In each of the following below is given a group of letters followed by four combinations of digits/symbols numbered (A), (B), (C) and (D). You have to find out which of the combinations correctly represents the group of letters based on the following coding system and mark the number of that combination as the answer. If none of the four combinations correctly represents the group of letters, mark (E), i.e. ‘None of these’, as the answer-

Conditions:
(i) If first letter is vowel and last letter is consonant then both are coded with the code of the consonant.
(ii) If both the first and the last letter of the group are vowels, their codes are to be interchanged.
(iii) If the first letter is a consonant and the last letter is a vowel, both are to be coded as the code for the vowel.
(iv)If both third and fifth letter is vowel then both are coded as the code of third letter.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. 

In each of the following below is given a group of letters followed by four combinations of digits/symbols numbered (A), (B), (C) and (D). You have to find out which of the combinations correctly represents the group of letters based on the following coding system and mark the number of that combination as the answer. If none of the four combinations correctly represents the group of letters, mark (E), i.e. ‘None of these’, as the answer-

Conditions:
(i) If first letter is vowel and last letter is consonant then both are coded with the code of the consonant.
(ii) If both the first and the last letter of the group are vowels, their codes are to be interchanged.
(iii) If the first letter is a consonant and the last letter is a vowel, both are to be coded as the code for the vowel.
(iv)If both third and fifth letter is vowel then both are coded as the code of third letter.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. 

In each of the following below is given a group of letters followed by four combinations of digits/symbols numbered (A), (B), (C) and (D). You have to find out which of the combinations correctly represents the group of letters based on the following coding system and mark the number of that combination as the answer. If none of the four combinations correctly represents the group of letters, mark (E), i.e. ‘None of these’, as the answer-

Conditions:
(i) If first letter is vowel and last letter is consonant then both are coded with the code of the consonant.
(ii) If both the first and the last letter of the group are vowels, their codes are to be interchanged.
(iii) If the first letter is a consonant and the last letter is a vowel, both are to be coded as the code for the vowel.
(iv)If both third and fifth letter is vowel then both are coded as the code of third letter.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

In each of the following below is given a group of letters followed by four combinations of digits/symbols numbered (A), (B), (C) and (D). You have to find out which of the combinations correctly represents the group of letters based on the following coding system and mark the number of that combination as the answer. If none of the four combinations correctly represents the group of letters, mark (E), i.e. ‘None of these’, as the answer-

Conditions:
(i) If first letter is vowel and last letter is consonant then both are coded with the code of the consonant.
(ii) If both the first and the last letter of the group are vowels, their codes are to be interchanged.
(iii) If the first letter is a consonant and the last letter is a vowel, both are to be coded as the code for the vowel.
(iv)If both third and fifth letter is vowel then both are coded as the code of third letter.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

In each of the following below is given a group of letters followed by four combinations of digits/symbols numbered (A), (B), (C) and (D). You have to find out which of the combinations correctly represents the group of letters based on the following coding system and mark the number of that combination as the answer. If none of the four combinations correctly represents the group of letters, mark (E), i.e. ‘None of these’, as the answer-

Conditions:
(i) If first letter is vowel and last letter is consonant then both are coded with the code of the consonant.
(ii) If both the first and the last letter of the group are vowels, their codes are to be interchanged.
(iii) If the first letter is a consonant and the last letter is a vowel, both are to be coded as the code for the vowel.
(iv)If both third and fifth letter is vowel then both are coded as the code of third letter.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

How many such pairs of letters are there in the word “CHOCOLATE”, each of which has as many alphabets between them as they have according to English alphabetical series?

A person starts walking in north direction after walking 10km he takes a right turn and covers 7km then he takes a right turn and covers 5km. Thereafter he moves to the west direction and walks 10km. Finally he takes a left turn and walks 1km to reach to his destination. Find out how far and in which direction he is now from his initial position?

If in a code language, CHAIR is written as JSATY, how will TABLE be written in that code?

In a class the number of boys and number of girls are in the ratio of 2 : 3. If the number of boy is increased by 20% and number of girls is increased by 20 then the new ratio of the number of boys to that of girls are 3:5. What is the total strength after increase?

Ramesh, Rajan and Ritesh enter into partnership by making investments in the ratio 3 : 5 : 7. After a year, Ritesh invests another Rs. 337600 while Ramesh withdraws Rs. 45600. The ratio of investments then changes to 24 : 59 : 167. How much did Ramesh invest initially?

The average age of all the students of a class is 16 years. The average age of boys of the class is 21 years and that of the girls is 12 years. What is the ratio of the boys to the girls?

The sum of the ages of father and son is 50 years. Eight years ago, the product of their ages was two time the father’s age at that time, then the present ages (in years) of the father and son respectively are

In two alloys, copper and zinc are present in the ratios of 5:2 and 2:3. 14 kg of 1st alloy, 10 kg of 2nd alloy and some of pure copper are melted togther. An alloy was obtained in which the ratio of copper to zinc was 2:1. Find the weight of the pure copper melted?

Sumit arrive at his school 5 minutes late if he walk with a speed of 4 km./h, but he arrive 10 minutes before the scheduled time if he walk with a speed of 5 km/h. The distance of his school from his house (in km) is ?

Ram can swims from a point A against a current for 5 minutes and then swims backwards with the current for next 5 minutes and comes to the point B. If AB is 100 metres, the speed of the current (in km per hour) is :

The length of one side of a quadrilateral, which have all side equal but none of the angle is right angle, is 6.5 cm and its altitude is 10 cm. If the length of its diagonal be 26 cm, the length of the other diagonal will be:

A box contains 4 blue balls, 7 red balls, 5 green balls and 3 yellow balls, if one ball is picked at random, what is the probability that it is either blue or yellow?

The following pie charts show the distribution of students of Arts and Commerce in seven different institutes in a town.
Distribution of students of arts and commerce in seven institutes.

What is the total number of Arts and commerce students in institute R?

The following pie charts show the distribution of students of Arts and Commerce in seven different institutes in a town.
Distribution of students of arts and commerce in seven institutes.

What is the ratio between the number of girls studying in Arts to the number of boys studying commerce in institute S, if the ratio of boys to girls of arts student and girls to boys of commerce students respectively of institute S is 3:4?

The following pie charts show the distribution of students of Arts and Commerce in seven different institutes in a town.
Distribution of students of arts and commerce in seven institutes.

If 25% of the arts students of institute P join the institute R, after that 20% of the arts student of R join institute M, then what is the difference of the arts student of M to the arts student of Q?

The following pie charts show the distribution of students of Arts and Commerce in seven different institutes in a town.
Distribution of students of arts and commerce in seven institutes.

Number of the student in institute S is what percent of the number of the student of institute R if there is no other branch of study rather than arts and commerce?(approximately)

The following pie charts show the distribution of students of Arts and Commerce in seven different institutes in a town.
Distribution of students of arts and commerce in seven institutes.

Total number of students studying in arts from institute N and commerce from institute P is:-

Ajay and Aakash enter into a partnership with their capitals in the ratio 3 : 5. At the end of 4 months, Ajay withdraws his capital. If they receive the profits in the ratio 4 : 5, find how long Aakash’s capital was used?

