1. Question 1:

Look at the text below. In 40 seconds, you must read this text aloud as naturally and clearly as possible. You have 40 seconds to read aloud.
Your Timer is Set for 1:30 Minutes. You must be able to prepare and read until time finishes.
Scientists have known for more than 250 years that electric eels live in the Amazon basin. They are widely distributed in swamps, streams, creeks, and rivers across northern South America, and have long been thought to belong to a single species. With modern genetic and ecological analyses, however, researchers have discovered that electric eels in the Amazon basin belong to three different species that evolved from a shared ancestor millions of years ago.

 

2. 2 | Industrialisation has led to environmental degradation in terms of industrial pollution. With industries operating, a 100 per cent pollution-free environment is a myth. It is neither possible nor necessary. However, it is imperative to ensure that industrial units cause the least pollution. Adequate and effective pollution control measures are required so that adverse effects on the environment are minimised.

3. 3 | No one can deny the fact that the Institute is one of the most prominent professional colleges to get an engineering degree. It is set in a reserve forest and its green lawns’ beautiful scenery is captivating, so much so that a nature lover like William Wordsworth would have written many poems if he had visited the charming sight.

4. 4 | Researchers have discovered that the cause of both desertification and climate change are the same: Management and policies that have never been able to adequately deal with the inevitable web of social, cultural, environmental and economic complexity.

5. 5 | A study of hundreds of years of family trees suggests a man’s genes play a role in him having sons or daughters. Men inherit a tendency to have more sons or more daughters from their parents. This means that a man with many brothers is more likely to have sons, while a man with many sisters is more likely to have daughters.

6. 6 | Aerobic exercises involve low levels of exertion in which the muscles are used at well below their maximal contraction strength for long periods. Aerobic exercises consume a mixture of fat, protein, and carbohydrates for energy, also consuming large amounts of oxygen.

7. 7 | Nature has, time and again, shown us its myriad possibilities. The role of a scientist lies primarily in unravelling these mysteries and putting knowledge about them to human use.

8. 8 | A number of rehab centres sprang up for these patients. Case history of the patients was studied and appropriate treatment given by specialists in the field. A majority of cases referred to the treatment centers were males. Patients were 14 to 75 years old; 68.4% had at least one previous attempt failure when seeking re-treatment.

9. 9 | More investment is needed to beat tuberculosis – the most deadly infectious disease in the world. The Stop TB Partnership said it would take £36 billion to “eliminate” the curable disease. It said a target set by the World Health Organisation to tackle the disease by 2030 would be missed unless action was taken.

10. 10 | Alfred Sherwood presented his “drying pond” theory to prove that tetrapods evolved from lobe-finned fishes driven onto the land by drought. The fishes ventured into the parched earth in search of other bodies of water and developed efficient terrestrial locomotion.