Reading comprehension II: central idea, author's view, purpose and passage-based facts: previous-year questions
263 real UPSC Prelims questions (2011–2026) with the official answer and a clear explanation. 71 of them came in the last five papers.
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Read the passage
In an economic organization, allowing mankind to benefit by the productivity of machines should lead to a very good life of leisure, and much leisure is apt to be tedious except to those who have intelligent activities and interests. If a leisured population is to be happy, it must be an educated population, and must be educated with a view to enjoyment as well as to the direct usefulness of technical knowledge.
Which of the following statements best reflects the underlying tone of the passage?
Answer (a) & explanation
The underlying tone is that only an educated population can best use the benefits of economic progress (a). Step 1: the passage says machines can give people much leisure, but leisure is tedious except for those with intelligent interests. Step 2: so a happy leisured population "must be an educated population". Education turns progress into a good life. That is (a). Step 3: option (c) turns this into a general rule that more education always means more happiness, which is not said. Options (b) and (d) make leisure the aim, which the passage does not argue.
Tip: this is from Bertrand Russell. Pick the option that keeps the passage's condition ("must be educated"), not one that reverses it.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
“In simple matters like shoe-making, we think only a specially trained person will serve our purpose, but in politics, we presume that everyone who knows how to get votes knows how to administer a State. When we are ill, we call for a trained physician, whose degree is a guarantee of specific preparation and technical competence—we do not ask for the handsomest physician, or the most eloquent one : well then, when the whole State is ill should we not look for the service and guidance of the wisest and the best?”
Which one of the following statements best reflects the message of the author of the passage?
Answer (c) & explanation
The author's message is that we need a way to bar incompetence from public office (c). Step 1: the passage says we want a trained shoemaker and a trained doctor. Yet in politics we assume anyone who can get votes can run a State. Step 2: it ends: when the State is ill, we should seek "the wisest and the best". So incompetence must be kept out. That is (c). Step 3: option (a) is the assumption the author criticises. Option (b), only administrators, is narrower than his point. Option (d) goes against the passage.
Tip: this is Plato's argument in the Republic. Don't pick the view the author attacks; pick the one he argues for.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
If presents bring less thrill now that we are grown up, perhaps it is because we have too much already; or perhaps it is because we have lost the fullness of the joy of giving, and with it the fullness of the joy of receiving. Children’s fears are poignant, their miseries are acute, but they do not look too forward nor too far backward. Their joys are clear and complete, because they have not yet learnt always to add ‘but’ to every proposition. Perhaps we are too cautious, too anxious, too sceptical. Perhaps some of our cares would shrink if we thought less about them and entered with more single-minded enjoyment into the happiness that come our way.
With reference to the passage, which one of the following statements is correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
The correct statement is that there can be more than one reason adults feel less thrilled by presents (b). Step 1: the author offers two "perhaps" reasons: we have too much already, or we have lost the full joy of giving. Step 2: more than one possible reason means (b). Step 3: option (a) says adults can never be thrilled. But the passage says "less thrill", not none. Option (c) is wrong because the author does suggest reasons. Option (d), less capacity for love, is not said.
Tip: "perhaps ... or perhaps ..." signals several possible reasons. "Less" thrill never means "no" thrill.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
The poverty line is quite unsatisfactory when it comes to grasping the extent of poverty in India. It is not only because of its extremely narrow definition of ‘who is poor’ and the debatable methodology used to count the poor, but also because of a more fundamental assumption underlying it. It exclusively relies on the notion of poverty as insufficient income or insufficient purchasing power. One can better categorize it by calling it income poverty. If poverty is ultimately about deprivations affecting human well-being, then income poverty is only one aspect of it. Poverty of a life, in our view, lies not merely in the impoverished state in which the person actually lives, but also in the lack of real opportunity given by social constraints as well as personal circumstances—to choose other types of living. Even the relevance of low incomes, meagre possessions, and other aspects of what are standardly seen as economic poverty relate ultimately to their role in curtailing capabilities, i.e., their role in severely restricting the choices people have to lead variable and valued lives.
Why is the methodology adopted in India to count the ‘poor’ debatable?
