factors like pre-existing psychiatric illness, prolonged quarantine, perceived lack of organizational support, and social stigma are risk factors. Anxiety, Nervousness, and Posttraumatic stress disorder are often fuelled by fear of infecting other family members, physical distancing, loneliness, and ________ at home in cramped quarters.

The pandemic has radically transformed the way businesses function and services delivered. Remote working disrupts a healthy-work life balance. Face to face contact and human interactions which were considered so essential for emotional well-being has taken a backseat. Lack of comforting physical contact like shaking hands and hugging friends is stressful and disconcerting. Online classes and home-schooling have placed a gargantuan burden both on students and parents. Lack of access to reliable computer hardware and spotty internet connections, particularly in rural areas and in the economically backward have created a new class divide. Children have been deprived of co-curricular activities, participation in group events and sports which is essential for their holistic development. Mental stress and fatigue have increased manyfold due to the rigours imposed by virtual learning.

Choose the statement that is true according to the passage.