NOT everything looks lovelier the longer and closer its inspection. But Saturn does. It is gorgeous through Earthly telescopes. However, the 13 years of close observation provided by Cassini, an American spacecraft, showed the planet, its moons and its remarkable rings off better and better, revealing finer structures, striking novelties and greater drama. . . .
By and large the big things in the solar system — planets and moons — are thought of as having been around since the beginning. The suggestion that rings and moons are new is, though, made even more interesting by the fact that one of those moons, Enceladus, is widely considered the most promising site in the solar system on which to look for alien life. If Enceladus is both young and bears life, that life must have come into being quickly. This is also believed to have been the case on Earth. Were it true on Enceladus, that would encourage the idea that life evolves easily when conditions are right.
One reason for thinking Saturn's rings are young is that they are bright. The solar system is suffused with comet dust, and comet dust is dark. Leaving Saturn's ring system which Cassini has shown to be more than 90% water ice out in such a mist is like leaving laundry hanging on a line downwind from a smokestack; it will get dirty. The lighter the rings are, the faster this will happen, for the less mass they contain, the less celestial pollution they can absorb before they start to discolour... Jeff Cuzzi, a scientist at America’s space agency, NASA, who helped run Cassini, told the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston that combining the mass estimates with Cassini's measurements of the density of comet dust near Saturn suggests the rings are no older than the first dinosaurs, nor younger than the last of them; that is, they are somewhere between 200 million and 70 million years old.
That timing fits well with a theory put forward in 2016, by Matija Cuk of the SETI Institute, in California and his colleagues. They suggest that at around the same time as the rings came into being an old set of moons orbiting Saturn destroyed themselves, and from their remains emerged not only the rings but also the planet’s current suite of inner moons — Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus and Mimas. . . .
Dr. Cuk and his colleagues used computer simulations of Saturn’s moons’ orbits as a sort of time machine. Looking at the rate at which tidal friction is causing these orbits to lengthen they extrapolated backwards to find out what those orbits would have looked like in the past. They discovered that about 100m years ago the orbits of two of them, Tethys and Dione, would have interacted in a way that left the planes in which they orbit markedly tilted. But their orbits are untilted. The obvious, if unsettling, conclusion was that this interaction never happened — and thus that at the time when it should have happened, Dione and Tethys were simply not there. They must have come into being later.
Data provided by Cassini challenged the assumption that:
- Saturn’s ring system is composed mostly of water ice.
- there was life on earth when Saturn’s rings were being formed.
- new celestial bodies can form from the destruction of old celestial bodies.
- all big things in the solar system have been around since the beginning.
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The correct answer is (D):
The first sentence of the second paragraph says that the things in the solar system are believed to have been around since the beginning. Cassini, however, comes up with evidence that challenges this assumption. Throughout the second and third paragraph we have evidence gathered by Cassini pointing at those things in the solar system that must have come into being later. Dione and Tethys are the two such examples discussed in the last paragraph. Thus choice 4 is the best choice.
The main objective of the passage is to:
- establish that Saturn’s rings and inner moons have been around since the beginning of time.
- demonstrate how the orbital patterns of Saturn’s rings and moons change over time.
- highlight the beauty, finer structures and celestial drama of Saturn’s rings and moons.
- provide evidence that Saturn’s rings and moons are recent creations.
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
The correct answer is (A):
This question can be answered on the basis of the evidence used to answer the first question. The author discusses Saturn’s rings and Saturn’s moons to attack the assumption that the things in the solar system have been there since a long long time. Thus the main objective of the passage is to provide evidence that Saturn’s rings and moons are recent creations.
Option 1 is the exact opposite of what the author is trying to convey.
Option 2 is not the main objective of the passage. The orbits have been discussed only in the last paragraph where the author says that the orbits of the two of Saturn’s moons are not tilted.
Option 3 there is not much mention of Saturn’s beauty and its celestial drama.
Based on information provided in the passage, we can infer that, in addition to water ice, Saturn’s rings might also have small amounts of:
- methane and rock particles.
- helium and methane.
- helium and comet dust.
- rock particles and comet dust.
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The correct answer is (D):
Support for comet dust can be seen in the last two sentences of the third paragraph. Now we are left with two choices: helium or rock particles. Helium is a gas, while rock particles is matter. The fourth para says that Saturn’s rings were created from the old set of moons that destroyed themselves. Thus the rings must have had substance that the moon was made up of. The moon can be made of rock particles, not helium. Thus option 4 is the best choice.
The phrase “leaving laundry hanging on a line downwind from a smokestack” is used to explain how the ringed planet's:
- atmosphere absorbs comet dust.
- rings discolour and darken over time.
- rings lose mass over time.
- moons create a gap between the rings.
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The correct answer is (B):
the fact that the rings haven’t discolored and darkened as much as they should have had, if they have been out there since a long time, suggests that they are recent creations. The laundry example is used to explain that. Thus choice 2 is the best answer.
Based on information provided in the passage, we can conclude all of the following EXCEPT:
- Saturn’s lighter rings discolour faster than rings with greater mass.
- Saturn’s rings were created from the remains of older moons.
- none of Saturn’s moons ever had suitable conditions for life to evolve.
