Instructions:
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
Comprehension:
The four-year tiger census report, Status of Tigers in India, 2018, released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi shows numbers of the cat have increased across all landscapes.
The Global Tiger Forum, an international collaboration of tiger-bearing countries, has set a goal of doubling the count of wild tigers by 2022. More than 80% of the world’s wild tigers are in India, and it’s crucial to keep track of their numbers.
The total count in 2018 has risen to 2,967 from 2,226 in 2014 — an increase of 741 individuals an increase of 33%, in four years.
This is by far the biggest increase in terms of both numbers and percentage since the four?yearly census using camera traps and the capture-mark-recapture method began in 2006. The 2018 figure has a great degree of credibility because, according to the report, as many as 2,461 individual tigers (83% of the total) have actually been photographed by trap cameras. In 2014, only 1,540 individuals (69%) were photographed.

The tiger census is needed because the tiger sits at the peak of the food chain, and its conservation is important to ensure the well-being of the forest ecosystem. The tiger estimation exercise includes habitat assessment and prey estimation. The numbers reflect the success or failure of conservation efforts. This is an especially important indicator in a fast-growing economy like India where the pressures of development often run counter to the demands of conservation.
Where has the tiger population increased the most?
The biggest increase has been in Madhya Pradesh — a massive 218 individuals (71%) from 308 in 2014 to 526.
However, since tigers keep moving between states, conservationists prefer to talk about tiger numbers in terms of landscapes.
So, why have the numbers gone up?
The success owes a lot to increased vigilance and conservation efforts by the Forest Department. From 28 in 2006, the number of tiger reserves went up to 50 in 2018, extending protection to larger numbers of tigers over the years. Healthy increases in core area populations eventually lead to migrations to areas outside the core; this is why the 2018 census has found tigers in newer areas. Over the years, there has been increased focus on tigers even in the areas under the territorial and commercial forestry arms of Forest Departments.
The other important reason is increased vigilance, and the fact that organized poaching rackets have been all but crushed. According to Nitin Desai of Wildlife Protection Society of India, there has been no organized poaching by traditional gangs in Central Indian landscapes since 2013.
The increased protection has encouraged the tiger to breed. Tigers are fast breeders when conditions are conducive.
The rehabilitation of villages outside core areas in many parts of the country has led to the availability of more inviolate space for tigers.
Also, because estimation exercises have become increasingly more accurate over the years, it is possible that many tigers that eluded enumerators in earlier exercises were counted this time.

101)

Pick out a word that is similar in meaning to: CONDUCIVE

SSC CGL 2019

A)

reclusive

B)

helpful

C)

unfavorable

D)

hindering

Instructions:
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
Comprehension:
A few years ago it seemed as if the moment for stand-up comedy had arrived. By the end of 2017, stand-up comedians were on the cover of a magazine, signaling the coming of age of the industry.
The stand-up game attracted investors in the right places: on platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, apart from increasing open mic schedules in venues across cities. Two major companies Comedy Store and Canvas Laugh Club arrived on the scene and were game changers.
But despite a heady start, the comic landscape has changed drastically today with stand- up comedians feeling the brunt of faltering payments and cancelled shows.

 Despite a good start, the Indian stand-up industry is still unorganized and uncertain for comics.
If you ask viral comic Kunal Kamra about the scene, he says that the audience isn’t really ‘invested’ in the art form at the moment and that only ten or twenty tickets would sell if comics weren’t on the internet promoting themselves. And this is despite the surge in open mics and more stand-ups coming in.
Last year, new-age Indian comedy’s reputation came under strain when allegations under the #MeToo movement exposed a darker side of the circuit. Since then, the big three comedy groups: All India Bakchod, SNG Comedy and East India Comedy, have either disbanded or had founding members quit.
Jeeya Sethi, a leading comedian says, “It’s a good thing that these -collectives have died because they mostly had men with no women being showcased.”
Sethi adds saying that it isn’t as easy as it sounds. “In a fledgling industry, a viral YouTube video isn’t a sign that you’ve made it”. Craft takes time. Every comic who does two open mics calls himself a comedian. In my opinion, you have to do comedy for more than 20 years to be a comic. It takes at least five years to find your voice.”

102)

By saying ‘the audience has not invested in the stand-up comedy art form’ the author means that-

SSC CGL 2019

A)

the audience prefers to watch only women comedians.

B)

it is a new art form and it will take time to build an audience.

C)

the audience don’t wish to develop a sense of humour.

D)

there are faltering payments and cancelled shows.

103)

The stand-up comedy show had a wonderful start because-
1. Open mic shows were held in venues across cities.
2. Leading companies came forward to support artists.
3. Payments to artists were prompt and good.
4. Some Bollywood directors offered them roles.
5. Comedians were given good media coverage.

