COMPREHENSION TEST
ing in the shop, ready to be delivered to buyers. They were       ing realization that though India has enough food to feed its
systematically broken up and destroyed – dozens of them.          masses two square meals a day, the monster of starvation and
Only when the last wheel and spindle had been trampled            food insecurity continues to haunt the poor in our country.
under foot did the infuriated crowd recover their senses.               Increasing the purchasing power of the poor through
      “That is the end of M’Sieur Thimonier and his sewing        providing productive employment leading to rising income,
machines,” they said to one another and went home satis-          and thus good standard of living is the ultimate objective of
fied. Perhaps now they would find work, for they were all         public policy. However, till then, there is a need to provide
unemployed tailors and seamstresses who believed that             assured supply of food through a restructured, more effi-
their livelihood was threatened by that new invention.            cient and decentralized public distribution system (PDS).
                                                                  Although the PDS is extensive - it is one of the largest such
                  SOME IMPORTANT WORDS                            systems in the world- it hasn’t reached the rural poor and
   (1) surge (V.) : to move quickly and with force in a           the remote places. It remains an urban phenomenon, with
       particular direction                                       the majority of the rural poor still out of its reach due to
   (2) pop out (Phr. (V.) : come out/appear suddenly              lack of economic and physical access. The poorest in the
                                                                  cities and the migrants are left out, for they generally do
   (3) trample (V.) : to step heavily on somebody/
                                                                  not possess ration cards. The allocation of PDS supplies in
       something                                                  big cities is larger than in rural areas. In view of such
   (4) infuriated (Adj.) : marked by extreme anger                deficiencies in the system, the PDS urgently needs to be
   (5) seamstress (N.) : a woman who can sew and make             streamlined. Also, considering the large foodgrain produc-
                                                                  tion combined with food subsidy on one hand and the con-
       clothes/whose job is sewing and making clothes
                                                                  tinuing slow starvation and dismal poverty of rural popula-
   (6) livelihood (N.) : a means of earning money in order        tion on the other, there is a strong case for making PDS
       to live                                                    target-group oriented. By making PDS taiget-group orient-
                                                                  ed, not only the poorest and the neediest would be reached
776. The people thought that                                      without additional cost but we can also reduce the overall
       (1) they would be deprived of their livelihood.            costs incurred.
       (2) their lives were in danger.
       (3) Thimonier was mad.                                                       SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
       (4) t he sewing machine was dangerous.                      vital (Adj.) : urgently needed ; absolutely necessary
                                                                   Starvation (N.) : the state of suffering and death caused
777. Shutters were being closed because the shopkeepers
                                                                                     by having no food
       (1) wanted to support the crowd.
                                                                   haunt (V.) : to continue to cause problems for some-
       (2) wanted to attack the crowd.                                               body for a long time
       (3) wanted to protect Thimonier.                            access (N.) : the oppurtunity/right to use something
       (4) feared their shops would be destroyed.                  migrants (N.) : a person who moves from one region/
778. The passage throws light on                                                     country to another
       (1) how dangerous an invention can be.                      deficiencies (N.) : lack of an adequate
       (2) why inventions should be avoided.                                         quantity
       (3) how a well-meant invention can be misunderstood.        streamlined (V.) : to make a system,
       (4) what mischief an inventor can do to ordinary peo-                         an organisation, etc. work better
           ple.                                                    dismal (Adj) : causing/showing sadness
779. The crowd was protesting against
       (1) Thimonier for keeping the invention a secret.          781. Which of the following is true of public distribution
                                                                        system?
       (2) the closings of workshops.
       (3) the misdoings of Thimonier.                                  (1) It has remained effective only in the cities.
       (4) the newly invented sewing machine.                           (2) It is unique in the world because of its effective-
                                                                            ness
780. The aim of the crowd was to
                                                                        (3) It has reached the remotest corner of the country.
       (1) destroy the sewing machines
                                                                        (4) It has improved its effectivenes over the years.
       (2) kill Thimonier
                                                                  782. The full form of PDS is
       (3) drive Thimonier away
                                                                        (1) Private distribution system
       (4) humiliate Thimonier
                                                                        (2) Partial distribution system
       Directions (781–785) : In the following questions,               (3) Public distribution system
you have a brief passage with 5 questions following the                 (4) Party distribution system
passage. Read the passage carefully and choose the best           783. What according to the passage, would be the ratio-
answer to each question out of the four alternatives.                   nale of making the PDS target-group oriented?
                              (SSC CGL Tier-I Exam, 09.08.2015
                                                                        (1) It will remove poverty.
                                   (IInd Sitting) TF No. 4239378)
                                                                        (2) It will motivate the target-group population to work
       The public distribution system, which provides food
                                                                            more.
at low prices, is a subject of vital concern. There is a grow-
                                                             SEE–980