Reading Comprehension for IBPS Clerk Prelims Exam: 25th September 2018 |

IBPS Clerk Prelims is on its way and lot of aspirants are heading towards new hopes with this upcoming opportunity. Thus, English Language can be an impetus for their success by saving time and scoring well. So, instead of boiling the ocean, try building up a strong vocabulary, an effective knowledge of grammar, and efficient comprehension skills so as to be on the ball to face this particular section. Here is a quiz on English Language being provided by Adda247 to let you practice the best of latest pattern English Questions for upcoming IBPS Clerk exam.

Directions (1-15): Read the following passages carefully and answer the respective questions given below each of them. Certain words/phrases/sentences have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Passage 1 -

Once, there lived a pious Priest in a small village. He was very innocent and simple minded person, used to perform religious rituals. On one occasion, he was rewarded with a goat for his services by a wealthy man. The Priest was happy to get a goat as the reward. He happily slung the goat over his shoulder and began the journey towards his home. On the way, three cheats (Thugs) saw the Priest taking the goat.

All of them were lazy and wanted to cheat the Priest so that they could take away the goat. They said, “This goat will make a delicious meal for all of us. Let’s somehow get it”. They discussed the matter amongst themselves and devised a plan to get the goat by fooling the Priest. After deciding the plan, they got separated from one another and took different hiding positions at three different places on the way of the Priest.

As soon as, the Priest arrived at a lonely place, one of the cheats came out of his hiding place and asked Priest in a shocking manner, “Sir, what are you doing? I don’t understand why a pious man like you needs to carry a dog on his shoulders?” The Priest was surprised to hear such words. He screamed, “Can’t you see? It’s not a dog but a goat, you stupid fool”. The cheat replied, “Sir, I beg your pardon. I told you what I saw. I am sorry if you don’t believe it”. The Priest was annoyed at the discrepancy but started his journey once again.

The Priest had barely walked a distance, when another cheat came out of his hiding place and asked the Priest, “Sir, why do you carry a dead calf on your shoulders? You seem to be a wise person. Such an act is pure stupidity on your part”. The Priest yelled, “What? How can you mistake a living goat for a dead calf?” The second cheat replied, “Sir, you seem to be highly mistaken in this regard. Either you don’t know how goat looks like or you are doing it knowingly. I just told you what I saw. Thank you”. The second cheat went away smiling. The Priest got confused but continued to walk further.

Again the Priest had covered a little distance when the third cheat met him. The third cheat asked laughingly, “Sir, why do you carry a donkey on your shoulders? It makes you a laughing stock”. Hearing the words of the third thug, the Priest became really worried. He started thinking, “Is it really not a goat? Is it some kind of a ghost?”

He thought that the animal he was carrying on his shoulders might really be some sort of ghost, because it transformed itself from the goat into a dog, from a dog into a dead calf and from dead calf into a donkey. The Priest got frightened to such an extent that he hurled the goat on the roadside and ran away. The three tricksters laughed at the gullible Priest. They caught the goat and were happy to feast on it.

Q1. Which of the following words is most SIMILAR to ‘TRICKSTERS’ used in the above passage?

Goons

Buffoons

Clowns

Jokers

None of these

Solution:

TRICKSTER: A person who cheats or deceives people.
BUFFOON: a ridiculous but amusing person

Q2. Which of the following is true in the context of the given passage?

The priest was unmoved by whatever the thugs said to him during his travel and kept moving forward.

The thugs were very polite with their language while talking to the noble priest.

The thugs wanted to take the goat away from the priest and all four of them made a full-proof plan.

All (a), (b) and (c) are correct

None of the above is correct.

Solution:

If the passage is read carefully, it is very clear that though the thugs cheated and deceived the priest, the language used by them was very polite. The use of words like, ‘Sir’, ‘I beg your pardon’ and ‘Thankyou’ bears testimony to this.
Plus, 1. The total number of thugs were 3 and not 4; 2. Though the priest continued his journey after the thugs called his goat, ‘a dog’ and ‘a dead calf’, he was annoyed and confused by it. Hence he was not ‘unmoved’ as said in option (a).