SSC CGL 2019

A)

3, 4 & 5

B)

1, 2 & 5

C)

2, 4 & 5

D)

2, 3 & 4

104)

Select the word which means the same as ‘fledgling’ in the given context-

SSC CGL 2019

A)

a nervous person who frets a lot

B)

a fairly new company or industry

C)

a mature person who performs well

D)

a successful and established venture

105)

How has the situation been reversed from the early success of stand-up comedy?

SSC CGL 2019

A)

SNG Comedy and East India Comedy support the comedians.

B)

Comedians are being offered double the price asked by them.

C)

Comedy Store and Canvas Laugh Club are offering bigger platforms to comedians.

D)

Comedy groups are packing up and founders are resigning.

106)

Sethi believes that-
1. The road to success is only through YouTube.
2. A a viral YouTube video is a sign of success.
3. Comedy is an art form and takes hard work and patience.
4. The true comic artist takes years to find one’s voice.

SSC CGL 2019

A)

1 & 3

B)

2 & 4

C)

1 & 2

D)

3 & 4

According to a new American study headed by Dr. Willis, it has been found that people who exercise in the morning seem to lose more weight than people completing the same workouts later in the day.
These findings help shed light on the vexing issue of why some people shed considerable weight with exercise and others almost none. The study adds to the growing body of science suggesting that the timing of various activities, including exercise, could affect how those activities affect us.
The relationship between exercise and body weight is somewhat befuddling. Multiple past studies show that a majority of people who take up exercise to lose weight drop fewer pounds than would be expected, given how many calories they are burning during their workouts. 

Some gain weight. But a few respond quite well, shedding pound after pound with the same exercise regimen that prompts others to add inches.
The Midwest Trial 2, was conducted in the University of Kansas, U.S. on how regular, supervised exercise influences body weight.
The trial involved 100 overweight, previously inactive young men and women who were made to work out five times a week at a physiology lab, jogging or otherwise sweating until they had burned up to 600 calories per session.
After 10 months of this regimen, almost everyone had dropped pounds. But the extent of their losses fluctuated wildly, even though everyone was doing the same, supervised workout. A team of researchers started brainstorming what could be responsible for the enormous variability in the weight loss.
They hit upon activity timing. They decided to do a Follow -up study of the Mid West Trial 2. In this new study,the Mid West Trial 2 Follow up study the researchers now studied a team of participants who could visit the gym whenever they wished between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. They also tracked everyone’s calorie intakes and daily movement habits throughout the 10 months. They knew, too, whether and by how much people’s weights had changed. 

Now, they checked weight change against exercise schedules and quickly noticed a consistent pattern.
Those people who usually worked out before noon had lost more weight, on average, than the men and women who typically exercised after 3 p.m.
The researchers uncovered a few other, possibly relevant differences between the morning and late-day exercisers. The early-exercise group tended to be slightly more active throughout the day, taking more steps in total than those who worked out later. They also ate less. 

These factors may cumulatively have contributed to the striking differences in how many pounds people lost, Dr. Willis says.
Thus it seems that people who worked out before noon lost more weight, on average, than those who typically exercised after 3 p.m.
But Dr. Willis also points out that most of those who worked out later in the day did lose weight, even if not as much as the larkish exercisers, and almost certainly became healthier. “I would not want anyone to think that it’s not worth exercising if you can’t do it first thing in the morning,” he says. “Any exercise, at any time of day, is going to be better than none.”

107)

The Mid West Trail 2 was a

SSC CGL 2019

A)

A European study on 100 participants who exercised 7 times a week and burnt 800 calories.

B)

Canadian study on 500 participants who exercised 6 times a week and burnt 600 calories.

C)

U.S based study on 100 participants who exercised 5 times a week and burnt 600 calories.

D)

U.S based study on 100 participants who exercised 3 times a week and burnt 300 calories.

108)

The Mid West Trial 2 duration was -

SSC CGL 2019

A)

12 months

B)

6 months

C)

18 months

D)

10 months

109)

Select the option that is not true as per the passage.
Several studies show that as a result of the workout-

SSC CGL 2019

A)

the majority lost a little weight.

B)

a few had the desired weight loss.

C)

some gained some weight.

D)

most gained a lot of weight.

110)

What was the difference between the Mid West Trial 2 study and the Mid West Trial 2 Follow-up study that was taken up later?

SSC CGL 2019

A)

The duration of the follow up study was longer.

B)

The calorie intake and the time of exercise were examined.

C)

Participants of the study stayed in the premises.

D)

Face to face interviews were conducted.