IBPS RRB PO/Clerk Mains English Quiz: 29th August 2019

With every day passed, competition is increasing in leaps and bounds and it is necessary to work smarter to sail through any exam. Having a proper study plan and the updated questions to brush up your knowledge in addition to well-organized study notes for the same can help you with your preparation. IBPS RRB PO/Clerk is going to be the tough exam so you can not afford to leave any important topics. If you deal with the section with accuracy, it can do wonders and can fetch you good marks. As English is the most dreaded subject among students, we are here to provide you with the new questions with the detailed solution so that you can make it this time in IBPS RRB PO/Clerk mains. Here is the English quiz for 29th August 2019. This quiz is based on two topics-

Phrase meaning sentence and Reading Comprehension.



Directions (1-7): In the following question a part of the sentence is given in bold, it is then followed by four sentences which try to explain the meaning of the phrase given in bold. Choose the best set of alternatives from the five options given below each question which explains the meaning of the phrase correctly without altering the meaning of the sentence given as question

Q1. He has taken more responsibilities as he couldn’t say ‘no’ to his boss. I think he has bitten more than he can chew. 

(a) He has taken more responsibilities as he couldn’t say ‘no’ to his boss. I think he is trying to do something too difficult for him.

(b) He has taken more responsibilities as he couldn’t say ‘no’ to his boss. I think he has taken up the responsibilities for mere show-off.

(c) He has taken more responsibilities as he couldn’t say ‘no’ to his boss. I think his responsibilities are less as compared to what he can handle.

(d) He has taken more responsibilities as he couldn’t say ‘no’ to his boss. I think he has more caliber than his boss estimates him.

(e)None of these

S1. Ans. (a)

Sol. The idiom ‘bite more than you can chew’ means ‘to do something hard to do’. Option (a) is clearly stating the right meaning of highlighted

Q2.  The sales team blamed the engineers for the organization’s failure to bag the mega-deal, but they were barking up the wrong tree.

(a)  The sales team blamed the engineers for the organization’s failure to bag the mega-deal, but they were looking for a cause to find the reason

(b) The sales team blamed the engineers for the organization’s failure to bag the mega-deal, but they were mistaken and looking in the wrong place.

(c) The sales team blamed the engineers for the organization’s failure to bag the mega-deal, but they were trying to find a valid reason behind the failure

(d) The sales team blamed the engineers for the organization’s failure to bag the mega-deal, but they were conspiring against the engineers.

(e) None of these

Sol. The idiom ‘Barking up the wrong tree’ means ‘to be mistaken and looking in the wrong place for the solution. Option (b) is clearly stating the correct meaning of the highlighted idiom.

Q3. The IP for our key technology has been leaked, and many in my team, including the manager, are under a cloud.

(a) The IP for our key technology has been leaked, and many in my team, including the manager, are experiencing themselves on the seventh cloud.

(b) The IP for our key technology has been leaked, and many in my team, including the manager, are having difficulty while disclosing information.

(c) The IP for our key technology has been leaked, and many in my team, including the manager, are under suspicion.

(d) The IP for our key technology has been leaked, and many in my team, including the manager, are finding their way out from this situation.

(e) None of these


S3. Ans. (c)

Sol. The idiom ‘under the cloud’ refers ‘to be under suspicion or trouble’. The option (c) states the correct meaning of the highlighted idiom.

Q4. The editor blew hot and cold over the story for a few days and then finally decided to publish it.

(a) The editor spoiled the story for a few days and then finally decided to publish it.

(b) The editor tried to ignore the story for a few days and then finally decided to publish it.

(c) The editor wanted the story to be delayed for a few days and then finally decided to publish it.

(d) The editor wavered between different opinions over the story for a few days and then finally decided to publish it.

(e)None of these

Sol. Here, the idiom ‘blow hot and cold’ defines ‘being indecisive or waver between different opinions or actions. Option (d) clearly defines the meaning of the highlighted idiom.

Q5.  By sanctioning the budget and filling in the vacancies, the committee has cleared the decks for our new office.

(a) By sanctioning the budget and filling in the vacancies, the committee has delayed the work progress for our new office.

(b) By sanctioning the budget and filling in the vacancies, the committee has caused a huge loss to our new office.

(c) By sanctioning the budget and filling in the vacancies, the committee has taken-for-granted the needs of our new office.

(d) By sanctioning the budget and filling in the vacancies, the committee has introduced innovative designs in our new office.

(e) None of these

S5. Ans. (e)

Sol. The idiom ‘clear the deck’ means ‘to remove all the hurdles to get started on that work’.  As none of the options display correct usage of the highlighted idiom, the correct answer choice will be ‘None of These’.

