DPM 29

A to E

A. Words along with their meaning, Pronunciation and usage

Vacuous /ˈvakjʊəs/

[Adjective] 1) having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless.

2) (Archaic) empty.

Usage 1) – The hostess just had a vacuous smile on her face.

Origin – mid-17th century (in the sense ‘empty of matter’): from Latin vacuus ‘empty’ + -ous.

Vainglorious /veɪnˈɡlɔːrɪəs/

[Adjective] excessively proud of oneself or one’s achievements; overly vain.

Usage – That country is infatuated with its vainglorious past.

Origin - Middle English: suggested by Old French vaine gloire, Latin vana gloria.

Vapid /ˈvapɪd/

[Adjective] offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging; bland.

Usage – The film industry has been churning out costly and vapid movies.

Origin – mid-17th century (used originally in description of drinks as ‘lacking in flavour’): from
Latin vapidus.

Venal /ˈviːn(ə)l/

[Adjective] showing or motivated by susceptibility to bribery; corrupt.

Usage – Local politicians are notoriously venal.

Origin – mid-17th century (in the sense ‘available for purchase’, referring to merchandise or a
favour): from Latin venalis, from venum ‘thing for sale’.

Veracity /vəˈrasɪti/

[Noun] 1) conformity to facts; accuracy.

2) habitual truthfulness.

Usage 1) – The judges were concerned with the veracity of the statements presented.

Usage 2) – They should elect their leader for his/her veracity and sincerity.

Origin – early-17th century: from French véracité or medieval Latin veracitas, from verax
‘speaking truly’.

Verdant /ˈvəːd(ə)nt/

[Adjective] 1) (of a countryside) green with grass or other rich vegetation.

2) of the bright green colour of lush grass.

Usage 1) – The village was situated in a verdant valley.

Usage 2) – Her eyes were a deep, verdant green.

Origin – late-16th century: perhaps from Old French verdeant, present participle of verdoier ‘be
green’, based on Latin viridis ‘green’.

Velvet glove

[Idiom, full form: iron fist in a velvet glove] a person who appears gentle, but is determined and
inflexible underneath.

Usage – His jokes hit the audience like a velvet glove.

Voice in the wilderness

[Phrase] Someone who expresses an opinion that no one believes or listens to (especially if
proved right later).

Usage – A leader without committed followers is an unheard voice in the wilderness.

Via dolorosa

[Latin] sorrowful way. Any course of action attended by painful consequences.

Usage - It seemed like good idea at the time but it became my via dolorosa.

Valhalla

[Norse, Noun] where heroes slain in battle are received. A place of honour, glory or happiness;
heaven.

Usage - Certain renowned critics have in the last two decades stepped up their output, as if
unsure of their place in literary Valhalla.
B. RC Passage (with Link)

Article 1: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/in-us-trade-action-an-indian-counter-
strategy/article30854131.ece

Summary - This article argues in favour of continuing with reasonable levels of tariff protection for
safeguarding Indian interests. India finds itself at a disadvantage as it has been excluded from
the list of developing countries that are eligible for receiving higher levels of subsidies from
developed countries under the WTO regime. With problems in the implementation of a direct
benefit transfer (DBT) subsidy, India needs the policy space to provide price support to its crisis-
ridden agriculture sector. The country is therefore well advised to resort to tariff protection to
secure the interests of domestic players in key sectors of the economy, according to the author.

Article 2: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/powering-the-health-care-engine-with-
innovation/article30854153.ece

Summary-This article argues that the country-wide launch of the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan
Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), or the national health protection scheme, has provided the
initial momentum, and that there is potential for private care providers, innovators and start-ups
to be partners in the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The article identifies the challenges associated
with mainstreaming of health-care innovations in India, and suggests solutions that could address
these problems. The authors foresee that as the scale of the scheme grows, it would become
important to expand the secondary and tertiary hospitals empanelled under PM-JAY and ensure
their quality and capacity while keeping the costs down.

Article 3: We need highly formal rituals in order to make life more democratic.

https://aeon.co/ideas/we-need-highly-formal-rituals-in-order-to-make-life-more-democratic

Summary-I hold an unpopular view. I believe, firmly and invariably, that life in the 21st century is
too informal and empty of ritual, and that we should encourage and erect more needless
formality. Formality, ritual and ceremony – not casual approachability – are among the most
effective ways of making the world and its institutions more inclusive and egalitarian. We all
need much more formality in our lives.

