Ques 1-10. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some questions.
It’s not just the gadget market that is flooded with imports. With advanced technology and improved preservation, fresh produce is being increasingly imported during off season. The result is that our fruit basket is increasingly acquiring a foreign presence.
Apples dominate the fruit imports, followed by pears, oranges, lychees, peaches and dragon fruits. Apples mainly come from China, followed by Australia and America and Italy. Oranges come from Egypt, lychee, peaches, and dragon fruits from Thailand and strawberries from Sri Lanka. The import of fruits has nothing to do with taste or customer preference. They are mostly imported during off-season to give customers the opportunity to consume any fruit even during off-season. These fruits are packed well and have a long shelf life. Thus, they are imported during our off-season. The season for Indian apples is between July and February, after which imports are available in the markets. Similar is the case with other fruits which are imported during off-season. Like customers, shop-owners too are not complaining.
Unlike Indian fruits which are transported in open trucks causing substantial damage by the time it gets to the shop, the imports are packed and stored well. They generally come in multi layered cardboard boxes. The fruits are individually covered with thermocol or some other material which curbs the damage. Materials like wax is applied over the fruits, but traders say that they are checked at accredited laboratories before releasing them to the Indian markets. The imported fruits also have a longer shelf life.
Traders say that if there were better facilities in India, the domestic fruit will be better received in the market. while at least 20 to 40 percent of the Indian fruit is damaged, the damage to imports is negligible. In fact, studies have indicated that 40% of fruits harvested in India go waste, rotting or getting damaged in transit.Customers however, seem to be indifferent to where the fruit comes from.
Q-1. Why are fruits imported in the season to which they do not normally belong to?
01. To regulate the supply of fruits in the domestic market
02. To make people consume fruits even in off-season
03. To sell the fruits at a higher price because they are much in demand
04. To strengthen relations with other countries
05. Not mentioned in the passage
Q-2. What is the reason that imported fruits do not rot easily?
01. They are frozen before sending to the market.
02. They are coated with chemicals which prevent rotting for a few days.
03. They are grown with improved technology and advance preservation techniques are used to preserve them.
04. Only 1 and 2
05. Not mentioned in the passage
Q-3. Which of the following countries is the biggest exporter of apples?
01. America
02. Australia
03. China
04. Italy
05. India
Q-4. How are Indian fruits different from imported ones, in terms of shelf life?
01. Indian fruits are easy to store because of the method by which they are grown.
02. Imported fruits do not last for a long time once they are kept in open.
03. The shelf life of any fruit is dependent on the temperature around.
04. Imported fruits are packed and stored well whereas Indian fruits are transported in trucks which reduces their shelf life.
05. They are very much the same in the given respect.
Q-5. Which of the following is TRUE in the context of the passage?
A. Import of fruits is not much related to the taste of the fruits.
B. Indian customers would demand Indian fruits if more facilities are provided to preserve and transport them.
C. To preserve foreign fruits, they are packed in multi-layered cardboard boxes.
01. Only A
02. Only B
03. Only C
04. Only A and C
05. All of the above
Q-6. What percentage of imported fruits gets damaged in transportation?
01. Less than 20 percent
02. Around 40 percent
03. Almost 50 percent
04. Negligible
05. More than 90 percent
Q-7. Choose the word most SIMILAR in meaning to the word printed in bold, as used in the passage.
Accredited
01. Big
02. Old
03. Notorious
04. Hard-working
05. Trusted
Q-8. Choose the word most SIMILAR in meaning to the word printed in bold, as used in the passage.
Releasing
01. Cornering
02. Hoarding
03. Surviving
04. Sending
05. Wasting
Q-9. Choose the word which is most nearly the OPPOSITE in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
Substantial
01. Little
02. More
03. Practical
04. Previous
05. Modification
Q-10. Choose the word which is most nearly the OPPOSITE in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
Indifferent
01. Creative
02. Concerned
03. Sympathetic
04. Objection
05. Qualitative
Answers
Q.1.(2) Q.2.(3) Q.3.(3) Q.4.(4) Q.5.(5) Q.6.(4) Q.7.(5) Q.8.(4) Q.9.(1) Q.10.(2)
