SSC CGL English Reading Comprehension Quiz (Advanced Level): 19 November

Direction (1-5): Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

Homebuyers parted of their money by real estate developers have some relief coming their way. The Union Cabinet has cleared an ordinance amending the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), a law which came into force in November 2016 to hasten the process of winding up failed businesses. While the government refused to divulge specific details of the amendment, the change to the law is expected to help offer better treatment to homebuyers when it comes to recovering their dues from bankrupt companies. A 14-member panel formed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had recommended last month that homebuyers should be treated as financial creditors during the bankruptcy resolution process. It is yet to be known whether homebuyers will be treated better or worse than banks and other financial lenders under the amended law. But there is a sound reason to treat them a step above these traditional lenders. Economically speaking, homebuyers are not creditors but only customers to real estate developers. Unlike traditional creditors such as banks and institutional investors, they do not offer their money in expectation of excess returns. Homebuyers simply want the delivery of a good that was promised to them. It is thus unfair to push homebuyers, who did not choose to risk their money on an uncertain venture in the first place, down the pecking order when it comes to sharing the spoils of a bankrupt entity.
Until now, homebuyers have had to knock on the doors of the courts to uphold their rights, while other stakeholders benefited significantly at their cost. The travails of several homebuyers in the Jaypee insolvency case, in which the Supreme Court had to intervene in favour of homebuyers in the bankruptcy resolution process, is a case in point. The amendment, if it meets expectations, could also reduce the inconsistencies between the IBC and the Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA). While RERA was introduced with the goal of protecting the rights of buyers by ensuring the timely and honest delivery of homes, they have had to be content with a relatively low status among the various stakeholders in a bankruptcy proceeding. In fact, buyers have been treated as unsecured creditors. The removal of this inconsistency can help courts deliver better justice to homebuyers in the future. Along with RERA, the proposed amendment can go a long way in stopping unscrupulous real estate developers from fleecing homebuyers with promises that they cannot really keep. While upholding homeowner rights could cause pain to wayward real estate developers and large creditors like banks, it will help in the development of a transparent and more efficient real estate market.

Q1. According to the passage, who are traditional lenders?
(a) homebuyers
(b) consumers
(c) home sellers
(d) banks and institutional investors
Q2. What could be the suitable ‘title’ for the above passage?
(a) Problems faced by homebuyers
(b) Banks and their conditions
(c) Relief for homebuyers
(d) Sellers are no more creditors
Q3. The removal of this inconsistency can help ___________
(a) honest delivery of homes
(b) in reducing the cost of the houses
(c) homebuyers who will get better judgement in future
(d) all of the above
Q4. What’s the tone of the passage?
(a) cynical
(b) argumentative
(c) benevolent
(d) caustic
Q5. Choose the word which is opposite in meaning to “divulge”.
(a) promulgate
(b) conceal
(c) proclaim
(d) betray

Direction (6-10): Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear on June 1 a plea against alleged rampant culling of stray dogs in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh following deaths of several children in the area over the past few months. The plea was mentioned for urgent hearing before a Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and M.M. Shantanagoudar which said it would hear the matter on June 1. The petition has sought a direction to Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that no more killings of community dogs take place in the State as an after-effect of death of 13 children in the past seven months in the Sitapur district unless it was established that dogs were behind such attacks.
The plea said that subsequent investigations had pointed towards attacks on children by wild animals and not stray dogs. It has alleged that there was “indiscriminate and inhuman killing” of stray dogs in Sitapur on the mere assumption that the deaths were being allegedly caused by dog attacks. The plea claimed that “owing to lack of proper efforts by the district administration to contain the number of attacks and the reason behind the same, the attack increased drastically which has as per the reports has led to death of 13 children”.
The petition, filed by advocate Gargi Srivastava, has claimed that the magnitude of the problem grew this month when unconfirmed reports of attacks being carried out by stray dogs appeared in the media after statements by the district magistrate of Sitapur.
“Following such newspaper reports, indiscriminate and brutal killing of dogs by hanging them alive, burying them alive, hitting them with ‘lathis’ (wooden stick), leaving them to bleed to death in a pile of garbage and shooting them point blank started,” the plea said.
“This rampant massacre led to over 150 community dogs being brutally killed over a span of few days by not only the local people but also under orders of the village panchayats, police officials as well as the officers from district administration,” it claimed.
“The applicant herein is conscious of the plight of the families of the victims but the approach of the government and the administration in brushing aside this issue and leading to culling of dogs is nothing but a failed attempt to cover up their inactions.

Q6. According to the passage, the fallacy caused among the people is?
(a) That 13 children in the past seven months
(b) That over 150 community dogs being brutally killed over a span of few days
(c) That brutal killing of dogs by hanging them alive is right
(d) That stray dogs killed several children in the area

Q7. What could be the suitable ‘title’ for the above passage?
(a) Dogs are more terrifying than Men
(b) Gift by government to Sitapur
(c) Right judgment at right time
(d) Sitapur killings make it to Supreme Court

Q8. After-effect of death of 13 children in the past seven months, the petition has sought a direction to Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that
(a) No more killings of children should take place
(b) The district administration should take actions in this case
(c) No more killings of community dogs
(d) All of the above

Q9. What’s the tone of the passage?
(a) Cynical
(b) Argumentative
(c) Cautionary
(d) Caustic

Q10. The death of 13 children is caused due to the lack of _____________
(a) Dog catcher in the area
(b) State government
(c) District administration
(d) Awareness between the people about the different types of dogs

                                                               Solutions

S1. Ans. (d)
Sol. Refer to, “Economically speaking, homebuyers are not creditors but only customers to real estate developers. Unlike traditional creditors such as banks and institutional investors, they do not offer their money in expectation of excess returns.”
S2. Ans. (c)
Sol. The suitable ‘title’ for the above passage is “Relief for homebuyers”.
S3. Ans. (c)
Sol. Refer to, “The removal of this inconsistency can help courts deliver better justice to homebuyers in the future.”
S4. Ans. (c)
Sol. Benevolent means serving a charitable rather than a profit-making purpose.
S5. Ans. (b)
Sol. Divulge means make known (private or sensitive information).
Conceal means prevent (something) from being known; keep secret.
S6. Ans. (d)
Sol. Refer to, “The plea said that subsequent investigations had pointed towards attacks on children by wild animals and not stray dogs. It has alleged that there was “indiscriminate and inhuman killing” of stray dogs in Sitapur on the mere assumption that the deaths were being allegedly caused by dog attacks.”

S7. Ans. (d)
Sol. The suitable ‘title’ for the above passage is “Sitapur killings make it to Supreme Court”.

S8. Ans. (c)
Sol. Refer to, “The petition has sought a direction to Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that no more killings of community dogs take place in the State as an after-effect of death of 13 children in the past seven months in the Sitapur district unless it was established that dogs were behind such attacks.”

S9. Ans. (c)
Sol. Tone of the passage is “Cautionary”.
Cautionary: giving a warning.

S10. Ans. (c)
Sol. Refer to, “The plea claimed that “owing to lack of proper efforts by the district administration to contain the number of attacks and the reason behind the same, the attack increased drastically which has as per the reports has led to death of 13 children”.

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