Hello Aspirants.
Welcome to Online English Section with explanation in AffairsCloud.com. Here we are creating question sample in Reading comprehension, which is BASED ON IBPS PO/CLERK/LIC AAO/RRB & SSC CGL EXAM and other competitive exams.
IBPS CWE (PO/MT) – 2014 Exam Question
Today, emerging markets account for more than half of world GDP on the basis of purchasing
power, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In the 1990s, it was about a third. In the late 1990s, 30% of countries in the developing world managed to increase their output per person faster than America did, thus achieving what is calIed “catch-up growth”. That catching up was somewhat lackadaisical: the gap closed at just 1.5% a year. Some ofthis was due to slower growth in America; most was not. The most impressive growth was in four ofthe biggest emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICs). These economies have grown in different ways and for different reasons. The remarkable growth of emerging markets in general and BRICs in particular transformed the global economy in many ways, some wrenching.
Commodity prices particularly soared and the cost of manufacture and labour sank. A growing and vastly more accessible pool of labour in emerging economies played a part in both wage stagnation and rising income inequality in rich ones. Global poverty rates tumbled. Gaping economic imbalances fuelled an era of financial vulnerability and laid the groundwork for global crisis. The shift towards the emerging economies will continue. But its most tumultuous phase seems to have more or less reached its end. Growth rates have dropped. The nature of their growth is in the process of changing, too and its new mode will have fewer direct effects on the rest of the world. The likelihood of growth in other emerging economies having an effect in the near future comparable to that of BRICs in the recent past is low. The emerging giants will grow larger, and their ranks will swell but their tread will no longer shake the Earth as once it did.
After the 1990s there followed ‘convergence with a vengeance’. China’s pivot towards liberalisationand global markets came at a propitious time in terms of politics, business and technology. Rich economies were feeling relaxed about globalisation and current account deficits. America, booming and confident, was not troubled by the growth of Chinese industry or by off-shoring jobs to India. And the technology etc necessary to assemble and maintain complex supply chains were coming into their own, allowing firms to spread their operations between countries and across oceans. The tumbling costs of shipping and communication sparked globalisation’s “second unbundling” (the first was the simple ability to provide consumers in one place with goods from another). As longer supply chains infiltrated and connected places with large and fast-growing working-age populations, enormous quantities of cheap new labourbecame accessible. Advanced economies added about 160m non-farm jobs between 1980 and 2010. In 2007 China’s economy expanded by an eye-popping 14.2%. India managed 10.1 % growth, Russia 8.5% and Brazil 6.1 %. The IMF now reckons there will be slowdown in growth. China will grow by just 7.8% in 2013, India by 5.6% and Russia and Brazil by 2.5%.
Other countries have impressive growth potential. The “Next 11” (N11) includes Bangladesh,
Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Turkey. But there are various reasons to think that this N11
cannot have an impact on the same scale as that of the BRICs. The first is that these economies are smaller. The N11 has a population of just over 1.3 billion -less than half that of the BRICs. The second is that the Nil is richer now than the BRICs were back in the day. The third reason that the performance of the BRICs cannot be repeated is the very success of that performance. The world economy is much larger than it used to be – twice as big in real terms as it was in 1992, according to IMF figures. But whether or not the world can build on a remarkable era of growth will depend in large part on whether the new giants tread a path towards greater global co-operation – or stumble, fall and, in times of tumult and in the worst case, fight.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is a reason for the author’s prediction regarding N11 countries?
(1) N11 countries are poorer, have less resources than BRIC countries and do not have much
scope to grow.
(2) The size of these countries is too great to fuel a high rate of growth as expected by BRICs countries.
(3) The world economy is so large that the magnitude of growth from these countries will have to be huge to equal the growth of BRICs.
(4) These economies are agricultural and have not opened up their economies yet so their scope of growth is greater than that of BRlCs.
(5) Other than those given as options
2. What is the author’s view of globalisation’s “second unbundling”?
(1) It-proved beneficial since it created a large number of jobs and tremendous growth in crossborder trade.
(2) It disturbed the fragile balance of power among BRIC nations and caused internal strife.
(3) It caused untold damage to America’s economy since it restricted the spread of American
farms off-shore.
(4) It proved most beneficial for the agricultural sector, creating huge employment opportunities.
(5) Citizens in advanced countries became much better off than those in emerging economies.
3. Choose the word which is most nearly the SAME in meaning as the word TUMBLING given in bold as used in the passage.
(1) jumbling
(2) confusing
(3) reducing
(4) dilapidated
(5) hurrying
4. What do the comparative statistics of 2007 and 2013 for BRICs countries published by, the IMF as cited in the passage indicate?
(1) BRIC economies will contribute less to global growth.
(2) As the population of these countries grows, its growth rate is filling.
(3) The financial practices followed by these countries will continue to pay rich dividends.
(4) These countries are creating global financial imbalances to the detriment of smaller
developing economies like Africa.
(5) IMF forecasts of growth rate for these countries have not been fulfilled.
5. What effect did rising economies of BRICs have on the global economy?
(1) It helped stabilise the global economy and insulate it from the fallout of the global fmancial crisis.
(2) Labour became more highly skilled and wages were alarmingly increased, reducing the offshoring of jobs to developing countries.
(3) Though worldwide poverty rates tumbled, the gap between the rich and the poor in rich
economies increased.
(4) The cost of living and level of inflation in these countries were mantained at low levels.
(5) All the given options are effects of the rise in BRIC economies.
6. What does the phrase “Their ranks will swell but their tread will no longer shake the
Earth as it once did” convey in the context of the passage?
(1) While many countries will try and achieve the same rate of growth as BRICs they will not
succeed.
(2) The growth of BRIC countries has changed the world’s economy in ways that any further
growth will not have such a disruptive effect on the world economy.
(3) Developing countries have strengthened their fiscal systems in such a way that they will not be shaken to such a great extent again
(4) Poverty may increase as the gap between the rich and the poor increase but it will never reach the same leves as prior to the crisis.
(5) Citizens in advanced countries became much better off than those in emerging economies.
7. Which of the following best describes ‘catch-up growth’?
(1) Emerging economies tried but failed to catch up with America, which always grew at a
higher growth rate.
(2) The size of emerging economies and their purchasing power has caught up with and now
exceeds the rich countries together.
(3) The growth of the American economy determines the growth of emerging economies.
(4) From the later half of 1990s onwards emerging economies outdid America in terms of output per person.
(5) None of the given statements describes ‘catch up growth.’
8. Which of the following can be said about ‘convergence with a vengeance?
(A) After the 1990s advanced economies like America were open to the idea of free trade and globalisation.
(B) There were huge technology advances which were conducive to allowing businesses to
spread their area of operations.
(C) Rich economies felt threatened by the competition from China.
(1) Only (A)
(2) Only (B)
(3) Only(C)
(4) Only (A) and (B)
(5) Only (B) and (C)
9. Choose the word which is OPPOSITE in meaning to the word EXPANDED given in bold as used in the passage.
(1) widened
(2) pressured
(3) delayed
(4) shrunk
(5) frightened
10. What is the author’s main objective in writing the passage?
(A) To urge emerging economies to deal with growth, which can be disruptive, maturely and
without conflict
(B) To point out that while the period of growth of BRICs was disruptive this disruption has
almost come to a close.
(C) To criticise advanced economies for their handling of growth and promoting competition and conflict in certain regions
(1) Only (A) and (B)
(2) Only (A)
(3) Only(C)
(4) All (A), (B) and (C)
(5) Only (B) and (C)
