2012 CSAT, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2012 · CSAT

Question 13: Reading Comprehension

Passage – 3 · as printed by UPSC
Passage beginning “Today’s developing economies use much less…”Passage beginning “Today’s developing economies use much less…”

Which of the following inferences can be made from the passage ?

  1. 1.Rainfed crops should not be cultivated in irrigated areas.
  2. 2.Farming under water-deficient areas should not be a part of development strategy.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

a1 only
b2 only
cBoth 1 and 2
dNeither 1 nor 2

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (d).

Both inferences are blanket prescriptions that the passage never gives. It uses irrigated cotton in water-stressed Central Asia, which nearly erased the Aral Sea, as one example of growth that overexploits natural resources and raises vulnerability. The lesson is about overexploitation, not a rule against rainfed crops in irrigated areas or against any farming in water-short regions. Remember: be wary of inferences that turn a caution into a ban.

  • 1. The passage does not discuss rainfed crops in irrigated areas.
  • 2. The Aral example warns against overexploitation; it does not exclude farming in water-deficient areas from development.

How you could have got this

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

    What you needed to know: The passage does not discuss rainfed crops in irrigated areas.

  2. Then, if you were sure statement 2 is not correct, (b) goes: it includes 2.

    What you needed to know: The Aral example warns against overexploitation; it does not exclude farming in water-deficient areas from development.

Only (d) is left. This one needs every statement.

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) Wrong. Statement 1 is not drawn from the passage, which says nothing about rainfed crops.
  • (b) Wrong. Statement 2 turns a caution about overexploitation into a ban on farming in dry areas.
  • (c) Wrong. Neither inference is supported.
  • (d) Right. Neither inference follows from the passage.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

Practise this paper timedPrevious questionNext question

Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2012, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.