Three Science classes X, Y and Z take a Life Science test. The average score of class X is 83. The average score of class Y is 76. The average score of class Z is 85. The average score of class X and Y is 79 and average score of class Y and Z is 81. Then the average score of classes X, Y and Z is

Zack borrowed a sum of money form John at the rate of 8% per annum simple interest for the first four years, 10% per annum for the next 6 years and 12% per annum for the period beyond 10 years. If he pays a total of Rs 12160 as interest only at the end of 15 years, how much money did he borrow?

A train 120 meters long overtook a horse which was running at the speed of 18 km an hour in the same direction, and passed him in  seconds. Subsequently it overtook a person moving in opposite direction, and passed him in 8 seconds. At what rate was the person travelling?

A copper sphere of diameter 42 cm is drawn into a wire of diameter 70 mm. Then, the length of the wire is?

A train travelling at 48 km/hr crosses another train, having half its length and travelling in opposite direction at 42 km/hr in 12 seconds. It also passed a railway platform in 45 seconds. The length of the rail platform is

B is twice efficient as A and A can do a piece of work in 15 days. A started the work and after a few days B joined him. They completed the work in 11 days, from the starting. For how many days did they work together?

A, B, C and D purchased a restaurant for Rs. 56 lakhs. The contribution of B, C and D together is 460% of A alone, The contribution of A, C and D together is 366.66% that of B’s contribution and the contribution of C is 40% that of A, B and D together. The amount contributed by D is

The bar chart given below shows the percentage distribution of the population lives in various cities in 2007 and 2008. The total population in 2007 was 35 lakh and in 2008 the population was 44 lakh. Study the chart and answer the following questions.

Total number of people lives in city A, B and E in year 2007 was?

The bar chart given below shows the percentage distribution of the population lives in various cities in 2007 and 2008. The total population in 2007 was 35 lakh and in 2008 the population was 44 lakh. Study the chart and answer the following questions.

For which city the difference between number of people lives in year 2007 and year 2008 is maximum?

The bar chart given below shows the percentage distribution of the population lives in various cities in 2007 and 2008. The total population in 2007 was 35 lakh and in 2008 the population was 44 lakh. Study the chart and answer the following questions.

What was the difference in the number of people lives in city B in year 2007 and year 2008 ?

The bar chart given below shows the percentage distribution of the population lives in various cities in 2007 and 2008. The total population in 2007 was 35 lakh and in 2008 the population was 44 lakh. Study the chart and answer the following questions.

If 30% of the population of city A in year 2007 are children, then what is the average of the children lives in A in both year if there is an increase of 25% in the child population from the previous year of city A.

The bar chart given below shows the percentage distribution of the population lives in various cities in 2007 and 2008. The total population in 2007 was 35 lakh and in 2008 the population was 44 lakh. Study the chart and answer the following questions.

What is the ratio of the population of city D and E in year 2007 together to the population of the city B and F in year 2008 together?

A CPU contains ……………………..

In a silicon chip of complete electronic circuit with transistors and other the electronic devices is called—

By which printer a character prints in only one stroke?

Which of the following is a Powerful key that lets you exit a program when pushed?

Storage media such as a CD read and write information using __________

The set of instructions which tell a computer what to do is called…..

What is terminal?

LANs can be connected by devices called ______ which operate on the data link layer.

What is the most common way to get a virus in your computer’s hard disk ?

Which of the following is related with 202.191.149.218?

Java was introduced by which among the following organisation?

ER Diagram in DBMS is a graphical method used to represent _________.

What is Visual FOXPRO?

The term ‘time sharing’ has been replaced by:

The analytical engine developed during first generation of computers used __________ as a memory unit.

The process of connecting/ accessing to an account is called as:

Which of the following is true about Assembly language?

A ___________ search engine is a search tool that uses another search engine’s data to produce their own results from the Internet.

Which of the following is a programming language for creating special programs like applets?

Which type of virus is generally scripted into common application programs like Excel and Word to infect the other documents and spreads to the other parts when the application is running?

__________ has the shortest access times.

The device that can both feed data into and accept data from a computer is called _________

Which among the following is the latest version of Microsoft Windows?

To delete the selected item permanently, press __________.

The two ways to arrange multiple windows on the desktop are:

The coding language used to create documents for use on the Internet is __________.

What is an E-mail?

Smart card is:

Which among the following is the largest unit of storage?

Website can be a collection of ________.

By an intranet we mean:

Personal computers used a number of chips mounted on a main circuit board. What is the common name for such boards?

Which among the following is a term representing unit of data storage in computer memory?

Which among the following carries signals that control the actions of the computer?

What are those programs collectively called which are created for performing particular tasks in the computer system?

Who among the following is considered the father of modern computing?

Which of the following is used to insert a CD/DVD in a computer?

A Bug can be called an error which generally comes in a software or a hardware. Which among the following is another name that may refer to bugs in computers?

Which of the following general purpose software allows you to do mathematical or financial calculation?

A _________ is a component of motherboard which absorbs the heat produced by the processor and other components of a computer.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
DARA-I MAZOR, NURGAL, KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN — It is only a short drive into a side valley just off the busy main road between Jalalabad and Asadabad, the capitals of Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. The narrow dusty road passes fields of golden blades of wheat that slightly sway in the light breeze. Beyond the fields and the scattered verdant trees, barren craggy hills frame the valley called Dara-i Mazor in Kunar’s district of Nurgal. Across the small river, some of the traditional mud houses resemble tiny bulky castles, hinting at the fact that Afghanistan’s violent past dates much further back than the U.S. or Soviet-led invasions. Behind a low farm house that lies quietly in the shadows of surrounding trees, there is yet another wheat field. But next to it several patches of land are covered in other plants whose single green stems topped by golf-ball sized pods rise above the bushy leaves at their roots. It is opium-yielding poppy.
Opium has an analgesic effect and is the base for morphine, heroin, and other opioids that are used for medical purposes, but also for illegal drug consumption. Afghanistan accounts for some 70 percent of the global opium production, according to the World Drug Report 2016 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Although poppy cultivation is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, it can be found throughout the country. And while opium production is more prevalentin ungoverned areas like Dara-i Mazor, it also exists in government-controlled zones, as security forces, often struggling to keep insurgents at bay, are hardly able to prevent poppy cultivation. In Kunar, early May was the end of the short harvest season, which takes places right after the white or dark pink poppy flowers have withered and only the green capsules remain. This can be earlier or later in other regions of the country, depending on the local conditions.
The harvest itself is a labor-intensive task. Every single poppy pod has to be lanced with a tool with several tiny blades at its end. Once lanced, the opium latex immediately leaks out of the razor-thin scratches (in Dara-i Mazor the sap is a light pink, but experts say that it is usually white at first before it oxidates in the air, quickly turning to a pink and later dark brown color). The valuable latex is just liquid enough to drip out, but stillgooey enough to stick to the pod and to not drop to the ground. Normally, the capsules are then left until the next day. However, given my short visit, the locals showed me right away how they skim the leaked-out opium from the pod with another tool that looks like a broad sickle. One farmer, a young man with a neatly trimmed beard and pitch black, greasy hair, stated that about 60 percent of his fields are poppy. And this is not an exception. Asked for his reason to plant poppy, he said that he is forced to do it because other crops would yield little profit. This was also asserted by other farmers in Nurgal and Shigal, another district of Kunar. However, they don’t claim that other crops would yield no profit, raising the question of whether they are only engaging in poppy cultivation for the higher profits that no licit crop can possibly generate.
But according to Dr. David Mansfield, a senior researcher for the London School of Economics and the Afghan Research & Evaluation Unit who has worked on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for almost two decades, profit-maximization is not the driving force behind the decision. Afghan farmers would rather try to balance their livelihoods, secure a certain degree of food self-sufficiency, use their soil sustainably (which also means changing or rotating different crops), and mitigate risks of crop failures. Thus, the monetary profit is only one of many factors in the farmers’ decisions. In any event, Mansfield asserted that – in his years of experience across Afghanistan and despite allegations to the contrary – he has never met a single farmer that was physicallycoerced into cultivating opium. Reports also often suggest that farmers are de facto forced to sow poppy as they are dependent on advance payments that they can obtain for the future opium harvest or have no other choice than to produce opium to repay loans. However, sources explained that the system of advance payments on future harvests has dramatically decreased in past years and also exists for other crops. And although economic pressure plays a role, according to UNODC, “having outstanding loans did not emerge as a differentiating factor for cultivating opium since the percentage of farmers under debt or with outstanding loans were similar [whether they grew poppy or not].”

