RBI (Reserve Bank of India) Grade B Officers Recruitment Exam: July 2004 Question Paper - Part 2

Directions (Qs. 11 to 25): Read the following passage to answer these questions given below it. Certain words /phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them
while answering some of the questions.

The suicide attacks by militant Palestinian groups killing large numbers of Israeli civilians and the harsh Israeli response, have raised the renewed hopes of peace in the region. It is Arafat's leadership and authority that are being severely tested in the latest phase of the west Asian crisis.
By accusing the Palestinian Authority (PA) of supporting terrorism by groups, Israel hopes to put pressure on Arafat to act. Arafat, on the other hand, has never looked a less powerful force than he does today. If he acts against the militants and elements in his own Fatah movement sympathetic to them, he risks a Palestinian civil conflict. But if he chooses to do nothing, he faces erosion of his authority and all claim to a central role in the peace process. Whatever he does, sections of the Palestinians will hold that he has gone too far and Israel that he has not gone for enough. This is, of course, why Arafat has invariably shrunk from hard decision. He has refrained from curbing the militant groups, explaining his inaction as necessary to maintain Palestinian unity.
The Palestinian leadership's inability to improve economic conditions for its people has been a decisive factor in the erosion of its ability to act. Palestinians in Gaza have targeted the PA as being responsible for their condition. The Militant organizations have capitalized on the PA's failure to establish a functioning administrative infrastructure by setting up a parallel welfare system with the help of the millions of dollars. Though the Palestinian security forces claim to have arrested more than 100 militants after the suicide bomb attacks in Israel, the
other similar militant groups remain defiant, confident of their popular support and of the certainty that in the ultimate analysis the PA leadership will stop short of
decisive action against them.
That the militant groups enjoy popular support in Gaza is hardly surprising. The Gaza Strip today resembles a vast prison camp in which some 1.2 million Palestinians are crammed. Despite the Oslo Accord, 7000 Israeli settlers still remain in 20 percent of the Gaza's area and are protected by heavily armed Israeli forces. With its recent blockade of and extensive incursion into PA controlled territories, the Israeli government has placed the whole civil society in Palestine under siege. Over 450 NGOs, eight universities and numerous other educational, civic, social, developmental and health institutions have had their work impeded and their vital services to the population blocked. An international conference on Israel's treatment of human rights in West Bank and Gaza, attended by signatories to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, that has opened in Switzerland overriding Israeli and American protests, is expected to censor Israel for its treatment of civilians in the Palestinian territories.
Arafat's standing among Palestinians rests on the authority conferred on the PA by the international community to represent and speak for the Palestinians. Even the major militant group has so far never openly challenged Arafat's leadership. Israel's latest vicious attacks directed against the PA and Arafat present the international community with the danger that this precarious balance of power in the Palestinian community may be destroyed. Continuance of the Israeli attacks can only further radicalize and harden the attitudes of ordinary Palestinians. On the other hand, Israeli moves to freeze further expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza and, as soon as security conditions permit it, ease the economic blockade of Palestinian towns?however remote such measures appear just now?alone can restore the authority of the PA and give it a chance to get a grip on Palestinian
militancy.

11. Which of the following factors have raised the hope for
peace in West Asia?
A. Killings of Israeli civilians
B. Harsh response of Israelites
C. Revocation of Oslo Accord
Only A and C  Only B and C  Both A and B  Either A or B  None of these
 

12. Which of the following explains the lack of action on the part of Palestinian leader?
He fears the army action against him  This according to him will fasten peace process  He feels that this step will keep Palestinians united  He is seriously worried about the degeneration of his  None of these
 

13. What is ultimate analysis of other similar militant groups?
The PA leadership will only act if a definite forceful  The suicidal attacks will only aggravate the situation  The PA leadership should be changed  The action on the Palestinians was justified  None of these
 

14. Which of the following words is just opposite in meaning to the word impeded as used in the passage?
Hindered  Facilitated  Felicitated  Stopped  Courage
 

15. What does the word overriding mean as used in the passage?
Notwithstanding  Concurring  Welcoming  Criticizing  None of these
 

16. Which of the following best describes the meaning of the word challenged as used in the passage?
Questioned  Accepted  Attacked  Scared  None of these
 

17. Which of the following is the most similar word as accusing as used in the passage?
Abusing  Blaming  Charging  Responding  Praising
 

18. Which of the following is the expected outcome of International Conference which is in progress in Switzerland?
To revoke 1949 Geneva Convention  Impose censorship on propaganda of PA  To build cordial relations between Conflicting parties  To put a curb on Israel's policies while treating  None of these
 

19. Which of the following best explains the word vicious as used in the passage?
Dangerous  Fatal  Reoccurring and cyclic  Cyclic but not reoccurring  None of these
 

20. Which of the following best explains the word remote as used in the passage?
Far away from reality  Distant  Most likely to happen  Control in someone else's hand  None of these
 

21. Who according to the passage conferred the authority to PA?
Arafat  Israel  Militant groups  International community  None of these
 

22. Which of the following can restore the degenerating authority of the PA?
A. Arresting the expansion of Jewish settlements
B. Easening the economic blockade of Palestinian towns
Only A  Only B  Either A or B  Both A and B together  Neither A or B
 

23. Which of the following is the most opposite in meaning as the word shrunk as used in the passage?
Coming forward  Abdicating  Control  Expand  None of these
 

24. What may be the affect of continuous Israeli attacks?
It may harness a negative attitude amongst the civil Palestinians  It may destroy militancy from its basic roots  It may revitalize the weakening leadership of the PA  It may enhance militant activities  None of these
 

25. What dangers are being perceived by the International Community?
Both the nations may get destroyed if war erupts  The PA and Israel will never strike a deal  The attacks against the PA may destroy the balance of power in Palestinians  The militancy may spread in other countries also  None of these
 

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