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Q3334/80Q35
Q34·CSAT · Prelims 2022

Identifying the crux regarding demographic shifts, lifestyle changes, and water usage

Reading Comp.Economy / Environment passageFactual singleMedium

Question

Which one of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage?

Options

a

People should be persuaded to continue with the mainly Indian traditional cereal-based diets.

b

India needs to focus on developing agricultural productivity and capacity for more energy generation in the coming years.

c

Modern technological developments result in the change of cultural and social behaviour of the people.

d

Water management practices in India need to change dramatically in the coming years.

Answer

Explanation

The passage outlines how a growing middle class demands protein-heavy diets and energy-intensive gadgets. The author makes a highly specific, repeated connection: protein production needs "significantly more water," and energy generation "needs water." The entire narrative funnel points to water as the ultimate, strained baseline resource for all new affluence. Therefore, the underlying crux is that the impending massive draw on water will require dramatic changes in water management to sustain. Options (a) and (b) miss the ultimate synthesis factor (water), and (c) reverses the cause-and-effect relationship.

When an RC passage lists multiple diverse trends (diet, electronics, energy) and explicitly anchors them all to a single dependent variable (water), that variable constitutes the crux of the argument.

Answer: (d).

Question details

Year

2022

Paper

CSAT

Question

Q34

Section

Reading Comprehension

Sub-topic

Economy / Environment passage

Type

Factual single

Difficulty

Medium

Source hint

Passage 2 (Demographic shift and resource consumption) - Q34

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