Why Afghanistan is considered the cynosure of opium-yielding poppy?
(I) as Opium cultivation is the primary source of income for the farmers in Afghanistan (II) as according to the 2016 world drug report, about 70% of opium is cultivated in Afghanistan (III) as majority of workforce is directly involved in the production of morphine, heroin, and other opioids

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
DARA-I MAZOR, NURGAL, KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN — It is only a short drive into a side valley just off the busy main road between Jalalabad and Asadabad, the capitals of Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. The narrow dusty road passes fields of golden blades of wheat that slightly sway in the light breeze. Beyond the fields and the scattered verdant trees, barren craggy hills frame the valley called Dara-i Mazor in Kunar’s district of Nurgal. Across the small river, some of the traditional mud houses resemble tiny bulky castles, hinting at the fact that Afghanistan’s violent past dates much further back than the U.S. or Soviet-led invasions. Behind a low farm house that lies quietly in the shadows of surrounding trees, there is yet another wheat field. But next to it several patches of land are covered in other plants whose single green stems topped by golf-ball sized pods rise above the bushy leaves at their roots. It is opium-yielding poppy.
Opium has an analgesic effect and is the base for morphine, heroin, and other opioids that are used for medical purposes, but also for illegal drug consumption. Afghanistan accounts for some 70 percent of the global opium production, according to the World Drug Report 2016 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Although poppy cultivation is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, it can be found throughout the country. And while opium production is more prevalentin ungoverned areas like Dara-i Mazor, it also exists in government-controlled zones, as security forces, often struggling to keep insurgents at bay, are hardly able to prevent poppy cultivation. In Kunar, early May was the end of the short harvest season, which takes places right after the white or dark pink poppy flowers have withered and only the green capsules remain. This can be earlier or later in other regions of the country, depending on the local conditions.
The harvest itself is a labor-intensive task. Every single poppy pod has to be lanced with a tool with several tiny blades at its end. Once lanced, the opium latex immediately leaks out of the razor-thin scratches (in Dara-i Mazor the sap is a light pink, but experts say that it is usually white at first before it oxidates in the air, quickly turning to a pink and later dark brown color). The valuable latex is just liquid enough to drip out, but stillgooey enough to stick to the pod and to not drop to the ground. Normally, the capsules are then left until the next day. However, given my short visit, the locals showed me right away how they skim the leaked-out opium from the pod with another tool that looks like a broad sickle. One farmer, a young man with a neatly trimmed beard and pitch black, greasy hair, stated that about 60 percent of his fields are poppy. And this is not an exception. Asked for his reason to plant poppy, he said that he is forced to do it because other crops would yield little profit. This was also asserted by other farmers in Nurgal and Shigal, another district of Kunar. However, they don’t claim that other crops would yield no profit, raising the question of whether they are only engaging in poppy cultivation for the higher profits that no licit crop can possibly generate.
But according to Dr. David Mansfield, a senior researcher for the London School of Economics and the Afghan Research & Evaluation Unit who has worked on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for almost two decades, profit-maximization is not the driving force behind the decision. Afghan farmers would rather try to balance their livelihoods, secure a certain degree of food self-sufficiency, use their soil sustainably (which also means changing or rotating different crops), and mitigate risks of crop failures. Thus, the monetary profit is only one of many factors in the farmers’ decisions. In any event, Mansfield asserted that – in his years of experience across Afghanistan and despite allegations to the contrary – he has never met a single farmer that was physicallycoerced into cultivating opium. Reports also often suggest that farmers are de facto forced to sow poppy as they are dependent on advance payments that they can obtain for the future opium harvest or have no other choice than to produce opium to repay loans. However, sources explained that the system of advance payments on future harvests has dramatically decreased in past years and also exists for other crops. And although economic pressure plays a role, according to UNODC, “having outstanding loans did not emerge as a differentiating factor for cultivating opium since the percentage of farmers under debt or with outstanding loans were similar [whether they grew poppy or not].”

Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE in the context of the passage?

