Reading Comprehension Quiz

Reading Comprehension Quiz 

Directions (Q. 1-15): Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words in the passage are printed in bold to help you locate them easily while answering some of the questions.
With all the optimism for growth in India, there is a severe lack of physical infrastructure. The new wave of highway development is expected to bring rapid changes.
Growing at an estimated rate of 7%, the Indian economy is the fourth largest in the world and is exponentially expanding. The potent resources of an all-aspiring populace and an appetite for development are fuelling this growth. The paradigm shift that has taken place within a couple of decades is evinced, for instance, in the rising demand for automobiles. Moreover, this prosperity is gradually penetrating India to reach its hinterlands. Hyundai Motors India is now seeing 35% of its sales in rural markets; while Maruti Suzuki’s rural sales now constitute 26% of overall sales. In fact, even commercial vehicle sales in 2010 recorded 45% growth as per Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Yet, the big question is whether India can muster the requisite road infrastructure to support this evolution.
Roads are the life-blood of Indian commerce. It is no surprise that roads in India account for 86% of passenger and 62% freight traffic. The nation has a road network spanning over 4.42 million km in 2011, ranking it third globally. Yet, statistics from 2008 show that approximately only 49% or 2.1 million km of Indian roads are paved. Also, the density of high-quality, all-season, laned roads in India is less than 0.07 km per 1,000 persons. In comparison to USA (21 km per 1,000) and France (15 km per 1,000), India’s figures are dismal.
Further, using China as a barometer for road development in India, KPMG mentioned in a 2010 report that average road speed in India stands at 30-40 km per hour as opposed to China’s 60-80 km per hour. India’s four-lane network rose to 7,000 km, while China prepared 34,000 km of similar roads. The report also deduces that bottlenecks in India’s road network for logistics hamper its GDP growth by 1-2% or $16-32 billion. This loss is equivalent to a loss of about 10 million new jobs a year on 2010 per capita income basis. Not to mention, sub-standard roads lead to traffic congestion in cities. Not only does this lead to a higher consumption of fossil fuels, but also road safety issues. In recent years, however, this deficiency has been recognised and the Indian government is making significant efforts in bridging the nation’s logistical gaps. It is expected to invest almost US$70 billion by 2013 in a bid to upgrade highway networks.
As of October 2011, India was said to be adding an average of 11 km of highways to its networks every day. At this pace, the nation may be expected to create averagely about 600 km of new highway per month until 2014. By December 2011, several pivotal manufacturing, commercial and cultural hubs in the country were connected by more than 16,500 km of new 4-and 6-lane highways. The list of about a dozen groundbreaking highway projects such as the 95-km Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway and the 93-km Mumbai-Pune Expressway, will soon include more headliners like the 195-km Yamuna Expressway connecting Delhi and Agra as well as 135-km Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway. Under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP), the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is in the process of adding 32,754 km of 4-to 6-lane national highways in India. Several states are further supporting this development with the completion of state highway projects worth $1.7 billion in 2010 and an additional $11.4 billion worth of projects under implementation. The total length of India’s state highways is around 1.37 lakh km. Gujarat, in particular, has made formidable strides in the area of road development by keeping red tape and corruption to a minimum, as well as by enticing developers with steady electricity and simpler labour laws. Based on their success, a leading business publication has compared its infra growth with that of Guangdong in China in a 2011 report.
1. Which of the following statements is definitely false in the context of the passage?
1) The Indian economy is the fourth largest in the world.
2) Commercial vehicle sales in 2010 recorded 45% growth.
3) India can muster the requisite road infrastructure to support its evolution.
4) The nation had a road network spanning over 4.42 million km in 2011.
5) All the above are true
2. Which of the following is the life-blood of Indian Commerce?
1) Vehicles
2) Indian Railways
3) Road safety issues
4) Roads
5) None of these
3. Consider the statements given below and answer the question.
(A) India’s 4-lane network rose to 7,000 km, while China prepared 34,000 km of similar roads.
(B) According to KPMG report 2010, the average road speed in India stands at 30-40 km per hour.
(C) The KPMG report 2010 deduces that bottlenecks in India’s road network for logistics hamper its GDP growth by 3%.
Which of the above statements is/are true?
1) Only (A)
2) Only (B)
3) Both (A) and (B)
4) Both (A) and (C)
5) All the above are correct
4. India has a road network spanning over 442 million km in 2011. Its ranking in the world is
1) Second
2) Third
3) Fourth
4) Fifth
5) None of these
5. Which of the following are correctly matched in terms of the name of a project and its length as mentioned in the passage?
(A) Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway – 95 km
(B) Mumbai-Pune Expressway – 93 km
(C) Yamuna Expressway – 195 km
(D) Kundi-Manesar-Palwal Expressway – 153 km
1) Only (A), (B) and (C)
2) Only (B), (C) and (D)
3) Only (A) and (D)
4) Only (B) and (C)
5) All A, B, C and D
6. The National Highways Authority of India works under which of the following?
1) Road Development Authority of India
2) Border Roads Organisation
3) KPMG
4) National Highways Development Project
5) Ministry of Road Construction in India
7. The total length of India’s state highways is around
1) 32,754 km
2) 1.37 lakh km
3) 2.4 lakh km
4) 2.75 lakh km
5) None of these
8. The writer of the passage has emphatically mentioned the name of which of the following states for development of roads in that state?
1) Punjab
2) Bihar
3) Gujarat
4) Maharashtra
5) Andhra Pradesh
9. Roads in India account for what percentage of freight traffic?
1) 86%
2) 68%
3) 62%
4) 49%
5) 35%
10. Indian government is making significant efforts in bridging the nation’s logistical gaps. It is expected to invest almost 70 billion USD by which of the following years?
1) 2012
2) 2013
3) 2014
4) 2020
5) 2025
Directions (Q. 11-13): Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the word given in bold as used in the passage.
11. Evinced
1) Implied
2) Broadened
3) Opened
4) Evident
5) Displayed
12. Muster
1) Improve
2) Make
3) Collect
4) Gather
5) Together
13. Opposed
1) Refuted
2) Confronted
3) Obstructed
4) Countered
5) Compared
Directions (Q. 14-15): Choose the word which is most Opposite in meaning of the word given in bold as used in the passage.
14. Bottleneck
1) Blockade
2) Hindrance
3) Checks
4) Facility
5) Barricade
15. Bridging
1) Widening
2) Connecting
3) Spanning
4) Crossing
5) Linking




Answers:


  1. 3; In the last sentence of Para 2, the mustering of requisite road infrastructure has been questioned, not asserted.
  2. 4
  3. 3
  4. 2; Clearly mentioned in the third sentence of second para.
  5. 1
  6. 4
  7. 2
  8. 3; Refer to the last para.
  9. 2; Refer to the third para.
  10. 2
  11. 4
  12. 4
  13. 5
  14. 4
  15. 1

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