English Language Practice Questions For IBPS SO Prelims 2017

Directions (1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

A remarkable aspect of art of the present century is the range of concepts and ideologies which it embodies. It is almost tempting to see a pattern emerging within the art field—or alternatively imposed upon it a posteriori—similar to that which exists under the umbrella of science where the general term covers a whole range of separate, though interconnecting, activities. Any parallelism is however—in this instance at least—misleading. A scientific discipline develops systematically once its bare tenets have been established, named and categorized as conventions. Many of the concepts of modern art, by contrast have resulted from the almost accidental meeting of group of talented individual at certain times and certain places. The ideas generated by these chance meeting had twofold consequences. Firstly, a corpus of work would be produced which, in great part, remains as a concrete record of the events. Secondly, the ideas would themselves be disseminated through many different channels of communication—seeds that often bore fruit in contexts far removed from their generation. Not all movements were exclusively concerned with innovation. Surrealism, for instance, claimed to embody a kind of insight which can be present in the art of many periods. This claim has been generally accepted so that a sixteenth century painting by Spranger or a mysterious photograph by Atget can legitimately be discussed in surrealist terms. Briefly, then, the concepts of modern art are of many different (often fundamentally different) kinds and resulted from the exposures of painters, sculptors and thinkers to the more complex phenomena of the twentieth century, including our ever increasing knowledge of the thought and products of earlier centuries. Different groups of artists would collaborate in trying to make sense of a rapidly changing world of visual and spiritual experience. We should hardly be surprised if no one group succeeded completely, but achievements, through relative, have been considerable. Landmarks have been established—concrete statements of position which give a pattern to a situation which could easily have degenerated into total chaos. Beyond this, new language tools have been created for those who follow—semantic system which can provide a springboard for future explorations.

The codifying of art is often criticized. Certainly one can understand that artists are wary of being pigeonholed since they are apt to think of themselves as individuals—sometimes with good reason. The notion of self-expression, however, no longer carries quite the weight it once did; objectivity has its defenders. There is good reason to accept the ideas codified by artists and critics, over the past sixty years or so, as having attained the status of independent existence—an independence which is not without its own value. The time factor is important here. As an art movement slips into temporal perceptive, it cease to be a living organism—becoming. rather, a fossil. This is not to say that it becomes useless or uninteresting. Just as a scientist can reconstruct the life of a prehistoric environment from the messages codified into the structure of a fossil, so can an artist decipher whole webs of intellectual and creative possibility from the recorded structure of a “dead” art movement. The artist can match the creative patterns crystallized into this structure against the potentials and possibilities of his own time. As T.S. Eliot observed, no one starts anything from scratch; however consciously you may try to live in the present, you are still involved with a nexus of behaviour patterns bequeathed from the past. The original and creative person is not someone who ignores these patterns, but someone who is able to translate and develop them so that they conform more exactly to his—and our—present needs.

Q1. Many of the concepts of modern art have been the product of
(a) Ideas generated from planned deliberation between artists, painters and thinkers.
(b) The dissemination of ideas through the state and its organizations.
(c) Accidental interaction among people blessed with creative muse.
(d) Patronage by the rich and powerful that supported art.
(e) Systematic investigation, codification and conventions.

Q2. In the passage, the word “fossil” can be interpreted as
(a) an art movement that has ceased to remain interesting or useful.
(b) an analogy from the physical world to indicate a historic art movement.
(c) an analogy from the physical world to indicate the barrenness of artistic creations in the past.
(d) an embedded codification of pre-historic life.
(e) an analogy from the physical world to indicate the passing of an era associated with an art movement.

Q3. In the passage, which of the following similarities between science and art may lead to erroneous conclusion? 
(a) Both, in general, include a gamut of distinct but interconnecting activities.
(b) Both have movements not necessarily concerned with innovation.
(c) Both depend on collaboration between talented individuals.
(d) Both involve abstract thought and dissemination of ideas.
(e) Both reflect complex priorities of the modern world.

Q4. The range of concept and ideologies embodied in the art of the twentieth century is explained by 
(a) The existence of movement such as surrealism.
(b) Landmark which give a pattern to the art history of the twentieth century.
(c) New language tools which can be used for future explorations into new areas.
(d) The fast changing world of perceptual and transcendental understanding.
(e) The quick exchange of ideas and concepts enabled by efficient technology.

Q5. The passage uses an observation by T.S. Eliot to imply that….
(a) Creative processes are not ‘original’s because they always borrow from the past.
(b) We always carry forward the legacy of the past.
(c) Past behaviours and thought processes recreate themselves in the present and get labelled as ‘original’ or ‘creative’.
(d) ‘Originality’ can only thrive in a ‘greenhouse’ insulated from the past biases.
(e) ‘Innovations’ and ‘original thinking’ interpret and develop on past thoughts to suit contemporary needs.

Q6. Which of the following is most nearly similar in meaning of the word Disseminated as used in the passage?
(a) sensitive
(b) detachment
(c) encapsulate
(d) proclaim
(e) difference

Q7. Which of the following is most nearly similar in meaning of the word embody as used in the passage?
(a)bold
(b)personify
(c)employee
(d)queer
(e)publicize

Q8. Which of the following is most nearly similar in meaning of the word Mysterious as used in the passage?
(a) publicize
(b) strange
(c) publicize
(d) promulgate
(e) manifest

Q9. Which of the following is most nearly Opposite in meaning of the word Objectivity as used in the passage?
(a)epitomize
(b) mystifying
(c)bias
(d)objection
(e) neutrality

Q10. Which of the following is most nearly Opposite in meaning of the word Perceptive as used in the passage?
(a)presently
(b)precedent
(c)ignorant
(d)discerning
(e)observant