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
DARA-I MAZOR, NURGAL, KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN — It is only a short drive into a side valley just off the busy main road between Jalalabad and Asadabad, the capitals of Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. The narrow dusty road passes fields of golden blades of wheat that slightly sway in the light breeze. Beyond the fields and the scattered verdant trees, barren craggy hills frame the valley called Dara-i Mazor in Kunar’s district of Nurgal. Across the small river, some of the traditional mud houses resemble tiny bulky castles, hinting at the fact that Afghanistan’s violent past dates much further back than the U.S. or Soviet-led invasions. Behind a low farm house that lies quietly in the shadows of surrounding trees, there is yet another wheat field. But next to it several patches of land are covered in other plants whose single green stems topped by golf-ball sized pods rise above the bushy leaves at their roots. It is opium-yielding poppy.
Opium has an analgesic effect and is the base for morphine, heroin, and other opioids that are used for medical purposes, but also for illegal drug consumption. Afghanistan accounts for some 70 percent of the global opium production, according to the World Drug Report 2016 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Although poppy cultivation is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, it can be found throughout the country. And while opium production is more prevalentin ungoverned areas like Dara-i Mazor, it also exists in government-controlled zones, as security forces, often struggling to keep insurgents at bay, are hardly able to prevent poppy cultivation. In Kunar, early May was the end of the short harvest season, which takes places right after the white or dark pink poppy flowers have withered and only the green capsules remain. This can be earlier or later in other regions of the country, depending on the local conditions.
The harvest itself is a labor-intensive task. Every single poppy pod has to be lanced with a tool with several tiny blades at its end. Once lanced, the opium latex immediately leaks out of the razor-thin scratches (in Dara-i Mazor the sap is a light pink, but experts say that it is usually white at first before it oxidates in the air, quickly turning to a pink and later dark brown color). The valuable latex is just liquid enough to drip out, but stillgooey enough to stick to the pod and to not drop to the ground. Normally, the capsules are then left until the next day. However, given my short visit, the locals showed me right away how they skim the leaked-out opium from the pod with another tool that looks like a broad sickle. One farmer, a young man with a neatly trimmed beard and pitch black, greasy hair, stated that about 60 percent of his fields are poppy. And this is not an exception. Asked for his reason to plant poppy, he said that he is forced to do it because other crops would yield little profit. This was also asserted by other farmers in Nurgal and Shigal, another district of Kunar. However, they don’t claim that other crops would yield no profit, raising the question of whether they are only engaging in poppy cultivation for the higher profits that no licit crop can possibly generate.
But according to Dr. David Mansfield, a senior researcher for the London School of Economics and the Afghan Research & Evaluation Unit who has worked on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for almost two decades, profit-maximization is not the driving force behind the decision. Afghan farmers would rather try to balance their livelihoods, secure a certain degree of food self-sufficiency, use their soil sustainably (which also means changing or rotating different crops), and mitigate risks of crop failures. Thus, the monetary profit is only one of many factors in the farmers’ decisions. In any event, Mansfield asserted that – in his years of experience across Afghanistan and despite allegations to the contrary – he has never met a single farmer that was physicallycoerced into cultivating opium. Reports also often suggest that farmers are de facto forced to sow poppy as they are dependent on advance payments that they can obtain for the future opium harvest or have no other choice than to produce opium to repay loans. However, sources explained that the system of advance payments on future harvests has dramatically decreased in past years and also exists for other crops. And although economic pressure plays a role, according to UNODC, “having outstanding loans did not emerge as a differentiating factor for cultivating opium since the percentage of farmers under debt or with outstanding loans were similar [whether they grew poppy or not].”

Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE in the context of the passage?

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
DARA-I MAZOR, NURGAL, KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN — It is only a short drive into a side valley just off the busy main road between Jalalabad and Asadabad, the capitals of Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. The narrow dusty road passes fields of golden blades of wheat that slightly sway in the light breeze. Beyond the fields and the scattered verdant trees, barren craggy hills frame the valley called Dara-i Mazor in Kunar’s district of Nurgal. Across the small river, some of the traditional mud houses resemble tiny bulky castles, hinting at the fact that Afghanistan’s violent past dates much further back than the U.S. or Soviet-led invasions. Behind a low farm house that lies quietly in the shadows of surrounding trees, there is yet another wheat field. But next to it several patches of land are covered in other plants whose single green stems topped by golf-ball sized pods rise above the bushy leaves at their roots. It is opium-yielding poppy.
Opium has an analgesic effect and is the base for morphine, heroin, and other opioids that are used for medical purposes, but also for illegal drug consumption. Afghanistan accounts for some 70 percent of the global opium production, according to the World Drug Report 2016 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Although poppy cultivation is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, it can be found throughout the country. And while opium production is more prevalentin ungoverned areas like Dara-i Mazor, it also exists in government-controlled zones, as security forces, often struggling to keep insurgents at bay, are hardly able to prevent poppy cultivation. In Kunar, early May was the end of the short harvest season, which takes places right after the white or dark pink poppy flowers have withered and only the green capsules remain. This can be earlier or later in other regions of the country, depending on the local conditions.
The harvest itself is a labor-intensive task. Every single poppy pod has to be lanced with a tool with several tiny blades at its end. Once lanced, the opium latex immediately leaks out of the razor-thin scratches (in Dara-i Mazor the sap is a light pink, but experts say that it is usually white at first before it oxidates in the air, quickly turning to a pink and later dark brown color). The valuable latex is just liquid enough to drip out, but stillgooey enough to stick to the pod and to not drop to the ground. Normally, the capsules are then left until the next day. However, given my short visit, the locals showed me right away how they skim the leaked-out opium from the pod with another tool that looks like a broad sickle. One farmer, a young man with a neatly trimmed beard and pitch black, greasy hair, stated that about 60 percent of his fields are poppy. And this is not an exception. Asked for his reason to plant poppy, he said that he is forced to do it because other crops would yield little profit. This was also asserted by other farmers in Nurgal and Shigal, another district of Kunar. However, they don’t claim that other crops would yield no profit, raising the question of whether they are only engaging in poppy cultivation for the higher profits that no licit crop can possibly generate.
But according to Dr. David Mansfield, a senior researcher for the London School of Economics and the Afghan Research & Evaluation Unit who has worked on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for almost two decades, profit-maximization is not the driving force behind the decision. Afghan farmers would rather try to balance their livelihoods, secure a certain degree of food self-sufficiency, use their soil sustainably (which also means changing or rotating different crops), and mitigate risks of crop failures. Thus, the monetary profit is only one of many factors in the farmers’ decisions. In any event, Mansfield asserted that – in his years of experience across Afghanistan and despite allegations to the contrary – he has never met a single farmer that was physicallycoerced into cultivating opium. Reports also often suggest that farmers are de facto forced to sow poppy as they are dependent on advance payments that they can obtain for the future opium harvest or have no other choice than to produce opium to repay loans. However, sources explained that the system of advance payments on future harvests has dramatically decreased in past years and also exists for other crops. And although economic pressure plays a role, according to UNODC, “having outstanding loans did not emerge as a differentiating factor for cultivating opium since the percentage of farmers under debt or with outstanding loans were similar [whether they grew poppy or not].”

Why harvesting of opium is considered a labor-intensive task?