Answer (d) & explanation
The method is debatable because it rests only on poverty as low income or buying power (d). Step 1: the passage says the poverty line "exclusively relies on the notion of poverty as insufficient income or insufficient purchasing power". Step 2: this narrow base is the fundamental problem. That is (d). Step 3: option (a), confusion over the line, is not the stated reason. Option (b), rural-urban diversity, and option (c), lack of a global standard, are outside the passage.
Tip: this passage draws on Amartya Sen's capability approach. India's NITI Aayog now also uses a Multidimensional Poverty Index alongside income measures.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
If presents bring less thrill now that we are grown up, perhaps it is because we have too much already; or perhaps it is because we have lost the fullness of the joy of giving, and with it the fullness of the joy of receiving. Children’s fears are poignant, their miseries are acute, but they do not look too forward nor too far backward. Their joys are clear and complete, because they have not yet learnt always to add ‘but’ to every proposition. Perhaps we are too cautious, too anxious, too sceptical. Perhaps some of our cares would shrink if we thought less about them and entered with more single-minded enjoyment into the happiness that come our way.
The author of the passage is against
Answer (a) & explanation
The author is against worrying too much about the past and future (a). Step 1: the passage says children's joys are complete because they "do not look too forward nor too far backward". Step 2: it adds that our cares might shrink "if we thought less about them". So the author is against too much worrying about past and future. That is (a). Step 3: option (b), thinking about presents, misreads the word "presents". Options (c) and (d) are not what the author criticises.
Tip: here "presents" means gifts, not the present time. Read the wording closely; UPSC builds traps on such double meanings.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
The poverty line is quite unsatisfactory when it comes to grasping the extent of poverty in India. It is not only because of its extremely narrow definition of ‘who is poor’ and the debatable methodology used to count the poor, but also because of a more fundamental assumption underlying it. It exclusively relies on the notion of poverty as insufficient income or insufficient purchasing power. One can better categorize it by calling it income poverty. If poverty is ultimately about deprivations affecting human well-being, then income poverty is only one aspect of it. Poverty of a life, in our view, lies not merely in the impoverished state in which the person actually lives, but also in the lack of real opportunity given by social constraints as well as personal circumstances—to choose other types of living. Even the relevance of low incomes, meagre possessions, and other aspects of what are standardly seen as economic poverty relate ultimately to their role in curtailing capabilities, i.e., their role in severely restricting the choices people have to lead variable and valued lives.
Why is income poverty only one measure of counting the ‘poor’ ?
Answer (a) & explanation
Income poverty is only one measure because it covers only one kind of deprivation (a). Step 1: the passage says poverty is about all "deprivations affecting human well-being". Income poverty is "only one aspect" of it. So it ignores other deprivations. That is (a). Step 2: option (b) says other deprivations have nothing to do with income. But the passage says low income matters because it curtails capabilities. Step 3: options (c) and (d) talk about time (permanent, at one point). The passage says nothing about time.
Tip: options with "nothing to do with" are absolute. Check whether the passage links the two ideas; here it clearly does.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
“The social order is a sacred right which is the basis of all other rights. Nevertheless, this right does not come from nature, and must therefore be founded on conventions.”
With reference to the above passage, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. Conventions are the sources of rights of man.
- 2. Rights of man can be exercised only when there is a social order.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Both statements are correct (c). Step 1: the passage says the social order is "the basis of all other rights" and it "must be founded on conventions". Step 2: if all rights rest on the social order, and the social order rests on conventions, then conventions are the source of rights (1). Step 3: if the social order is the basis of all rights, rights can work only when a social order exists (2). So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Tip: this is Rousseau's Social Contract. Follow the chain: conventions → social order → rights.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
The poverty line is quite unsatisfactory when it comes to grasping the extent of poverty in India. It is not only because of its extremely narrow definition of ‘who is poor’ and the debatable methodology used to count the poor, but also because of a more fundamental assumption underlying it. It exclusively relies on the notion of poverty as insufficient income or insufficient purchasing power. One can better categorize it by calling it income poverty. If poverty is ultimately about deprivations affecting human well-being, then income poverty is only one aspect of it. Poverty of a life, in our view, lies not merely in the impoverished state in which the person actually lives, but also in the lack of real opportunity given by social constraints as well as personal circumstances—to choose other types of living. Even the relevance of low incomes, meagre possessions, and other aspects of what are standardly seen as economic poverty relate ultimately to their role in curtailing capabilities, i.e., their role in severely restricting the choices people have to lead variable and valued lives.
