Note: This paper is recreated from candidate recall; IBPS does not release official question papers. Every question re-verified by BookOfExams.
Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
Every handmade guitar sold by a small California workshop begins its life in a forest that may be thousands of miles away. For decades, the state's boutique guitar makers have relied on a handful of tonewoods: spruce for the soundboard, mahogany for the neck and rosewood for the fingerboard. These woods are valued not only for their strength and appearance but also for the particular warmth of sound they impart to an instrument. Yet the forests that supply them are under growing strain, and the industry has had to face an awkward question: can fine guitars be made without feeding deforestation?
Demand alone is not the problem. Tonewood is an unusually choosy material. A luthier building a high-end acoustic guitar needs wood that is straight-grained, free of knots, properly aged and __________ when the tree has reached just the right stage of maturity. Because of these exacting requirements, only a small share of the timber in even a well-managed forest is good enough for premium instruments. When loggers cut carelessly in search of those few prized pieces, they damage far more of the surrounding forest than the wood they actually take.
Regulation has added pressure of its own. Amendments to the United States Lacey Act made it a federal offence to import wood that was harvested in breach of the laws of its country of origin. California guitar companies must now trace each piece of timber back to its source and keep documents to prove it. Several have responded by forming direct partnerships with certified, sustainably run forestry operations in countries such as Canada and Germany and in well-managed parts of South America.
Some firms have gone further and invested in research on alternative materials. Necks made of carbon-fibre composites, timber reclaimed from city trees and plantation-grown spruce raised specifically for its acoustic qualities are slowly finding a place on production lines. A few makers have also begun seasoning and storing legally sourced wood decades ahead of use, building reserves that protect them from both supply shocks and changes in the rules.
The best guitars, it seems, need more than skilled hands. They also depend on a careful and ethical relationship with the forests that make them possible.
Q1.Which of the following statements is/are correct according to the passage?
(I) Tonewoods are valued both for their physical qualities and for the sound they give an instrument.
(II) Because of the amended Lacey Act, guitar companies must trace their timber back to its origin and document it.
(III) Most of the timber in a sustainably managed forest meets the standard needed for premium guitars.
- Only (I)
- Both (I) and (II)
- Only (III)
- Both (II) and (III)
- All (I), (II) and (III)
Q2.Which of the following statements is/are INCORRECT according to the passage?
(I) Carbon-fibre necks and reclaimed timber have completely replaced traditional tonewoods at all guitar makers.
(II) Some California guitar makers have partnered directly with certified forestry operations in Canada and Germany.
(III) A few makers store legally sourced wood decades in advance to protect themselves from supply shocks.
- Only (I)
- Only (II)
- Both (I) and (III)
- Both (II) and (III)
- All (I), (II) and (III)
Q3.Which of the following is/are TRUE about the wood needed for premium guitars?
(I) It must be straight-grained, knot-free, properly aged and taken at the right stage of the tree's maturity.
(II) Most trees in any forest naturally meet the standard that boutique makers require.
(III) Careless logging for these select pieces harms the forest well beyond the trees that are taken.
- Only (I)
- Both (I) and (III)
- Only (II)
- Both (II) and (III)
- All (I), (II) and (III)