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
DARA-I MAZOR, NURGAL, KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN — It is only a short drive into a side valley just off the busy main road between Jalalabad and Asadabad, the capitals of Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. The narrow dusty road passes fields of golden blades of wheat that slightly sway in the light breeze. Beyond the fields and the scattered verdant trees, barren craggy hills frame the valley called Dara-i Mazor in Kunar’s district of Nurgal. Across the small river, some of the traditional mud houses resemble tiny bulky castles, hinting at the fact that Afghanistan’s violent past dates much further back than the U.S. or Soviet-led invasions. Behind a low farm house that lies quietly in the shadows of surrounding trees, there is yet another wheat field. But next to it several patches of land are covered in other plants whose single green stems topped by golf-ball sized pods rise above the bushy leaves at their roots. It is opium-yielding poppy.
Opium has an analgesic effect and is the base for morphine, heroin, and other opioids that are used for medical purposes, but also for illegal drug consumption. Afghanistan accounts for some 70 percent of the global opium production, according to the World Drug Report 2016 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Although poppy cultivation is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, it can be found throughout the country. And while opium production is more prevalentin ungoverned areas like Dara-i Mazor, it also exists in government-controlled zones, as security forces, often struggling to keep insurgents at bay, are hardly able to prevent poppy cultivation. In Kunar, early May was the end of the short harvest season, which takes places right after the white or dark pink poppy flowers have withered and only the green capsules remain. This can be earlier or later in other regions of the country, depending on the local conditions.
The harvest itself is a labor-intensive task. Every single poppy pod has to be lanced with a tool with several tiny blades at its end. Once lanced, the opium latex immediately leaks out of the razor-thin scratches (in Dara-i Mazor the sap is a light pink, but experts say that it is usually white at first before it oxidates in the air, quickly turning to a pink and later dark brown color). The valuable latex is just liquid enough to drip out, but stillgooey enough to stick to the pod and to not drop to the ground. Normally, the capsules are then left until the next day. However, given my short visit, the locals showed me right away how they skim the leaked-out opium from the pod with another tool that looks like a broad sickle. One farmer, a young man with a neatly trimmed beard and pitch black, greasy hair, stated that about 60 percent of his fields are poppy. And this is not an exception. Asked for his reason to plant poppy, he said that he is forced to do it because other crops would yield little profit. This was also asserted by other farmers in Nurgal and Shigal, another district of Kunar. However, they don’t claim that other crops would yield no profit, raising the question of whether they are only engaging in poppy cultivation for the higher profits that no licit crop can possibly generate.
But according to Dr. David Mansfield, a senior researcher for the London School of Economics and the Afghan Research & Evaluation Unit who has worked on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for almost two decades, profit-maximization is not the driving force behind the decision. Afghan farmers would rather try to balance their livelihoods, secure a certain degree of food self-sufficiency, use their soil sustainably (which also means changing or rotating different crops), and mitigate risks of crop failures. Thus, the monetary profit is only one of many factors in the farmers’ decisions. In any event, Mansfield asserted that – in his years of experience across Afghanistan and despite allegations to the contrary – he has never met a single farmer that was physicallycoerced into cultivating opium. Reports also often suggest that farmers are de facto forced to sow poppy as they are dependent on advance payments that they can obtain for the future opium harvest or have no other choice than to produce opium to repay loans. However, sources explained that the system of advance payments on future harvests has dramatically decreased in past years and also exists for other crops. And although economic pressure plays a role, according to UNODC, “having outstanding loans did not emerge as a differentiating factor for cultivating opium since the percentage of farmers under debt or with outstanding loans were similar [whether they grew poppy or not].”

What are the various reasons influencing the farmers for opium cultivation in Afghanistan?

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
DARA-I MAZOR, NURGAL, KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN — It is only a short drive into a side valley just off the busy main road between Jalalabad and Asadabad, the capitals of Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. The narrow dusty road passes fields of golden blades of wheat that slightly sway in the light breeze. Beyond the fields and the scattered verdant trees, barren craggy hills frame the valley called Dara-i Mazor in Kunar’s district of Nurgal. Across the small river, some of the traditional mud houses resemble tiny bulky castles, hinting at the fact that Afghanistan’s violent past dates much further back than the U.S. or Soviet-led invasions. Behind a low farm house that lies quietly in the shadows of surrounding trees, there is yet another wheat field. But next to it several patches of land are covered in other plants whose single green stems topped by golf-ball sized pods rise above the bushy leaves at their roots. It is opium-yielding poppy.
Opium has an analgesic effect and is the base for morphine, heroin, and other opioids that are used for medical purposes, but also for illegal drug consumption. Afghanistan accounts for some 70 percent of the global opium production, according to the World Drug Report 2016 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Although poppy cultivation is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, it can be found throughout the country. And while opium production is more prevalentin ungoverned areas like Dara-i Mazor, it also exists in government-controlled zones, as security forces, often struggling to keep insurgents at bay, are hardly able to prevent poppy cultivation. In Kunar, early May was the end of the short harvest season, which takes places right after the white or dark pink poppy flowers have withered and only the green capsules remain. This can be earlier or later in other regions of the country, depending on the local conditions.
The harvest itself is a labor-intensive task. Every single poppy pod has to be lanced with a tool with several tiny blades at its end. Once lanced, the opium latex immediately leaks out of the razor-thin scratches (in Dara-i Mazor the sap is a light pink, but experts say that it is usually white at first before it oxidates in the air, quickly turning to a pink and later dark brown color). The valuable latex is just liquid enough to drip out, but stillgooey enough to stick to the pod and to not drop to the ground. Normally, the capsules are then left until the next day. However, given my short visit, the locals showed me right away how they skim the leaked-out opium from the pod with another tool that looks like a broad sickle. One farmer, a young man with a neatly trimmed beard and pitch black, greasy hair, stated that about 60 percent of his fields are poppy. And this is not an exception. Asked for his reason to plant poppy, he said that he is forced to do it because other crops would yield little profit. This was also asserted by other farmers in Nurgal and Shigal, another district of Kunar. However, they don’t claim that other crops would yield no profit, raising the question of whether they are only engaging in poppy cultivation for the higher profits that no licit crop can possibly generate.
But according to Dr. David Mansfield, a senior researcher for the London School of Economics and the Afghan Research & Evaluation Unit who has worked on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for almost two decades, profit-maximization is not the driving force behind the decision. Afghan farmers would rather try to balance their livelihoods, secure a certain degree of food self-sufficiency, use their soil sustainably (which also means changing or rotating different crops), and mitigate risks of crop failures. Thus, the monetary profit is only one of many factors in the farmers’ decisions. In any event, Mansfield asserted that – in his years of experience across Afghanistan and despite allegations to the contrary – he has never met a single farmer that was physicallycoerced into cultivating opium. Reports also often suggest that farmers are de facto forced to sow poppy as they are dependent on advance payments that they can obtain for the future opium harvest or have no other choice than to produce opium to repay loans. However, sources explained that the system of advance payments on future harvests has dramatically decreased in past years and also exists for other crops. And although economic pressure plays a role, according to UNODC, “having outstanding loans did not emerge as a differentiating factor for cultivating opium since the percentage of farmers under debt or with outstanding loans were similar [whether they grew poppy or not].”

