(Paper) Previous Year Question Paper (BA LLB) - 2020

Section - V : Logical Reasoning

Some readers wondered whether my reading of the crisis in the news media is about journalism or about the news industry. Though the fortunes of the news industry have a bearing on journalism, there is, indeed, a difference between looking at issues that govern journalism and the factors that contribute to the financial stress of the media industry. Over the last few years, I have been discussing the impact of digitalisation on journalism. The pandemic has accelerated the process of digital transformation of the news media. Therefore,  these issues need close scrutiny. One of the defining elements of analog journalism was the way two crucial functions of journalism — bearing witness and making sense — complemented each other and helped people make informed choices. When I talk about the strength of analog, I am neither romanticising the past nor am I a Luddite. Most importantly, I do not believe in nostalgia. Many scholars have established ―how rose-coloured glasses always leads to an unfair distortion — looking back on the best of the past while comparing it to the worst of the present.‖ Hence, when I talk about the digital information news environment, I am talking about how there needs to be a conducive atmosphere for credible information to resonate with the people. Literature on misinformation, disinformation and malinformation reveals a new distinction in the minds of the citizens. Editors and journalists have to contend with a new breed of sceptics. These are the people who trust social media forwards more than evidence-based, data-driven journalism. Their confirmation bias flows from encrypted social media platforms that are full of conspiracy theories. 

106. Which of the following conveys the main idea expressed in the passage?
a) Those who subscribe to newspapers are sceptics.
b) Those who subscribe to newspapers and news channels often contribute in distortion of the truth.
c) Social media journalism distorts the truth.
d) All of the above.

107. In this line, ―Hence, when I talk about the digital information news environment, I am talking about how there needs to be a conducive atmosphere for credible information to resonate with the people‖ the Author assumes that:
a) The Digital news is neither evidence based nor data driven.
b) The Digital journalism does not help people in making informed choices.
c) Both a) and b)
d) The impact of Digital journalism has created an informed platform of journalism.

108. Which of the following strengthens the Author‘s argument?
a) Conspiracy theories have become an alternative truth.
b) The Pandemic is the only reason behind the dependence of people on Social media journalism.
c) The News industry is witnessing a tremendous change.
d) None of the above.

109. What does the Author indicate when he quotes that ―Rose coloured glasses always lead to unfair distortion‖?
a) Digital Journalism is twisted.
b) Author means to say that he does not have any disproportionate bias for analog journalism.
c) Rosy picture of every news cannot be created.
d) All of the above.

110. The Author has severely targeted and criticized which one of the following factors of Digital Journalism?
a) Social Outreach
b) Credibility of Information
c) Lack of Information
d) None of the above.

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev, launched an ill-fated anti-alcohol campaign in the then Soviet Union. The anti-alcohol campaign had some beneficial public health consequences: Crime fell and life expectancy rose. But the campaign was a political and economic disaster. Gorbachev forgot that the addiction of the state to alcohol revenue was even more incurable than the addiction of some citizens to alcohol itself. The budgetary losses created an economic crisis. Historians suspect that more than the loss of the Soviet Empire, it was this campaign that delegitimised Gorbachev. An old Soviet joke went like this: A disaffected and angry citizen, fed up of standing in lines for vodka, decided to go assassinate Gorbachev. He soon came back and ruefully reported that the lines to assassinate Gorbachev were even longer than the lines for Vodka. As the lockdown eased in India, and social distancing went for a toss at alcohol outlets, we were reminded of how difficult an issue alcohol is to rationally discuss in India. The stampede was caused by the ineptness with which the opening was handled in most cities. Alcohol has also migrated from being a question of personal freedom and choice to an issue in broader cultural wars, an odd site on which we measure progressivism in India. It is also a window on how liberalism has been misunderstood. Liberals should, rightly, be suspicious of prohibition on moral and practical grounds. Government grossly exceeds its legitimate power when it interferes with the rights of individuals to lead their lives as they please, and fashion their selves after their own ideals, interests and preferences. And certainly, moralism or puritanism on alcohol cannot be the basis of state policy. That moralism has no basis, and it violates the dignity and freedom of individuals. 

111. In the above passage, the author uses a/an__________ to strengthen his argument.
a) Metaphor
b) Analogy
c) Personification
d) None of the above

112. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage above?
a) State must not interfere at all with the individual‘s right to drink.
b) Liberalism has always been misunderstood.
c) It is very difficult to discuss any issue relating to personal freedom of individuals with rationality in India.
d) None of the above.

