RBI Grade B Officer (General / DEPR / DSIM) 2025 · Question 175 of 259

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Choose the most appropriate option among the five given choices. For centuries, termites have been reviled as silent saboteurs—gnawing through wood, eroding dwellings, and sabotaging harvests. These tiny insects have long been associated with destruction, prompting humans to exterminate them whenever they appeared. Yet, modern ecological research reveals a remarkable irony embedded in this familiar narrative. The very creatures often annihilated in haste may, in fact, be indispensable to the health of the soils upon which human survival ultimately depends. What was once regarded purely as pestilence now emerges as a cornerstone of environmental balance. While sculpting their labyrinthine mounds, termites perform a process that goes far beyond mere architectural ingenuity. They transport mineral-laden subsoil upward from the depths below, mixing it meticulously with organic detritus accumulated on the surface. This alchemy transforms otherwise sterile dust into a nutrient-rich substrate capable of capturing moisture and fostering microbial life. In regions prone to drought, such as parts of Africa and South Asia, satellite imagery has revealed striking green halos encircling termite mounds—verdant sanctuaries where crops such as maize and millet manage to survive, even under severe water stress. By enhancing soil fertility in this manner, termites contribute indirectly but decisively to food security and local agricultural productivity. The subterranean labour of termites also has broader environmental benefits. Their mounds contribute to carbon sequestration, moderate soil temperature, and paradoxically, slow the advance of desertification—an ecological catastrophe that their extermination would otherwise exacerbate. In effect, the small engineers maintain complex systems of order beneath the surface, shaping microenvironments that support both plant and microbial communities. Their work illustrates the delicate interplay between organisms and the ecosystems they inhabit, highlighting how even minuscule creatures can exert outsized influence on ecological stability. Such revelations have begun to challenge traditional agricultural dogmas. Farmers long conditioned to view termites as adversaries are now being urged to consider coexistence rather than eradication. Some agronomists argue that mechanized ploughing, not termites, has inflicted more profound ecological damage over the years, disrupting soil structure and depleting nutrients. Consequently, the termite mound stands as a monument to a humbling truth: sustainability may hinge not on human domination, but on symbiosis. The smallest engineers, often overlooked and undervalued, frequently maintain the grandest systems of order beneath our inattentive feet, reminding us that ecological wisdom sometimes lies in restraint and observation rather than in conquest. Fill in the blank: The author implies that modern agriculture’s greatest flaw lies in its obsession with ______ rather than ______.

Reading Comprehension

1. AA. extermination / equilibriumCorrect
2. BB. productivity / profitability
3. CC. irrigation / innovation
4. DD. experimentation / exploitation
5. EE. surveillance / sustenance