SRCC GBO 2022

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.

In the past four decades, people around the world have become increasingly aware of the problem of energy. Traditional energy sources such as oil and natural gas are dwindling rapidly. In many countries, this has meant extracting natural resources at the expense of the environment. In order to solve this problem, scientists are looking for new ways to satisfy the world’s energy needs.

One possible solution to the energy problem is a “solar paint” called “Sun-believable”. Scientists at the University of Notre Dame have invented a paint that can produce energy. The paint has energy-producing particles called “quantum dots” that convert sunlight into electricity. Despite the promise of solar paint, there are still some problems. While the paint only converts about one per cent of light to energy, it is cheap to make and can be used anywhere. Scientists are trying to make the paint more efficient in converting sunlight to energy.

Garbage and waste can also be changed to energy but there are some issues with this method. This method, called ‘Waste to Energy’ or WtE, has become popular in the last decade. In this, solid waste is burned at very high temperatures to create energy. However, the burning process causes pollution and creates more problems. Some new energy plants use a cleaner method of converting waste to energy. However, these types of energy plants still emit carbon dioxide (CO2), which contributes to other environmental problems. Waste to Energy plants remain somewhat controversial among scientists and environmental activists. Finally, the use of wind as a source of energy is becoming more popular recently. Floating wind farms are large groups of big wind turbines (fans) that many countries are beginning to build. Building the turbines on the ocean is more effective than building them on land because there tends to be a steadier and stronger wind on the ocean. Building the farms on the ocean also helps save valuable space in crowded countries.

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.

The tale, the parable and the fable are all common and popular modes of conveying instruction - each being distinguished by its own special characteristics.

The tale is the narration of a story either founded on facts, or created solely by the imagination, and not necessarily associated with the teaching of any moral lesson. A parable is a short story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson and it comes from a Greek word meaning ‘comparison’. The fable, a short fictional story, partly agrees with, and partly differs from both of these. It will contain, like the tale, a short but real narrative; it will seek, like the parable, to convey a hidden meaning, and that not so much by the use of language, as by the skillful introduction of fictitious characters; and yet unlike both the tale or parable, it will ever keep in view, the great purpose of instruction, and will necessarily seek to inculcate some moral maxim, social duty, or general truth.

The purpose of a fable is to convey moral messages to the readers and this objective is usually achieved through animals, birds or trees that behave and speak as human beings. As the story conveyed through the fable progresses, the reader becomes appreciative of all that is pure, honourable and praiseworthy, and critical of all that is low, dishonourable and unworthy. In a fable, the reader receives advice without perceiving the presence of the adviser and it is for this reason that the advice finds greater acceptance. The true fabulist (a writer of fables) therefore, is all of these- a teacher, a corrector of morals, a commender of virtue and a censor of vice. It is in this that the fable scores a point over the tale and the parable.

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.
Beneath the snow lies the subnivium (from the Latin nivis for snow, and sub for below), a small, protected area that is insulated and maintains a constant temperature. This microhabitat turns traditional thinking about snow on its head. Thanks to the emerging field of winter ecology, we now know that snowy environments have lives of their own. "Without snow, plant and animal life would be completely different," says biologist Jonathan Pauli of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Pauli and scientists such as Ben Zuckerberg, are members of a new breed of researchers called winter ecologists who study the relationships among animals, plants and their snow-covered environments.

Their studies have shown that tiny mammals like shrews don't migrate but spend their winters in the subnivium. For some of the tiniest forms of life - fungi, invertebrates, soil bacteria and plant roots- snow maintains a mild winter temperature in which they can survive, compared to the killing cold up above. Plants and soil benefit from this layer because the lack of a hard frozen surface lets plant roots function. The active fungi release important nutrients to plants. As the temperature warms, the snow slowly melts and provides water for spring flowers. On an average, snow covers almost 18 million square miles of the planet each year. However, climate change is upsetting that chilly balance. Winter ecologists are studying how the lack of snow cover directly affects the ecology of many subnivium ecosystems, exposing organisms to temperatures for which they are not adapted.