113. Which of the following statements weakens the argument that Moralism on Alcohol cannot be the basis of State Policy?
a) The State should not interfere with people‘s right to drink; but there will be a backlash if drinking takes forms that inflict great social harms.
b) Freedom should not be divorced from Moderation.
c) The State should not interfere in matters of sexuality or intimacy. But norms of freedom will impose serious costs and will not survive if the expressions of sexuality are consistently degrading or violent, as we have seen in the locker room scandals.
d) All of the above.

114. Which of the following is true as per the passage above?
a) Liberals should not be concerned about prohibition on Alcohol at all.
b) Moralism should be based on justified ideals.
c) Moralism must not be the basis of any State action.
d) All of the above.

115. According to the passage, which of the following could be part of State‘s policy to regulate Alcohol use in India?
I. Ban on Alcohol shops.
II. Education on Intelligent Drinking.
III. Regulating Outlet density of Alcohol shops
IV. Community Intervention Policy
a) I, II and III
b) II and IV
c) II, III and IV
d) I, II, III and IV.

Don‘t miss the cloud behind the silver lining. The Class XII CBSE pass result has soared to an all-time high of 88.8%. The number of students scoring 95% and above has more than doubled. If only these higher marks were a reflection of students getting more skilled and more competitive. Instead, the odds are they simply mirror an assessment scheme relaxed to compensate students for the many disruptions originating in the pandemic. The goal of reducing student stress levels during this turbulent time is excellent and laudable. But it is a fallacy that high marks can accomplish this by themselves. The real stressor, after all, is shortage of opportunities. When every bout of grade inflation raises cut-offs for higher education even higher, it is no succour. That India‘s Gross Enrolment Ratio is only 27% compared to Indonesia‘s 36%, Thailand‘s 49% and the US‘s 88% is just one measure of the toll taken by our failure to build adequate colleges and universities. Licence raj continues to suppress autonomy and expansion in this sector. For example, a new national education policy is reportedly mulling at least 20% of students being able to attend private higher educational institutions through freeships and another 30% through scholarships, besides fee caps. On top of the stasis already wreaked by reservations, this would be disastrous. Browbeating the private sector to make up for public sector deficiencies is counterproductive. As the pandemic has underlined the key role of good government services in healthcare, so too is raising the standard of publicly funded schools and universities essential. What the students need is an ecosystem where government institutions deliver quality education and private options are plentiful. It is better prospects alone that will best alleviate students‘ stress. Meanwhile, crudely chopping syllabi will only worsen their disorientation and should be reconsidered.

116. What is the 'cloud behind the silver lining‘ in the passage above?
a) The Pandemic which is impacting the current education system.
b) That, the Governmental educational institutions are not able to deliver quality education.
c) Scoring Higher marks or percentage in school education does not guarantee skilled and competitive candidature of the student.
d) License Raj has negatively impacted Higher education.

117. Which of the following statements weakens the argument that chopping the syllabi in the times of Pandemic will only worsen a student‘s disorientation and hence should be reconsidered? 
a) It does not matter even if syllabi is chopped. The students who don‘t want to study will even not study in the minimal syllabi structure even during the pandemic.
b) Students don‘t care about syllabi. They study only for marks and grades.
c) Reduced syllabi will help in achieving the teaching-learning targets in due time and hence won‘t put pressure on students.
d) All of the above.

118. The number of students scoring 95% and above in XII class board exams has more than doubled. Which of the following statements serves as a plausible explanation for the same?
a) Students have started studying with sincerity and concentration.
b) Evaluation of answer scripts has become liberal.
c) Question papers these days are easier to solve.
d) All of the above.

119. For developing a student friendly ecosystem of education, which of the following serve as need of the hour, as per the Author?
I. Increasing the Syllabi in School education.
II. Building adequate number of public colleges and universities.
III. Eliminating Reservation in admissions to Higher education system.
IV. Creating a quality based education system
a) Only I and II.
b) Only I, II and IV.
c) Only III.
d) Only II and IV.

120. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage above?
a) Scoring High marks in XII class can help in reducing stress amongst students in the times of Pandemic.
b) High Cut-off of marks also contribute in reducing opportunities for the students.
c) Private institutions should not be regulated.
d) License Raj should be done away with.

