1. Using infant mortality as a key indicator of the status of children, we now begin to have the broad features of a hypothesis as to the causes of higher or lower mortality rates. One aspect is the complex of factors involving the access of mothers to trained personnel and other facilities for child delivery, the nutritional status of pregnant and nursing mothers and the quality of health care and nourishment which babies receive.

The other aspect, indicated by rural-urban differentials, is the possible importance of human settlement patterns in relation to the availability of health care and related facilities such as potable water, excreta disposal systems, etc. Thus, in a special sense, it is much cheaper to make health and other basic services available to a community when it is densely settled rather than widely dispersed. It is possible to argue, however, that both these sets of factors are closely related to a third one, namely, income levels. Poorer mothers and babies have less access to health-care facilities and nourishment than those who are better off; urban communities are on an average much better off than rural communities.

That economic condition plays a crucial role in determining the status of both mother and child, is beyond dispute. But the question really is whether this is the only decisive factor or whether factors such as the availability of medical facilities, healthcare programs, and nutritional programs have an independent role. If so then the settlement patterns which affect service delivery to the mother and child target groups become a relevant consideration. These are clearly issues of some importance for policy and program planning.

Ques 1. Which among the following statements are correct?

2. Until the mid-20th century, scientists believed that the chest cavity would implode at around 115 feet. Water pressure, they argued, reaches 65 pounds per square inch at that depth, which is enough to shrink lungs to the size of grapefruits and collapse rib cages like empty soda cans. Their theory went out the window in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, however, when divers like Enzo Maiorca returned from beyond 115-feet with rib cages intact. We now know that water pressure forces blood vessels in the chest to swell, filling the void left by the lungs with an incompressible fluid.

Among the dangers of free diving, the most disconcerting is shallow-water blackout—the brains frightening tendency to shut down within 15 feet of the surface during the ascent. As you descend, water pressure squeezes your lungs, condensing the oxygen and giving you what feels like a second breath. During the return trip, however, your lungs re-expand, dissipating whats left of your oxygen. If levels drop too low, not enough will move into the bloodstream, and the lights go out. Fortunately, the body’s laryngospasm reflex kicks in to tighten the throat and keep water out for up to a minute—just enough time for your dive buddy to drag you to the surface, tilt your head back, and beg, “Breathe, baby.”

Knowing Johnston will be there watching my eyes as I ascend (seeing them roll back in the head is a red flag), I dip below the surface. Staying in the syringe—dive speak for a tight hydrodynamic column—I kick down to 30 feet, my point of neutral buoyancy, and then sink effortlessly to the bottom. I feel good—surprisingly good—thanks to the densely packed oxygen molecules in my lungs.

Lingering a moment, I peer up at the mirrored surface that separates this liquid world from mine. Diving to 55 feet was no sweat. I figure I could dive twice that with a little practice, reaching what scientists thought, not 50 years ago, was the body’s depth limit. Today, however, that boundary has been pushed to at least 531 feet (the current no-limits world record), which begs the question: Just how deep can humans go? “We don’t know that yet,” says Lundgren, adding ominously. “But one day someone will find out

Ques 2. Which of the following is true in respect of the effect of water pressure on humans?

3. Until the 1600s, English was, for the most part, spoken only in England. However, during the course of the next two centuries, English began to spread around the globe as a result of exploration, trade, colonization, and missionary work. English gradually became the primary language of international business, banking, and diplomacy. Currently, more than 80 percent of the information stored on computer systems worldwide is in English. Two thirds of the world’s science writing is in English, and English is the main language of technology, advertising, media, international airports, and air traffic controllers. Today there are more than 700 million English users in the world, and over half of these are non-native speakers, constituting the largest number of non-native users of any language in the world.

Which of the following most accurately summarizes the opinion of the author in the text?

4. IT may well change the way you live, yet again. Welcome to the world of mobile commerce, where your hand–held device, be it a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or any other wireless application will soon be used for commercial transactions. Skeptical? Consider these facts. InJapan, mobile phones are used for location based services where the mobile service provider ties up with a host of other players such as restaurants, car rental companies etc. When the mobile user enters that zone, messages from all these players are flashed on the mobile device. Location based services are provided in several other countries as well.

Which of the following most accurately summarizes the opinion of the author in the text?

5. The coastal wetlands have environmental and economic importance. Wetlands provide natural wealth. They have important filtering capabilities. As the run off water passes, they retain excess nutrients and some pollutants. They maintain water flow during dry periods. Thousands of people depend on groundwater for drinking. They act as natural sponges of flood waters and contain soil erosion. They control floods and save the buildings frocollapsing duringng heavy rains. The hardwood-riparian wetlands along the Mississippi River can store sixty days of floodwater.

Which of the following could be a suitable heading for the paragraph?