Every four years voters across the United States elect a president. Various factors such as choices in campaign locations, the candidates' adherence to polling data and use of the Internet by candidates to reach potential voters all influence the preference of those voters, but perhaps none of these is so persuasive as a candidate's performance on nationally televised debates just prior to the election. Newspapers and television news programs generally attempt to provide thorough coverage of the debates, further augmenting the effect of good or bad candidate performances.
In this way, the news media fulfil the traditional role of educating the public and enabling voters to make better informed decisions about elected officials. However, the same technology which brings live debates into millions of living rooms across the nation also limits the availability of debate coverage by use of ―pool‖ coverage, the sharing of news coverage with other news organizations. The alternative is unilateral coverage, in which each news organization covers the event independently. Most events subject to pool coverage are so planned by the sponsors because of space limitations or safety concerns for prominent people attending or participating in the events. Since the television media require more people and equipment than their print counterparts, television usually is affected more frequently.
The pool system, when employed to cover debates between presidential nominees of the major political parties, violates the first amendment. The Constitution's mandate for a free press allows restrictions on press coverage only when there is a compelling governmental interest at stake. Presidential debates involve no interest sufficient to justify the admission of one news organization to the exclusion of all others.
Pool coverage of a presidential debate means that individual broadcasters are unable to cover the event in their own way and, consequently, to convey a unique account to their viewers; they must purchase and use coverage provided by the pool representative or have no coverage at all. The networks participate reluctantly. Pool coverage denies an opportunity to gain maximum insight from the debate. Indeed, the first amendment freedoms afforded the press exist largely to ensure that the public benefits from the free flow of information. The Supreme Court has noted that ―it is the right of viewers and listeners, not the right of the broadcasters, which is paramount.
To overcome the problem of restricted access, television news media could be divided into four categories: domestic networks, foreign news services, domestic news services, and independent broadcasters. Some broadcasters would be denied access, but the critical point is that in the end, the viewers will benefit, for they will have seen different debate coverage and, ultimately, will be better informed.
1. What is the author of the passage primarily concerned with?
A. Arguing in favour of giving more rights to individual broadcasters
B. Describing the pool system of coverage of events
C. Asserting that the first Amendment needs to be amended
D. Describing a problem with media coverage of certain events and suggesting a solution
E. Criticising the American Presidential election system
2. Which of the following claims does the passage provide some support for?
A. News organizations tend not to cooperate with each other unless they are forced to do so.
B. Most presidential candidates fare poorly in televised debates because they are not good public speakers.
C. Current news coverage of presidential debates limits the information available to the public.
D. Foreign news organizations have generally been uninterested in American presidential debates.
E. The pool system also has its positive points
3. The author of this passage would probably give his greatest support to which of the following actions?
A. A decision to allow more news services to cover presidential debates
B. A decision to allow fewer news services to cover presidential debates
C. A decision to ban presidential debates until more news services are allowed to cover them
D. A decision to ban presidential debates until fewer news services are allowed to cover them
E. A decision to change the first amendment
4. What role does the last paragraph play in the passage?
A. It provides a general conclusion to the passage
B. It suggests a solution to a problem discussed in the passage
C. It provides specific guidelines that need to be followed in future
D. It describes an action that the author opposes
E. It provides support for the main conclusion of the passage
OA:
PK RC SET 01:
1- C, 2- C, 3-B, 4-D
PK RC SET 02
1- E, 2-B, 3-C, 4-B
PK RC SET 03
1- A, 2-D, 3-C, 4-E
PK RC SET 04
1- C, 2-B, 3-B, 4-C
@praveen2010p said:OA:
PK RC SET 01:
1- C, 2- C, 3-B, 4-D
PK RC SET 02
1- E, 2-B, 3-C, 4-B
PK RC SET 03
1- A, 2-D, 3-C, 4-E
PK RC SET 04
1- C, 2-B, 3-B, 4-C
Topic & Scope - The author discusses the negative effects that media ―leaks‖ have on foreign policy and the media's credibility.
Mapping the Passage
¶1 argues that the media's suspicion of government and lack of knowledge about the world harm government policy.
¶s2 and 3 introduce the concept of the ―leak‖ and explain why it's bad for foreign policy.
¶4 states that the media was trusted by the public until recently, but are now met with skepticism.
¶5 argues that leaks are usually part of a power grab and that the media is a pawn in the game.
1) Review the author's main arguments before looking for an answer choice that he's agree with. (A) recalls the author's point in ¶2: ―Leaders often say one thing in public and something quite different in public conversation...‖ The author explains why this occurs—fear of media leaks—and clearly opposes such leaks. Therefore, the author must agree with (A)'s contention that misinformation is sometimes warranted.
(A): The Correct Answer
(B): Opposite. This is the opposite of (A); for the same reasons that (A) is a valid inference, (B) isn't.
(C): Opposite. The author argues in ¶3 that policy benefits from a ―richness and variety of ideas.‖
(D): Opposite. The author's point in decrying leaks is that privacy is a necessary component of leadership.