If anything, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has taught us to rethink our lifestyles and question our need to travel to work every day. After all, in the age of internet, zoom meetings and webinars can be virtually conducted and physical distancing is possible. A large nature of work in cities is of tertiary nature, a major part of which can be done from home. This can affect the way offices function and reduce the need for all employees to be physically present every day. Information Technology companies are already contemplating a move of making many of its employees work from home and make this a 'new normal‘. If more firms follow suit, the need for huge office buildings and central business districts would change. Apartments cannot get bigger at the same rate, and people may not have the space or atmosphere to work from home. This would mean that more people would opt for co-working spaces close to their homes. This could be a game changer, for it would provide the cities to better distribute their activities throughout the spaces and rid themselves of the idea of zoning. Only a handful of professionals are allowed to function from residential zones, including doctors, lawyers, architects, etc. This needs serious rethinking. Many more professions of similar nature that do not disturb surrounding residence and have no requirements of special services should be added to the list. This new work culture would bring associated demand for food joints, cafés, stationary shops, etc.

121. Which of the following is  the main idea behind the passage?
a) Work from home is the new normal.
b) Work from home will result in shutting down of big buildings.
c) Work from home culture will result in systematization of City planning and development.
d) More professionals should be included in the 'work from home‘ list.

122. Which of the following can  be inferred from the passage above?
a) The 'work from home‘ culture is a no-chaos culture.
b) There is lack of distribution of activities in the 'work from home‘ scenario.
c) The routine culture as opposed to 'work from home‘ does not benefit the society in any way.
d) All of the above.

123. Which of the following can be associated benefits of the new culture ?
a) It will save commute time.
b) The city‘s land can be used more efficiently
c) Better distribution of activities would be associated with safer streets and public spaces as
they would not go unused and hence have less likelihood of being used for unlawful activities.
d) All of the above.

124. Consider the following statement: ―Work from home culture is a sustainable method of business and should be extended to all professions.
Which of the following weakens the Author‘s argument?
a) Not every type of profession fits in the 'work from home‘ culture as different professions have different requirements and need different environmental and work space settings.
b) Work from home‘ impacts a person‘s mental health.
c) Both a) and b)
d) Neither a) nor b)

125. Which of the following weakens the author‘s argument that Work from home‘ culture will enable better city planning?
a) Development of Co-working spaces will further create chaos in terms of land planning.
b) City planning is not only about reducing spaces.
c) Work from home will also reduce the flow of money in the economy.
d) All of the above.

Following is an array of questions to test your reasoning ability in different situations. 
Answer each of them according to the question asked in each of them respectively:

126. If highways were restricted to cars and only those trucks with capacity of less than 8 tons, most of the truck traffic would be forced to run outside highways. Such a reduction in the amount of truck traffic would reduce the risk of collisions on highways. The conclusion drawn in the first sentence depends on which of the following assumptions? 
a) The roads outside highway would be as convenient as highway for most drivers of trucks..
b) Most of the roads outside highways are not ready to handle truck traffic.
c) Most trucks that are currently running in highway have a capacity of more than 8 tons.
d) Cars are at greater risk of being involved in collisions than are trucks.

127. Read the debate between Harry and Potter and identify the main issue: 
Harry: Within democracies, voters are entitled to know the down-side to a candidate and the other side is obviously well placed to voice it. To stifle one‘s ability to voice negative things about a candidate would be to obstruct democracy and limit free speech. 
Potter: Negative advertisements produce the politics of the personal, since an easiest advert is an attack-advert which focuses on the personality or personal qualities of one‘s opponent. A negative advertisement is one that focuses upon a rival product, in this case, a rival election candidate or party in order to point its flaws and to persuade the public to not vote for it. 
a) Whether negative advertisement strengthens democratic governance?
b) Whether the practice of negative advertisements is good for democracy and politics?
c) Whether negative advertising needs to be banned?
d) Whether negative advertising produces the politics of the personal?

128. Which alternative applies to the following Statement and Assumption?
Statement: Go by Aeroplane to reach Delhi from Chennai quickly.
Assumptions:
I. Chennai and Delhi are connected by Air service.
II. There is no other means to commute from Chennai to Delhi.
III. The Air distance between Delhi and Chennai is less.
a) Only I is implicit.
b) Only I and II are implicit.
c) Only I and III are implicit.
d) Only II is implicit.

