Read carefully the passages given below and answer the questions.

Although the camel caravan is recognized as the best means of transport for valuable goods over great distances, yet, for local journeys or when, owing to the perishable nature of the cargo, time is of great importance, the Turki with his drove of little donkeys is the man. He is met on every road of Turkestan, always hustling his beasts through a cloud of dust and lashing them right and left to keep them up to speed. He is a great burly fellow, dressed in loose clothes which increase his bulk, and his baggy trousers are stuffed in to high leather boots. His chapan (coat) is tied in with a thick belt, and he wears a round hat with a sheepskin border which mixes with his loose hair to form a shaggy frame to the weather-beaten face. One man, or at the most two, will drive twenty donkeys, riding behind them, shouting incessantly, and never letting them slacken to normal walking-pace.

He  mainly  conveys  melons,  early  vegetable and  fruits  —  apricots  peaches,  grapes  and pears according  to  season  —  but  makes  up  his  load  with  rolls  of  loosely  woven,  undyed  cotton.  He knows no organization of travel life, but pushes on from stage to stage with restless energy. When the donkeys must be fed he drives them in to an inn-court, tosses the panniers from their backs, carelessly throws fodder in to the manger, pulls some hard cakes of bread from his own food-bag and sits down to a meal of bread soaked in tea. He carries with himself what he will need to eat on the road. He takes a short sleep while the animals finish their grain, then he flings himself on to his beast’s back and urges the drove on for as far as he dare before feeding them again.

The donkeys are small and cheap, so he is careless of life and sacrifices them in large numbers to his  passion  for  speed  and  his reckless output of strength. He will use dangerous short-cuts over which no other class of transport-man will use venture, and in bad weather many beasts die by the roadside.  This  does  not trouble  him,  and  he  just lifts  the  load  from  the exhausted  creature and divides its weight among the others, then pushes on again, regardless of suffering, to deliver the cargo  at  market,  for  he  has  a  master  as  impatient  as  himself  waiting  at the  other  end.  He  will normally do five stages in three days and nothing may stand in his way, but when the goods are handed over and he can lodge in an inn, he enjoys twenty-four hours of sheer luxury. There is hot, greasy pilau  to  eat, women to  wait on him, and  long carefree hours of sleep to enjoy before he stars again on the hectic return journey.

The  Chinese  method of  transport is  quite  different.  Great  carts  which  cross  the  Gobi link  the commercial life  of  China  proper  with  the  raw  material  markets  of  Turkestan,  and  a carter  who leaves  Kashgar  in  February  will  swing  through  the  gates  of  his  Honan home  town  in  August without having shifted his splendidly packed cargo. In the course of this phenomenal journey he will only need to change the axle a few times in order to adjust the cart to the wider desert gauge or  the narrowing Kansu or  Honan ruts. The widest axle is required between Suchow and Hami, and the narrowest in Honan.

The  Chinese  transport  agent  makes  constant  use of the words  ta-suan, which mean to  compute, calculate, think out, arrange ahead, organize and consider carefully. It represents a characteristic so much admired by the Chinese as to be regarded by them almost as a virtue, and is an integral part  of  their  economy  of  life.  The  man  who  can  ta-suan  gets  full  value  from  time,  strength, capacity and  money, and  anyone who  has not the intelligence to  ta-suan is, in Chinese eyes, an uncivilized barbarian.  The classic example  of  ta-suan  is  the  incident  of a Chinese general who, centuries ago, was sent out with an expeditionary force to conquer the land beyond the deserts. He sat down to ta-suan, and doing so he realized that it might be all too easy to conquer the land yet lose the campaign through inability to  feed  his own troops He therefore selected bodies of men versed  in  agriculture,  and  sent them  ahead  with  supporting  forces  to  select  suitable  sites  where they  must  plough  and  sow,  then  reap  the  harvest.  If  the  grain  were carefully  stored  against the arrival of his troops, it would support them through the following year. Thanks to such good ta- suan, he carried the campaign to a successful issue.

