Important Questions BASED on NEW Pattern (Day-24): English(Reading Comprehension):

Important Questions BASED on NEW Pattern (Day-24): English(Reading Comprehension):

Dear Readers, IBPS Examinations was approaching shortly and many of our followers were requesting us to provide Practice Questions based on the new pattern, for that here WE have started providing Practice Questions Based on New pattern from Aptitude, Reasoning and English each one topic daily. Kindly follow us regularly and make use of it, if you have any suggestion kindly use the comment section below.

[WpProQuiz 594]

Direction (Q 1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions. Certain words/ phrases are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

“The best of all monopoly profits is a quiet life,” wrote Sir John Hicks, a British economist. Without competitors breathing down their necks, monopolists find it easy to make large profits: just ask the 46m American households served by only one fast-broadband provider, who pay high prices for poor service. As a result, trustbusting is one of those rare causes that can unite raging populists with sober academics. So the wonks may well have agreed with the sentiment, if not the fine detail, when Senate Democrats unveiled a fresh pledge on July 24th to make America competitive again as part of their economic agenda. “This economy is rigged,” insisted Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. It is not quite that bad. But more than three-quarters of industries are more concentrated than they were two decades ago, and the economy is also seeing less turnover of firms. It is easy enough for consumers to see the consequences when monopolists entrench themselves in one industry. A recent study found that American consumers would gain $65bn a year if they paid the same as Germans do for mobile-phone contracts. But when competition ebbs across the economy as a whole, what broader costs does that impose? New research by Germán Gutiérrez and Thomas Philippon of New York University (NYU) gives an answer. Growing market power, they argue, has contributed to a dearth of business investment that started in the 2000s and worsened after the financial crisis of 2007-08.

The promise of monopolies can encourage investment. The lure of temporary exclusivity makes it worthwhile for the pharmaceutical industry to research new drugs, which can sell for next to nothing once patents expire. Silicon Valley investors burn huge piles of cash in pursuit of “network effects” and a user base that might allow them to dominate markets later. Yet, once a firm wins a power struggle, it can, like a medieval king, sit back and get fat on the proceeds. Messrs Gutiérrez and Philippon benchmark investment against “Tobin’s Q”, the ratio of a firm’s market value to its book value. A high Q signals that an industry is earning a lot from its assets, which, all else being equal, suggests it should invest more. The authors show that America’s investment has fallen most substantially, relative to Q, in concentrated industries. In these sectors, investment has also fallen more than in Europe. To explore the issue further, the authors draw a distinction between “laggards” and “leaders”, defined as firms comprising the top third and bottom third, respectively, of an industry’s market value. Laggards, they reason, are more likely to wither in the face of competition, so their investment might be expected to fall. Leaders, though, should be up for a fight if rivals challenge them; their investment should rise. They find it is leaders, not laggards, who are responsible for the bulk of the investment slowdown, suggesting a lack of competition.

Q1. Why the Senate Democrats unveiled a fresh pledge on July 24^th to make America competitive again?

1. Because Americans are getting poor service at high rate due to monopoly in many sectors.
2. Because Senate Democrats wants to make America globally competitive.
3. Because in America there is lack of competition in many sectors.

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. 1 &  3
4. 1 & 2
5. All of the above

Q2. According to passage what is true?

1. There is only one fast-broadband provider in America.
2. Condition of competition in market is not that bad.
3. There is 100% Monopoly in American market.

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Only  3
4. 1 & 2
5. All of the above

Q3. When the business investment started reducing?

1. It has started in 2000.
2. It has started in time of financial crisis.
3. Still there is good business investment in America.

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Only  3
4. 1 & 2
5. All of the above

Q4. Why the investment can be increased in some sectors in America?

1. Because according to author monopolies can encourage investment.
2. Because any monopoly firm can earns huge profit later so investment opportunities are good.
3. Because monopolistic competition can increase profit later.

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Only  3
4. 1 & 2
5. All of the above

Q5.  What is true about “laggards” and “leaders” according to the passage?

1. Laggards firm’s investment might be expected to fall.
2. Leaders firm’s investment might be expected to increase.
3. “laggards” and “leaders” defined as firm comprising the top third and bottom third respectively of an industry’s market value.

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Only  3
4. 1 & 2
5. All of the above

Q6. What can be the suitable title fo the passage?

1. ‘Leaders’ and ‘laggards’ in American market.
2. Monopoly in telecom sector of America.
3. Lack of investment in American firms.
4. Monopoly in American market.
5. None of the above

Direction (Q 7-8)Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in passage.

Q7. Entrench

1. Encroach
2. Approach
3. Increase
4. Decrease
5. None of the above

Q8. Dearth

1. Insufficiency
2. Death
3. Sufficiency
4. Part
5. None of the above

Direction (9-10):Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in passage

Q9. Lure

1. Attract
2. Seduce
3. Deter
4. Line
5. None of the above

Q10. Sober

1. Agitated
2. Shower
3. Good
4. Shiny
5. None of the above

[WpProQuiz 594]