1. Read the passage given and answer the questions after it.

1 There is a point when a ripple turns into a tidal wave, a wind into a blizzard and a movement into a. revolution. The tipping point that truly transformed IT attitudes across the country was the rise of the telecom sector.

2 Since the 1999 telecom policy, the industry . has grown exponentially, and teledensity growth has surged from 0·7 per cent in 1991 to 27 per cent in 2008. India's mobile network is gaining over eight million subscribers every month -its biggest problem right now is getting enough spectrum -and at the present rate the country is set to soon become the world's second largest telecom network.

3 This has been the transforming platform, which on top of our other layers of electronification is allowing us to try out multiple, mix and match IT-enabled infrastructure. It has, for example, enabled the banking network to integrate mobile and internet networks with automated banking. Meanwhile, and NSDL-led national Tax Information Network is tying in India's direct tax systems with the IT platform of stock exchanges, the depository market and banks. The network has helped the government dramatically expand the tax net, and is a major factor for the rise in India's direct tax collections, which grew a record 40 per cent in 2007 -08.

4 The growing connections between the banking platform, the mobile phone platform and the railway reservation platform are paving the way for services that, among others, allow consumers to book and pay for train tickets on their mobile phones. One of the fastest growing such transactions today is the payment for airline tickets purchased over the internet with credit cards and mobile phones. And each time such a high speed, telecom-enabled transaction replaces an 'old-economy', slow, paper-based one, we are seeing a productivity pop that ripples through the economy.

5 However, the lack of the most basic connectivity has deeply limited rural India's growth, since it cuts off access to critical information such as market prices for crops and weather patterns. Transmitting information about a price shock around a certain crop from the central markets to the outlying rural areas can sometimes take months. As a result farmers in India find out about a price collapse too late, often after the planting season. For these farmers, IT is not just access to the information economy -it is their only access to it, and a critical, life-changing one.

Answer the following questions:

Suggest a title to the passage and give reasons why you think it is appropriate.

'Tipping point' in paragraph 1 means (Pick one option)

a point when a change becomes irreversible

an important point when change just begins

the bending point when a transformation happens

What was the one factor which transformed the way we looked at the IT sector? Give one example.

Pick any four areas from the text, where IT has integrated with other services.

Why is IT access to farmers so important? Discuss.

Find the words from the reading passage (in Q.l) which are similar in meaning to the following words/phrases:

severe snowstorm

rapidly

completely changing

bring together

crucial

Find the words/phrases from the reading passage (in Q.1) which are opposite in meaning to the following words:

fall (para

minor (para

decrease (para

urban (para

extensive (para

Complete the following sentences with the correct prepositions

There was a steady increase the sales of laptops.

There was a rise 20% since last year's performance.

Prices of T.V. sets rose RS 10,000 to RS 20,000.

Prices of T.V. sets went up 20%.

Inflation remained stable 2·5%.

Complete the following sentences using must, mustn't or needn't:

I've to attend a meeting tomorrow, I be late.

I havn't got any money left, I to the ATM.

We've got plenty of time, we hurry.

These visitors are very important, we a good hotel for them.

The restaurant is never full, we book in advance.

Give a suitable response to each of the following introductions and greetings:

Pleased to meet you.

How's the family?

How are you?

It was very nice meeting you.

Have a good trip back.

Write a short note on any one of the following:

Need for a good Curriculum Vitae

Travelling for business

5. Write a memo to your staff in which you state that your company is going through difficult times and you would welcome suggestions by the staff on austerity measures that the company could take. (You are the General Manager of the company)