The Chinese transport system across the Gobi has been built up on the principle of ta-suan, and in entire contrast  with  the  native  genius  of  the  reckless  Turki  driver.  The  distances  which  make a possible  stage  for  man  and beast  have  been  meticulously  calculated,  as  well  as  the equipment necessary to ensure reasonable ease on the journey. The Chinese understand the art of elimination and  how  not to  encumber  themselves  with  superfluous  impedimenta.  Before  leaving home  the Chinese carter has thought out where he can exchange his money to best advantage, what goods can be bought and sold most profitably in each place, and where money invested in an extra horse or  mule  will  bring  in  most  profit.  He  leaves  Central  China with large sleek mules for  which he himself has paid a good price, but which he sells to rich Tungans at Suchow at tremendous profit, and himself buys rough but desert-hardened beasts. For the return journey he will invest some of his depreciated paper taels in good Turkestan horses, which are very cheap in Dzungaria but fetch a big price in Central China.

By this means his round trip has brought in many advantages apart from the straightforward profit of  his  hire.  In  manipulating  each  exchange,  this seemingly  simple creature  shows  himself  to be actually a financier of no means order, and handles the complicated money market of Central Asia like on his hands, for he has always exchanged it in time for carefully selected goods, and if he has an  employer  he  will  stipulate  that  his  wages  be  paid  at the  place and  in  the coin  most to  his advantage.

Read carefully the passages given below and answer the questions.

Some 200 years ago, Charles Darwin declared that man evolved from apes. Some 2000 years before the English biologist put his thought to paper, the origin of species, as he described it, was already in place in our ancient scriptures such as the Puranas.

There is a curious parallel between the scientific concept and the Hindu theological interpretation of evolution. While the former, as evident from the works of Darwin, assumes that the civilized man evolved through gradual modification of life forms, starting with the fish - a process he called evolution by natural selection - the latter, as evident from the Dasha Avatar, or the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, also suggests that the human form descended from the sea. Further, according to Hindu theology, the Supreme Being is present in both the living and non-living on earth. And without God, the universe could never have come into existence. 

Since ancient times, the ten avatars of Vishnu have been interpreted as the various stages in evolution, ultimately culminating in the emergence of the human being. According to Hindu theologists, the process of evolution started with the sea creature, thereafter progressing through the amphibian, the reptile, the mammal, the half- man, the dwarf, finally ending up as man. People who believe in the Puranic concept of evolution would agree with Darwin.

Another area where both concur is the process of creation (kalpa) and dissolution (pralaya) of the universe, which is said to occur through time-stages, known in Hindu mythology as the yugas (ages). It is in the fourth age, the Kali-Yuga, or the Age of the Unknown, that man self- destructs, thus repeating the cycle of life. Darwin too believed in a similar order and reorder of evolution.

Vedic history is replete with fascinating tales from the Dasha Avatar where Vishnu, the preserver of the cosmos and protector of life, battles with the forces of evil. He does this by descending from his home in Vaikuntha and assuming the incarnation of man or beast to set things right in the mortal world.

The first of the ten incarnations, as told in the Dasha Avatar, is the Matsya Avatar where Vishnu assumes the form of a fish to retrieve the Vedas from an evil asura, and preserve them for the next spell of creation. As the poet Jayadeva sang- “All glories to you, O Lord of the Universe, who took the form of a fish. When the sacred hymns of the Vedas were lost in the waters of universal devastation, you swam like a boat in that vast ocean to rescue them.” Science too agrees that the fish was the first advanced life form to inhabit the earth during the later part of the Ice Age.

Thereafter follow the other nine avatars of Vishnu: Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (wild boar), Vamana (dwarf), Narasimha (half man-half beast), Parashurama (the warrior, Rama (the king), Krishna (the cowherd), Buddha (the teacher) and Kalki (the slayer). Of these, the fourth avatar, Vamana, or the dwarf-like monkey, comes closest to resembling the ape-man in Darwin’s theory of evolution. Another interesting point is that Hanuman is often considered to be the missing link between ape and man. The monkey king and his tribe were, perhaps, the last but one stage in the evolution of the civilized human being. Hanuman, as we know, is considered athletic and intelligent, one capable of great physical feats.

