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GATE 2022 IN GA Q.6: solution and answer

GATE 2022 · INGA Q.6 · 2 marks · MCQ

Rice, a versatile and inexpensive source of carbohydrate, is a critical component of diet worldwide. Climate change, causing extreme weather, poses a threat to sustained availability of rice. Scientists are working on developing Green Super Rice (GSR), which is resilient under extreme weather conditions yet gives higher yields sustainably.

Which one of the following is the CORRECT logical inference based on the information given in the above passage?

  1. (A)

    GSR is an alternative to regular rice, but it grows only in an extreme weather

  2. (B)

    GSR may be used in future in response to adverse effects of climate change

  3. (C)

    GSR grows in an extreme weather, but the quantity of produce is lesser than regular rice

  4. (D)

    Regular rice will continue to provide good yields even in extreme weather

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Answer and solution

ANSWER

(B) GSR may be used in future in response to adverse effects of climate change

Official answer: BSource: Official answer key, GATE 2022 IN (IIT Kharagpur)

  1. Pick out what the passage actually says: (1) rice is a versatile, inexpensive source of carbohydrate and a critical part of diets worldwide; (2) climate change causes extreme weather, and that threatens the sustained availability of rice; (3) scientists are working on developing Green Super Rice (GSR), which is resilient under extreme weather conditions yet gives higher yields sustainably.

  2. The rule for inference questions: a valid inference has to follow from the passage. Reject any option that adds a restriction the passage never states, or that contradicts something it does state.

  3. (A) says GSR grows only in an extreme weather. The passage says GSR is resilient under extreme weather. It never says GSR cannot grow in normal weather. "Only" is a restriction the passage does not support, so reject (A).

  4. (C) says GSR's quantity of produce is lesser than regular rice. The passage says GSR "gives higher yields sustainably". (C) contradicts a stated fact, so reject it.

  5. (D) says regular rice will continue to provide good yields even in extreme weather. The passage says extreme weather threatens the sustained availability of rice, and that threat is the reason GSR is being developed. (D) goes against the passage, so reject it.

  6. (B) says GSR may be used in future in response to adverse effects of climate change. Climate change causes extreme weather. GSR is still being developed, so it is a future option, and it is designed to be resilient under exactly that weather. The hedge "may" suits a crop that is not yet ready, so (B) follows from the passage.

  7. Answer: (B).

KEY IDEA

A logical inference has to follow from the passage and go no further. GSR is still being developed and is meant to withstand the extreme weather that climate change brings, so the only safe conclusion is the hedged one: GSR may be used in future against climate change's adverse effects.

WATCH OUT FOR

Choosing (A) because GSR is linked with extreme weather. The passage says GSR is resilient under extreme weather, not that it grows only there. Look for absolute words like "only", "always" and "will continue" that the passage never supports. Also check (C) and (D) against what the passage states outright: "higher yields" and "a threat to sustained availability".

From the GATE 2022 IN paper. Every question of this paper · Download the full paper · All 18 Reading questions, with notes

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