Comprehension Questions and Answers

Q: The object of an ergonomist is ............

The object of an ergonomist is to enable a person of ordinary abilities to carry out his tasks safely and efficiently.The passage says so in nearly these words in its fourth paragraph: after accepting people as they are, the ergonomist allocates to the human operator the functions each can perform best, and 'his object is to enable a person of ordinary abilities to carry out his tasks safely and efficiently, with a minimum of instruction'.Making employees more contented is one benefit of ergonomic research, not its object. A knowledge of several sciences is something the ergonomist needs in order to work, not what he aims at. Finding people with quirks is a mistake about the passage: he accepts them as he finds them.

Q: What is the more common or traditional policy ?

The more common or traditional policy is fitting the man to the machine.The third paragraph sets the ergonomist against 'the more common, traditional policy of fitting the man to the machine', which works by selecting and training the best man for each job. The ergonomist reverses it and fits the machine to the man.Making a valuable contribution to industry describes what ergonomics does. Designing or redesigning machines is the ergonomist's own approach, the opposite of the traditional one. Confusing busy businessmen is what the opening sentence says ergonomics is not.

Q: What do you understand by 'boffins' ?

'Boffins' means engineers or scientists.Boffin is an informal British word for a scientist, engineer or technical expert, especially one engaged in research. It became common in Britain during the Second World War for the scientists working on radar and other military research.It does not mean employees, businessmen or labourers in general; in a sentence about ideas 'dreamed up by boffins to confuse busy businessmen', the boffins and the businessmen are set against each other as two different groups.

Q: Ergonomics is the study of ..............

Ergonomics is the study of the relationship between man and his working environment.The second paragraph begins: 'Broadly, ergonomics is the study of the relationship between man and his working environment.' The rest of the paragraph shows what follows from it, machines designed with regard to human capabilities and limitations.The capabilities and limitations of human beings are what the designer must respect, not the definition of the subject. Quirks of workers are only accepted as facts, and research in industry is how the science is carried on, not what it studies.

Q: An ergonomist himself needs a knowledge of ........................

An ergonomist needs a knowledge of a number of sciences and techniques.The last sentence of the passage says the ergonomist himself needs a knowledge of a number of sciences and techniques in order to carry out his work.'Only one discipline' contradicts the sentence. 'His own self' and 'his colleagues' are not mentioned as sources of the knowledge the work needs.

Q: What is the primary basis for the right to information movement in India ?

The primary basis is government transparency.The passage opens: "Access to information is of course, the basis for the right to information movement in India. A key issue is the need for transparency". Ordinary people want to read the details of public expenditure for themselves and demand explanations where there are anomalies, and that is a demand that the authorities be transparent.Access to survival resources appears later, as something that access to information can help secure, not as what the movement rests on. Public expenditure is the example of what people want to see, and civil society demands are not named as the basis anywhere in the passage.

Q: According to the paragraph, which entities are generally not required to be transparent under right to information legislations ?

The entities not required to be transparent are corporations.The passage says: "While governments and in some cases, the civil society are required to be transparent, corporations are not." Governments and civil society are named as the bodies that are (or in some cases are) required to be transparent, so options B and C are the opposite of what the passage states.Hunter-gatherers are mentioned only as an example of communities who depend on forest resources for survival; the passage does not discuss any duty of transparency for them.

Q: In the context of popular mobilizations against the building of large dams, what is identified as a rallying call for communities ?

The rallying call is lack of access to survival resources.The passage ends: "The lack of access to such traditional, life enhancing resources is one of the rallying calls for popular mobilizations in the context of the movements against the building of large dams". The resources meant are the forest resources on which subsistence communities depend for survival.Education is mentioned earlier, but only in a list of rights that access to information can help secure, not as a cause of the dam movements. Lack of government transparency and of civil society support are not named as rallying calls in this context.

Q: The given passage states that Mahatma Gandhi largely succeeded in .................. .

The passage says Gandhi largely succeeded in moulding the millions in India.The wording is almost the passage's own: 'Through nation-wide action, he sought to mould the millions and largely succeeded in doing so.' It adds that he changed a timid and hopeless mass into people with self-respect, who could act together.The passage does not claim that he ended social discrimination or economic inequality, and it says nothing about winning political representation, so the other three go beyond what it states. The question asks what the passage itself says, so the answer is the one phrase it uses for his work with the people.

Q: What do you understand by the phrase "to be rid of " ?

'To be rid of' means released or freed from something.The passage speaks of 'the yearning of her sorrowing millions to be rid of their innumerable burdens': people who long to be free of their burdens. To be rid of a thing is to be freed from it, never to be tied to it, to increase it or to include it. Reading the phrase in its sentence settles it: burdens are things people want to be free of, not things they want to be tied to or to have more of.

