Directions: Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow (Q.…
2016
Directions: Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow (Q. No. 78 to 84) by selecting the most appropriate option.
Scientists are extremely concerned about the changes taking place in our climate. The changes are said to be alarmingly rapid and the result of human activity whereas in the past it had been natural and much slower. The major problem is that the planet appears to be warming up (global warming). This is occurring at a rate unprecedented in the last 10,000 years. The implications are very serious. Rising temperatures could give rise to extremely high increase in the incidence of floods and droughts, having effect on agriculture. It is thought that this unusual warming of the Earth has been caused by greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, being emitted into the atmosphere by car engines and modern industrial processes. Such gases not only add to the pollution of the atmosphere, but trap the heat of the sun leading to the warming up of the planet. It has been suggested that industrialized countries would try to reduce the volume of greenhouse gas emissions and plant more trees to create 'sinks' to absorb greenhouse gases.
80. The climatic changes taking place today are different from earlier changes as:
- A.
Today they are slower and more natural.
- B.
Today they are much faster and caused by the humans.
- C.
Today they do not threaten the humans because of their speed.
- D.
Today men are affected by them easily.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept: In a passage-based 'how is X different from earlier Y' question, first locate the sentence that explicitly draws the comparison, then note every dimension it compares. The correct option must agree with the passage on ALL of those dimensions together -- reversing even one dimension, or answering a different question altogether, makes an option wrong.
Application: The passage states, "The changes are said to be alarmingly rapid and the result of human activity whereas in the past it had been natural and much slower." This single sentence compares today's changes with the earlier ones along two dimensions at once: speed (today: rapid / much faster -- past: much slower) and cause (today: result of human activity -- past: natural). The option that names both of these -- greater speed and a human cause, for today's changes -- is therefore the one that matches the passage exactly.
Cross-check: Testing each remaining option against the same sentence rules it out on its own terms:
The 'slower and more natural' description belongs, per the passage, to the past -- not to today -- so this option has the two time periods reversed.
The passage never calls today's pace of change harmless; it links that pace to a sharp rise in floods and droughts that damages agriculture, which is the opposite of non-threatening.
This option speaks to how easily individuals are affected, a different question from the passage's own comparison of speed and cause between today and the past.
Result: Only the option stating that today's changes are faster and human-caused holds up against every part of the comparison the passage draws.