Monopolistic competition features ___ differentiation.
- product
- working
- lender of last resort
- purchasing (or buying)
Answer: product
Products are similar but differentiated by brand/features.
Medium Level – GK Questions
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Unitary elasticity means total revenue remains ___.
- balance (or sum to zero)
- constant
- indifference
- Total variable cost
Answer: constant
Total revenue is maximized and constant at Ed=1.
Consumer equilibrium is where budget line is ___ to IC.
- tangent
- Total receipts excluding borrowings
- low (or zero / no)
- crowding out
Answer: tangent
Tangency ensures MRS equals the price ratio.
Slope of indifference curve is?
- MRS
- MRT
- MPC
- MPS
Answer: MRS
Marginal Rate of Substitution represents the slope.
Ordinal utility is associated with ___ curve.
- technological
- John Maynard Keynes
- Pareto Efficiency (or Pareto Optimality)
- indifference
Answer: indifference
Indifference curve shows ordinal ranking of preferences.
Marginal utility is zero when total utility is?
- Zero
- Minimum
- Maximum
- Negative
Answer: Maximum
Total utility peaks when marginal utility becomes zero.
Income elasticity for inferior goods is ___.
- Total variable cost
- negative
- decrease (or reduce / lower)
- dumping
Answer: negative
Demand falls as income rises for inferior goods.
Complementary goods have positive cross elasticity.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Complements have negative cross elasticity.
Cross elasticity of demand for substitutes is?
- Positive
- Negative
- Zero
- Infinite
Answer: Positive
If the price of one rises, demand for the other rises.
Exception to law of demand?
- Normal goods
- Giffen goods
- Luxuries
- Substitutes
Answer: Giffen goods
Giffen goods have an upward sloping demand curve.
The 'Magical Realism' movement in literature is exclusively a European phenomenon that originated in 19th-century France.
- True
- False
Answer: False
While the term was coined by German art critic Franz Roh, Magical Realism as a literary movement is most famously associated with the Latin American Boom (e.g., Gabriel García Márquez, Alejo Carpentier) in the mid-20th century.
The 'Bijak' is the most sacred scripture of the Kabir Panth, containing the verses and teachings of Kabir. It is primarily written in which dialect?
- Awadhi
- Braj Bhasha
- Sadukkari / Western Hindi dialects
- Maithili
Answer: Sadukkari / Western Hindi dialects
Kabir used a mixed vernacular often called 'Sadukkari' or 'Panchmel Khichdi', blending elements of Awadhi, Braj, Bhojpuri, and Punjabi to reach a wide, unlettered audience.
Jorge Luis Borges, famous for his labyrinthine short stories like 'The Library of Babel', was from ________.
- Chile
- Argentina
- Mexico
- Colombia
Answer: Argentina
Borges is a foundational figure of 20th-century literature, though he controversially never won the Nobel Prize. His works deeply influenced magical realism and postmodernism.
A 'foil' character is one who contrasts sharply with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character.
- True
- False
Answer: True
For example, Dr. Watson serves as a foil to Sherlock Holmes, highlighting Holmes's eccentric genius through Watson's grounded, conventional perspective.
The 'Dastan-e-Amir Hamza' is a monumental work of which literary genre in Urdu and Persian traditions?
- Ghazal
- Marsia
- Dastan (Epic Romance/Adventure)
- Tazkira (Biographical Dictionary)
Answer: Dastan (Epic Romance/Adventure)
The Dastan is a genre of oral and written epic storytelling filled with magic, adventure, and heroic deeds. The Hamzanama is the most famous and voluminous of these.
The Hindi poet Sumitranandan Pant was awarded the Jnanpith Award in 1968 for his poetry collection ________.
- Chidambara
- Madhushala
- Kamayani
- Rashmirathi
Answer: Chidambara
Sumitranandan Pant, a major figure of the Chhayavad movement, won the Jnanpith for 'Chidambara', which reflects his later shift towards humanism and Marxist ideals.
Kamala Markandaya's 'Nectar in a Sieve' was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in its inaugural year, 1969.
- True
- False
Answer: False
'Nectar in a Sieve' was published in 1954, long before the Booker Prize was established in 1969. It was, however, an ALA Notable Book and a massive bestseller.
Ruskin Bond's novella 'A Flight of Pigeons' is set during which historical event?
- The Partition of India (1947)
- The Indian Rebellion of 1857
- The Bengal Famine of 1943
- The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
Answer: The Indian Rebellion of 1857
'A Flight of Pigeons' (1978) is based on a true story of a British family seeking refuge with Indian neighbors during the chaotic 1857 uprising. It was adapted into the film 'Junoon'.
Ralph Ellison's 1952 novel ________, which explores the social and intellectual issues facing African Americans in the early 20th century, won the National Book Award.
- Native Son
- Invisible Man
- Beloved
- Their Eyes Were Watching God
Answer: Invisible Man
'Invisible Man' uses the metaphor of literal and social invisibility to explore the narrator's struggle for identity in a racially divided America.
Who was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (in 1921) for her novel 'The Age of Innocence'?
- Willa Cather
- Edith Wharton
- Pearl S. Buck
- Harper Lee
Answer: Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton won the 1921 Pulitzer for 'The Age of Innocence', a brilliant critique of the rigid social codes of New York's Gilded Age aristocracy.