CDS Exam (I)- 2026 - English Defence Question Paper

Directions (Next 10 Questions): In this section each item consists of six sentences that comprise a passage. The first and sixth sentences are given in the beginning as S1 and S6. The sequence of the four sentences in the middle, labelled as P, Q, R, and S, has been jumbled. You are required to find the proper sequence of the four jumbled sentences and mark your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.

S1: The word science originates from the Latin verb Scientia meaning "to know".
S6: By the middle of the twentieth century, science had become a truly international enterprise, with many cultures and countries contributing to its rapid growth.
P: Science, in a broad sense, is as old as the human species.
Q: From the sixteenth century onwards, great strides were also made in science in Europe.
R: The early civilisations of Egypt, India, China, Greece, Mesopotamia and many others made vital contributions to its progress.
S: The Sanskrit word Vijñāna and the Arabic word Ilm convey a similar meaning, namely knowledge.
The proper sequence should be

S1: Britain was the first country to experience modern industrialisation.
S6: This gave people a wider choice of ways to spend their earnings and expanded the market for the sale of goods.
P: Stability meant that the Kingdom had common laws, a single currency and a market that was not fragmented by local authorities levying taxes on goods that passed through their area, thus increasing their price.
Q: It had been politically stable since the seventeenth century, with England, Wales and Scotland unified under a monarchy.
R: By the end of the seventeenth century, money was widely used as the medium of exchange.
S: As a consequence, a large section of the people received their income in the form of wages and salaries, rather than in goods.
The proper sequence should be

S1: William I had the land mapped, and distributed it in sections to one hundred eighty Norman nobles who had migrated with him to Britain.
S6: Thus, Anglo-Saxon peasants became tenants of various levels of landholders.
P: They could not, however, use their knights for private warfare, which was forbidden in England.
Q: They soon began to gift some of their own lands to knights who would serve them just as they in turn served the king.
R: They were obliged to supply a certain number of knights to the king.
S: These noble lords became the chief tenants of the king and were expected to give him military help.
The proper sequence should be

S1: In an economic sense, feudalism refers to a kind of system of agricultural production.
S6: Thus, feudalism went beyond economic aspects to cover the social and political aspects of life as well.
P: In fact, the latter cultivated their own land as well as that of the lord.
Q: It is based on the relationship between lords and peasants, who worked on the former's land.
R: They also had judicial control over the peasants.
S: The peasants also performed other labour for the lords, who in exchange provided military protection.
The proper sequence should be

S1: The Japanese empire was considered rich.
S6: Soon, other developments such as the increased use of money and the creation of a stock market in rice show that the economy was developing in new ways.
P: However, paying for these imports with gold and silver strained the economy and led the Tokugawa to put restrictions on the export of precious metals.
Q: Over time, the silk from Nishijin came to be known as the best in the world.
R: They also took steps to develop the silk industry in Nishijin in Kyoto so as to reduce imports.
S: This was because it imported luxury goods like silk from China and textiles from India.
The proper sequence should be

S1: A seasoned cricketer catches a cricket ball coming in with great speed far more easily than a novice, who can hurt his hands in the act.
S6: The conclusion is clear: force not only depends on the change in momentum, but also on how fast the change is brought about.
P: The novice, on the other hand, keeps his hands fixed and tries to catch the ball almost instantly.
Q: One reason is that the seasoned cricketer allows a longer time for his hands to stop the ball.
R: Consequently, he needs to provide a much greater force to stop the ball instantly, and this hurts.
S: He does this by drawing his hands backward in the act of catching the ball.
The proper sequence should be

S1: People fall down from staircases in different ways in different countries.
S6: This is because for the Americans, their home is usually the only place where they regularly use the stairs.
P: They rely, instead, on the ease and safety of lifts and escalators which are ubiquitous in such places.
Q: This is not because the Japanese are more reckless staircase users, but simply because Americans don't much use the stairs in public places.
R: Staircase injuries, therefore, happen mostly in the home.
S: For instance, someone in Japan is far more likely to be hurt in a staircase fall in an office, department store or railway station than is anyone in the United States.
The proper sequence should be

S1: The lantana plant is not native to India.
S6: However, eradicating lantana is a long and arduous process which can only be carried out with a lot of technical expertise and financial commitment.
P: Since then, it has spread over six lakh square kilometres, covering fifty percent of the country's natural areas.
Q: Research also shows that the lantana has invaded most pasture lands in the country.
R: It was introduced in the country as an ornamental plant by the British in the 1800s.
S: A 2020 estimate by researchers shows that the plant occupies forty percent of forests, including tiger reserves.
The proper sequence should be

S1: Biodiversity is crucial for the sustenance of life.
S6: After all, products that benefit customers must also positively impact the environment.
P: Corporations have a social responsibility to help navigate discourses on biodiversity and leverage opportunities for sustainable development.
Q: Conserving biodiversity requires the urgent collaboration between, and involvement of, individuals and corporations.
R: Further, customers' demand for greener products can be a catalyst for sustainability.
S: Redesigning manufacturing processes, adopting new technologies, and shifting to a paperless environment are ways to achieve such development.
The proper sequence should be

S1: Among the momentous watersheds through which human beings have passed since their appearance over 100,000 years ago, none has been more profound in its consequences than the shift to agriculture.
S6: Unfortunately, such transformations disrupted delicate natural balances as humans sought enhanced control over their new modes of subsistence.
P: They did this by purposefully transforming landscapes with their agricultural fields and pastures.
Q: They lived much like the way in which their own hominid predecessors had lived for millions of years, as integral components of the Earth's ecosystems.
R: However, with the invention of practices of agriculture, these new farmers and herders began manipulating their surroundings to an unprecedented degree.
S: Before that, for countless generations, nearly all humans had lived as hunters and gatherers, dwelling together in small, stable, nomadic bands that operated in close harmony with nature.
The proper sequence should be