Q3. Why did the thugs want to take the goat from the noble priest?

They had always wanted a goat and seeing the priest carrying a goat made them think that they can realize what they had been thinking all along.

They had asked the King for a goat a fortnight ago but he rejected their request. Hence, they wanted to fulfill their desire by stealing the priest’s goat.

They all wanted to enjoy a delicious feast by capturing the goat.

On the day before, the priest had rebuked them in front of the whole village for stealing from the village temple. So they wanted to avenge that.

None of these.

Solution:

The initial lines of the second paragraph clearly mentions that the thugs wanted to enjoy a delicious feast by capturing the goat.

Q4. Of the following options, which would be the most appropriate title for the given passage?

A Mysterious Goat

A priest and a Goat

Don’t let people fool you.

A dead calf

A ghostly Goat

Solution:

Here, although, the moral of the story is that we should not let anyone fool ourselves, yet, the title should be 'A priest and a Goat', as the story revolves around them. Options (c) fits more as the moral of the story while option (b) gives an appropriate title.

Q5. According to the passage above, what made the priest really worried and perplexed?

When one of the thugs told the priest that he was carrying a dog on his shoulders.

When he saw that the goat was nowhere to be found and he had lost it.

When one after the other, all tricksters recognized the goat as a dog, a dead calf and a donkey.

Seeing that the King has fooled him with a dog in disguise of a goat.

None of these

Solution:

The last lines of the fifth para clearly tell that after the third thug also recognised the goat as some other animal, the priest got really worried and himself started doubting if the goat he was carrying was really a goat.

Q6. Which of the following is most OPPOSITE to ‘PIOUS’ mentioned in the above passage?

Bachelor

Unfaithful

Misogamist

Polygamist

Polygynist

Solution:

PIOUS: devoutly religious

Q7. There is line given in BOLD in the above passage. Which of the following most nearly describes the same meaning as the original sentence?

Either the priest had not seen a goat or he was acting otherwise deliberately.

The thug had seen a goat and knew how it looked but he was deliberately tricking the poor priest.

Neither the thug nor the priest was doing it knowingly.

The priest knew how a goat looked but the thugs had tricked and confused him.

None of these

Solution:

If read carefully, in the statement here, the thug clearly suggests that, either the priest had not seen a real goat or he was acting otherwise deliberately.

Q8. Why did one of the Thugs call the goat carried by the priest, a dog?

To ridicule him.

To criticize him.

To confuse him.

Both (a) & (c)

All (a), (b) & (c)

Solution:

It is very clear from the passage that the thug called the goat carried by the priest, a dog, to confuse the priest.

Q9. Which of the following is incorrect in the context of the above passage?

The priest threw the Goat on the roadside and ran away.

At last the priest himself thought that the animal he was carrying was some kind of a ghost.

The three thugs were very smart but lazy.

The priest got the goat as a reward from the King.

All of these are correct.

Solution:

The passage nowhere mentions about any king. Rather, the priest got the Goat as a reward from a wealthy person.

Q10. Which of the following best describes the moral of the story mentioned in the above passage?

Laziness doesn’t mean a person is a fool and we must not take anyone for granted.

Noble persons are an easy target.

One should not be carried away by what others say. Never be fooled by those who want to take advantage of you.

People are jealous of your rewards and you must stand by yourself firmly.

None of these describe the essence of the story.

Solution:

As the thugs fooled the priest to take advantage of him it is clear that the moral of the story is, ‘One should not be carried away by what others say. Never be fooled by those who want to take advantage of you’.