Give a suitable title for the passage.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
DARA-I MAZOR, NURGAL, KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN — It is only a short drive into a side valley just off the busy main road between Jalalabad and Asadabad, the capitals of Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. The narrow dusty road passes fields of golden blades of wheat that slightly sway in the light breeze. Beyond the fields and the scattered verdant trees, barren craggy hills frame the valley called Dara-i Mazor in Kunar’s district of Nurgal. Across the small river, some of the traditional mud houses resemble tiny bulky castles, hinting at the fact that Afghanistan’s violent past dates much further back than the U.S. or Soviet-led invasions. Behind a low farm house that lies quietly in the shadows of surrounding trees, there is yet another wheat field. But next to it several patches of land are covered in other plants whose single green stems topped by golf-ball sized pods rise above the bushy leaves at their roots. It is opium-yielding poppy.
Opium has an analgesic effect and is the base for morphine, heroin, and other opioids that are used for medical purposes, but also for illegal drug consumption. Afghanistan accounts for some 70 percent of the global opium production, according to the World Drug Report 2016 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Although poppy cultivation is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, it can be found throughout the country. And while opium production is more prevalentin ungoverned areas like Dara-i Mazor, it also exists in government-controlled zones, as security forces, often struggling to keep insurgents at bay, are hardly able to prevent poppy cultivation. In Kunar, early May was the end of the short harvest season, which takes places right after the white or dark pink poppy flowers have withered and only the green capsules remain. This can be earlier or later in other regions of the country, depending on the local conditions.
The harvest itself is a labor-intensive task. Every single poppy pod has to be lanced with a tool with several tiny blades at its end. Once lanced, the opium latex immediately leaks out of the razor-thin scratches (in Dara-i Mazor the sap is a light pink, but experts say that it is usually white at first before it oxidates in the air, quickly turning to a pink and later dark brown color). The valuable latex is just liquid enough to drip out, but stillgooey enough to stick to the pod and to not drop to the ground. Normally, the capsules are then left until the next day. However, given my short visit, the locals showed me right away how they skim the leaked-out opium from the pod with another tool that looks like a broad sickle. One farmer, a young man with a neatly trimmed beard and pitch black, greasy hair, stated that about 60 percent of his fields are poppy. And this is not an exception. Asked for his reason to plant poppy, he said that he is forced to do it because other crops would yield little profit. This was also asserted by other farmers in Nurgal and Shigal, another district of Kunar. However, they don’t claim that other crops would yield no profit, raising the question of whether they are only engaging in poppy cultivation for the higher profits that no licit crop can possibly generate.
But according to Dr. David Mansfield, a senior researcher for the London School of Economics and the Afghan Research & Evaluation Unit who has worked on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for almost two decades, profit-maximization is not the driving force behind the decision. Afghan farmers would rather try to balance their livelihoods, secure a certain degree of food self-sufficiency, use their soil sustainably (which also means changing or rotating different crops), and mitigate risks of crop failures. Thus, the monetary profit is only one of many factors in the farmers’ decisions. In any event, Mansfield asserted that – in his years of experience across Afghanistan and despite allegations to the contrary – he has never met a single farmer that was physicallycoerced into cultivating opium. Reports also often suggest that farmers are de facto forced to sow poppy as they are dependent on advance payments that they can obtain for the future opium harvest or have no other choice than to produce opium to repay loans. However, sources explained that the system of advance payments on future harvests has dramatically decreased in past years and also exists for other crops. And although economic pressure plays a role, according to UNODC, “having outstanding loans did not emerge as a differentiating factor for cultivating opium since the percentage of farmers under debt or with outstanding loans were similar [whether they grew poppy or not].”

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.
Verdant

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
DARA-I MAZOR, NURGAL, KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN — It is only a short drive into a side valley just off the busy main road between Jalalabad and Asadabad, the capitals of Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. The narrow dusty road passes fields of golden blades of wheat that slightly sway in the light breeze. Beyond the fields and the scattered verdant trees, barren craggy hills frame the valley called Dara-i Mazor in Kunar’s district of Nurgal. Across the small river, some of the traditional mud houses resemble tiny bulky castles, hinting at the fact that Afghanistan’s violent past dates much further back than the U.S. or Soviet-led invasions. Behind a low farm house that lies quietly in the shadows of surrounding trees, there is yet another wheat field. But next to it several patches of land are covered in other plants whose single green stems topped by golf-ball sized pods rise above the bushy leaves at their roots. It is opium-yielding poppy.
Opium has an analgesic effect and is the base for morphine, heroin, and other opioids that are used for medical purposes, but also for illegal drug consumption. Afghanistan accounts for some 70 percent of the global opium production, according to the World Drug Report 2016 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Although poppy cultivation is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, it can be found throughout the country. And while opium production is more prevalentin ungoverned areas like Dara-i Mazor, it also exists in government-controlled zones, as security forces, often struggling to keep insurgents at bay, are hardly able to prevent poppy cultivation. In Kunar, early May was the end of the short harvest season, which takes places right after the white or dark pink poppy flowers have withered and only the green capsules remain. This can be earlier or later in other regions of the country, depending on the local conditions.
The harvest itself is a labor-intensive task. Every single poppy pod has to be lanced with a tool with several tiny blades at its end. Once lanced, the opium latex immediately leaks out of the razor-thin scratches (in Dara-i Mazor the sap is a light pink, but experts say that it is usually white at first before it oxidates in the air, quickly turning to a pink and later dark brown color). The valuable latex is just liquid enough to drip out, but stillgooey enough to stick to the pod and to not drop to the ground. Normally, the capsules are then left until the next day. However, given my short visit, the locals showed me right away how they skim the leaked-out opium from the pod with another tool that looks like a broad sickle. One farmer, a young man with a neatly trimmed beard and pitch black, greasy hair, stated that about 60 percent of his fields are poppy. And this is not an exception. Asked for his reason to plant poppy, he said that he is forced to do it because other crops would yield little profit. This was also asserted by other farmers in Nurgal and Shigal, another district of Kunar. However, they don’t claim that other crops would yield no profit, raising the question of whether they are only engaging in poppy cultivation for the higher profits that no licit crop can possibly generate.
But according to Dr. David Mansfield, a senior researcher for the London School of Economics and the Afghan Research & Evaluation Unit who has worked on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for almost two decades, profit-maximization is not the driving force behind the decision. Afghan farmers would rather try to balance their livelihoods, secure a certain degree of food self-sufficiency, use their soil sustainably (which also means changing or rotating different crops), and mitigate risks of crop failures. Thus, the monetary profit is only one of many factors in the farmers’ decisions. In any event, Mansfield asserted that – in his years of experience across Afghanistan and despite allegations to the contrary – he has never met a single farmer that was physicallycoerced into cultivating opium. Reports also often suggest that farmers are de facto forced to sow poppy as they are dependent on advance payments that they can obtain for the future opium harvest or have no other choice than to produce opium to repay loans. However, sources explained that the system of advance payments on future harvests has dramatically decreased in past years and also exists for other crops. And although economic pressure plays a role, according to UNODC, “having outstanding loans did not emerge as a differentiating factor for cultivating opium since the percentage of farmers under debt or with outstanding loans were similar [whether they grew poppy or not].”

