Deriving Conclusions From Passages Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The inference is definitely false.

The paragraph says "Maximum losses suffered by these units are through poor housekeeping". So poor housekeeping is the largest source of loss, which is the reverse of saying it is not reflected in those losses. The statement contradicts the paragraph.

Answer: A

The key treats this inference as definitely true.

The paragraph names the lack of proper opportunities for recycling waste as one of three main sources of the units' maximum losses, and asks for "innovative and sustainable waste minimization techniques" to eliminate or reduce them. Recycling by modern techniques therefore addresses a main source of loss, which is the reading the key takes.

Strictly, the paragraph does not say how much of the loss recycling would recover, so "large part" is a strong word and some would call the inference only probably true. The key does not.

Answer: B

The key treats this inference as probably true.

The paragraph lists small scale of operation among the heavy constraints of the smaller units, and says their margins are very low, which suggests that scale matters to viability. It does not say that large scale is necessary, so the inference is not definitely true. It is not contradicted either, so it is probably true.

Answer: A

The key treats this inference as definitely true.

The paragraph calls for innovative and sustainable waste minimization techniques and complains of obsolete technology and poor opportunities for recycling, which together point to waste handling that needs modernizing. The key takes the statement as following directly.

The paragraph speaks of small pesticide units and not of India's waste management as a whole, so a stricter reading would call the inference only probably true. The key does not.

Answer: B

The key treats this inference as probably true.

The paragraph says the units' operating profit margins are very low and that poor housekeeping is a main source of loss, but it never states the reason for the poor housekeeping. Lack of funds is a plausible cause given the low margins, which makes the inference probably true, but the paragraph does not say it, so it is not definitely true.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Definitely false

The passage says not even one percent of the 63,000 primary schools have facilities of furniture, toilet, drinking water and games. One percent of 63,000 is 630, and ‘not even one percent’ means fewer than that number have them. The statement claims exactly 630 do, which is more than the passage allows, so it is contradicted by the figure given.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Definitely false

The passage closes by saying each of the 63,000 primary schools now has at least two teachers. If every school has two or more, then no school has one, and a large number of one-teacher schools is impossible. The recent appointment of 3,113 new teachers is the change that brought this about, which is why the passage marks it with the word ‘now’.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Data inadequate

The passage counts children, not parents: over six million children born to lower income group parents remain unlettered. The number of parents is a different quantity - several children may share a pair of parents, and parents whose children are literate are not counted at all. The passage gives no basis for converting one figure into the other.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Data inadequate

The passage gives one figure about women teachers: of the 3,113 appointed in the current financial year, 2,747 are women, which is about 88 percent of that year’s intake. That says nothing about the composition of the whole teaching force, which was built up over many years. A single year’s recruitment cannot establish the overall proportion.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Data inadequate

The passage gives two numbers that look relevant and are not. Over 50 percent of schools have pupils reading in the open, which is a fact about schools rather than about children; and over six million children of lower income group parents remain unlettered, which is a count rather than a proportion. Without the total number of children in Bihar no percentage can be worked out.