CDS 2026 (I) English, question 116

Topic: Reading comprehension

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Directions · Q116 to Q120

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow the passage. Your answers to the questions should be based on the passage only.

Passage · Q116 to Q120

As the new century begins, it is becoming evident to urban dwellers, whether in industrial or developing countries, that there is an immanent conflict between the automobile and the city. Urban air pollution, often from automobiles, claims millions of lives. Congestion also takes a direct economic toll in rising costs in time and the use of petrol.

Another cost of cities that are devoted to cars is a psychological one, a deprivation of contact with the natural world — an “asphalt complex”. There is a growing body of evidence that there is an innate human need for contact with nature. Both ecologists and psychologists have been aware of this for some time. Ecologists, led by Harvard University biologist E.O. Wilson, have formulated the “biophilia hypothesis”, which argues that those who are deprived of contact with nature suffer psychologically and that this deprivation leads to a measurable decline in well-being.

Meanwhile psychologists have coined their own term — ecopsychology — in which they make the same argument. Theodore Roszak, a leader in this field, cites a study that documents humans’ dependence on nature by looking at the rate of recovery of patients in a hospital in Pennsylvania. Those whose rooms overlooked gardens with grass, trees, flowers, and birds recovered from illnesses more quickly than those who were in rooms overlooking the parking lot.

Q116

The “asphalt complex” refers to :

  1. (a) The inability of city dwellers to connect with natureCorrect answer
  2. (b) The complexity of urban life and air pollution
  3. (c) The causality between urban pollution and automobiles
  4. (d) The air pollution that results from the construction of asphalt roads

Solution.

Answer: (a) The inability of city dwellers to connect with nature

  1. The passage explicitly links the “asphalt complex” to deprivation of contact with the natural world.
  2. Option (a) captures that disconnection; road construction and pollution are discussed separately.