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.
Gooey

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
DARA-I MAZOR, NURGAL, KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN — It is only a short drive into a side valley just off the busy main road between Jalalabad and Asadabad, the capitals of Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. The narrow dusty road passes fields of golden blades of wheat that slightly sway in the light breeze. Beyond the fields and the scattered verdant trees, barren craggy hills frame the valley called Dara-i Mazor in Kunar’s district of Nurgal. Across the small river, some of the traditional mud houses resemble tiny bulky castles, hinting at the fact that Afghanistan’s violent past dates much further back than the U.S. or Soviet-led invasions. Behind a low farm house that lies quietly in the shadows of surrounding trees, there is yet another wheat field. But next to it several patches of land are covered in other plants whose single green stems topped by golf-ball sized pods rise above the bushy leaves at their roots. It is opium-yielding poppy.
Opium has an analgesic effect and is the base for morphine, heroin, and other opioids that are used for medical purposes, but also for illegal drug consumption. Afghanistan accounts for some 70 percent of the global opium production, according to the World Drug Report 2016 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Although poppy cultivation is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, it can be found throughout the country. And while opium production is more prevalentin ungoverned areas like Dara-i Mazor, it also exists in government-controlled zones, as security forces, often struggling to keep insurgents at bay, are hardly able to prevent poppy cultivation. In Kunar, early May was the end of the short harvest season, which takes places right after the white or dark pink poppy flowers have withered and only the green capsules remain. This can be earlier or later in other regions of the country, depending on the local conditions.
The harvest itself is a labor-intensive task. Every single poppy pod has to be lanced with a tool with several tiny blades at its end. Once lanced, the opium latex immediately leaks out of the razor-thin scratches (in Dara-i Mazor the sap is a light pink, but experts say that it is usually white at first before it oxidates in the air, quickly turning to a pink and later dark brown color). The valuable latex is just liquid enough to drip out, but stillgooey enough to stick to the pod and to not drop to the ground. Normally, the capsules are then left until the next day. However, given my short visit, the locals showed me right away how they skim the leaked-out opium from the pod with another tool that looks like a broad sickle. One farmer, a young man with a neatly trimmed beard and pitch black, greasy hair, stated that about 60 percent of his fields are poppy. And this is not an exception. Asked for his reason to plant poppy, he said that he is forced to do it because other crops would yield little profit. This was also asserted by other farmers in Nurgal and Shigal, another district of Kunar. However, they don’t claim that other crops would yield no profit, raising the question of whether they are only engaging in poppy cultivation for the higher profits that no licit crop can possibly generate.
But according to Dr. David Mansfield, a senior researcher for the London School of Economics and the Afghan Research & Evaluation Unit who has worked on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for almost two decades, profit-maximization is not the driving force behind the decision. Afghan farmers would rather try to balance their livelihoods, secure a certain degree of food self-sufficiency, use their soil sustainably (which also means changing or rotating different crops), and mitigate risks of crop failures. Thus, the monetary profit is only one of many factors in the farmers’ decisions. In any event, Mansfield asserted that – in his years of experience across Afghanistan and despite allegations to the contrary – he has never met a single farmer that was physicallycoerced into cultivating opium. Reports also often suggest that farmers are de facto forced to sow poppy as they are dependent on advance payments that they can obtain for the future opium harvest or have no other choice than to produce opium to repay loans. However, sources explained that the system of advance payments on future harvests has dramatically decreased in past years and also exists for other crops. And although economic pressure plays a role, according to UNODC, “having outstanding loans did not emerge as a differentiating factor for cultivating opium since the percentage of farmers under debt or with outstanding loans were similar [whether they grew poppy or not].”

Choose the word/group of words which is most OPPOSITE in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
Prevalent

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
DARA-I MAZOR, NURGAL, KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN — It is only a short drive into a side valley just off the busy main road between Jalalabad and Asadabad, the capitals of Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar. The narrow dusty road passes fields of golden blades of wheat that slightly sway in the light breeze. Beyond the fields and the scattered verdant trees, barren craggy hills frame the valley called Dara-i Mazor in Kunar’s district of Nurgal. Across the small river, some of the traditional mud houses resemble tiny bulky castles, hinting at the fact that Afghanistan’s violent past dates much further back than the U.S. or Soviet-led invasions. Behind a low farm house that lies quietly in the shadows of surrounding trees, there is yet another wheat field. But next to it several patches of land are covered in other plants whose single green stems topped by golf-ball sized pods rise above the bushy leaves at their roots. It is opium-yielding poppy.
Opium has an analgesic effect and is the base for morphine, heroin, and other opioids that are used for medical purposes, but also for illegal drug consumption. Afghanistan accounts for some 70 percent of the global opium production, according to the World Drug Report 2016 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Although poppy cultivation is concentrated in southern Afghanistan, it can be found throughout the country. And while opium production is more prevalentin ungoverned areas like Dara-i Mazor, it also exists in government-controlled zones, as security forces, often struggling to keep insurgents at bay, are hardly able to prevent poppy cultivation. In Kunar, early May was the end of the short harvest season, which takes places right after the white or dark pink poppy flowers have withered and only the green capsules remain. This can be earlier or later in other regions of the country, depending on the local conditions.
The harvest itself is a labor-intensive task. Every single poppy pod has to be lanced with a tool with several tiny blades at its end. Once lanced, the opium latex immediately leaks out of the razor-thin scratches (in Dara-i Mazor the sap is a light pink, but experts say that it is usually white at first before it oxidates in the air, quickly turning to a pink and later dark brown color). The valuable latex is just liquid enough to drip out, but stillgooey enough to stick to the pod and to not drop to the ground. Normally, the capsules are then left until the next day. However, given my short visit, the locals showed me right away how they skim the leaked-out opium from the pod with another tool that looks like a broad sickle. One farmer, a young man with a neatly trimmed beard and pitch black, greasy hair, stated that about 60 percent of his fields are poppy. And this is not an exception. Asked for his reason to plant poppy, he said that he is forced to do it because other crops would yield little profit. This was also asserted by other farmers in Nurgal and Shigal, another district of Kunar. However, they don’t claim that other crops would yield no profit, raising the question of whether they are only engaging in poppy cultivation for the higher profits that no licit crop can possibly generate.
But according to Dr. David Mansfield, a senior researcher for the London School of Economics and the Afghan Research & Evaluation Unit who has worked on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for almost two decades, profit-maximization is not the driving force behind the decision. Afghan farmers would rather try to balance their livelihoods, secure a certain degree of food self-sufficiency, use their soil sustainably (which also means changing or rotating different crops), and mitigate risks of crop failures. Thus, the monetary profit is only one of many factors in the farmers’ decisions. In any event, Mansfield asserted that – in his years of experience across Afghanistan and despite allegations to the contrary – he has never met a single farmer that was physicallycoerced into cultivating opium. Reports also often suggest that farmers are de facto forced to sow poppy as they are dependent on advance payments that they can obtain for the future opium harvest or have no other choice than to produce opium to repay loans. However, sources explained that the system of advance payments on future harvests has dramatically decreased in past years and also exists for other crops. And although economic pressure plays a role, according to UNODC, “having outstanding loans did not emerge as a differentiating factor for cultivating opium since the percentage of farmers under debt or with outstanding loans were similar [whether they grew poppy or not].”

Choose the word/group of words which is most OPPOSITE in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
coerced

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
After evidence was obtained in the 1920s that the universe is expanding, it became reasonable to ask: Will the universe continue to expand indefinitely, or is there enough mass in it for the mutual attraction of its constituents to bring this expansion to a halt? It can be calculated that the critical density of matter needed to brake the expansion and “close” the universe is equivalent to three hydrogen atoms per cubic meter. But the density of the observable universe—luminous matter in the form of galaxies—comes to only a fraction of this. If the expansion of the universe is to stop, there must be enough invisible matter in the universe to exceed the luminous matter in density by a factor of roughly 70. Our contribution to the search for this “missing matter” has been to study the rotational velocity of galaxies at various distances from their center of rotation. It has been known for some time that outside the bright nucleus of a typical spiral galaxy luminosity falls off rapidly with distance from the center. If luminosity were a true indicator of mass, most of the mass would be concentrated toward the center. Outside the nucleus the rotational velocity would decrease geometrically with distance from the center, in conformity with Kepler’s law. Instead we have found that the rotational velocity in spiral galaxies either remains constant with increasing distance from the center or increases slightly. This unexpected result indicates that the falloff in luminous mass with distance from the center is balanced by an increase in nonluminous mass. Our findings suggest that as much as 90 percent of the mass of the universe is not radiating at any wavelength with enough intensity to be detected on the Earth. Such dark matter could be in the form of extremely dim stars of low mass, of large planets like Jupiter, or of black holes, either small or massive. While it has not yet been determined whether this mass is sufficient to close the universe, some physicists consider it significant that estimates are converging on the critical value.

