Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow (Q. 46-50):…
2022
Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow (Q. 46-50):
Public action, in a broad sense, can play a central role in economic development and in bringing social opportunities within the reach of people as a whole. Sometimes public action is characterised in the economic literature as action by the government, not as action by the public itself. This interpretation can be seriously misleading as it draws attention away from the influence that the public can have in determining the direction of governmental action. Actions of the public can be of profound significance to the successes and failures of economic and social change in general, and to development efforts in particular. The role of public activism in influencing government policy can be particularly important in promoting the positive functions of the government. These positive functions include the provisions of public services such as health care, child immunisation, primary education, social security, environmental protection and rural infrastructure. The vigilance and involvement of the public can be quite crucial not only in ensuring an adequate expansion of these essential services but also in monitoring their functioning. Indeed the actual reach and effective quality of the services that are meant to be, in principle available often depends a great deal on the information that the local community gathers and the extent to which it can get its voice heard. The shirking and absenteeism of village teachers for example are much more easily observed by the villagers themselves than by the government inspectors and the search for redress can be more effectively achieved with local activism. Besides, schools, hospitals and other facilities can be made more sensitive to the public needs if there is a local pressure in that direction, better than the directions from the above.
What can bring the social opportunities within the reach of the people?
Answer: C. Actions of the public — ConceptIn reading comprehension, distinguish the agent that performs an action from the context that describes it and the result that follows from it. For a…
- A.
The government directives
- B.
Economic literature
- C.
Actions of the public
- D.
Success of social change
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept
In reading comprehension, distinguish the agent that performs an action from the context that describes it and the result that follows from it.
For a direct-detail question, locate the sentence that explicitly links the stated result to an agent, then verify that link against the surrounding explanation.
Application
The opening sentence says that public action can play a central role in bringing social opportunities within the reach of people as a whole. The passage then explains public action through vigilance, information gathering, making the community voice heard, and local activism that influences government services. Therefore, the agent identified by the passage is actions of the public.
Contrast
The government directives: the passage contrasts top-down directions with local pressure when discussing responsive services.
Economic literature: it is the setting in which public action is sometimes narrowly characterised as government action.
Success of social change: it is an outcome whose success or failure may be influenced by public action.
Cross-check
The detailed examples support the same reading: villagers observe teacher absenteeism, seek redress, and press institutions to respond to public needs. Thus, actions of the public bring social opportunities within people’s reach.