What does the author mean by ‘poverty of a life’?
Answer (a) & explanation
'Poverty of a life' means all deprivations, from lack of income and lack of real opportunities (a). Step 1: the passage says poverty of a life lies "not merely in the impoverished state" a person lives in. Step 2: it lies "also in the lack of real opportunity" to choose other ways of living. Both parts appear in (a). Step 3: option (b) covers only the impoverished state. Option (c), missed opportunities, leaves out income. Option (d) adds "permanently", which the passage never says.
Tip: "not merely X but also Y" means the answer must include both X and Y. Options with only one half are traps.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Natural selection cannot anticipate future environments on the earth. Therefore, the set of existing organisms can never be fully prepared for environmental catastrophes that await life. An outcome of this is the extinction of those species which cannot overcome environmental adversity. This failure to survive, in modern terms, can be attributed to the genomes which are unable to withstand geological vagaries or biological mishaps (infections, diseases and so on). In biological evolution on the earth, extinction of species has been a major feature. The earth may presently have up to ten million species, yet more than 90% of species that have ever lived on the earth are now extinct. Once again, the creationist doctrines fail to satisfactorily address why a divine creator will firstly bother to create millions of species and then allow them to perish. The Darwinian explanation for extinct life is once again simple, elegant and at once convincing—organisms go extinct as a function of environmental or biological assaults for which their inheritance deems them ill-equipped. Therefore, the so-called Darwinian theory of evolution is not a theory at all. Evolution happens—this is a fact. The mechanism of evolution (Darwin proposed natural selection) is amply supported by scientific data. Indeed, to date no single zoological, botanical, geological, paleontological, genetic or physical evidence has refuted either of the central two main Darwinian ideas. If religion is not taken into consideration, Darwinian laws are acceptable just like the laws proposed by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and Einstein—sets of natural laws that explain natural phenomena in the universe.
According to the passage, natural selection cannot anticipate future environments on the earth as
- 1. species not fully prepared to face the environmental changes that await them will face extinction
- 2. all the existing species would get extinct as their genomes will not withstand biological mishaps
- 3. inability of the genome to withstand environmental changes would result in extinction
- 4. extinction of species is a common feature
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 1, 3 and 4 follow (c). Step 1: the passage says organisms "can never be fully prepared" for coming catastrophes, so unprepared species die out (1). Step 2: it blames genomes that cannot withstand geological vagaries or biological mishaps (3). It calls extinction "a major feature" of evolution (4). Step 3: statement 2 says all existing species will go extinct. The passage never claims this; it only says those that cannot cope die out. So options (a), (b) and (d), which include 2, fail.
Tip: "all" is the giveaway. The passage says more than 90% of species that ever lived are extinct, not that every species will be.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Natural selection cannot anticipate future environments on the earth. Therefore, the set of existing organisms can never be fully prepared for environmental catastrophes that await life. An outcome of this is the extinction of those species which cannot overcome environmental adversity. This failure to survive, in modern terms, can be attributed to the genomes which are unable to withstand geological vagaries or biological mishaps (infections, diseases and so on). In biological evolution on the earth, extinction of species has been a major feature. The earth may presently have up to ten million species, yet more than 90% of species that have ever lived on the earth are now extinct. Once again, the creationist doctrines fail to satisfactorily address why a divine creator will firstly bother to create millions of species and then allow them to perish. The Darwinian explanation for extinct life is once again simple, elegant and at once convincing—organisms go extinct as a function of environmental or biological assaults for which their inheritance deems them ill-equipped. Therefore, the so-called Darwinian theory of evolution is not a theory at all. Evolution happens—this is a fact. The mechanism of evolution (Darwin proposed natural selection) is amply supported by scientific data. Indeed, to date no single zoological, botanical, geological, paleontological, genetic or physical evidence has refuted either of the central two main Darwinian ideas. If religion is not taken into consideration, Darwinian laws are acceptable just like the laws proposed by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and Einstein—sets of natural laws that explain natural phenomena in the universe.
