SBI Clerk English Sectional Mock Test 04

1. Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below. In the hills of Odisha, a small hut made of mud and bamboo holds what the farmers there call their real savings. Inside are clay pots filled with seeds of rice, millet and beans that families have grown for generations. This is a community seed bank, and it works much like an ordinary bank. A farmer who borrows one kilogram of seed at the start of the sowing season returns two kilograms after the harvest, so that the stock keeps growing and another family can borrow the next year. Seed banks of this kind became popular after many farmers found that the hybrid seeds they bought from the market had to be purchased again every season. Hybrid seeds often give a large crop in the first year, but the grain they produce does not grow true to type if it is sown again. Indigenous varieties, on the other hand, can be saved and replanted for years. Many of them are also better suited to local conditions: some rice varieties survive a week under flood water, while certain millets need very little rain. The banks are usually managed by women's groups. Members keep a register of who has borrowed which variety and test a handful of seeds from each batch by soaking them on a wet cloth to check how many sprout. Seeds that fail the test are not lent out. In some villages, the groups also hold seed fairs where farmers from nearby areas exchange varieties and share notes on how each one performed. Supporters say the banks protect farmers from debt and from sudden price rises. They also keep alive crops that might otherwise disappear. Agricultural scientists add a note of caution, however. Indigenous varieties usually yield less grain per acre than modern ones, and a farmer with a large family to feed may not be able to accept a smaller harvest. Their suggestion is not to choose one system over the other but to let farmers use both: traditional seeds on land that floods or dries out often, and improved seeds where water is assured. What is clear is that the humble seed bank has given farmers something they value as much as a good crop: a choice.

   Q1.According to the passage, how does a community seed bank keep its stock growing?

   • A.Members pay a cash fee each time they borrow seed.
   • B.Seeds are collected only at seed fairs held in nearby villages.
   • C.A farmer returns twice the quantity of seed he borrowed after the harvest.
   • D.The government adds fresh seed to the bank every year.
   • E.Farmers buy hybrid seeds from the market every season for the bank.

2. Q2.Why did seed banks become popular among farmers?

   • A.Seed fairs had become too expensive for small farmers.
   • B.Indigenous seeds were no longer available in the market.
   • C.Hybrid seeds could not survive under flood water.
   • D.Hybrid seeds bought from the market had to be bought again every season.
   • E.Women's groups were asked by the government to manage seed stocks.

3. Q3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as true of indigenous varieties?

   • A.Many of them suit local conditions better.
   • B.Some rice varieties can survive a week under flood water.
   • C.Certain millets need very little rain.
   • D.They generally give more grain per acre than modern varieties.
   • E.They can be saved and replanted for years.

Start the test to answer these. Correct answers and explanations are shown after you submit.