UPSC Civil Services Prelims 2011 - General Studies Paper II (CSAT) — question paper

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UPSC Civil Services Prelims 2011 - General Studies Paper II (CSAT)

Paper #3263 · 2011 · General Studies Paper II (CSAT) · 80 reviewed questions · Showing 1–40 of 80

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2011 General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A: 80 questions with 80 final-key answer dispositions and concise KSLC explanations. Reading-comprehension answers are based on the accompanying passages. Original questions and applicable copyright belong to UPSC and the respective rights holders. KSLC explanations are independent educational commentary; KSLC is not affiliated with or endorsed by UPSC. Official source: https://www.upsc.gov.in/examinations/previous-question-papers/archives 8 item(s) accept alternative answers; all accepted choices are explained, but these items are excluded from single-answer automatic scoring.

Reading passage

Read the passage and answer the following questions on the basis of the passage. For achieving inclusive growth there is a critical need to rethink the role of the State. The early debate among economists about the size of the Government can be misleading. The need of the hour is to have an enabling Government. India is too large and complex a nation for the State to be able to deliver all that is needed. Asking the Government to produce all the essential goods, create all the necessary jobs, and keep a curb on the prices of all goods is to lead to a large cumbersome bureaucracy and widespread corruption. The aim must be to stay with the objective of inclusive growth that was laid down by the founding fathers of the nation and also to take a more modern view of what the State can realistically deliver. This is what leads to the idea of an enabling State, that is, a Government that does not try to directly deliver to the citizens everything that they need. Instead, it (1) creates an enabling ethos for the market so that individual enterprise can flourish and citizens can, for the most part, provide for the needs of one another, and (2) steps in to help those who do not manage to do well for themselves, for there will always be individuals, no matter what the system, who need support and help. Hence we need a Government that, when it comes to the market, sets effective, incentive-compatible rules and remains on the sidelines with minimal interference, and, at the same time, plays an important role in directly helping the poor by ensuring that they get basic education and health services and receive adequate nutrition and food.

According to the passage: 1. Inclusive growth was an objective laid down by the founding fathers. 2. The need is for an enabling Government. 3. Government should interfere maximally in markets. 4. Government’s size needs to change. Which statements are correct?
1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 4 only
4. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Reading passage

According to the passage, inclusive growth can be effected by focusing on
1. Meeting every need of every citizen.
2. Increasing manufacturing-sector regulations.
3. Controlling distribution of manufactured goods.
4. Delivering basic services to deprived sections of society.
Reading passage

What constitutes an enabling Government? 1. Large bureaucracy. 2. Welfare programmes implemented through representatives. 3. An ethos helping individual enterprise. 4. Resources for underprivileged people. 5. Direct help with basic services for the poor.
1. 1, 2 and 3 only
2. 4 and 5 only
3. 3, 4 and 5 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Reading passage

Why is the State unable to deliver all that is needed? 1. Insufficient bureaucracy. 2. Failure to promote inclusive growth.
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Reading passage

What is the author’s essential message?
1. Remember the founding fathers’ inclusive-growth objectives.
2. Provide more schools and health services.
3. Establish markets and industries for poorer sections.
4. Rethink the State’s role in achieving inclusive growth.
Reading passage

Read the passage and answer the following questions on the basis of the passage. The concept of ‘creative society’ refers to a phase of development of a society in which a large number of potential contradictions become articulate and active. This is most evident when oppressed social groups get politically mobilised and demand their rights. The upsurge of the peasants and tribals, the movements for regional autonomy and self-determination, the environmental movements, and the women’s movements in the developing countries are signs of emergence of creative society in contemporary times. The forms of social movements and their intensity may vary from country to country and place to place within a country. But the very presence of movements for social transformation in various spheres of a society indicates the emergence of a creative society in a country.

What does the author mean by a creative society? 1. Diverse art and literature receive incentives. 2. Social inequalities are accepted as normal. 3. Many contradictions are recognized. 4. Oppressed groups become conscious of human rights and upliftment.
1. 1, 2 and 3
2. 4 only
3. 3 and 4
4. 2 and 4
Reading passage

What are manifestations of social movements? 1. Aggressiveness and incendiary behaviour. 2. Instigation by external forces. 3. Quest for equality and individual freedom. 4. Granting privileges and self-respect to deprived sections.
1. 1 and 3 only
2. 2 and 4 only
3. 3 and 4 only
4. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Reading passage