The passage suggests that Darwinian theory of evolution is not a theory at all because
Answer (b) & explanation
UPSC's key gives (b): extinction is a function of environment and biological assaults. Step 1: the passage says organisms "go extinct as a function of environmental or biological assaults". Step 2: the very next line says "Therefore", Darwinian theory is "not a theory at all". UPSC links the "therefore" to this line. The author means evolution is a fact, not just a theory. Step 3: option (c), no evidence to refute it, comes later in the passage. Options (a) and (d) are creationist ideas the author rejects.
Tip: when a question asks "because", look for the line just before "therefore". Here the author argues evolution is so well shown that it is a fact.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Natural selection cannot anticipate future environments on the earth. Therefore, the set of existing organisms can never be fully prepared for environmental catastrophes that await life. An outcome of this is the extinction of those species which cannot overcome environmental adversity. This failure to survive, in modern terms, can be attributed to the genomes which are unable to withstand geological vagaries or biological mishaps (infections, diseases and so on). In biological evolution on the earth, extinction of species has been a major feature. The earth may presently have up to ten million species, yet more than 90% of species that have ever lived on the earth are now extinct. Once again, the creationist doctrines fail to satisfactorily address why a divine creator will firstly bother to create millions of species and then allow them to perish. The Darwinian explanation for extinct life is once again simple, elegant and at once convincing—organisms go extinct as a function of environmental or biological assaults for which their inheritance deems them ill-equipped. Therefore, the so-called Darwinian theory of evolution is not a theory at all. Evolution happens—this is a fact. The mechanism of evolution (Darwin proposed natural selection) is amply supported by scientific data. Indeed, to date no single zoological, botanical, geological, paleontological, genetic or physical evidence has refuted either of the central two main Darwinian ideas. If religion is not taken into consideration, Darwinian laws are acceptable just like the laws proposed by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and Einstein—sets of natural laws that explain natural phenomena in the universe.
With reference to the passage, the following assumptions have been made :
- 1. Only species that have the ability to overcome environmental catastrophes will survive and perpetuate.
- 2. More than 90% of the species on the earth are in the danger of getting extinct due to drastic changes in the environment.
- 3. Darwin’s theory explains all the natural phenomena.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only assumption 1 is valid (a). Step 1: the passage says species that cannot overcome environmental adversity go extinct. So only those that can overcome it survive (1). Step 2: assumption 2 misreads the 90% figure. The passage says 90% of species that ever lived are now extinct, not that 90% of today's species are in danger. Step 3: assumption 3 says Darwin's theory explains all natural phenomena; this overreaches. So options (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Tip: check what a number refers to. UPSC often changes "species that ever lived" into "species on earth now" to set a trap.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
“...... most people would agree that telling deliberate lies is wrong, except perhaps in certain special situations where more harm will be done by telling the truth. Even the most truthful people probably tell a good many more lies that might be regarded as semantic lies; their use of words contains some measure of falsehood, more or less deliberate.”
Which one of the following habits is found more often in good people ?
Answer (b) & explanation
The habit found more often in good people is intentional mixing of truth with falsehood (b). Step 1: the passage says even the most truthful people tell "semantic lies". Their words contain "some measure of falsehood, more or less deliberate". Step 2: "deliberate" means intentional. So truth mixed with falsehood on purpose is (b). Step 3: option (a) leaves out the deliberate part. Options (c), falsifying facts, and (d), complete concealment, are much stronger than the passage's mild claim.
Tip: when two options look alike, find the word that separates them. Here "intentional" matches "deliberate" in the passage.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
A study conducted on the impacts of climate change over the Cauvery basin of Tamil Nadu using regional climate models showed an increasing trend for maximum and minimum temperatures, and a decrease in the number of rainy days. These climatic shifts will have an impact on the hydrological cycles in the region, lead to more run-off and less recharge, and affect the groundwater tables. Further, there has been an increase in the frequency of droughts in the State. This has driven farmers to increase dependency on groundwater resources to secure their crops.
Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage given above ?
Answer (c) & explanation
The crux is that climate change makes water more critical while also threatening it (c). Step 1: the passage says climate change cuts groundwater recharge. At the same time, more droughts raise farmers' dependence on groundwater. So water becomes more important and more at risk together. That is (c). Step 2: options (a) and (b) bring in remedies: regional climate models and dry-land cropping. The passage's main point is the problem, not these fixes. Step 3: option (d), farmers adopting risky livelihoods, is a side detail, not the crux.
Tip: the crux captures the passage's central tension. When a passage shows a "double squeeze", choose the option that names both sides.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
India faces a challenging immediate future in energy and climate policy-making. The problems are multiple : sputtering fossil fuel production capabilities; limited access to electricity and modern cooking fuel for the poorest; rising fuel imports in an unstable global energy context; continued electricity pricing and governance challenges leading to its costly deficits or surplus supply; and not least, growing environmental contestation around land, water and air. But all is not bleak: growing energy efficiency programmes; integrated urbanisation and transport policy discussions; inroads to enhancing energy access and security; and bold renewable energy initiatives, even if not fully conceptualised, suggest the promise of transformation.
Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the passage given above ?
Answer (a) & explanation
The critical message is that India's energy decisions are becoming more complex and interlinked (a). Step 1: the passage lists many linked problems: supply, access, imports, pricing and environment. It also lists linked responses. So decision-making is complex. That is (a). Step 2: options (c) and (d) are too negative. The passage speaks of a "promise of transformation", not failure or a narrow supply focus. Step 3: option (b), policy heavily tuned to sustainable development goals, overstates what the passage says.
Tip: if a passage piles up many connected issues, the message is usually "complexity". Check the passage's tone before choosing a negative option.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
There are reports that some of the antibiotics sold in the market are fed to poultry and other livestock as growth promoters. Overusing these substances can create superbugs, pathogens that are resistant to multiple drugs and could be passed along humans. Mindful of that, some farming companies have stopped using the drugs to make chickens gain weight faster. Since Denmark banned antibiotic growth promoters in the 1990s, the major pork exporter says it is producing more pigs — and the animals get fewer diseases.
Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the passage given above ?
Answer (d) & explanation
The critical message is that antibiotics should only be used to treat diseases (d). Step 1: the passage objects to antibiotics used as growth promoters in farm animals. Denmark banned that use, not all use. So antibiotics should be kept for treating illness. That is (d). Step 2: option (c), banning antibiotics on animals completely, would stop treatment of sick animals too. Step 3: options (a) and (b), avoiding animal products or replacing them with plant foods, are not discussed.
Tip: overuse of antibiotics breeds drug-resistant germs (antimicrobial resistance). India's Kerala launched a state action plan against it in 2018. Choose the option matching the passage's exact objection.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Aristocratic government ruins itself by limiting too narrowly the circle within which power is confined; oligarchic government ruins itself by the incautious scramble for immediate wealth. But even democracy ruins itself by excess of democracy. Its basic principle is the equal right of all to hold office and determine public policy. This is, at first glance, a delightful arrangement; it becomes disastrous because the people are not properly equipped by education to select the best rulers and the wisest courses. The people have no understanding and only repeat what their rulers are pleased to tell them. Such a democracy is tyranny or autocracy. — Plato
Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage given above ?
Answer (b) & explanation
The crux is that any form of government tends to decay through an excess of its basic principle (b). Step 1: the passage shows aristocracy ruins itself by keeping power too narrow, oligarchy by greed for wealth, and democracy by "excess of democracy". Each fails by pushing its own principle too far. That is (b). Step 2: option (a), societies trying different governments, is only background. Step 3: option (c) says education ensures a perfect democracy, which overpromises. Option (d) calls government a "necessary evil"; Plato does not argue this.
Tip: when a passage gives several examples of one pattern, the crux is the pattern itself, not any single example.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Nothing can exist in a natural state which can be called good or bad by common assent, since every man who is in a natural state consults only his own advantage, and determines what is good or bad according to his own fancy and insofar as he has regard for his own advantage alone, and holds himself responsible to no one save himself by any law; and therefore sin cannot be conceived in a natural state, but only in a civil state, which is decreed by common consent what is good or bad, and each one holds himself responsible to the state.
Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea of the passage given above ?
Answer (a) & explanation
The central idea is that ideas of right and wrong come from the formation of a state (a). Step 1: the passage says in a natural state each man judges good and bad by his own advantage. Nothing is good or bad "by common assent". Step 2: right and wrong are fixed by common consent "only in a civil state". That is (a). Step 3: option (b) says no man would be morally right without a ruler, which goes too far. Option (c) calls man immoral; but the passage says morality cannot even exist in a natural state. Option (d), survival of the species, is not discussed.
Tip: this is Spinoza's social-contract view. "Immoral" needs a moral standard; the passage says no shared standard exists before the state.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
The best universities like Harvard and MIT, despite having the luxury of having some truly excellent teachers on their payroll, are increasingly embracing the “flipped classroom” format, where students listen to video lectures at home, and spend class time applying their knowledge, solving problems, discussing examples, etc. Professors guide that discussion and fill in wherever necessary, explaining those bits that seem to be eluding the students and throwing in advanced ideas that happen to be topical. These universities have made their video lectures available free for anyone in the world. They are also encouraging colleges and universities all over the world to integrate these online courses into their own pedagogy, picking the pieces that are appropriate for their needs and building a package around them.
Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea of the passage given above ?
Answer (b) & explanation
The central idea is that higher education can be made easier to access and cheaper without diluting content (b). Step 1: top universities like Harvard and MIT put their video lectures online free for anyone. Other colleges can build these into their teaching. So good content reaches more people at low cost. That is (b). Step 2: option (a) says online mode is better than classroom. But the flipped classroom mixes both: videos at home, discussion in class. Step 3: option (c), no need for infrastructure, and option (d), coaching institutes thriving, are not in the passage.
Tip: a "flipped classroom" means lectures at home and problem-solving in class. Don't confuse blended learning with fully online learning.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
In our schools, we teach our children all that is there to know about physics, maths and history and what-have-you. But do we teach them about the bitter caste divide that plagues the country, about the spectre of famine that stalks large parts of our land, about gender sensitivity, about the possibility of atheism as a choice, etc. ? Equally important, do we teach them to ask questions, or do we teach them only to passively receive our wisdom ? From the cocooned world of school, suddenly, the adolescent finds himself/herself in the unfettered world of university. Here he/she is swept up in a turmoil of ideas, influences and ideologies. For someone who has been discouraged from asking questions and forming an opinion, this transition can be painful.
Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea of the passage given above ?
Answer (d) & explanation
The central idea is that good citizens need social and life skills besides academic content (d). Step 1: the passage says schools teach physics, maths and history, but not caste, famine, gender or how to ask questions. Step 2: so the jump to university is painful. Schools must add life and social skills to subjects. That is (d). Step 3: option (a), curriculum versus parents' expectations, is not discussed. Option (b) contradicts the passage. Option (c) is too general; it misses the key point "in addition to academic content".
Tip: between a broad option and a specific one that matches the passage, choose the specific one. The best answer captures the passage's exact concern.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Medieval merchants risked the hazards of the Silk Road to reach the markets of China; Portuguese caravels in the 15 century sailed beyond the bounds of the known world, searching less for knowledge than for gold and spices. Historically, the driver for opening frontiers has always been the search for resources. Science and curiosity are weaker drivers. The only way to open up space, whether the space of solar system or interstellar space is to create an economic engine and that engine is resource extraction.
Which one of the following statements best sums up the passage given above ?
Answer (c) & explanation
The passage is best summed up as: humans explore new frontiers mainly for economic reasons (c). Step 1: it gives examples: medieval merchants on the Silk Road and Portuguese ships seeking gold and spices. Step 2: it says "the driver for opening frontiers has always been the search for resources", and space too needs an economic engine. That is (c). Step 3: option (a) widens it to any human endeavour, but the passage talks only of frontiers. Option (b) predicts space will govern the economy, which is not said. Option (d), risk-taking, is not the main point.
Tip: watch the scope. An option that stretches "frontiers" to "every human activity" goes beyond the passage.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.