Equally fascinating is the tale revolving around Kalki, the still-to-come tenth avatar of Vishnu. In the Puranas, Kalki is depicted as a proud warrior, riding a white horse, with a scale in one hand and a sword in the other, who slays the forces of evil as the present, Kali-Yuga, nears its end, and thus restarting the cycle of life. According to neo-Darwinists, the selfish man of today is already in the self-destructing mode. This theory has been put forth by biologists who say that human beings are so hell-bent on competing with one another in the race for supremacy that they will one day destroy themselves. Thus, ending one cycle of evolution and restarting another from the first living organism.

Read carefully the passages given below and answer the questions.

Some 200 years ago, Charles Darwin declared that man evolved from apes. Some 2000 years before the English biologist put his thought to paper, the origin of species, as he described it, was already in place in our ancient scriptures such as the Puranas.

There is a curious parallel between the scientific concept and the Hindu theological interpretation of evolution. While the former, as evident from the works of Darwin, assumes that the civilized man evolved through gradual modification of life forms, starting with the fish - a process he called evolution by natural selection - the latter, as evident from the Dasha Avatar, or the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, also suggests that the human form descended from the sea. Further, according to Hindu theology, the Supreme Being is present in both the living and non-living on earth. And without God, the universe could never have come into existence. 

Since ancient times, the ten avatars of Vishnu have been interpreted as the various stages in evolution, ultimately culminating in the emergence of the human being. According to Hindu theologists, the process of evolution started with the sea creature, thereafter progressing through the amphibian, the reptile, the mammal, the half- man, the dwarf, finally ending up as man. People who believe in the Puranic concept of evolution would agree with Darwin.

Another area where both concur is the process of creation (kalpa) and dissolution (pralaya) of the universe, which is said to occur through time-stages, known in Hindu mythology as the yugas (ages). It is in the fourth age, the Kali-Yuga, or the Age of the Unknown, that man self- destructs, thus repeating the cycle of life. Darwin too believed in a similar order and reorder of evolution.

Vedic history is replete with fascinating tales from the Dasha Avatar where Vishnu, the preserver of the cosmos and protector of life, battles with the forces of evil. He does this by descending from his home in Vaikuntha and assuming the incarnation of man or beast to set things right in the mortal world.

The first of the ten incarnations, as told in the Dasha Avatar, is the Matsya Avatar where Vishnu assumes the form of a fish to retrieve the Vedas from an evil asura, and preserve them for the next spell of creation. As the poet Jayadeva sang- “All glories to you, O Lord of the Universe, who took the form of a fish. When the sacred hymns of the Vedas were lost in the waters of universal devastation, you swam like a boat in that vast ocean to rescue them.” Science too agrees that the fish was the first advanced life form to inhabit the earth during the later part of the Ice Age.

Thereafter follow the other nine avatars of Vishnu: Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (wild boar), Vamana (dwarf), Narasimha (half man-half beast), Parashurama (the warrior, Rama (the king), Krishna (the cowherd), Buddha (the teacher) and Kalki (the slayer). Of these, the fourth avatar, Vamana, or the dwarf-like monkey, comes closest to resembling the ape-man in Darwin’s theory of evolution. Another interesting point is that Hanuman is often considered to be the missing link between ape and man. The monkey king and his tribe were, perhaps, the last but one stage in the evolution of the civilized human being. Hanuman, as we know, is considered athletic and intelligent, one capable of great physical feats.

Equally fascinating is the tale revolving around Kalki, the still-to-come tenth avatar of Vishnu. In the Puranas, Kalki is depicted as a proud warrior, riding a white horse, with a scale in one hand and a sword in the other, who slays the forces of evil as the present, Kali-Yuga, nears its end, and thus restarting the cycle of life. According to neo-Darwinists, the selfish man of today is already in the self-destructing mode. This theory has been put forth by biologists who say that human beings are so hell-bent on competing with one another in the race for supremacy that they will one day destroy themselves. Thus, ending one cycle of evolution and restarting another from the first living organism.

