Critical Reasoning Exercise – 2

Frederic and Irene Joliot- Curie, French physical chemists, husband and wife were jointly awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize for chemistry for their discovery of new radioactive isotopes prepared artificially. They were the son-in-law and daughter of Nobel Prize winners Pierre and Marie Curie. Questions 1-4 What is the central message of the passage?

What could weaken the passage?

What could strengthen the passage?

What could be a reasonable inference from this passage?

The Baluchistan Plateau extends westward, averaging more than 304 m in elevation, with many ridges running across it from northeast to southwest. It is separated from Indus plain by the Sulaiman and Kirthar ranges. It has a remarkable indigenous method of irrigation called the karez, which consists of underground channels and galleries that collect subsoil water at the foot of hills and carry it to the fields and villages. The plateau is an extremely arid country and is most sparsely populated region Pakistan. Question 5-8 What is the intention of the author?

What is most likely to weaken the passage if the intention was to show the vastness of the plateau?

What is the most reasonable inference from the passage?

What is the least likely conclusion of the passage?

Italy, in south-central Europe, occupies a peninsula that juts deep into the Mediterranean Sea. It has a shape that has been likened frequently to a high- heeled boot about to prod its triangular subject island of Sicily! Questions 9-12 What is the central message of the passage?

What could be a conclusion for the passage?

What is likely to weaken the passage?

What is likely to strengthen the passage?

Between latitudes 40 and 50, the prevailing winds blow from the west. These areas are better developed in the southern hemisphere than in the northern because the winds are less restricted over oceanic regions. The ‘Roaring Forties’ of the southern hemisphere have strong, often gale- force, winds throughout the year. They were named thus by the sailors who first entered these latitudes. Question 13-16 What is the message of the passage?

What would weaken the passage?

What would strengthen the passage?

What would be a reasonable conclusion to the passage?

Walter Griffin, an American architect and landscape designer and city planner won an international competition early in 1912 to plan Canberra, the new federal capital of Australia. Starting with the ‘Garden City’ ideal of strict separation of functions within a community, he adopted a geometric formalism. The main streets of the city were to radiate from focuses- the houses of parliament, a municipal centre, and a commercial district. Other works by griffin in Australia include the Newman College, University of Melbourne and Castlecrag residential community, Sydney. Questions 17-20. What is the central message of the passage?

What could strengthen the passage?

What could weaken the passage?

What could be a reasonable conclusion to the passage?