The authors’ suggestion that “as much as 90 percent of the mass of the universe is not radiating at any wavelength with enough intensity to be detected on the Earth” would be most weakened if which of the following were discovered to be true?

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
After evidence was obtained in the 1920s that the universe is expanding, it became reasonable to ask: Will the universe continue to expand indefinitely, or is there enough mass in it for the mutual attraction of its constituents to bring this expansion to a halt? It can be calculated that the critical density of matter needed to brake the expansion and “close” the universe is equivalent to three hydrogen atoms per cubic meter. But the density of the observable universe—luminous matter in the form of galaxies—comes to only a fraction of this. If the expansion of the universe is to stop, there must be enough invisible matter in the universe to exceed the luminous matter in density by a factor of roughly 70. Our contribution to the search for this “missing matter” has been to study the rotational velocity of galaxies at various distances from their center of rotation. It has been known for some time that outside the bright nucleus of a typical spiral galaxy luminosity falls off rapidly with distance from the center. If luminosity were a true indicator of mass, most of the mass would be concentrated toward the center. Outside the nucleus the rotational velocity would decrease geometrically with distance from the center, in conformity with Kepler’s law. Instead we have found that the rotational velocity in spiral galaxies either remains constant with increasing distance from the center or increases slightly. This unexpected result indicates that the falloff in luminous mass with distance from the center is balanced by an increase in nonluminous mass. Our findings suggest that as much as 90 percent of the mass of the universe is not radiating at any wavelength with enough intensity to be detected on the Earth. Such dark matter could be in the form of extremely dim stars of low mass, of large planets like Jupiter, or of black holes, either small or massive. While it has not yet been determined whether this mass is sufficient to close the universe, some physicists consider it significant that estimates are converging on the critical value.

The passage is primarily concerned with

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
After evidence was obtained in the 1920s that the universe is expanding, it became reasonable to ask: Will the universe continue to expand indefinitely, or is there enough mass in it for the mutual attraction of its constituents to bring this expansion to a halt? It can be calculated that the critical density of matter needed to brake the expansion and “close” the universe is equivalent to three hydrogen atoms per cubic meter. But the density of the observable universe—luminous matter in the form of galaxies—comes to only a fraction of this. If the expansion of the universe is to stop, there must be enough invisible matter in the universe to exceed the luminous matter in density by a factor of roughly 70. Our contribution to the search for this “missing matter” has been to study the rotational velocity of galaxies at various distances from their center of rotation. It has been known for some time that outside the bright nucleus of a typical spiral galaxy luminosity falls off rapidly with distance from the center. If luminosity were a true indicator of mass, most of the mass would be concentrated toward the center. Outside the nucleus the rotational velocity would decrease geometrically with distance from the center, in conformity with Kepler’s law. Instead we have found that the rotational velocity in spiral galaxies either remains constant with increasing distance from the center or increases slightly. This unexpected result indicates that the falloff in luminous mass with distance from the center is balanced by an increase in nonluminous mass. Our findings suggest that as much as 90 percent of the mass of the universe is not radiating at any wavelength with enough intensity to be detected on the Earth. Such dark matter could be in the form of extremely dim stars of low mass, of large planets like Jupiter, or of black holes, either small or massive. While it has not yet been determined whether this mass is sufficient to close the universe, some physicists consider it significant that estimates are converging on the critical value.

The authors’ study indicates that, in comparison with the outermost regions of a typical spiral galaxy, the region just outside the nucleus can be characterized as having

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
After evidence was obtained in the 1920s that the universe is expanding, it became reasonable to ask: Will the universe continue to expand indefinitely, or is there enough mass in it for the mutual attraction of its constituents to bring this expansion to a halt? It can be calculated that the critical density of matter needed to brake the expansion and “close” the universe is equivalent to three hydrogen atoms per cubic meter. But the density of the observable universe—luminous matter in the form of galaxies—comes to only a fraction of this. If the expansion of the universe is to stop, there must be enough invisible matter in the universe to exceed the luminous matter in density by a factor of roughly 70. Our contribution to the search for this “missing matter” has been to study the rotational velocity of galaxies at various distances from their center of rotation. It has been known for some time that outside the bright nucleus of a typical spiral galaxy luminosity falls off rapidly with distance from the center. If luminosity were a true indicator of mass, most of the mass would be concentrated toward the center. Outside the nucleus the rotational velocity would decrease geometrically with distance from the center, in conformity with Kepler’s law. Instead we have found that the rotational velocity in spiral galaxies either remains constant with increasing distance from the center or increases slightly. This unexpected result indicates that the falloff in luminous mass with distance from the center is balanced by an increase in nonluminous mass. Our findings suggest that as much as 90 percent of the mass of the universe is not radiating at any wavelength with enough intensity to be detected on the Earth. Such dark matter could be in the form of extremely dim stars of low mass, of large planets like Jupiter, or of black holes, either small or massive. While it has not yet been determined whether this mass is sufficient to close the universe, some physicists consider it significant that estimates are converging on the critical value.

It can be inferred from information presented in the passage that if the density of the universe were equivalent to significantly less than three hydrogen atoms per cubic meter, which of the following would be true as a consequence?

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
After evidence was obtained in the 1920s that the universe is expanding, it became reasonable to ask: Will the universe continue to expand indefinitely, or is there enough mass in it for the mutual attraction of its constituents to bring this expansion to a halt? It can be calculated that the critical density of matter needed to brake the expansion and “close” the universe is equivalent to three hydrogen atoms per cubic meter. But the density of the observable universe—luminous matter in the form of galaxies—comes to only a fraction of this. If the expansion of the universe is to stop, there must be enough invisible matter in the universe to exceed the luminous matter in density by a factor of roughly 70. Our contribution to the search for this “missing matter” has been to study the rotational velocity of galaxies at various distances from their center of rotation. It has been known for some time that outside the bright nucleus of a typical spiral galaxy luminosity falls off rapidly with distance from the center. If luminosity were a true indicator of mass, most of the mass would be concentrated toward the center. Outside the nucleus the rotational velocity would decrease geometrically with distance from the center, in conformity with Kepler’s law. Instead we have found that the rotational velocity in spiral galaxies either remains constant with increasing distance from the center or increases slightly. This unexpected result indicates that the falloff in luminous mass with distance from the center is balanced by an increase in nonluminous mass. Our findings suggest that as much as 90 percent of the mass of the universe is not radiating at any wavelength with enough intensity to be detected on the Earth. Such dark matter could be in the form of extremely dim stars of low mass, of large planets like Jupiter, or of black holes, either small or massive. While it has not yet been determined whether this mass is sufficient to close the universe, some physicists consider it significant that estimates are converging on the critical value.

The authors propose all of the following as possibly contributing to the “missing matter” in spiral galaxies except