Consider: 1. A variety of social movements is essential to a creative society. 2. Potential contradictions and conflicts are imperative to a creative society. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Only students can participate in the race. Some race participants are girls. All girl participants are invited for coaching. Which conclusion follows?
1. All race participants are invited for coaching.
2. All students are invited for coaching.
3. All race participants are students.
4. None of the statements (a), (b) and (c) is correct.
Of these statements identify two that cannot both be true but can both be false: 1. All animals are carnivorous. 2. Some animals are not carnivorous. 3. Animals are not carnivorous. 4. Some animals are carnivorous.
1. 1 and 3
2. 1 and 2
3. 2 and 3
4. 3 and 4
Identify two that cannot both be true but can both be false: 1. All trains run by diesel engine. 2. Some trains run by diesel engine. 3. No train runs by diesel engine. 4. Some trains do not run by diesel engine.
1. 1 and 2
2. 2 and 3
3. 1 and 3
4. 1 and 4
Which age pyramid indicates a declining population?

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1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
Which population curve indicates exponential growth?

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1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
Which town has a higher number of persons with diabetes?

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1. Town A
2. Town B
3. Same in Town A and Town B
4. No inference can be drawn
What can be said about persons with more than one disease?

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1. They are likely in Town A.
2. They are likely in Town B.
3. They are likely in both towns.
4. No inference can be drawn.
The velocity–time graph shows two trains starting simultaneously on parallel tracks. Which statement is not correct?

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1. Train B’s initial acceleration exceeds Train A’s.
2. Train B is faster than Train A at all times.
3. Both have the same velocity at t₀.
4. Both travel the same distance in t₀ time units.
Reading passage

Read the passage and answer the following questions on the basis of the passage. Ecosystems provide people with a variety of goods and services: food, clean water, clean air, flood control, soil stabilization, pollination, climate regulation, spiritual fulfilment and aesthetic enjoyment, to name just a few. Most of these benefits either are irreplaceable or the technology necessary to replace them is prohibitively expensive. For example, potable fresh water can be provided by desalinating sea-water but only at great cost. The rapidly expanding human population has greatly modified the Earth’s ecosystems to meet their increased requirements of some of the goods and services, particularly food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel. These modifications have contributed substantially to human well-being and economic development. The benefits have not been equally distributed. Some people have actually been harmed by these changes. Moreover, short-term increases in some ecosystem goods and services have come at the cost of the long-term degradation of others. For example, efforts to increase the production of food and fibre have decreased the ability of some ecosystems to provide clean water, regulate flooding and support biodiversity.

According to the passage, population expansion adversely affects: 1. Spiritual fulfilment 2. Aesthetic enjoyment 3. Potable fresh water 4. Food and fibre production 5. Biodiversity. Which are correct?
1. 1, 2 and 3 only
2. 2, 4 and 5 only
3. 3 and 5 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Reading passage

What is implied by “some people have actually been harmed by these changes”? 1. Rapid population expansion adversely affected some people. 2. Insufficient efforts were made to increase food and fibre. 3. Everyone will benefit in the long run despite short-term harm.
1. 1 only
2. 2
3. 1 and 3
4. None of these statements
Reading passage

Consider: 1. Modifying Earth’s ecosystems is imperative for human well-being. 2. Technology can never replace all ecosystem goods and services. Which is/are correct according to the passage?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Reading passage

Read the passage and answer the following questions on the basis of the passage. A moral act must be our own act; must spring from our own will. If we act mechanically, there is no moral content in our act. Such action would be moral, if we think it proper to act like a machine and do so. For, in doing so, we use our discrimination. We should bear in mind the distinction between acting mechanically and acting intentionally. It may be moral of a king to pardon a culprit. But the messenger carrying out the order of pardon plays only a mechanical part in the king’s moral act. But if the messenger were to carry out the king’s order considering it to be his duty, his action would be a moral one. How can a man understand morality who does not use his own intelligence and power of thought, but lets himself be swept along like a log of wood by a current? Sometimes a man defies convention and acts on his own with a view to absolute good.

Which best describes the writer’s thought? 1. A moral act calls for discretion. 2. One should react immediately. 3. One must do one’s duty. 4. One should be able to defy convention to be moral.
1. 1 only
2. 1 and 3
3. 2 and 3
4. 1 and 4
Reading passage

What is the nearest definition of moral action according to the writer?
1. Mechanical action based on superiors’ official orders.
2. Action based on one’s sense of discretion.
3. Clever action based on clarity of purpose.
4. Religious action based on understanding.
Reading passage

What is nearest in meaning to being “swept along like a log of wood by a current”? 1. Not using one’s own reason. 2. Susceptibility to influence/pressure. 3. Inability to withstand difficulties/challenges. 4. Being like a log of wood.
1. 1 only
2. 1 and 2
3. 2 and 3
4. 1 and 4
The time–distance graph shows A, B and C in a 30 km race. Consider: 1. A won. 2. B was ahead of A up to 25 km. 3. C ran very slowly from the beginning. Which is/are correct?

