C-SAT Sample Test Paper- 2
English Language Comprehension Skills
Direction (Q.01-15) : Read the
following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain
world/phrases are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of
the questions.
We are well into the 21st century yet half the world’s population live in
squatter settlements and work shadow economies, which generate more than
one-third of the developing world’s GDP. Slums are not caused by the poor but by
governments denying people the right to own and exchange property. When people
own their own property they have incentives to invest time, money and energy to
improve it because they know that they will able to benefit from any such
improvements, i.e. the ability to obtain mortgages etc. In short, property right
beget capital, which begets innovation, which begets wealth. Sadly, the
poor typically don’t have secure title to their land as there is no bureaucratic
restrictions on transferring title or there is no clear system for titling.
Without legal deeds they live in constant fear of being evicted by landlords or
municipal officials. Illiteracy is major reason poor people often choose not to
seek the protection of local courts since in so many countries laws established
under colonial rule have never been translated into local languages. When
entrepreneurs do set out to legally register business they are discouraged by
red tape and costly fees. In Egypt, starting a bakery takes 500 days, compliance
with 315 laws and 27 times the monthly minimum wage. The proprietors of such
businesses cannot get loans, enforce contracts or expand a personal network of
familiar customers and partners. As a result the poor have no choice but to
accept insecurity and instability as a way of life.
In India severs restrictions on free transfer of property in most
rural areas inhibit investment and encourage urban flight. Planning policies
however discourage building homes for these migrants as numerous homes are
destroyed if they do not comply with planning rules, essentially forcing people
to live in slums and perversely blaming it on population growth. UN
Habitat, the UN agency for housing the poor, has implemented more plans to
stabilise the unplanned aspects of urban growth but grandiose plans like UN
Schemes and government housing projects simply ignore or worson the underlying
problems. It is when governments grant people legal means to control their
assets that they empower them to invest and plan ahead. In Buenos Aires,
economists studied the experience of two Argentine communities. One had received
legal title to its land in the 1980s and surpassed the other group which
had not, in a range which had not, in a range of social indicators including
quality of house construction and education levels. The Commission on Legal
Empowerment of the Poor-a UN-affiliated initiative made up of two dozen
leaders-is exploring ideas to extend enforceable legal rights to impoverished
members of society and seeking to bring about a consensus on incentive for
national and local leaders. As the growth of illegal settlement amply
demonstrates, the poor are not helpless, all they need is governments to grant
them fundamental human rights of freedom and responsibility.
01. What did the Argentine study indicate ?
(A) Argentine’s economy is booming and the percentage of poor has fallen.
(B) When the government gives people the legal means to control their assets
they plan for the future.
(C) The Government succeeded in widening the gap between the rich and the poor.
(a) Only (A)
(b) Both (A) & (B)
(c) Only (B)
(d) All (A) , (B) & (C)
(e) None of these
02. According to the author, which of the following factors is responsible
for the creation of a slum ?
(a) Migration of landless laboures to cities
(b) Municipal authorities building low-cost housing for the poor
(c) Unchecked population growth
(d) Government failure to secure rights for citizens
(e) Exorbitant cost of living in cities
03. The author’s main objective in writing the passage is to :
(a) Exhort the UN to play a greater role in rehabilitating slum-dwellers.
(b) Praise government initiative for migrant slumdewellers.
(c) Convince government to empower the poor.
(d) Enlist the aid of developments countries to tackle the issue of slums.
(e) Chastise slum-dwellers for illegal activities that they engage in.
04. What benefit does the author see in providing land ownership rights to
the poor ?
(a) Steady increase in GDP
(b) Gaining independence from colonial rulers
(c) Municipal services afforded to the poor will improve.
(d) It will be an inheritance for future generations.
(e) None of these
05. Which of the following TRUE in the context of the passage ?
(a) Additional UN projects will exacerbate the plight of slum-dwellers.
(b) Although the government allocates land for them the poor choose nct to
invest in building house.
(c) With the spread of slums populations are drifting back to rural areas.
(d) In order to accumulate profit slum-dwellers avoid legally registering their
business.
(e) UN has declared the right to housing as a fundamental right.