(E): Opposite
2) This question requires students to find the assumption in the lines mentioned. Review the author's argument in ¶2 that leaks harm discussions with foreign leaders. What is the author assuming in this argument? The author argues that foreign leaders don't want their private thoughts to be made public; he must also therefore assume that leaders have some sort of reason for not wanting their views
to be made public. (D) provides a possible reason. If unclear, use the denial test: if leaders didn't have this fear, what would be their motivation for hiding their personal views?
(A): Distortion. The author dislikes leaks, but never argues that they're immoral. This is extreme.
(B): Distortion. There's no evidence that leaks have occurred throughout history.
(C): Out of Scope. The author never suggests that there were no barriers to discussion before the press, only that there are far more barriers now that the press is in the habit of leaking these discussions.
(D): The Correct Answer
(E): This is not an assumption but rather the conclusion. The idea is to keep the media in the dark so that the public stays in the dark and hence the assumption has to be that the leaders are afraid that the public would react negatively if their views were to be revealed to it
3) C is the most consistent with our passage summary above.
(A): Extreme. The author never says this in the passage
(B): This is a detail mentioned in the passage but not the purpose of the entire passage
(C): The correct answer
(D): the author doesn't really criticise the politicians, rather he blames the media for this state of affairs
(E): the author only says that the media needs to be accountable but he never suggests anything about ‗strong and effective' regulation
4) Go back to ¶4 to review what the public thinks of the media. The author argues that the public is equally skeptical of media and government, saying that in the past, the public always assumed the media was right when it challenged the government, but that ―this may be changing.‖ Therefore, the public might now consider the possibility that the media, rather than the government, is wrong. While the wrong answer choices distort this, (E) rewards careful and methodical thought.
(A): Distortion. The author argued that the public generally thought this in the past, but that it's not necessarily the case anymore.
(B): Extreme. The author suggests that the public might believe that the media is wrong, but never says that the media's always considered wrong in a showdown with government.(C): There's nothing in the passage to suggest that the public ignores anything(D): Distortion. The author never suggests that both may be wrong; the conflict is presented in either/or terms.(E): The Correct Answer
Topic & Scope - American business lags behind the competition because management has alienated workers, concentrated on high tech products, and neglected long-range planning.
Mapping the Passage
¶1 outlines the decline of American business
¶s2 and 3 list reasons that analysts have given for the decline and introduce the author's own theory for American business problems: incompetent management.
¶4 lists management's problems with labour.
¶5 explains the problem with America's fixation on high-tech products.
¶6 uses mergers to show that corporations lack long-range planning.
Strategy Points:
Some passages will consist of a “laundry list” of recommendations, criticisms, or facts, with very little competing opinion. Work efficiently through the passage to identify the main ideas, knowing that much of the time will be spent on the questions.
1) A quick scan of the answer choices shows that you have to compare the workers of the two nations on two criteria: contentedness and efficiency. Search for a part of the passage that touches on this. ¶3 is the only one that cites Japan, and mentions that analysts consider American workers less productive and less content. (C) it is.
(A): Opposite. They're neither.
(B): Opposite. Latter, but not former.
(C): The Correct answer
(D): Opposite. Former, but not latter.
(E): The passage doesn't mention these anywhere
2) An inference question; make sure that you're clear on the main points of the author's argument. Remember that the author will agree with four, but will disagree with the correct answer. The three wrong answers could be easily eliminated, leading to (B). However, you can also reason that since management has suffered by cutting labour costs, cost-cutting doesn't always result in lowered prices.
(A): Opposite. The author does believe this (¶6).
(B): The correct answer
(C): Opposite. The author only briefly mentions that "a few analysts even censured American consumers for their unpatriotic purchases of foreign goods" but then says that the real blame "lies with corporate management" (¶3). Therefore the author agrees.
(D): Opposite. This is the focus of ¶s2 and 3
(E): Opposite. This is mentioned in line 48
3) Paraphrase the author's argument about high technology: it's better to start out with low-tech, get experience, and then ramp up to high-tech. Search the answer choices for something that would contradict this. (B) clearly does; if the processes are completely different, why start with low-tech.
(A): Out of Scope. While this is quite possibly true, it wouldn't affect the author's chain of reasoning.
(B): The Correct Answer
(C): Out of Scope. Again, though it might be true, it doesn't harm the author's argument.
(D): Opposite. This strengthens the idea that starting out low-tech makes the high-tech business easier.
(E): Out of scope
4) We're looking for a business action that would presumably fix one or more of the problems that the author sees in American business. While (C) offers no detailed prescriptions; we know that the author believes foreign models of management to be superior. If American business followed their lead, the author would probably give his support.
(A): Opposite. The author attacks this strategy in ¶6.
(B): Distortion. The author does argue that businesses should stop trying to minimize wages, but says nothing about wage fairness between groups of workers, only wage fairness as a whole. In fact, the author would probably say that more money should be funnelled to lower-skilled workers making low-tech products.
(C): The correct answer
(D): Out of Scope. There's nothing to suggest that the author would agree with this strategy, especially given the fact that he considers the American business model rotten at the core. Simple advertising won't cut it.
