SSC CGL Tier-2 9-March-2018 English

A passage is given with five questions following it. Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given four
alternatives.
Passage:

There is exciting news for butterfly enthusiasts. By studying 207 species of butterflies, scientists have created an evolutionary tree painting the detailed picture of
butterfly relationships and evolution over time. An international team of lepidopterists carried out DNA studies and carbon dating analysis to understand the age and characteristics of butterflies. By comparing and merging previous studies on butterflies ,the researchers were able to create the new bigger and better evolutionary tree. “We still have a long way to go, but this is the first comprehensive map of butterfly evolution,” said Akito Y. Kawahara, associate professor at the Florida Museum of Natural History in a release. “Lots of previous studies cover butterfly evolution on smaller scales — by locality or taxon — but surprisingly few have reached across the breadth of butterfly diversity.” Dr. Kawahara is the corresponding author of the paper published in Current Biology. The report also supported previous studies that butterflies originated around 119 million years ago in the late Cretaceous period. After the mass extinction (65 million years ago), most of the butterflies diverged into many different groups. The butterfly species were placed in seven groups — Papilionidae, Hedylidae, Hesperiidae, Pieridae, Riodinidae, Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae. “Our analyses support swallowtails (Papilionidae) as sister to all other butterflies, followed by skippers (Hesperiidae) and the nocturnal butterflies (Hedylidae) as sister to the remainder,” says the report. The whites (Pieridae) were supported as sister to brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae), blues and metalmarks (Lycaenidae and Riodinidae). Previously, swallowtails and birdwings were believed to have a common ancestor but the new study showed that they feed on different plants. “That tells us that butterflies
and plants may have evolved together,” Dr.Kawahara added. They also studied the association of butterflies with ants. Some butterfly larvae secrete sugars that serve as a meal for ants and the ant in return protects the larva from other predators. This is a well-studied symbiotic relationship. The scientists report that most of the blue butterflies and hairstreaks and some of the metalmark butterflies exhibit this behaviour. “We [India] have about one fifth of the known moths and butterflies represented in Indian collections (3,800 out of an estimated 20,000 species). The only way they could undertake the study was the fact that they have
access to a good collection. We lack this in India,” explained Smetacek.

A passage is given with five questions following it. Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given four
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Passage:

A plant species that has outlived the dinosaurs, the Cycas circinalis, a ‘living fossil’ found only in the Western Ghats, faces the threat of extinction due to the overharvesting
of its leaves for commercial purposes. While there are nine species of Cycas found across the country, almost all of which are classified as being endangered, the Cycas circinalis, found at altitudes between 1,500 and 1,800 meters, has traditionally been used by tribal communities for a variety of purposes. In the Nilgiris and other parts of the Western Ghats, where the plant is found, the seed is sometimes soaked in water (to remove a strong poison contained within) and ground into flour, after which it is eaten, while the seed is also said to be used in traditional, indigenous medicine. However, over the last few decades, the leaves of the circinalis, which are used for ornamental purposes like for setting up ‘pandals’ have been harvested in bulk from the remaining plants, often leading to them becoming stunted and unable to reproduce and increase in number. With a single leaf costing as much as ₹ 25,
the economic incentive to completely strip the plant of all its leaves in one harvest remains high for most people. Shiny Miriam Rehel, Programme Co-ordinator for the Biodiversity Restoration Programme at Keystone Foundation, speaking to The Hindu, said that circinalis
plants do not grow in large numbers in the wild, and the over exploitation of the leaves from the plant has caused a further decline over the last few decades. The Keystone Foundation has been trying to promote the conservation of the species by encouraging forest-dependent communities to sustainably harvest the leaves from the circinalis. “We collect the seeds from the wild and raise it at our nursery on the Keystone campus. We then encourage farmers and tribal
communities to grow the plants near to their dwellings or land holdings,” said Ms. Rehel, who added that the conservation of the species needs to be assured through working with local communities, creating awareness of sustainably harvesting the leaves and ensuring that the plant itself remains healthy. Speaking of their importance, Ms. Rehel said that not only the conservation of the endangered circinalis important to protect the livelihood of tribal c ommunities, but also for biodiversity. She said that the circinalis is an ideal host plant for ants, cupid butterflies and bats, and added that their protection will be a vital aspect of protecting the ecology of the Western Ghats in the long run.

A passage is given with five questions following it. Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given four
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Passage:

It is interesting to note contemporary storytellers such as Vikram Sridhar have stepped out of the traditional boundaries of storytelling to embrace drama. While storytelling might bring to mind grandma’s tales complete with myths and morals, Sridhar believes these stories can be tweaked for a contemporary retelling. Sridhar, who has been a theatre practitioner for 15 years felt stories could be used to draw attention to social issues. “I had to think how I could be different from informal storytellers and mould my stories to interest adults and children. I had a strong theatre background, had worked in a corporate set-up and was deeply interested in heritage and conservation. I decided to bring my interests and strengths together into performance storytelling,” says Sridhar. Based in Bengaluru, Vikram followed his passion for storytelling after doing his engineering and MBA. “I used to travel a lot. In many places in Europe and Singapore, I witnessed ‘Open Night’ where a story, poetry or music was performed at public spaces or coffee shops in 10-minute slots. This made me think that we need larger versions of open night and stories are a strong medium to get a message across.” Sridhar is
having a story session at Tipu’s armoury thanks to Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), who had done restoration work at the armoury more than 15 years ago. “The armoury is totally in neglect,” says Meera Iyer, Convenor, INTACH-Bangalore Chapter.
“Storytelling is also a way to bring attention to the monument, and how it can be given a focus and use. A building that is used often, automatically has the greater chance of preservation.”
“I will not be using mike or gadgets,” Sridhar says. “The audience will get stories of the armoury and more. The history of Karnataka’s Mysore pak will be traced as well as the tale of the iron lady, Onake Obavva who fought the forces of Hyder Ali in the 18th century single-handedly with a pestle (Onake) in the kingdom of Chitradurga.”