Direction for [ Question No: 1 To 5 ] :

Answer the questions based on either English passage or Marathi passage :

Despite its extraordinary name 'ergonomics' is not just something which has been dreamed up by boffins to confuse busy businessmen. It is a practical science which can make and is making a valuable contribution to industry. Research being carried out in this field can increase efficiency, improve product design and make employees more contented.

Broadly, ergonomics is the study of the relationship between man and his working environment. It involves designing or redesigning machines and equipments so that due regard is given to the capabilities and limitations - physical and psychological - of the human beings who have to use or operate them.

It contrast to the more common, traditional policy of 'fitting the man to the machine' by selecting and training the best man for each particular job, the ergonomist endeavours to fit the machine to the man-any man.

He accepts people, in fact, as he finds them with all their quirks and idiosyncracies, and tries to establish their capabilities as machine operators. He then attempts to allocate to the human operator the functions each can perform best. His object is to enable a person of ordinary abilities to carry out his tasks safely and efficiently, with a minimum of instruction.

The ergonomist himself needs a knowledge of a number of sciences and techniques in order to carry out his work.

The object of an ergonomist is ............

A.To make employees more contented.
B.To have a knowledge of a number of sciences and techniques
C.To find people with all their quirks and idiosyncracies
D.To enable a person of ordinary abilities to carry out his tasks safely and efficiently

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2025, SET Exam - 2025,

Answer: D

The object of an ergonomist is to enable a person of ordinary abilities to carry out his tasks safely and efficiently.

The passage says so in nearly these words in its fourth paragraph: after accepting people as they are, the ergonomist allocates to the human operator the functions each can perform best, and 'his object is to enable a person of ordinary abilities to carry out his tasks safely and efficiently, with a minimum of instruction'.

Making employees more contented is one benefit of ergonomic research, not its object. A knowledge of several sciences is something the ergonomist needs in order to work, not what he aims at. Finding people with quirks is a mistake about the passage: he accepts them as he finds them.

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What is the more common or traditional policy ?

A.Making valuable contribution to industry
B.Fitting the man to the machine
C.Designing and redesigning machines and equipments
D.Confusing busy businessmen

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2025, SET Exam - 2025,

Answer: B

The more common or traditional policy is fitting the man to the machine.

The third paragraph sets the ergonomist against 'the more common, traditional policy of fitting the man to the machine', which works by selecting and training the best man for each job. The ergonomist reverses it and fits the machine to the man.

Making a valuable contribution to industry describes what ergonomics does. Designing or redesigning machines is the ergonomist's own approach, the opposite of the traditional one. Confusing busy businessmen is what the opening sentence says ergonomics is not.

Discuss in Forum

What do you understand by 'boffins' ?

A.Employees
B.Businessmen
C.Engineers or scientists
D.Labourers

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2025, SET Exam - 2025,

Answer: C

'Boffins' means engineers or scientists.

Boffin is an informal British word for a scientist, engineer or technical expert, especially one engaged in research. It became common in Britain during the Second World War for the scientists working on radar and other military research.

It does not mean employees, businessmen or labourers in general; in a sentence about ideas 'dreamed up by boffins to confuse busy businessmen', the boffins and the businessmen are set against each other as two different groups.

Discuss in Forum

Ergonomics is the study of ..............

A.Quirks and idiosyncracies of the workers
B.Capabilities and limitations of human beings
C.Relationship between man and his working environment
D.Research being carried out in the field of industry

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2025, SET Exam - 2025,

Answer: C

Ergonomics is the study of the relationship between man and his working environment.

The second paragraph begins: 'Broadly, ergonomics is the study of the relationship between man and his working environment.' The rest of the paragraph shows what follows from it, machines designed with regard to human capabilities and limitations.

The capabilities and limitations of human beings are what the designer must respect, not the definition of the subject. Quirks of workers are only accepted as facts, and research in industry is how the science is carried on, not what it studies.

Discuss in Forum

An ergonomist himself needs a knowledge of ........................

A.A number of sciences and techniques
B.Only one discipline
C.His own self
D.His colleagues

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2025, SET Exam - 2025,

Answer: A

An ergonomist needs a knowledge of a number of sciences and techniques.

The last sentence of the passage says the ergonomist himself needs a knowledge of a number of sciences and techniques in order to carry out his work.

'Only one discipline' contradicts the sentence. 'His own self' and 'his colleagues' are not mentioned as sources of the knowledge the work needs.

Discuss in Forum

Direction for [ Question No: 6 To 8 ] :

Read the following passage and answer the questions given below it :

["Communication and persistence of poverty : The need for return to Basics" by Pradip Thomas (2008) in communication for development and social change by Jon Servaes.]