Read carefully the passages given below and answer the questions.

Capital is made possible by saving. Only by forgoing present consumption can a society shift resources  to  the  production  of  capital  equipment.  It  is  generally  admitted  that  in  any agricultural society, given the low per capita income, per capita saving is – in absolute terms

–  very  low.  This  circumstance  is  badly  aggravated by  the  way  saved  resources  are  used. Temples, pyramids, mansions, jewelry, warfare, and so forth generally absorb a large quota of resources squeezed out of current income. Furthermore, pre-industrial societies are typically characterized by inadequate transport facilities. Mass transportation is generally non-existent and  communications  are costly  and  insecure.  Consequently  any  pre-industrial  society  must keep inventories in much larger proportion to current production than any industrial society does.  This  is  true  for  any  type  of  commodity,  but  particularly  so  for  basic  necessities.

‘Keeping  capital intact’ recurrently  requires  large  quotas  of  saving  to  rebuild  inventories depleted by  frequent  famines.  Such  inventories  are a  form  of  investment,  i.e. of  capital accumulation, but with  a  ‘stabilizing’ character.  Generally investment of a ‘developmental’ character is very small in any agricultural society.

It has been indicated that a society needs different amounts of capital at different stages. In order to pass from, let us say, an agriculture type of economic organization to an industrial one,  a  society  must  make  substantial  efforts  to  build  up  the  capital  necessary  for  the transition.  If  this  transition  is  gradual,  the  process  can  be  relatively  smooth.  If,  on  the contrary, the transition is forced to take place in a very short time, the process is bound to be painful. In such case, ‘ industrial’ capital must be squeezed out from an income that is still

‘agricultural’. The more abrupt the transition, the greater the hardships.

To  accomplish  the  transition,  a  given  society  must  reach  an  absolute  level  of  capital formation, the so-called ‘critical minimum level’, failing which the transition is not possible. But an agricultural society cannot industrialize by increasing beyond the ‘critical minimum’ the  total  volume  of  wooden ploughs  or  hoe-sticks  produced,  any  more  than hunters  can become farmers by increasing their output of flaked stones and arrows. Indeed, the required changes  in  capital  formation  are  of  qualitative  as  well  as  of  a  quantitative  nature.  The qualitative changes imply that the active population must acquire new skills, and that the total population must adopt new patterns of living. Here we only have to remember that the need for new skills may mean that further capital is needed for investment in education.

In  all agricultural society of our past we  find  that,  mainly because  of limitations of energy sources known and exploited, the great mass of people can hardly afford to satisfy anything but  the  more  elementary  needs,  food,  clothing,  and  housing,  and  even  these  at  rather unsatisfactory  levels.  Correspondingly,  most  of  the  available  resources  are  employed  in agriculture, textile manufacture, and building.

Of  these  three  sectors,  agriculture  is  always  by  far  the  predominant  one.  It  absorbs  the greatest quota of available capital and labour. Further, it somehow represents the pivotal point around which all other activities tend to revolve. Building makes a large use of timber. And textile manufacture uses materials – wool or linen, cotton or silk – that are also produced ‘in the fields’.

On the fringe, there is always some trade – in one form or another – heavily concentrated on agricultural  products  (grains,  wines,  spices,  timber,  etc.)  and  textiles.  In  terms  of  labour employed, trade is generally a minor sector, and merchants a minority. But trade always plays a strategically dynamic role. It allows specialization and better use of available resources. Its fluctuations are of paramount importance to the fortunes of the whole economy. All historical records seem to demonstrate that where trade flourished, demographic and economic levels were the highest attainable within the range of agricultural possibilities. Actually, almost all the great agriculture civilizations of the pre-industrial past were founded on the expansion of the mercantile sector. And it was an exaggerated expansion of this sector in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England that created the material preconditions for the emergence of the Industrial Revolution.

Directions: In each of the following sentence a part of the sentence is underlined. Beneath each sentence, four different ways of phrasing the underlined part are indicated. Choose the best alternative among the four.