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1. 1 only
2. 1 and 2 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3
The two number grids follow the same scaling pattern:
Position — Grid I — Grid II
1. Top left — 2 — 3
2. Top right — 6 — ?
3. Bottom left — 80 — 120
4. Bottom right — 24 — 36
What is the missing number?
1. 7
2. 8
3. 9
4. 10
A person moves from A to B only rightwards or downwards along the lines. How many different routes are possible?

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1. 4
2. 5
3. 6
4. 7
How many triangles are there in the shown grid?

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1. 27
2. 26
3. 23
4. 22
Reading passage

Read the passage and answer the following questions on the basis of the passage. A country under foreign domination seeks escape from the present in dreams of a vanished age, and finds consolation in visions of past greatness. That is a foolish and dangerous pastime in which many of us indulge. An equally questionable practice for us in India is to imagine that we are still spiritually great though we have come down in the world in other respects. Spiritual or any other greatness cannot be founded on lack of freedom and opportunity, or on starvation and misery. Many western writers have encouraged that notion that Indians are other-worldly. I suppose the poor and unfortunate in every country become to some extent other-worldly. Unless they become revolutionaries, for this world is evidently not meant for them. So also subject peoples. As a man grows to maturity he is not entirely engrossed in, or satisfied with, the external objective world. He seeks also some inner meaning, some psychological and physical satisfactions. So also with peoples and civilizations as they mature and grow adult. Every civilization and every people exhibit these parallel streams of an external life and an internal life. Where they meet or keep close to each other, there is an equilibrium and stability. When they diverge, conflict arises and the crises that torture the mind and spirit.

The phrase “this world is evidently not meant for them” refers to people who: 1. Seek freedom from foreign domination. 2. Live in starvation and misery. 3. Become revolutionaries.
1. 1 and 2
2. 2 only
3. 2 and 3
4. 3 only
Reading passage

Which assumptions are valid? 1. A country under foreign domination cannot pursue spirituality. 2. Poverty impedes spiritual pursuit. 3. Subject peoples may become other-worldly.
1. 1 and 2
2. 2 only
3. 2 and 3
4. 3 only
Reading passage

What is the passage’s thematic focus?
1. Oppressed people’s state of mind.
2. Starvation and misery.
3. Growth of civilization.
4. People’s body, mind and spirit in general.
Reading passage

According to the passage, torture of mind and spirit is caused by
1. foreign domination’s impact.
2. desire to escape foreign rule and find consolation in past greatness.
3. lack of equilibrium between external and internal life.
4. inability to be revolutionary or other-worldly.
Reading passage

Read the information and answer the following questions. During a party a person was exposed to contaminated water. A few days later he developed fever and loose motions. He suffered for some days before going to a doctor for treatment. On starting treatment he soon became better and recovered completely a few days later. The graph shows the different phases of his condition as regions A, B, C, D and E.

Which curve region corresponds to the infection’s incubation phase?

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1. A only
2. B only
3. B and C
4. No part indicates incubation
Reading passage

Which region marks the beginning of infection symptoms?

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1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
Reading passage

Which region indicates effective relief from treatment?

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1. C
2. D
3. E
4. The curve does not indicate treatment
Four routes connect city A to B and six connect B to C. How many routes are possible from A to C?
1. 24
2. 12
3. 10
4. 8
A construction-delay contract charges ₹200 for day one, ₹250 for day two, ₹300 for day three, and ₹50 more each successive day. What is the total penalty for 10 days?
1. ₹4950
2. ₹4250
3. ₹3600
4. ₹650
OP₁ and OP₂ are perpendicular plane mirrors. S is the direction of light incident on OP₁. After reflection from OP₂, the beam’s direction will be

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1. Perpendicular to S.
2. At 45° to S.
3. Opposite and parallel to S.
4. At 60° to S.
What minimum number of colours can paint the figure so that no adjacent regions have the same colour?

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1. 3
2. 4
3. 5
4. 6
A square is divided into four rectangles with natural-number side lengths. Two opposite rectangle areas are 15 and 48 as shown. What is the square’s side length?

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1. 10
2. 11
3. 15
4. Cannot be determined from the data
A person has fifty ₹1 and ₹2 coins totalling ₹75. How many ₹1 and ₹2 coins does she have, respectively?
1. 15 and 35
2. 35 and 15
3. 30 and 20
4. 25 and 25
Three people walk together with step lengths 40 cm, 42 cm and 45 cm. What minimum distance can each cover in complete steps?
1. 25 m 20 cm
2. 50 m 40 cm
3. 75 m 60 cm
4. 100 m 80 cm

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