Directions : In each of the following questions, a contextually meaningful…
2021
Directions : In each of the following questions, a contextually meaningful sentence has been given. Three paragraphs have been placed next to each sentence, which may or may not be relevant to the context of the given sentence. You are required to select the most appropriate combination of paragraphs from which the given sentence can be inferred.
It has been brought to our attention that, despite the summer break, several private schools continue to use the regular online learning approach.
(i) Farmers in Punjab and Haryana have begun receiving the minimum support price payment directly in their bank accounts for the first time under the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme, with wheat harvesting in full swing.
(ii) The World Press Freedom Index has placed India in 142nd place out of 180 countries. This is despite the fact that an index monitoring cell worked for a year under the guidance of the Cabinet Secretary to enhance the ranks. (iii) Considering many private schools are continuing online classes despite the decree declaring summer break, the Directorate issued a circular stating that all online learning activities must be discontinued during the summer vacation.
- A.
Only (iii)
- B.
Only (i) and (iii)
- C.
Only (i) and (ii)
- D.
Only (ii) and (iii)
- E.
Only (ii)
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Concept. In an inference (“para-source”) question, the given sentence must be logically supported by the content of a paragraph: pick only the paragraph(s) whose subject matter directly establishes the same fact the sentence states. A paragraph on an unrelated topic can never be a valid source, no matter how factual it is.
Application. The given sentence reports that, despite the summer break, several private schools keep using regular online learning. Test each paragraph against this exact claim:
(i) Farmers in Punjab/Haryana receiving MSP via Direct Benefit Transfer — about agriculture and bank payments; says nothing about schools or online learning.
(ii) India’s 142nd rank on the World Press Freedom Index — about press freedom; no link to schools or summer break.
(iii) Private schools are continuing online classes despite the summer-break decree, so the Directorate issued a circular to stop online learning during the vacation — this directly states the very situation the sentence reports.
Cross-check. Only (iii) shares the sentence’s subject (private schools running online learning during the summer break); (i) and (ii) are on entirely different topics, so any combination that includes them is wrong. Hence the sentence can be inferred from (iii) alone.
Result: Only (iii).