Which one of the following cities was the first to attain the status of a 'megacity'?
- A.London
- B.Paris
- C.New York
- D.Washington
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, New York. New York, with its urban agglomeration, became the first city to cross a population of 10 million, around 1950.
A megacity is an urban agglomeration with more than 10 million people, the threshold used by the United Nations. New York reached that mark first, in the middle of the twentieth century, and Tokyo followed soon after; by the 1970s Tokyo had become the largest urban area in the world, as it still is. Most of today's megacities are in Asia, Africa and Latin America, including Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata in India. Size is the only test: a megacity need not be a national capital, and many capitals are far smaller.
A is wrong because London, though the largest city of the nineteenth century, did not reach 10 million before New York. B is wrong because Paris crossed the 10 million mark only much later. D is wrong because Washington has never been a megacity; its population is far smaller.
Exam tip: Megacity means over 10 million people; New York first, Tokyo now the largest.
Practice Questions
View allBagram Air Base is located in
- A.Turkey
- B.Pakistan
- C.Afghanistan
- D.Israel
Show answer
Bagram Air Base lies in Parwan province of Afghanistan, about 60 km north of the capital Kabul.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements is not correct?
- A.Position of the Sun, Earth and Moon in a straight line of 180° angle is known as syzygy.
- B.Syzygy conjunction causes solar eclipse.
- C.Syzygy opposition causes lunar eclipse.
- D.Syzygy conjunction occurs at the time of perihelion only.
Show answer
This statement is not correct, because conjunction happens at every new moon, about once a month, and has nothing to do with the Earth's closest point to the Sun.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following about sugar industry of Peninsular India is not correct?
- A.High yield per hectare of sugarcane
- B.Higher sucrose content
- C.Long crushing season
- D.Most of the mills in the Peninsula are located mainly along the east coast
Show answer
This statement is not correct, because the peninsular sugar mills are concentrated mainly in Maharashtra and Karnataka, in the west and the interior of the plateau.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. Visakhapatnam Port is a land-locked harbour.
2. Deendayal Port is a tidal port.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Both statements describe the two ports correctly. Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh is India's deepest land-locked and protected port on the east coast.
Read the full explanation →Weathering, mass wasting, erosion and transportation are indicators of which one of the following processes?
- A.Denudation
- B.Endogenetic process
- C.Diastrophism
- D.Mountain building
Show answer
Weathering, mass wasting, erosion and transportation together wear down and strip away the earth's surface, and this combined work is called denudation.
Read the full explanation →