Access to information is of course, the basis for the right to information movement in India. A key issue is the need for transparency, so that ordinary people can read for themselves the details of public expenditures, and if there are anomalies, demand explanations from the concerned authorities. Admittedly right to information legislations the world over are still in their infancy. While governments and in some cases, the civil society are required to be transparent, corporations are not. Not with-standing such lacunae, access to information is an important right for it can become the basis for the enjoyment of related rights and securities : in education, shelter access to food grain and employment opportunities. Access to 'survival' resources for eg food and shelter are of course critical to human survival. For communities who have lived subsistence lives as hunter-gatherers access to forest's resources are necessary for survival. The lack of access to such traditional, life enhancing resources is one of the rallying calls for popular mobilizations in the context of the movements against the building of large dams in Thailand, China, India, Malaysia and many other parts of the world.

What is the primary basis for the right to information movement in India ?

A.Government transparency
B.Access to survival resources
C.Public expenditure
D.Civil society demands

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: A

The primary basis is government transparency.

The passage opens: "Access to information is of course, the basis for the right to information movement in India. A key issue is the need for transparency". Ordinary people want to read the details of public expenditure for themselves and demand explanations where there are anomalies, and that is a demand that the authorities be transparent.

Access to survival resources appears later, as something that access to information can help secure, not as what the movement rests on. Public expenditure is the example of what people want to see, and civil society demands are not named as the basis anywhere in the passage.

Discuss in Forum

According to the paragraph, which entities are generally not required to be transparent under right to information legislations ?

A.Hunter-gatherers
B.Governments
C.Civil society
D.Corporations

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: D

The entities not required to be transparent are corporations.

The passage says: "While governments and in some cases, the civil society are required to be transparent, corporations are not." Governments and civil society are named as the bodies that are (or in some cases are) required to be transparent, so options B and C are the opposite of what the passage states.

Hunter-gatherers are mentioned only as an example of communities who depend on forest resources for survival; the passage does not discuss any duty of transparency for them.

Discuss in Forum

In the context of popular mobilizations against the building of large dams, what is identified as a rallying call for communities ?

A.Lack of access to education
B.Lack of government transparency
C.Lack of access to survival resources
D.Lack of civil society support

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: C

The rallying call is lack of access to survival resources.

The passage ends: "The lack of access to such traditional, life enhancing resources is one of the rallying calls for popular mobilizations in the context of the movements against the building of large dams". The resources meant are the forest resources on which subsistence communities depend for survival.

Education is mentioned earlier, but only in a list of rights that access to information can help secure, not as a cause of the dam movements. Lack of government transparency and of civil society support are not named as rallying calls in this context.

Discuss in Forum

Direction for [ Question No: 9 To 10 ] :

Directions : Answer the questions based on either English passage or Marathi passage :

It should be remembered that the Nationalist Movement in India, like all nationalist movements, was essentially a bourgeois movement. It represented the natural historical stage of development, and to consider it or to criticize it as a working class movement is wrong. Gandhi represented that movement, and the Indian masses in relation to that movement to a supreme degree, and he became the voice of Indian people to that extent. The main contribution of Gandhi to India and the Indian masses has been through the powerful movements that he launched through the National Congress. Through nation-wide action, he sought to mould the millions and largely succeeded in doing so. He changed them from a demoralized, timid, and hopeless mass, bullied and crushed by every dominant interest and incapable of resistance, to people with self-respect and self-reliance, resisting tyranny, and capable of united action and sacrifice for a larger cause. Gandhi made people think of political and economic issues, and every village and every bazaar hummed with arguments and debates on the new ideas and hopes that filled the people.

In case of very exceptional person, like Gandhi, the question of personality becomes especially important in order to understand and appraise him. To us, he represented the spirit and honour of India, the yearning of her sorrowing millions to be rid of their innumerable burdens. An insult to him by the British Government or others was an insult to India and her people.

The given passage states that Mahatma Gandhi largely succeeded in .................. .

A.fighting against the social discrimination in India
B.eradicating economic inequalities in India
C.moulding the millions in India
D.giving political representation to Indians

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: C

The passage says Gandhi largely succeeded in moulding the millions in India.

The wording is almost the passage's own: 'Through nation-wide action, he sought to mould the millions and largely succeeded in doing so.' It adds that he changed a timid and hopeless mass into people with self-respect, who could act together.

The passage does not claim that he ended social discrimination or economic inequality, and it says nothing about winning political representation, so the other three go beyond what it states. The question asks what the passage itself says, so the answer is the one phrase it uses for his work with the people.

Discuss in Forum

10.

What do you understand by the phrase "to be rid of " ?

A.Released/freed from something
B.Tied to something
C.Increased something
D.Included something

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: A

'To be rid of' means released or freed from something.

The passage speaks of 'the yearning of her sorrowing millions to be rid of their innumerable burdens': people who long to be free of their burdens. To be rid of a thing is to be freed from it, never to be tied to it, to increase it or to include it. Reading the phrase in its sentence settles it: burdens are things people want to be free of, not things they want to be tied to or to have more of.

Comprehension Questions and Answers

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Comprehension Questions and Answers

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