SSC CGL English – Reading Comprehension – Level 2 · Exam Level · Tier I Sprint

The message looked official. It carried the logo of a well-known bank, warned that Lakshmi's account would be "blocked within two hours" and asked her to click a link to update her details. Her thumb was already above the link when she remembered something her granddaughter had told her: real banks do not hurry you, and they never ask for your PIN or one-time password over a call or a message.

Fraudsters who send such messages rely less on technology than on emotion. Fear ("your account will be closed"), greed ("you have won a prize") and kindness ("a relative is in trouble, send money now") all push a person to act before thinking. The links often lead to pages that copy the look of a genuine website, and anything typed there goes straight to the criminals.

The best defence is a habit rather than a gadget: pause, check and only then act. Lakshmi did not click. She called the number printed on the back of her bank card, and the officer confirmed that her account was perfectly safe. She then forwarded the message to her family group with a single line of advice: "If it is urgent, it is probably false."

Grandfather's radio had been silent ever since the monsoon storm that flooded the ground floor. It sat on the shelf above his chair, a wooden box with a cloth front and two round knobs, and nobody dared to throw it away. Every morning he dusted it, though it had not spoken a word since the water came.

Anjali, who was studying electronics at the polytechnic, finally asked if she could take it apart. Grandfather hesitated, then nodded. "Do not worry if it does not work," he said, in a voice that suggested he would worry a great deal.

For two weekends she cleaned rusted contacts, replaced a cracked part with one from the scrap market and traced the wires with a small torch. On the third Sunday she plugged it in and turned the left knob. There was a hiss, then a crackle, and then, faint but clear, a voice reading the morning news.

Grandfather did not say anything for a long time. He sat down, closed his eyes and listened to the whole bulletin, even the weather report for districts he had never visited. When it ended, he opened his eyes and said only, "It sounds younger than I remember." Anjali understood that this was the highest praise he knew how to give.

When a heatwave settles over a city, it does not fall equally on everyone. Streets lined with old trees feel noticeably cooler than bare roads nearby. Concrete, asphalt and dark roofs soak up sunlight during the day and give it back as heat long after sunset, so crowded neighbourhoods with little greenery often stay warm through the night. People who work outdoors, such as vendors, construction workers and delivery riders, have the least escape.

Town planners are now looking at simple changes as well as big ones. Painting roofs in light, reflective colours sends part of the sunlight back into the sky. Shaded bus stops, public drinking-water points and parks within walking distance give relief to those who cannot stay indoors. Some cities have prepared heat action plans that tell hospitals, schools and employers what to do when the heat becomes dangerous.

None of these measures is costly on its own, but each needs steady attention. A tree planted today gives shade only after years of watering and protection. The real test of a city, one planner remarked, is not how it copes with one hot day but how it prepares for many.