Q2 · UPPSC 2021 · UPHIN · 30 marks · Solution Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.Greedy people may control their senses and endure insult or hardship when they expect material gain. They do not hesitate to demand from others, nor do they show compassion when money is involved. They do not waste even a coin on anything that does not benefit them. They regard anger, compassion, shame and other humane feelings as useless when these bring no material gain. Thus greed can produce self-restraint in some narrow matters while simultaneously creating cruelty, shamelessness, lack of discrimination and injustice. The passage uses this apparent contradiction to expose the moral distortion caused by greed.(a) Give an appropriate title to the passage. (5 marks)(b) Based on the passage, describe the characteristics of greedy people. (5 marks)(c) Write a precis of the passage. (20 marks) Open solution →
Q2 · UPPSC 2019 · UPHIN · 30 marks · Solution Read the following passage and answer as directed.Thinking of life in its totality and thinking of life with a specific intent are two different kinds of preparation; whenever literature uses language one-sidedly or monotonously like politics, it limits or cripples its original power. In the idiom of politics we speak the language of a class for which language is not the main thing—it is a second- or third-rate use of language, merely a means to reach a fixed goal. It is not as interested in the capacity, authenticity or truth of language as literature is. Its language may be propaganda-led, rhetorical and artificial because for politics language is a practical expedient, whereas for the writer language is the living part of the truth of life which he seeks to establish or restore in its original dignity and power, saving it from political, commercial, practical or selfish violence, breakage and pollution. Literature's task is not to lose its identity in the language of politics but to make itself almost a stranger to that false language and stand alone—so that politics must repeatedly seek language from literature for authenticity and truth, rather than literature becoming political language and losing its identity.(a) Give an appropriate title to the passage. (5 marks)(b) What is the main difference between the language of literature and politics? Explain. (5 marks)(c) Write a precis of the passage. (20 marks) Open solution →
Q2 · UPPSC 2018 · UPHIN · 30 marks · Solution Read the following passage and answer as directed.We cannot escape change; avoiding change invites stagnation and downfall. Though stability offers some security, progress without risk is impossible. We must find a balanced path between the stability of rules in science and the dynamic vitality of inspired life in literature. Among life's balances, the equilibrium of new and old is especially important. We too must be dynamic with the world's dynamism—but with open eyes. For the new, let the door of our mind remain open; work without prejudice; weigh its arguments for and against on the scales of justice. Within limits, give new experiments room, but do not be satisfied with novelty's certificate alone. Apply the same ruthless reason we use to uproot ancient customs to testing the new as well, yet do not make the new a source of fear like a ghost.(a) Give an appropriate title to the passage. (5 marks)(b) Why is balance between the ancient and the modern necessary? Reflect. (5 marks)(c) Write a precis of the passage. (20 marks) Open solution →