Directions (Q.1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them.
An earthquake is a sudden violent shaking of the ground, typically causing great destruction, as a result of volcanic action or movements deep within the earth’s crust. The Nepal quake resulted from a collision between the Indian crustal block and the Eurasian continent. Geophysicists know that the entire Indian subcontinent is being driven slowly but surely beneath Nepal at a speed of five centimetres a year. This generates a five-metre contraction over a century and results in silent stress build-up in the inner crustal rock. An earthquake occurs when stress accumulation reaches critical point. Over millions of years, the squeezing has crushed the Himalayas, raising mountains and triggering earthquakes on a regular basis. This will continue. This dynamic process will also induce stress accumulation in India. The Gujarat earthquake of 2001 was a result of this process.
This shows that a quake is sure to occur in future. Like Japan, Nepal is also located in one of the most seismic active zones. “An earthquake repeats itself”, which is a Japanese proverb, is apt here as well. Earthquake forecasting is a kind of historical science. If you can find documentation of a quake in ancient literature or legend, that place is bound to be earthquake prone. I pose this question next: do you know the earthquake history of your region? But let me not be an alarmist. The India Meteorological Department keeps track of all this. However, I suppose most people don’t know. It is perfectly natural that people do not worry about such things; it’s the same in Japan as well. As scientists, we try to create awareness about earthquake risk in the form of public lectures, mass media campaigns, science shows and governmental meetings. Therefore, “risk recognition” is the first step towards disaster mitigation. In Nepal, researchers did track active earthquake history and issued warnings about a possible and destructive quake. For example, my colleague visited Nepal frequently to research strong ground shaking to help in disaster mitigation studies. Earthquake science still does not have a tool for imminent earthquake prediction. Therefore, being prepared for one is a crucial, and, often, the only step for disaster mitigation.
In an earthquake, most of the damage is caused by collapsing buildings. In Nepal, most victims died this way. This is a major problem confronting
Disaster mitigation measures also require risk evaluation for rural and urban areas. In high-risk regions, there must be public investment. Policymakers in India must look at those parts of the country that have high quake potential. Records show that the western, coastal and northern regions are at high risk. Another important factor is “occurrence frequency and probability”. Shorter intervals between quakes indicate a high probability. At the same time, longer intervals also produce high probability. An evaluation of these factors will give one the basic information required. I would also like to add that earthquake research can’t operate on a commercial basis, so government funding is a must for scientific investigation. The Japanese government operates the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion based on Special Measure Law on Earthquake Disaster Prevention. Its director is a minister and its committees consist of government officers, governors, professors and researchers. The most important role of this special inter-ministry organisation is to publish probabilistic seismic hazard maps resulting from probability evaluation of earthquake occurrences. It also conducts unified national earthquake research — as geological surveys, earthquake monitoring and computer modelling. The results from all these projects produce the probability of earthquake occurrences. For instance, its research has shown that a strong shaking probability for the Tokyo Metropolitan area for next 30 years exceeds 80 per cent. Earthquake risk is defined in the following way — multiplication of earthquake magnitude, probability and social fragility. Scientific data can only estimate magnitude and probability. This shows that if a place is “very fragile”, even a small earthquake can result in disaster. “High fragility” is the state of being unprepared by having non-quake-resistant construction. Mankind has no control over the magnitude and probability of a quake but architectural engineering can help reduce the fragility. Japanese quake-resistant house and building compliance is now about 80 per cent.
Q.1.What is the synonym of the word “imminent”?
1) Eminent
2) Impending
3) Prominent
4) Noteworthy
5) All of the above
Q.2.Which of the following is not the synonym of the word “accumulation”?
1) Precipitate
2) Saturate
3) Assemble
4) Amass
5) Dissipate
Q.3.Choose an appropriate title for the passage.
1) Himalayan Disaster
2) The Destruction
3) Japan and Quake Preparedness
4) Exodus and The Warfare
5) Japan Forwardness
Q.4. According to the passage,what does the author say about his responsibility?
1) Offering door to door help and distributing necessary things like water, food etc.
2) To make people feel safe.
3) To help the ones in need.
4) To create awareness about earthquake risks.
5) All of the above
Q.5. According to the passage, what is the profession of the author?
1) Pilot
2) None of these
3) Army Personnel
4) Doctor
5) Scientist
Q.6. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
1) Risk Recognition is the first step towards disaster mitigation
2) In high risk region, the private companies should take care of the construction as Govt. companies always fail.
3) Japan has been failing again and again in disaster mitigation.
4) The proper mechanism in Japan is to predict the exact nature of the quake.
5) All of the above
Q.7. Which of the following is not the synonym of the word “confronting”?
1) Blaming
2) Target
3) Oppose
4) Separated
5) Responsible
Q.8. why does the author say the phrase “occurrence frequency and probability”?
1) Because he want to show the importance of this in one’s life.
2) Because he want to draw our attention on these three characteristics of the quake.
3) He want us to have these three things as soon as quake strikes for keeping the history of region.
4) All of the above
5) None of the above
Q.9. Which of the following did Japan use to mitigate the effect of quakes?
1) Japan has dedicated one organization for marking the earthquake probable region.
2) They also conducted geological surveys.
3) One of its research showed that a strong shaking probability for the Tokyo Metropolitan area for next 30 years exceeds 80 per cent.
4) All of the above
5) None of the above
Q.10. Which of the following is not the synonym of the word “emphasised”?
1) Accentuate
2) Highlight
3) Spotlight
4) Stress
5) None of the above
Answers:
1.2) Impending
2.5) Dissipate
3.3) Japan and Quake Preparedness
4.4) To create awareness about earthquake risks.
5.5) Scientist
6.1) Risk Recognition is the first step towards disaster mitigation
7.3) Oppose
8.2) Because he want to draw our attention on these three characteristics of the quake.
9.4) All of the above
10.5) None of the above
Answers:
1.2) Impending
2.5) Dissipate
3.3) Japan and Quake Preparedness
4.4) To create awareness about earthquake risks.
5.5) Scientist
6.1) Risk Recognition is the first step towards disaster mitigation
7.3) Oppose
8.2) Because he want to draw our attention on these three characteristics of the quake.
9.4) All of the above
10.5) None of the above
