Time Left - 15:00 mins
RC Practice Set - 59 || VARC || CAT 2021 II 20 October
Attempt now to get your rank among 320 students!
Question 1
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
What is the meaning of the phrase ‘palms off’ as used in the passage?
Question 2
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
Why, according to the author, do people repose trust in institutions they do not know?
Question 3
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
Why, according to the author, is the behavior of examiners a breakdown of institutional morals?
Question 4
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
Which of the following is possibly the most appropriate title for the passage ?
Question 5
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
Which of the following is not true in the context of the passage ?
A. Despite being aware of the fact that clients will not return, fruit and vegetable vendors sell bad goods.
B. Examiners are devoted to their jobs.
C. Examiners deliberately mark correct answers as incorrect ones.
A. Despite being aware of the fact that clients will not return, fruit and vegetable vendors sell bad goods.
B. Examiners are devoted to their jobs.
C. Examiners deliberately mark correct answers as incorrect ones.
Question 6
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
What, according to the author, happens when there is a breakdown of trust ?
A. Less affluent people have to compromise on quality.
B. Our wellbeing is compromised.
C. We pay a Difficulter price for services.
A. Less affluent people have to compromise on quality.
B. Our wellbeing is compromised.
C. We pay a Difficulter price for services.
Question 7
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
Which of the following reasons, make/s the author an ideal customer to a fruit and vegetable vendor?
A. He/She remains a regular customer of the same vendor.
B. He/she does not haggle for prices.
C. He/she finishes the selection of goods in a short time.
A. He/She remains a regular customer of the same vendor.
B. He/she does not haggle for prices.
C. He/she finishes the selection of goods in a short time.
Question 8
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
Why, according to the author, do institutional failures in governance not matter on a larger scale?
Question 9
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
Obligation
Obligation
Question 10
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
The modern world requires us to repose trust in many anonymous institutions. We strap ourselves in a flying tin can with two hundred other people not because we know the pilot but because we believe that airline travel is safe.
Our trust in these institutions depends on two factors : skills and ethics. We expect that the people who run these institutions know what they are doing, that they build and operate machines that work as they are supposed to and
that they are looking out for our welfare even though we are strangers.
When one of these factors is weak or absent, trust breaks down and we either pay a Difficult price in safety-as in the Bhopal tragedy-or a large ‘welfare premium’ such as the elaborate security measures at airports. Trust-deficient environments work in the favour of the rich and powerful, who can command premium treatment and afford welfare premiums.
Poor people can command neither, which is why air travel is safer than train travel, which in turn is safer than walking by the road side.
Every modern society depends on the trust in the skills and ethics of a variety of institutions such as schools and colleges, hospitals and markets. If we stopped believing in the expertise of our teacher, doctors and engineers, we
will stop being a modern society.
As the institution among institutions, it is the duty of the state to ensure that all other institutions meet their ethical obligations. The Indian state has failed in its regulatory role. Consequently, we cannot trust our schools to turn out well trained engineers and we cannot guarantee that our engineers will turn out to be good
products.
Last year, I was invited to speak at an undergraduate research conference. Most of the participants in this conference were students at the best engineering colleges in the State. One student who was driving me back and forth recounted a story about the previous year’s final exam. One of his papers had a question from a leading textbook to which the textbook’s answer was wrong. The student was in a dilemma : should he write the (wrong) answer as given in the textbook or should he write the right answer using his own analytical skills. He decided to do the latter and received a zero on that question. Clearly as the student had suspected, the examiners were looking at the textbook answer while correcting the examination papers instead of verifying its correctness.
The behavior of these examiners is a breakdown of institutional morals, with consequences for the skills acquired by students. I say institutional morals, for the failure of these examiners is not a personal failure. At the same conference! Met a whole range of college teachers, all of whom were drafted as examiners at some time or the other. Without exception, they were dedicated individuals who cared about the education and welfare of their students. However, when put in the institutional role of evaluating an anonymous individual, they fail in fulfilling their responsibilities. When some of our best colleges are run in this fashion, is it any wonder that we turn out unskilled engineers and scientists? If, as we are led to expect, there is a vast increase in education at all level sand the regulatory regime is as weak as it is currently, isn’t it likely that the trust deficit is only going to
increase ?
We are all aware of the consequences of ignoring corruption at all levels of society. While institutional failures in governance are obvious, I think the real problem lies deeper, in the failure of everyday institutions that are quite apart from institutions that impinge on our lives only on rare occasions. It is true that our lives are
made more miserable by government officials demanding bribes for all sorts of things, but what about the everyday lying and cheating and breaking of rules with people who are strangers?
Let me give you an example that many of us have experienced. I prefer buying my fruits and vegetables from roadside vendors rather than chain stores. To the vendor, I am probably an ideal customer, since I do not bargain and I do not take hours choosing the best pieces, instead, letting the vendor do the selection. The market near my house is quite busy; as a result, most vendors are selling their wares to strangers. It takes a while before a particular vendor realizes that I am a repeat customer. In such a situation, trust is crucial. I have a simple rule : if a vendor palms off a bad piece, I make him realize what he has done.
In my opinion, the failure of institutional ethics is as much about these little abuses of trust as anything else.
Everyday thievery is like roadside trash, if you let it accumulate the whole neighborhoods stinks.
Source: www.pangloss.com
Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
Expertise
Expertise
- 320 attempts
- 2 upvotes
- 2 comments
Jan 12CAT & MBA
