General Knowledge Questions

Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given four alternatives.

The conclusion of World Trade Organization’s 11th biennial ministerial conference at Buenos Aires was worrisome. From an Indian standpoint, there was no loss as status quo continues in the most important issue: the right to continue the food security programme by using support prices. But the inability of the negotiators to reach even one substantive outcome suggests that WTO’s efficacy is under question. As a 164-country multilateral organisation dedicated to crafting rules of trade through consensus, WTO represents the optimal bet for developing countries such as India. Strengthening WTO is in India’s best interest.

Perhaps the biggest threat to WTO’s efficacy today is the attitude of the US. The world’s largest economy appears to have lost faith in the organisation and has begun to undermine one of its most successful segments, the dispute redressal mechanism. This is significant as the US has been directly involved in nearly half of all cases brought to WTO. Separately, large groups of countries decided to pursue negotiations on e-commerce, investment facilitation and removal of trade obstacles for medium and small scale industries. By itself this should not weaken WTO. But it comes at a time when there is growing frustration with gridlock at WTO.

India did well to defend its position on its food security programme. The envisaged reform package which will see a greater use of direct cash transfers to beneficiaries will be in sync with what developed countries do. But it’s important for India to enhance its efforts to reinvigorate WTO. In this context, India’s plan to organise a meeting of some countries early next year is a step in the right direction. WTO represents the best available platform to accommodate interests of a diverse set of nations. Therefore, India should be at the forefront of moves to fortify it.

According to the passage, which of the following statement is NOT true?

In the following passage some of the words have been left out. Read the passage carefully and select the correct answer for the given blank out of the four alternatives.

_____________ nearly eight decades, the women's movement __________ and debated the desirability and feasibility of a Uniform Civil Code, and has ended up ___________ a simple question — what is the value of uniformity? Is it for the "integrity of the nation" that uniformity in laws is required, as some judicial pronouncements ___________? If so, who exactly is the beneficiary? Which sections of people benefit from "integrity of the nation", that abstract entity which is not exactly _______ the top of your mind as your husband throws you out on the street?

and has ended up ___________ a simple question — what is the value of uniformity?

In the following question, a sentence has been given in Direct/Indirect speech. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best expresses the same sentence in Indirect/Direct speech.

My neighbour said, "I bought a new car last week."

The question below consists of a set of labelled sentences. These sentences, when properly sequenced form a coherent paragraph. Select the most logical order of sentences from among the options.

P: If we spend the twenty-four hours that we have in a day in an efficient way we can be successful in completing the tasks and achieving our goals for the day.
Q: If we wish to succeed in achieving our short term and long term goals we need to manage our time effectively.
R: If we waste our time on vain activities we either get stressed out doing the tasks we need to do or fail to do what needs to be done.
S: We all have the same number of hours at our disposal each day.

Who discovered electricity and invented the lightning rod and bifocals?

The sentences given with blanks are to be filled with an appropriate word(s). Four alternatives are suggested for each question. For each question, choose the correct alternative and click the button corresponding to it.

He ran so fast __________ .

Four words are given, out of which only one word is spelt correctly. Choose the correctly spelt word and click the button corresponding to it.

Which of the following caused radioactive pollution along the coast of Kerala?