महाराष्ट्र अभियंता सेवा गट ब पूर्व परीक्षा २०१०

Comprehension (Questions 41 - 45).

Read the given passage carefully and answer the following questions :
         At the present time the fiercest and most dangerous animal with which human beings have to contend is man, and the dangers arising from purely physical causes have been very rapidly reduced. In the present day, therefore, fear finds little scope except in relation to other human beings, and fear itself is one of the main reasons why human beings are formidable to each other. It is a recognised maxim that the best defence is attack; consequently people are continually attacking each other because they expect to be attacked. Our instinctive emotions are those that we have inherited from a much more dangerous world, and contain, therefore, a much larger proportion than they should; this fear, since it finds little outlet elsewhere, directs itself against the social environment, producing distrust and hate, envy, malice and all uncharitableness. If we are all to profit fully by our new-won mastery over nature, we must acquire a more lordly psychology; instead of the cringing and resentful terror of the slave, we must learn to feel the calm dignity of the master.
          Reverting to the impulses of approach and withdrawal this means that impulses of approach need to be encouraged, and those of withdrawal need to be discouraged. Like everything else, this is a matter of degree. I am not suggesting that people should approach tigers and pythons with friendly feelings : I am only saying that since tradition grew up in a more dangerous world, the present day occasions for fear and withdrawal are less numerous than tradition would lead us to suppose. The conquest of nature has made a more friendly and co-operative attitude between human beings possible and if rational men co-operated and used their scientific knowledge to the full, they could now secure the economic welfare of all - which was not possible in any earlier period.

Comprehension (Questions 46-50).

Read the given passage carefully and answer the following questions :
           Technology seems to come in waves. In the field of energy we are witnessing the fossil wave, solar and fusion are to follow. Between now and 2050 there are, it seems to me, three other technology waves which will blossom, plateau and to a large extent, determine what life will be like for the boom babies and their progeny. These technologies are electronics, genetics and psychology
            Electronics is blossoming now and will plateau in the first or second decade of the next century. This means that essentially anything we can conceive of doing electronically can be done; go anywhere telephones, fingertips information on nearly any topic, machines which speak and listen, three dimensional life size television, complete automation of appliances

         Well before 2050 progress in artificial intelligence will certainly have caused us to re-examine what it means to be human. When machines which augmented human mechanical capability were first introduced at the nest of the industrial revolution, the Luddites, fearing the machine age, asked the question, "What's left for humans ?"
         The answer at that time was that the human role is intellectual. Now there is the real possibility that machines will be able to perform intellectual tasks as well. Take any measure of human intellectual performance — IQ, recall, attention span, creativity. By early in the next century machines will be available which perform better in these dimensions than human beings. The Luddites questions will be asked again.