Which one of the following statements best sums up the above passage?
PASSAGE
By 2050, the Earth's population will likely have swelled from seven to nine billion people. To fill all those stomachs - while accounting for shifting consumption patterns, climate change, and a finite amount of arable land and potable water – some experts say food production will have to double. How can we make the numbers add up? Experts say higher yielding crop varieties and more efficient farming methods will be crucial. So will waste reduction. Experts urge cities to reclaim nutrients and water from waste streams and preserve farmland. Poor countries, they say, can improve crop storage and packaging and rich nations could cut back on resource-intensive foods like meat.
Which one of the following statements best sums up the above passage?
(a) The population of the world is growing very fast.
(b) Food security is a perennial problem only in developing countries.
(c) The world does not have enough resources to meet the impending food scarcity.
(d) Food security is increasingly a collective challenge.
2 Answers
(d) (a) is wrong as it states a fact mentioned in the passage. It does not sum up the passage.
(b) is wrong as the passage does not restrict the problem to the developing countries only.
(c) is wrong as the passage only says that the food production will have to double. It does not talk about food scarcity at all. Rather it talks about how to meet the required target.
(d) correctly sums up the passage. Food security is increasingly a collective challenge and the passage suggests means to combat it.
(b) (a) is wrong as it is a general statement and does present the crux of the passage.
(c) is wrong as the opening line of the passage says that people talk about democracy (or understand democracy) but they have a weakness favouring their caste or community or religion.
(d) is wrong as it projects an extreme situation which is out of the scope of the passage.
(b) is the most appropriate statement as it talks about providing equal opportunities to all irrespective of the caste or community or religion. That's what is a True democracy.