SSC CGL 2014 Tier 1 19 Oct shift 2

Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

Poverty can be defined as a social phenomenon in which a section of the society is unable to fulfill even its basic necessities of life. When a substantial segment of the society is deprived of the minimum level of living and continues at a bare
subsistence level, that society is said to be plagued with mass poverty. The
countries of the third world exhibit invariably the existence of mass poverty,
although pockets of poverty exist even in the developed countries of Europe and America.

Attempts have been made in all societies to define poverty, but all of them are
conditioned by the vision of minimum or good life obtaining in society. For instance, the concept of poverty in the U.S.A. would be significantly different from that in India because the average man is able to afford a much higher level of living in the United States. There is an effort in all definitions of poverty to approach the average level of living in a society and as such these definitions reflect the coexistence of inequalities in a society and the extent to which different societies are prepared to tolerate them. For instance, in India, the generally accepted definition of poverty emphasizes minimum level of living rather than a reasonable level of living. This attitude is borne out of a realization that it would not be possible to provide even a minimum quantum of basic needs for some decades and therefore, to talk about a reasonable level of living or good life may appear to be wishful thinking at the present stage. Thus, political considerations enter the definitions of poverty because programmes of alleviating poverty may become prohibitive as the vision of a good life widens.

Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives

By the mid-nineteenth century, mass production of paper patterns, the emergence of the home sewing machine, and the convenience of mail order catalogues brought fashionable clothing into the American home. By the early twentieth century, home economists working in extension and outreach programs taught women how to use paper patterns to improve the fit and efficiency to new garments as well as how to update existing ones.

Teachers of home economics traditionally made home sewing a critical part of their curriculum, emphasizing self-sufficiency and resource fulness for young women. However, with the increasing availability of mass-produced clothing in catalogues and department stores, more and more women preferred buying garments to making them. As a result, home economists shifted their attention to consumer education.

Through field study’s analysis and research, they became experts on the purchase and preservation of ready-to-wear clothing for the family, offering budgeting instruction targeted at adolescent girls. Modern home sewing made it possible for American women to transcend their economic differences and geographic locations with clothing that was increasingly standardized. The democratization of fashion continued through the twentieth century as the ready-to-wear market expanded and home sewing became more of a pastime than a necessity.