129. Ananya and Krishna​​​​​​​ can speak and follow English. Bulbul can write and speak Hindi as Archana does. Archana talks with Ananya also in Bengali. Krishna cannot follow Bengali. 
Bulbul talks with Ananya in Hindi. Who can speak and follow English, Hindi and Bengali?
a) Archana
b) Bulbul
c) Krishna
d) Ananya

130. If '367‘ means ' I am happy‘; '748‘ means 'you are sad‘ and '469‘ means 'happy and sad‘ in a given code, then which of the following represents 'and‘ in the code?
a) 3
b) 6
c) 9
d) 4

One of the biggest casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown has been institutionalised education. Schools have been shut to prevent the spread of the virus and this has given way to online classrooms, a very new concept in India even for the most sophisticated schools. It is commendable how easily some educational institutions have moved to virtual classrooms, all thanks to tools such as Zoom, Google Hangouts and Microsoft Teams. But there are some still struggling to get online. The online classes, whatever the enabling technology, is only as good as the teachers and the ability of the students to grasp the new teaching technique. One of the teachers felt students are actually more responsive and active in online classrooms, compared to when they are in physical ones. ―This could be because this is a new concept and they are excited to explore it with the teachers. They also don‟t get distracted by their classmates, which frequently happens in a regular class. Teachers do find the absence of a blackboard a disadvantage and network connectivity a constant problem. ―We miss the clarity that a blackboard gives us, we are kind of making do with the virtual whiteboard on Zoom.‖ Shweta Kawatra, a parent who teaches in a New Delhi school, highlights that many students have not been able to take advantage of the virtual platform because they do not have a suitable device at home or lack a good internet connection. ―It has its own share of disadvantages too. Too much screen time can be perilous for health. Prolonged online sessions can be overwhelming and may lead to problems related to vision, body posture and sleep disorder,‖ Kawatra adds. 

131. What is the Central Idea of the passage above?
a) Institutionalised education was much better than the current online education system.
b) Institutionalized education cannot be replaced by any other system of education.
c) Virtual Classroom teaching is a sustainable approach to education in modern times.
d) None of the above.

132. Which of the following statements cannot be inferred from the passage above?
a) Virtual Classroom teaching is a sustainable approach to education.
b) Virtual Classroom teaching causes health problems.
c) Institutionalized education system has its advantages.
d) All of the above.

133. Which of the following is an implicit assumption in the observation that students are more active and responsive in online classrooms as compared to that in physical ones?
I. Students are not serious while studying in physical classrooms.
II. Online classrooms inculcate more interest in students towards studies than the physical classrooms.
III. Students don‘t like physical classrooms at all.
IV. Students sleep in physical classrooms.
a) Only I and II
b) Only III and IV
c) I and IV
d) I, II, III and IV.

134. Which of the following  can be inferred from the passage above?
a) There is a divide in opinions of people on the merits and demerits of Online education.
b) Online education system is going to replace the Institutionalized education system.
c) The institutionalized education system is not at all perilous for health of students.
d) All of the above.

135. Consider this statement:  'Virtual education provides for various online seminars, opportunities to interact with learned experts, pro-bono education classes etc., for students across India irrespective of their economic status and background.‘ 
Which of the following statements weakens the statement?
I. Many students in remote areas do not have access to internet facilities.
II. Many students in rural areas do not have devices to take advantage of the Virtual classrooms.
III. Online Seminars and pro bono classes are not interesting and do not cater to the needs of students across India. 
IV. The mobile phone data packages to access such heavy online contents are not enough and participation in such events involves costly data packages which is dependent upon the economic status of those students.
a) Only I, II, III
b) Only III and IV
c) Only I, II and IV.
d) Only I and II.

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Answer Key:

106. (c), 107. (c), 108. (a), 109. (b), 110. (b), 111. (b), 112. (d), 113. (d), 114. (b), 115. (c), 116. (c), 117. (d), 118. (d), 119. (d), 120. (b), 121. (c), 122. (a), 123. (c), 124. (c), 125. (d), 126. (c), 127. (b), 128. (c), 129. (d), 130. (c), 131. (d), 132. (a), 133. (a), 134. (a), 135. (c)

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