Practice Passages & Quiz
Below are two full practice passages, written in the style of the actual UGC NET examination. Each passage is followed by 5 multiple-choice questions. Read the passage first using the Skimming technique, then read the questions and Scan for the answers. Click "Check Answers" at the end to see your score and explanations.
India's National Education Policy 2020
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, adopted by the Government of India after nearly three decades, represents the most transformative overhaul of the Indian education system since independence. The policy aims to reshape education from being primarily rote-based and examination-driven to a system focused on critical thinking, creativity, and real-world problem-solving. One of its most significant provisions is making education accessible in the student's mother tongue or regional language up to at least Grade 5, and preferably up to Grade 8. This shift is grounded in research that shows children learn foundational concepts far more effectively in their native language.
Furthermore, the NEP envisions the integration of vocational education into mainstream schooling from Grade 6 onwards, exposing young learners to skills like carpentry, gardening, pottery, and basic computing. The rigid separation between arts, science, and commerce streams at the secondary level is also proposed to be dismantled, allowing students to mix subjects across streams. The long-term goal is to transform India into a globally competitive knowledge economy by 2040, while simultaneously preserving its rich cultural heritage and linguistic diversity.
Q1. What is the Central Idea of the passage?
Correct: B.
Option A is too narrow (only mentions language). Options C and D pick out small supporting details and exaggerate them. The central idea must cover the whole passage — the big transformation of Indian education towards critical thinking and skills. B does that perfectly.
Q2. According to the passage, why does the NEP recommend teaching in the mother tongue up to Grade 5?
Correct: A.
The passage clearly states: "This shift is grounded in research that shows children learn foundational concepts far more effectively in their native language." Options B, C, and D are not mentioned anywhere in the passage. Never choose an option that adds information from outside the text.
Q3. Inference question: What can be correctly inferred about the old (pre-NEP) education system in India?
Correct: C.
The passage says NEP aims to reshape education "from being primarily rote-based and examination-driven." This tells us — by inference — that the OLD system WAS rote-based and exam-driven. We do not need to be told this directly; we can logically conclude it from the contrast the author is drawing.
Q4. What is the long-term goal of the NEP as mentioned in the passage?
Correct: D.
The answer is directly stated in the last sentence: "The long-term goal is to transform India into a globally competitive knowledge economy by 2040, while simultaneously preserving its rich cultural heritage." This is a Scanning question — you just needed to find the keyword "goal" or "2040" in the passage.
Q5. What is the overall tone of this passage?
Correct: B.
Words like "most transformative overhaul," "significant provisions," and the mention of positive goals indicate that the author is presenting the NEP favorably. The tone is informative (giving facts) and optimistic (positive about the future). There is no negativity, sarcasm, or worry anywhere in the passage.
Passage 2 of 2
The Crisis of India's Urban Rivers
India's cities are growing at a rate that its infrastructure cannot keep pace with. Nowhere is this crisis more visible than in the condition of its urban rivers. The Yamuna, flowing through the national capital, receives an estimated 3,800 million litres of untreated sewage every single day. The Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, the Musi in Hyderabad, and the Cooum in Chennai face equally disturbing levels of pollution. Once-sacred waterways that provided drinking water, supported fishermen, and formed the social and spiritual heart of Indian civilization are today little more than open sewers.
Experts argue that the problem is not merely a failure of technology or money. It is fundamentally a failure of governance and political will. Environmental laws exist in India, but their enforcement remains deeply inconsistent. Industries continue to discharge untreated effluents directly into rivers with minimal accountability. Community-level river bodies, which once maintained the health of these waterways through traditional practices, have been dismantled in the name of modernization. Reversing this decline will require not just new sewage treatment plants, but a complete rethinking of how India's cities relate to the rivers that flow through them.
Q6. Which of the following best states the Central Idea of Passage 2?
Correct: C.
Option A is a single supporting detail. Option B is too narrow (the passage says new plants alone are NOT enough). Option D distorts the passage's meaning. Only C captures the complete idea of both paragraphs — the crisis AND the reason it exists (governance failure).
Q7. According to the experts quoted in the passage, what is the main reason behind the river pollution crisis?
Correct: D.
The passage explicitly says: "Experts argue that the problem is not merely a failure of technology or money. It is fundamentally a failure of governance and political will." This eliminates A and C directly. Option B is a detail from the introduction, but it is not what the experts identify as the MAIN reason.
Q8. Vocabulary in context: In the passage, what does the word "effluents" most likely mean?
Correct: A.
Even if you don't know the word "effluents," you can use context. The sentence says industries "discharge untreated effluents directly into rivers." The word "untreated" tells us it is something dirty or harmful, and "discharge into rivers" confirms it is a liquid waste. So A is the only logical meaning.
Q9. Inference: What can be inferred about environmental laws in India from the passage?
Correct: B.
The passage directly states: "Environmental laws exist in India, but their enforcement remains deeply inconsistent." This rules out Option A (laws DO exist) and C (nothing about being strongest). Option D is pure invention — it is never mentioned. B is a direct restatement of what the passage says.
Q10. What is the tone of Passage 2?
Correct: C.
Words like "crisis," "disturbing levels of pollution," "open sewers," "failure," and "minimal accountability" all carry a strong sense of worry and criticism. The author is clearly NOT neutral (Option D) — they use emotionally charged language. The tone is concerned (worried) and critical (finding fault).
References
- Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. Cambridge University Press.
- Ministry of Education. (2020). National Education Policy 2020. Government of India.
- National Green Tribunal. (2018). Report on pollution in Indian rivers. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.