Passage 1 (P.1)
We tend to think of religion as an age-old feature of human existence. So it can be startling to learn that the very concept dates to the early modern era. Yes, you find gods, temples, sacrifices and rituals in the ancient Mediterranean, classical China, pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. What you don’t find is a term that quite maps onto ‘religion’.
What about the Romans, to whom we owe the word? Their notion of religio once meant something like scruples or exactingness, and then came to refer, among other things, to a scrupulous observance of rules or prohibitions, extending to worship practices. It was about doing the right thing in the right way.
The Romans had other terms as well for customs, rites, obligations, reverence and social protocols, including cultus, ritus and superstitio. Yet they weren’t cordoned off into a realm that was separate from the workaday activities of public life, civic duty and family proprieties.
What the Romans encountered abroad were, in their eyes, more or less eccentric versions of cultic life, rather than alien ‘religions’, in our sense. It was assumed that other localities would have other divinities; in times of war, you might even summon them, via evocatio, to try to get them to switch sides.
But the local gods and rites of foreigners could be assessed without categorising them as instances of a single universal genus. Even after the empire became officially Christian, you still don’t get our sense of ‘religions’. The Romans don’t start sorting the world into bounded systems analogous to ‘Christianity’, ‘Judaism’, ‘Manichaeism’, ‘Islam’ and so on.
They have other, older sorting mechanisms, as Brent Nongbri elaborates in his terrific study Before Religion (2013). When Lactantius, in the 4th century, contrasts vera religio with falsae religiones, he means to distinguish right worship from wrong worship; he isn’t identifying other self-contained systems that might be lined up on a chart for comparison.
The Christians of late antiquity didn’t view themselves as possessing one religion among many; they viewed themselves as possessing the truth.
1. What is the central argument of the passage?
A. To show the difference between right worship and wrong worship
B. To show that religion has enrooted from the Roman culture
C. To show that in ancient times gods, rituals, and worship practices were not understood as belonging to a separate category called “religion”
D. To discuss how religion as a concept has evolved in different empires
B. To show that religion has enrooted from the Roman culture
C. To show that in ancient times gods, rituals, and worship practices were not understood as belonging to a separate category called “religion”
D. To discuss how religion as a concept has evolved in different empires
2. How does the Roman understanding of religio differ from the modern concept of religion?
A. Romans denied the existence of god in ancient times
B. Romans followed the concept of right worship and wrong worship
C. Romans differentiated between the concept of God and religion
D. Romans saw worship as part of everyday social and civic life
B. Romans followed the concept of right worship and wrong worship
C. Romans differentiated between the concept of God and religion
D. Romans saw worship as part of everyday social and civic life
3. What is the tone of the passage?
A. Neutral
B. Analytical
C. Dismissive
D. Persuasive
B. Analytical
C. Dismissive
D. Persuasive
4. What does “bounded systems” in the passage mean?
A. Sacred religious places
B. Legal frameworks governing religion and worship
C. Clearly defined and separate belief structure
D. Bounded by a particular religion or god
B. Legal frameworks governing religion and worship
C. Clearly defined and separate belief structure
D. Bounded by a particular religion or god
5. What does “cordoned off” as used in the passage mean?
A. Integrated
B. Celebrated
C. Suppressed
D. Restricted
B. Celebrated
C. Suppressed
D. Restricted
Passage 2 (P.2)
In the early 2020s, a trend called ‘gentle parenting’ gained popularity among millennial parents, and I quickly found my friends who are parents of young children getting wrapped up in it. My high-school best friend Macy, mother of two boys aged two and four, explained over coffee that she tries never to say ‘No’.
Midway through our two-hour catch-up, the older one threw a small fist when she stopped him from tipping the sugar bowl into his milk. ‘I can see you’re upset because you really wanted to pour the sugar yourself,’ Macy said calmly. ‘But sugar isn’t for pouring right now. How about you stir your milk instead?’
Always validate the child’s feelings, prioritise warmth at all costs, and avoid negative words such as ‘no’, ‘don’t’ or ‘bad’ – that’s how Macy explained gentle parenting to me. This certainly isn’t how she and I remember our mothers parenting us in 1990s Hong Kong.
Before Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011) scandalised Western readers, Chinese parents were already infamous for their strictness – corporal punishment for wayward and defiant children, academic excellence as non-negotiable, and ‘No’ delivered once, sharply, without negotiation or explanation.
Macy laughed ruefully: ‘My mother would have given me one look and I’d have known to sit still. Now I’m reading articles about how saying “no” damages my sons’ self-esteem.’
My friend learns everything about parenting from books and Instagram reels, not her own mother. And gentle parenting certainly isn’t the only parenting philosophy trending among young mothers these days.
AI-powered apps like Glow Baby, which has garnered more than a million downloads, help mothers track milestones and manage feedings, while also providing personalized recommendations tailored to each baby’s needs.
Sleep training divides into warring camps: cry-it-out advocates cite studies on self-soothing. Attachment-parenting proponents warn of cortisol damage – harm caused by prolonged, high-stress hormone levels. There’s also the age-old breast versus bottle debate, repackaged as ‘fed is best’ versus ‘breast is best’.
All of these purport to be ‘science-backed’, but there’s no shortage of backlash against the philosophy. The journalist and mother, Polly Dunbar, writes in The Independent that gentle parenting is a set of rules regulating the behaviour of parents, not children.
She worries that this kind of parenting raises a generation of spoiled brats who prioritise their emotions and needs over those of others. Psychologists also argue that validating emotions doesn’t essentially solve the child’s behavioural problems.
I have not sent these articles to Macy, lest she beats herself up for doing it all wrong yet again. But what may be oddly reassuring is that mothers have been getting it wrong for a while, as motherhood has long been a profession requiring credentials no mother could ever fully possess.
6. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. To show the superiority of Chinese mothers in the matter of strictness
B. To show the rise of gentle parenting and the anxiety it creates for modern mothers
C. To show a contrast between how the attitude of mothers has been changed over time
D. To show that gentle parenting is the wrong way to nurture a child
B. To show the rise of gentle parenting and the anxiety it creates for modern mothers
C. To show a contrast between how the attitude of mothers has been changed over time
D. To show that gentle parenting is the wrong way to nurture a child
7. What is the attitude of the author towards “gentle parenting”?
A. Dismissive
B. Supportive
C. Mildly sceptical
D. Critical
B. Supportive
C. Mildly sceptical
D. Critical
8. What can be inferred from the last line of the passage?
A. Motherhood has been evolved to a profession of taking credentials
B. Motherhood is a profession demanding utmost care and love
C. Modern philosophies have made motherhood difficult to evolve
D. Motherhood has always shown uncertainty because no mother can ever meet all evolving expectations
B. Motherhood is a profession demanding utmost care and love
C. Modern philosophies have made motherhood difficult to evolve
D. Motherhood has always shown uncertainty because no mother can ever meet all evolving expectations
9. What does “wayward” mean as used in the passage?
A. Erratic
B. Obedient
C. Compliant
D. Stable
B. Obedient
C. Compliant
D. Stable
10. Which of the following best reflects the author’s final message?
A. Gentle parenting would not help parents with mischievous children
B. Mothers should get back to conventional parenting
C. Parenting advice changes constantly which makes perfection impossible
D. Parenting is subjective to every individual and nothing is wrong or right
B. Mothers should get back to conventional parenting
C. Parenting advice changes constantly which makes perfection impossible
D. Parenting is subjective to every individual and nothing is wrong or right
Passage 3 (P.3)
Over the past decade or so, driven by the widespread adoption of digital platforms, there has been a dramatic surge in the numbers of gig workers across the country. A NITI Aayog report pegged gig and platform workers at 7.7 million in 2020–21, estimated to touch 23.5 million by 2029–30.
A few examples illustrate the scale. In the second quarter of 2025–26, Zomato had about 5.5 lakh average monthly delivery partners, Blinkit had about 3.39 lakh, while in 2023, Uber had already crossed 1 million drivers using its platform. Then there are logistics and delivery platforms.
However, alongside this absorption of large pools of labour in the non-farm sector, worries have grown over the welfare of the workers, and the security of their jobs and incomes. There are concerns over fluctuating and uncertain wages, lack of transparency in pay structures, long hours and unsafe working conditions.
Over the last few days, strikes by workers engaged by companies such as Swiggy, Zomato and Zepto calling for a ban on 10-minute delivery services have drawn attention to this issue. It requires careful consideration on the way forward.
On its part, the Union government has taken steps towards improving the welfare of gig workers. Under the new labour codes, gig and platform workers have been formally defined and recognised.
Under the Code on Social Security, aggregators are required to contribute 1–2 per cent of their turnover to a social security fund which would finance welfare schemes for these workers. These workers are now also eligible for government-notified accident insurance, health and maternity benefits.
The codes envisage an expert committee under the National Social Security Board to advise on matters related to gig and platform workers. Beyond this, however, it may not be prudent for the government to intervene to tackle a specific problem, say, for instance, delivery times for the gig workers.
11. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. To show the inefficiency of the gig workers
B. To show how government lacks to provide proper care to the gig workers
C. To show the contrast between the profits of companies and their focus on gig workers’ rights
D. To compare the profits of different platforms
B. To show how government lacks to provide proper care to the gig workers
C. To show the contrast between the profits of companies and their focus on gig workers’ rights
D. To compare the profits of different platforms
12. What is the tone of the author towards the gig economy companies?
A. Appreciating
B. Critical
C. Neutral
D. Optimistic
B. Critical
C. Neutral
D. Optimistic
13. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A. Gig workers enjoy better job security than non-farm sector workers
B. The expansion of the gig economy has eliminated unemployment in the non-farm sector
C. Government has resolved the problem of gig workers
D. Growth in gig work has not been matched by adequate income and job security
B. The expansion of the gig economy has eliminated unemployment in the non-farm sector
C. Government has resolved the problem of gig workers
D. Growth in gig work has not been matched by adequate income and job security
14. What does the phrase “absorption of large pools of labour” mean?
A. Migration of labour from rural to urban areas
B. Formation of gig workers’ unions to contest companies
C. Engagement of a large workforce in the gig economy
D. Large numbers of workers applying for gig work
B. Formation of gig workers’ unions to contest companies
C. Engagement of a large workforce in the gig economy
D. Large numbers of workers applying for gig work
15. Why has the author used numerical data in the passage?
A. To back the facts and show the growth of gig work in India
B. To exaggerate the profits of the companies
C. To compare the ratio of profits to gig workers
D. To divert attention from government welfare schemes
B. To exaggerate the profits of the companies
C. To compare the ratio of profits to gig workers
D. To divert attention from government welfare schemes
Answers & Explanations
- C – This option is correct because the central argument here is to prove that religion did not exist in ancient times as a concept it is seen today but it grew over time
- D – This option is correct because romans saw worship as an aspect of daily life and routine activity
- B – This option is correct because the author is Analysing the literary piece and then coming to a conclusion, rather just dismissing the point of religion existing since ancient times
- C – Bounded system here referred to having clear and defined boundary
- D – Direct meaning applied
- B – The main idea is to talk about gentle parenting and the anxiety modern mother have about their way of upbringing
Subscribe for updates
Join 10,000+ subscribers.
AD
Adtiya Aryan
Contributing author
Have a doubt about this?Ask Doubts