- Thethys and Dione are less than 100 million years old.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The correct answer is (C):
We can find evidence for 1 in the second half of the first paragraph. Option 2 can be found in the second last paragraph. Option 4 can be found in the last paragraph. Thus 3 is the best choice as we don’t have any evidence in the paragraph for 3.
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
Passage: Toru Dutt is considered the earliest Indian female writer in English. She travelled extensively in Europe from a young age with her family. She and her sister Aru became fascinated with Paris and French literature. In London, they came in contact with such august personages such as Sir Bartle Frere, the Gover- nor of Bombay from 1862 to 1867, and Sir Edward Ryan, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Calcutta, from 1837 to 1843. Toru Dutt was greatly influenced in her writings by French Romantic poets like Victor Hugo and English writers like Elizabeth Browning, John Keats, Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen. She was also intrigued by the legends and myths of India, and even learned Sanskrit. Her writings were marked by romantic melancholia and an obsession and preoccupation with death. This was partly due to her suffering and pain following the early tragic deaths of her siblings, especially her older sister Aru, with whom she was quite close. Her chosen subjects often portrayed separation, loneliness, captivity, dejec- tion, declining seasons and untimely death. She led an ”Ivory Tower existence” and her own death came quite early, at the age of 21, in the full bloom of her talent and on the eve of the awakening of her genius. Toru Dutt’s most famous work is A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields, an anthology of poems translated from French to English. It also contained a few original poems that showcase her vast insight into French literature. She used to publish poems in the Bengal Magazine, under the pseudonym ”TD”. But most of her powerful work was published posthumously, in- cluding the French novel Le Journal de Mademoiselle D’Arvers and the unfinished English novel Bianca, or, the Young Spanish Maiden. Her work Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan depicts a shrewd knowledge of Hindu mythology and an instinctive empathy with the conditions of life they represent. An assimilation of the Occident and the Orient nourished Toru’s poetic skills; in her, we find a tripartite influence of a French education, lectures at Cambridge and the study of Sanskrit literature.
- NPAT - 2025
- Verbal Reasoning
- Reading Comprehension
“Why do they pull down and do away with crooked streets, I wonder, which are my delight, and hurt no man living? Every day the wealthier nations are pulling down one or another in their capitals and their great towns: they do not know why they do it; neither do I. It ought to be enough, surely, to drive the great broad ways which commerce needs and which are the life-channels of a modern city, without destroying all history and all the humanity in between: the islands of the past.”
(From Hilaire Belloc’s “The Crooked Streets”)
Based only on the information provided in the above passage, which one of the following statements is true?- GATE PH - 2025
- General Aptitude
- Reading Comprehension
“Why do they pull down and do away with crooked streets, I wonder, which are my delight, and hurt no man living? Every day the wealthier nations are pulling down one or another in their capitals and their great towns: they do not know why they do it; neither do I. It ought to be enough, surely, to drive the great broad ways which commerce needs and which are the life-channels of a modern city, without destroying all history and all the humanity in between: the islands of the past.” (From Hilaire Belloc’s “The Crooked Streets”)
Based only on the information provided in the above passage, which one of the following statements is true?
- GATE CE - 2025
- General Aptitude
- Reading Comprehension
- “His life was divided between the books, his friends, and long walks. A solitary man, he worked at all hours without much method, and probably courted his fatal illness in this way. To his own name there is not much to show; but such was his liberality that he was continually helping others, and fruits of his erudition are widely scattered, and have gone to increase many a comparative stranger’s reputation.”
(From E.V. Lucas’s “A Funeral”)
Based only on the information provided in the above passage, which one of the following statements is true?- GATE CE - 2025
- General Aptitude
- Reading Comprehension
- Read the excerpt from a Handicrafts Manual: ‘Advanced Knitting Techniques’ and answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate answer.
THE FAIR ISLE METHOD: Fair Isle knitting is a traditional technique that involves using two or more colours of yarn in a single row to create intricate patterns and designs. This method requires careful tension management to ensure even stitches and prevent puckering. To begin, select your colours and cast on the desired number of stitches. As you knit, alternate between colours every few stitches, carrying the unused yarn along the back of the work. Mastering the Fair Isle technique allows you to create stunning visual effects in garments, accessories, and home textiles.
THE CONTINENTAL STYLE: The Continental knitting style, often referred to as “picking,” involves holding the yarn in the left hand while the right hand manipulates the needles. This method allows for greater speed and efficiency, particularly when working with complex patterns or multiple colours. To practice this style, start by casting on your stitches and using your left hand to tension the yarn. With each stitch, simply “pick” the yarn with your right needle, forming a quick and fluid motion. As you become comfortable with this technique, you may find that your overall knitting speed and comfort improve significantly.
THE SHORT-ROW TECHNIQUE: Short-row knitting is an advanced technique that allows for the creation of shaped garments, such as sleeves and shoulders, without the need for complex shaping. To make a sleeve using this technique, begin by casting on the required number of stitches. Work a portion of the row, then turn your work and return without completing the full row to create the “short rows” that shape the curves of the sleeve. To prevent holes at the turn, wrap the stitch before you turn your work. Repeat this process as needed to achieve the desired shaping and dimension of the sleeve. Once you have shaped the sleeve, you can then sew the side seams to connect the pieces of your garment and finally, complete the edges to ensure a clean finish. This method not only helps shape curves but also adds dimension to your piece, allowing you to enhance fit and style.- AILET BALLB (Hons.) - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
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