SSC Stenographer 14 September 2017 Afternoon Shift

Read the given passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the four given alternatives.

Approximately half of India’s 1.2 billion people are under the age of 26, and by 2020 we are forecasted to be the youngest country in the world, with a median age of 29 years. With this tremendous forecast, it becomes imperative to ensure an environment which promotes positive well-being. Unfortunately, India has the highest suicide rate in the world among the youth standing at 35.5 per 100,000 people for 2012. The reason for such high numbers can be attributed to lack of economic, social, and emotional resources. More specifically, academic pressure, workplace stress, social pressures, modernisation of urban centers, relationship concerns, and the breakdown of support systems. Some researchers have attributed the rise of youth suicide to urbanisation and the breakdown of the traditional large family support system. The clash of values within families is an important factor. As young Indians become more progressive, their traditionalist households become less supportive of their choices pertaining to financial independence, marriage age, premarital sex, rehabilitation and taking care of the elderly.

Read the given passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the four given alternatives.

He was a vendor of sweets. He had his own peculiar method of advertising and doing business. He never depended upon others for help and worked hard all alone. I speak of Murali--- the man who sold sweets. His customers were children, the future citizens of the world. At the stroke of nine in the morning, Murali would stand in front of the school with his tray of sweets. Till about eleven, the sale would be brisk. After that he moved off to other places. Even when the sweets became sticky in the heat, his business never slackened. There was depression in his business when the holidays came.