Passage 2 -

The liquidity crisis at IL&FS, the quarter-end rush to dress up balance sheets by banks and redemption pressure on mutual funds (MFs) have all combined to trigger a liquidity deficit in the system which has led to short-term rates on commercial papers (CPs) increasing up to 50 basis points (bps) within a week, according to bankers.

The rate on three-month CPs is about 8.5%, up 40-50 bps as compared to a week ago. The rate on certificate of deposits of similar maturity is about 7.8%, up 20 bps.

This prompted the Reserve Bank of India to announce late on Monday, that it will conduct a open market operation (OMO) on Thursday to purchase government bonds to infuse liquidity worth Rs. 10,000 crore into the system.

“The system liquidity is negative to the tune of Rs. 1.3 lakh crore as we are nearing the end of the quarter. All the short-term rates have gone up with the three month CP rates hovering around 8.25-8.5%, up by 25-50 bps, as compared to a week ago,” said Ajay Malgunia, head of fixed income, Edelweiss Securities.

Bankers said that the recent crisis in IL&FS and the redemption pressure on Mutual Funds (MFs) had played a role in hardening of the rates. The IL&FS crisis had also impacted other non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) which are also facing increase in borrowing cost.

Banks and mutual funds are the main sources of funding for housing finance companies and other NBFCs contributing about 40% and 30%, respectively, of their funding needs.

“While the lines of credit from banks are easier to roll over and insurance provides longer [term] funding, the paper with mutual funds tends to be short-term. Fifty-five per cent of NBFC paper with MFs has less than 90-day maturities and could lead to redemption related pressures,” broking firm CLSA said in a note.

With MFs becoming a key source of short-term liquidity, estimates suggest that the CPs of NBFCs have gone up three times since March 2016 and MFs now reportedly hold 60% of total NBFC CP issuance.

Even if rating agencies have reaffirmed the NBFC ratings, MFs are expected to cap or cut down their NBFC exposures.

Q11. There is line given in BOLD in the above passage. What does ‘roll over’ mean in the given statement?

The extension or transfer of a debt.

Floating of a new bond in the market to generate capital.

Going Bankrupt.

Throwing open a debt instrument in the capital market.

None of these.

Solution:

Rollover: The extension or transfer of a debt

Q12. According to the passage what has triggered a liquidity deficit in the system?

NPA declarations by the Reserve Bank of India.

Redemption pressure on mutual funds and the increasing of short term rates on the commercial papers.

The rush to improve the balance sheets by the banks at the quarter end and the liquidity crisis of the IL&FS.

Both (b) & (c)

None of these is correct

Solution:

The starting lines of the passage clearly mention that the liquidity crisis at IL&FS, the quarter-end rush to dress up balance sheets by banks and redemption pressure on mutual funds (MFs) have combined to trigger a liquidity deficit in the system. Further, the increase in the short term rates on the commercial papers is a consequence of the liquidity deficit and not a cause of it.

Q13. Which of the following is incorrect in the context of the given passage?

The system liquidity is in the negative.

Estimates suggest that the CPs of NBFCs have gone up three times.

The rate on Certificate of deposits has gone up by 20 bps.

To infuse some liquidity, SBI will conduct Open Market Operations (OMO).

None of these.

Solution:

According to the passage, the RBI would conduct the OMOs, and not the SBI.

Q14. Which of the following is contextually most SIMILAR to ‘REDEMPTION’ used in the above passage?

Recovery

Vindication

Profit

Loss

Bankruptcy

Solution:

In economics, A redemption is the return of an investor's principal in a fixed-income security, such as a preferred stock or bond, or the sale of units in a mutual fund.
OR, in simple language, Redemption means, ‘the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt’. Hence, Recovery is the correct answer here.

Q15. According to the passage, which of the following is/are the major source of funding for the housing finance companies?

Banks

Mutual Funds

Certificate of Deposits

Both (a) & (b)

Both (b) & (c)

Solution:

The sixth paragraph clearly says that the main sources of finance for the housing finance companies are Banks and Mutual funds.

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