Article 4: Will Low Oil Prices Help or Hurt the Fight Against Climate Change? That
Depends on Us.

https://time.com/5824809/negative-oil-price-climate-change/
Summary-Oil prices are notoriously hard to predict, but at this point two things seem
likely: First, oil prices will continue to trade at historically low prices so long as the world
economy moves slowly as a result of the pandemic. Global oil demand in April was down
by about a third from the year prior, a gap that’s difficult to fill. Second, in the longer
term, oil prices will almost certainly rebound as the economy bounces back. But, when
they do, the industry may look very different than it does today.

Article 5: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200518162639.htm

Summary - Despite knowing when life first appeared on Earth, scientists still do not understand
how life occurred, which has important implications for the likelihood of finding life elsewhere in
the universe. A new paper shows how an analysis using a statistical technique called Bayesian
inference could shed light on how complex extra-terrestrial life might evolve in alien worlds.
C. RC Passage (with Questions)

Predatory pricing is one of the oldest big business conspiracy theories popularized in the late
19th century by journalists such as Ida Tarbell. The predatory pricing argument is very simple .
The predatory firm first lowers its price until it is below the average cost of its competitors. The
competitors must then lower their prices below average cost, thereby losing money on each unit
sold. If they fail to cut their prices, they will lose virtually all of their market share; if they do cut
their prices, they will eventually go bankrupt. After the competition has been forced out of the
market, the predatory firm raises its price, compensating itself for the money it lost while it was
engaged in predatory pricing, and earns monopoly profits forever after.

The theory of predatory pricing has always seemed to have a grain of truth to it - at least to non-
economists -.but research over the past 35 years has shown that predatory pricing as a
strategy for monopolizing and industry is irrational, that there has never been a single clear cut
example of a monopoly created by so-called predatory pricing and that claims of predatory
pricing are typically made by competitors who are either unwilling or unable to cut their own
prices. Thus, restrictions on price cutting ,in the name of combating “predation “, are inevitably
protectionist and anti-consumer, as Harold Dem sets noted.

Predatory pricing is the Rodney Dangerfield of economic theory - it gets virtually no respect from
economists. But it is still a popular legal and political theory for several reasons. First ,huge
sums of money are involved in predatory pricing litigation, which guarantees that the antitrust
bar will always be fond of the theory of predatory pricing. During the 1970s ,AT&T estimated
that it spent over $100 million a year defending itself against claims of predatory pricing. It has
been estimated that the average cost to a major corporation of litigating predation case is $30
million.

Second, because it seems plausible at first, the idea of predatory pricing lends itself to political
demagoguery, especially when combined with xenophobia. The specter of a foreign conspiracy
To take over American industries one by one is extremely popular in folk myth. Protectionist
members of Congress frequently invoke that myth in attempts to protect businesses in their
districts from foreign competition.

Third, ideological anti-business pressure groups, such as Citizen Action, a self-styled consumer
group, also employ the predatory pricing tale in their efforts to discredit capitalism and promote
greater governmental control of industry. Citizen Action perennially attacks the oil industry for
either raising or cutting prices. When oil and gas prices go up, Citizen Action holds a press
conference to denounce alleged price gouging. When prices go down, it can be relied on to
issue a’ study“ claiming that the price reductions are part of a grand conspiracy to rid the market
of all competitors. And then prices remain constant, price-fixing conspiracies are frequently
alleged.

Q1) The central idea of the passage is that

(A) predatory pricing, which offers monopoly to the predator, can be successful in a few
cases.
(B) implementation of predatory pricing usually leaves the competitors bankrupt.
(C) governments should do their best to prevent predatory pricing in the interest of the
economy.
(D) predatory pricing is a theoretical possibility, rather than a feasible strategy.

Q2) The author believes the specter of American companies being taken over to be

(A) a tall tale too far-fetched to be true.

(B) a threat that proves protectionists’ fears.
(C) an economic strategy competitors should be cautious about.
(D) a danger that looms bigger and bigger.
Q3) The author mentions Citizen Action( in the last para ) to show that

(A) ideological anti-business pressure groups serve the society by protecting the interests
of consumers.
(B) such organizations are inclined to criticize whatever action businesses undertake.
(C) pressure groups acting against businesses criticize the business actions whenever a
business undertakes price gouging.
(D) predatory pricing is the business activity that these organizations criticize most.

