UPSC EPFO EO/AO 2023 · Question 2
Question 2 of the UPSC EPFO EO/AO Recruitment Test 2023 (General Ability Test) (2 July 2023). Try it first, then open the answer and explanation.
The first and sixth sentences of a passage are given as S1 and S6. The four sentences in between have been jumbled up and labelled P, Q, R and S. Choose the proper sequence of the four sentences. S1: Under the colonial regime, basic infrastructure such as railways, ports, water transport, posts and telegraphs did develop. S6: Naturally, therefore, these areas remained inaccessible to the people. P: There always remained an acute shortage of all-weather roads to reach out to the rural areas during the rainy season. Q: Roads constructed in India prior to the advent of British rule were not fit for modern transport. R: However, the real motive behind this development was not necessarily to provide basic amenities to the people but to subserve various colonial interests. S: The roads that were built primarily served the purposes of mobilizing the army within India and drawing out raw materials from the countryside to the nearest railway station.
- SPQR
- PQSR
- QPRS
- RQSP
Show answer
Answer: (4) RQSP
The order is RQSP. R comes first: "However" contrasts with S1's statement that infrastructure "did develop", and "this development" refers back to it before revealing the real colonial motive. Q and S narrow this down to roads: roads built before British rule were unfit for modern transport, and the roads the British built mainly served army movement and the carrying of raw materials to railway stations. P gives the result, a shortage of all-weather roads to rural areas, and S6's "these areas" means those rural areas, so P must come last. Only RQSP starts with R and ends with P.