2005 General Studies, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2005 · General Studies

Question 148: History and Culture

Consider the following statements:

  1. 1.The Man Booker Prize is awarded to citizens of any of the countries of the British Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.
  2. 2.A leading London-based software company underwrites the Man Booker Prize presently.
  3. 3.The winner of the Man Booker Prize in the year 2004 is a South Asian.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a1 only
b1 and 3
c2 and 3
d1, 2 and 3

AnswerThe answer is (a).

Statement 1 was right then: the Man Booker Prize went to citizens of Commonwealth countries and Ireland (and Zimbabwe). Statement 2 is wrong: the sponsor was the Man Group, a financial firm, not a software company. Statement 3 is wrong: the 2004 winner was the English writer Alan Hollinghurst (The Line of Beauty), not a South Asian.

  • 1. The prize was open to Commonwealth, Irish and Zimbabwean citizens.
  • 2. The sponsor was the Man Group, a financial firm, not a software company.
  • 3. The 2004 winner, Alan Hollinghurst, is English.

How you could have got this

  1. If you were sure statement 3 is not correct, (b), (c) and (d) go: each of them includes 3.

    What you needed to know: The 2004 winner, Alan Hollinghurst, is English.

Only (a) is left. You didn’t need statements 1 or 2.

This follows an unofficial answer: UPSC has not published its key for this year, and if that answer is wrong, so is this path.

Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Given answer: only statement 1.
  • (b) Statement 3 is false: Hollinghurst, a British writer, won in 2004.
  • (c) Statements 2 and 3 are both false.
  • (d) Statements 2 and 3 are both false.

Worth knowing: Since 2014 the prize has been open to any novel in English published in the UK, and it was renamed the Booker Prize in 2019, so statement 1 is no longer correct today.

Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2005, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.