Reading Comprehension

English Reading Comprehension with Detailed Explanation – IBPS, SSC Exam (Day-4)

English Reading Comprehension with Detailed Explanation – IBPS, SSC Exams (Day-4):

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Direction (1-10): Read the passage below and answer the following questions.

There are few areas of work or leisure which will not be affected profoundly by the widespread availability of low-cost, easy-to-use information. If this seems in any way surprising, it may be because society in general has not yet fully cottoned on to the concept of information as a resource which is often as valuable as money or manpower. In the same way, it took a very long time for society to come to grips with previous waves of industrial change based on revolutionary new concepts such as the steam engine, electricity and the jet engine.

In this case, the problem has been that, until recently, much information  was simply too difficult to obtain, sift, convey, display, and analyse;  so a range of techniques had to be developed to make do without it. These tend to be called instinct, or experience, or gut feeling, or flair. But considering what most people are already capable of, despite the dearth of information and a limited memory, man’s intellectual horizons will be expanded enormously through the colossal capabilities of electronics technology to process and deliver information at very high speeds and very low costs.

For education, inter alia, the eventual ability to access essentially any database of information on any subject will lead to a radical change in teaching methods, with almost all emphasis being on interpretation of the easily available facts and the creative use thereof, rather than the old-fashioned memorizing of data. In healthcare, diagnostics  skills are already being honed through the use of computerized information banks, and this process will accelerate significantly as the information revolution gathers pace. IT products will add a new dimension to the use of leisure time, just as personal computers are already doing in many homes. Even straightforward entertainment will be enhanced by the availability of a wide choice of speciality, high-fidelity radio and video programmes delivered primarily by some form of ‘cable’.

Communications will be revolutionized by low-cost IT products. Although, the printed word–in the form of books, newspapers and magazines–will retain a vital (and highly convenient) role in education, entertainment and the provision of general information, the display screen will become pervasive. This will encourage banking, working and shopping from home (with major implications for the High Street, urban traffic patterns and local authority finances), and the ultimate universal ownership of videophones may adversely affect the growth of business travel.

In manufacturing, the production processes and the quality of the end-products will be improved through the extended use of electronics-based techniques of measurement and control. Most important, however, will be exponential increase in industrial automation generally and small, special-purpose robots in particular, for carrying out precise, repetitive and/or dangerous tasks. The office will become increasingly important as the focus shifts to information, control and decision-making.

And so on, as far as the imagination can stretch. In the advanced nations, information technology is to the home, office and factory what the internal combustion engine is to mass transport.; it is transforming practically everything, from societal patters to the world economy. Those who wish to prosper from IT should better understand and master it.

  1. Which of the following can be validated from the passage?
  1. Society resists revolutionary new products.
  2. People do not acquire information because they can make do with instincts or gut feeling.
  3. The dearth of information has severely affected man’s capabilities.
  4. People have developed methods to arrive at decisions without complete information on a situation.
  5. None of these
  1. According to the passage, the low-cost IT products once available:
  1. will help people have more leisure time.
  2. will result in more unemployment.
  3. will help people to carry out business from their homes.
  4. will result in books and newspapers becoming obsolete.
  5. None of these

3.According to the passage, people have not yet understood:

  1. that the concept of information is more valuable than the concepts of money and manpower.
  2. the value of information as a resource.
  3. the concept of information.
  4. that information will replace money and manpower as a resource.
  5. None of these
  1. What is the meaning of the expression ‘to come to grips with’ as used in the passage?
  1. To start doing something with a lot of energy
  2. To be severely criticized
  3. To defend something that one strongly believes.
  4. To make an effort to understand and deal with something.
  5. None of these
  1. Which of the following fields has not been mentioned in the passage as being influenced by low-cost, easily available information?
  1. Banking
  2. Tourism
  3. Healthcare
  4. Education
  5. None of these
  1. According to the last paragraph, which of the following effects of information revolution would be most dangerous to managers?
  1. Advancement of combustion engine
  2. Increased ability to handle a lot of information
  3. Shifting the focus to information, control and decision-making
  4. Radical change in training methods
  5. None of these
  1. What can be the synonym of the word ‘dearth’ as used in the context of the passage?
  1. Low
  2. Scarcity
  3. Handful
  4. Surfeit
  5. Abundance
  1. What can be the synonym of the word ‘pervasive’ as used in the context of the passage?
  1. Collective
  2. Narrow
  3. Widespread
  4. Rare
  5. Restricted

 

  1. What can be the antonym of the word ‘exponential ‘ as used in the context of the passage?
  1. Mounting
  2. Rampant
  3. Augmented
  4. Logarithmic
  5. Slump
  1. What can be the antonym of the word ‘flair’ as used in the context of the passage?
  1. Dullness
  2. Knack
  3. Panache
  4. Genius
  5. Ability

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This post was last modified on June 12, 2021 7:21 pm