(E): Out of scope
SET 5:
My Take:
d
c
a
b
.............
Recent studies indicate that the ability of a soldier to remain calm under attack by enemies, internal or external, determine whether the soldier will be the victor or the vanquished.
A) determine whether the soldier will be the victor or the vanquished.
B) determines whether the soldier will be the victor and the vanquished.
C) determine whether the soldier should be the victor and the vanquished.
D) determines whether the soldier will be the victor or the vanquished.
E) determine if the soldier will be the victor or the vanquished.
@praveen2010p said:PK SC SET - 01 (sentence correction)Recent studies indicate that the ability of a soldier to remain calm under attack by enemies, internal or external, determine whether the soldier will be the victor or the vanquished.A) determine whether the soldier will be the victor or the vanquished. B) determines whether the soldier will be the victor and the vanquished. C) determine whether the soldier should be the victor and the vanquished. D) determines whether the soldier will be the victor or the vanquished. E) determine if the soldier will be the victor or the vanquished.
RC set -06
Direction for question : The passage given below is followed by a question. Choose the best answer to the question.
Gramsci saw the role of the intellectual as a crucial one in the context of creating a counter hegemony. He was clear that the transformation from capitalism to socialism required mass participation. There was no question that socialism could be brought about by an elite group of dedicated revolutionaries acting for the working class. It had to be the work of the majority of the population conscious of what they were doing and not an organised party leadership.
The revolution led by Lenin and the Bolsheviks in Russia in 1917 was not the model suitable for Western Europe or indeed any advanced industrialised country. The Leninist model took place in a backward country with a huge peasantry and a tiny working class. The result was that the mass of the population were not involved. For Gramsci, mass consciousness was essential and the role of the intellectual was crucial.
It is important at this juncture to note that when Gramsci wrote about intellectuals, he was not referring solely to the boffins and academics that sat in ivory towers or wrote erudite pieces for academic journals only read by others of the same ilk. His definition went much further and he spread his net much wider.
Gramsci's notebooks are quite clear on the matter. He writes that “all men are intellectuals” [and presumably women] “but not all men have in society the function of intellectuals”. What he meant by that was that everyone has an intellect and uses it but not all are intellectuals by social function. He explains this by stating that “everyone at some time fries a couple of eggs or sews up a tear in a jacket, we do not necessarily say that everyone is a cook or a tailor”. Each social group that comes into existence creates within itself one or more strata of intellectuals that gives it meaning, that helps to bind it together and helps it function. They can take the form of managers, civil servants, the clergy, professors and teachers, technicians and scientists, lawyers, doctors etc. Essentially, they have developed organically alongside the ruling class and function for the benefit of the ruling class. Gramsci maintained that the notion of intellectuals as being a distinct social category independent of class was a myth.
He identified two types of intellectuals - traditional and organic. Traditional intellectuals are those who do regard themselves as autonomous and independent of the dominant social group and are regarded as such by the population at large. They seem autonomous and independent. They give themselves an aura of historical continuity despite all the social upheavals that they might go through. The clergy are an example of that as are the men of letters, the philosophers and professors. These are what we tend to think of when we think of intellectuals. Although they like to think of themselves as independent of ruling groups, this is usually a myth and an illusion. They are essentially conservative allied to and assisting the ruling group in society.
The second type is the organic intellectual. This is the group mentioned earlier that grows organically with the dominant social group, the ruling class, and is their thinking and organising element. For Gramsci it was important to see them for what they were. They were produced by the educational system to perform a function for the dominant social group in society. It is through this group that the ruling class maintains its hegemony over the rest of society.
Q.1 What is the thematic highlight of the passage?
a Intellectuals are defined by their erudite pieces for academic journals.
b The changeover from capitalism to socialism for the working class.
c Understanding the critical role of the intellectual in society.
d The transformation from socialism to capitalism by the working class.
e The different types of intellectuals and the models.
Q.2 According to the passage, Gramsci's definition of the intellectual refers to:
a The erudite academicians.
b All men and women.
c Intellectual is as an intellectual does.
d The conservatives assisting a ruling group
e The boffins engaged in research.
Q.3 The author refers to the revolution led by Lenin and Bolsheviks in Russia in 1917 in order to
a focus on the historical importance of the revolution.
b point out that the revolution failed to involve the elite sections of the society.
c reveal that the revolution took place in a backward country.
d justify the importance of mass participation
e reveal that the revolution was not supported by traditional intellectuals.
Q.4 The term 'organic intellectuals” alludes to:
a A distinct social category working for the benefit of the ruling class.
b Autonomous and independent groups of intellectuals.
c Intellectuals crusading for social causes independently.
d Homegrown intellectuals functioning for the dominant social groups.
e Conservative groups allied to the ruling class.
Dun know it's deja vu or I have come across the same passage somewhere here or elsewhere.
yup got it.Here it is by Ankit:
http://www.pagalguy.com/forums/verbal-ability/rc-discussion-cat-2013-t-92255/p-3619555/r-4561967?page=2