Q4) According to the passage ,the theory of predatory pricing is popular for all the reasons
EXCEPT

(A) the large amounts spent on the related litigation serves the interests of some parties
involved.
(B) politicians resort to the conspiracy theory of predatory pricing to protect the industries.
(C) it has a grain of truth that cannot be controverted both by economists and by non-
economists.
(D) certain pressure groups use the predatory pricing issue to argue for governmental
control on businesses.
D. Quantitative Aptitude

Directions for questions 1 and 2: These questions are based on the following data.

Rohan entered the "Good World Supermarket" to buy pens, pencils and erasers for his younger
brothers and sisters. He bought at least 11 pieces of each of the items and more pens than
pencils and more pencils than erasers. He bought a total of 38 pieces.

1. How many erasers did Rohan buy?

(A) 11 (B) 10 (C) 12 (D) Cannot say

2. If the number of pencils cannot be divided equally among his four brothers, how many pens
did he buy?

(A) 12 (B) 11 (C) 15 (D) 14

Q.3. Praveen, Ramu and Shashi entered into partnership with capitals of Rs62,000, Rs93,000
and Rs1,24,000 respectively. Praveen manages the business for a certain number of months
while Ramu manages the business for the rest of the year. The persons who manage the
business get a total commission equal to 10% of the profits. If the total income of Praveen at the
end of the year is 2,900 and the total profit is 12,000, for how many months did Praveen
manage the business?

Q.4. Two cars start from the same point at the same time towards the same destination which is
420 km away. The first car and the second car travel at respective speeds of 60 kmph and 90
kmph. After travelling for some time, the speeds of the two cars get interchanged. Finally, the
second car reaches the destination one hour earlier than the first. Find the time after which the
speeds get interchanged. (in hours)

Q.5. There are 20 students in Mr. Talwar's class. Once he conducted a test for a maximum of
100 marks. He then arranged the marks of all the students in the ascending order. He found that
Rohit, who normally topped the class, had slipped to the tenth position. He found that the
average of the last 11 students was 64 and that of the top 10 was 67. If the average marks of all
the students of his class was 65, how many marks did Rohit score?

(A) 64 (B) 67 (C) 74 (D) Cannot be determined

Q.6. Mr. Tairakmal is an internationally renowned swimmer. He purchased a plot in the shape of
a right triangle in which the longest side was 100 m and one of the other sides was 80 m. What
is the maximum area of a circular swimming pool that he can construct on his plot?

(A) 400 π sq.m. (B) 600 π sq.m. (C) 625 π sq.m. (D) 675 π sq.m.

|𝑥|
Q.7. If f (x) = x2 + 3x + 6, g (x) = 𝑥
, h (x) = 1 – 2x5 and i (x) = x2 – 4. then find the value of

f(g(h(i(1.5)))).

(A) 4 (B) 10 (C) 16.5 (D) None of these

Q.8 sin2(𝜃 – 45) ° + sin2(𝜃 + 15) ° – sin2(𝜃 – 15) ° = -----------

(A) ¼ (B) ½ (C) 1 (D) 0

Q.9. Three persons A, B and C are to address a gathering along with 7 other persons. If the
order in which the speakers address the gathering is selected at random, what is the probability
that A delivers the speech before B, who in turn delivers his speech before C?

(A) 5/6 (B) 1/6 (С) 1/8 (D) 2/5

Q.10. Find the last two digits of the series

71 + 72 + 73 + 74 +……+711+ 712

(A) 21 (В) 35 (C) 43 (D) None of these

E. DILR – 1 Set

Directions for questions 1 to 4: These questions are based on the information given below.

Seven members - A through G - are the members of a family and are related to each other.
Each one of these belongs to a different profession among – Engineer, Doctor, Teacher, Tennis
player, Musician, Journalist and Accountant, not necessarily in the same order. There are three
couples in the family, one in the first generation and two in the second generation. It is known
that,

(i) the Journalist is married to G whose father is the Engineer.

(ii) the Tennis player is the nephew of C.

(iii) F, the teacher, is B's paternal grandmother.

(iv) A and B are of same gender.

(v) D, the brother-in-law of the Doctor, is married to the Accountant.

1.What is the profession of D?

(A) Accountant (B) Engineer (C) Journalist (D) Musician

2. How is C related to D?

(A) Sister-in-law (B) Wife (C) Mother (D) Sister

3. How is the Tennis player related to the Accountant?

(A) Niece (B) Son (C) Nephew (D) Cousin

4. Who among the following is a married couple?

(A) Journalist and Doctor

(B) Accountant and Teacher

(C) Musician and Teacher

(D) Journalist and Engineer