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UPSC CSE CSAT 2021 · Question 71 · Reading comprehension

Which one of the following statements best sums up the passage given above?

Directions for the following 3 (three) items: Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Passage—1

Medieval merchants risked the hazards of the Silk Road to reach the markets of China; Portuguese caravels in the 15th century sailed beyond the bounds of the known world, searching less for knowledge than for gold and spices. Historically, the driver for opening frontiers has always been the search for resources. Science and curiosity are weaker drivers. The only way to open up space, whether the space of solar system or interstellar space is to create an economic engine and that engine is resource extraction.

CSAT 2021 · Q71

Reading comprehension Easy

Which one of the following statements best sums up the passage given above?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) Human beings are motivated to explore new frontiers principally by economic considerations.

From medieval merchants to Portuguese caravels, the passage says frontiers have always been opened in search of resources, with science and curiosity weaker drivers — and space will be no different. The summary is that new frontiers are explored mainly for economic reasons.

  • ✗ (a) 'Any human endeavour' widens the claim far beyond opening frontiers.
  • ✗ (b) The passage says resource extraction is the engine for opening space, not that space will govern our future economy.
  • ✓ (c) 'The driver for opening frontiers has always been the search for resources. Science and curiosity are weaker drivers.'
  • ✗ (d) Risk-taking appears only in the examples; the basis of wealth generation is not discussed.

Remember · A summary keeps the passage's scope (here, opening frontiers); options about 'any human endeavour' stretch it too far.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

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