Q6. The police are dragging its feet in investigating this case allegedly because influential people are involved in the crime.

(a) The police are deliberately investigating this case slowly allegedly because influential people are involved in the crime.

(b) The police are trying to investigate this case as soon as possible allegedly because influential people are involved in the crime.

(c) The police are dragging innocent people in this case allegedly because influential people are involved in the crime.

(d) The police are not ready to investigate this case allegedly because influential people are involved in the crime.

(e) None of these

S6. Ans. (a)

Sol. The idiom ‘drag one’s feet’ implies ‘to do something slowly deliberately’. The option (a) is implying the correct meaning of the highlighted idiom.

Q7. Wearing your heart on your sleeve can backfire at the workplace because you may be seen unprofessional.

(a) Wearing too-tight sleeves can backfire at the workplace because you may be seen unprofessional.

(b) Expressing your sentiments too openly can backfire at the workplace because you may be seen unprofessional.

(c) Boasting about your personality can backfire at the workplace because you may be seen unprofessional.

(d) Boosting your entire personality among others can backfire at the workplace because you may be seen unprofessional.

(e) None of these

S7. Ans. (b)

Sol. The idiom ‘wear your heart on your sleeve’ refers ‘to express your sentiments too openly’. Here, option (b) is implying the right meaning of the highlighted idiom.

Directions (8-15): Read the following passage and answer the following questions based on the given passage.

There is no longer any room for doubt on the parlous state of the Indian economy. The automobile industry, seen as a bellwether of activity in the post-liberalization years, is in crisis, as automakers, parts manufacturers and dealers have laid off about 350,000 workers since April this year, with more job cuts likely. While this could still reflect falling demand only from higher income groups, recently, Parle Products, once the world’s largest selling biscuit brands, announced that it may have to lay off up to 10,000 workers (around a tenth of its workforce). The company blamed falling sales due to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that led to higher prices of the cheapest small packets of biscuits at a time of extreme price sensitivity because of reduced livelihood, especially among rural consumers.

Sales in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector as a whole grew at only 10% in the April-June quarter of this year, less than nominal GDP growth. The slowdown in sales is across the food and non-food items, with the biggest reductions in salty snacks and biscuits, spices, soaps, and packaged tea. These represent the more discretionary element of consumer spending even among the poor — the items more likely to be cut down when household budgets are under strain.

The hugely damaging impact of demonetization on November 2016 was further accentuated by the poor implementation of the GST barely seven months later. These badly managed policy measures served as body blows to informal economic activity, causing major declines in employment and output. At first, they did not affect formal enterprises so much as they gained at the cost of informal ones. But the resulting loss in livelihoods and wage incomes eventually had an effect on demand for formal sector output, which has worsened over time because there have been no counterbalancing moves by the government. Total employment actually declined by more than 15 million workers between 2011-12 and 2017-18, even as unemployment rates reached their highest levels in nearly half a century.

This operated in addition to a medium-term trend of wage suppression, something that was even celebrated by the late former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as a means of combating inflation. Rural wages have been stagnant or declining in the recent period. Meanwhile, the continuing crisis of cultivation has obviously affected the purchasing power of the farming community. Urban wage incomes are also apparently not keeping pace with inflation, even as informal activity and “start-ups” in urban areas have faltered.

The government could have countered this adverse impact of declining employment and consumer demand, which in turn reduced the profit expectations of producers informal enterprises, by providing a fiscal stimulus. It did not do so. Instead, it kept assuming or hoping that using optical measures — manipulating “Ease of Doing Business” indicators and offering further incentives to foreign capital to attract more inflows, however volatile — would somehow attract investment into the economy that would counteract all the negative impulses.

Private investors simply kept demanding more fiscal and regulatory concessions even as they continued to sit on investment plans as they waited for overall demand improvement. More recent complaints of the private corporate sector have been about oppressive tax collection methods of a government desperate to meet its revenue targets. But these along with the greater difficulties of accessing loans from both banks and non-banks are irritants that would have been tolerated in a buoyant economy. They have become serious issues now because of the wider stagnation.

In this context, the Finance Minister’s recent announcements of measures to boost the flagging economy are not a case of “too little too late”; rather, they completely miss the point. They do nothing to address the issue of inadequate demand generation or the underlying tendencies of wage suppression and low employment growth. Instead, they once again reveal a supply-side approach to the problem, which is unlikely to yield much benefit.

Even these measures are mostly cosmetic or affect only a small segment of the economy, not enough to cause any real change in economic direction. The capital infusion of ₹70,000 crore into public sector banks had already been announced in the Budget; frontloading this inadequate amount is not going to rev up an economy if those whom banks are willing to lend to are hesitant to invest. Giving in to demands of foreign portfolio investors about taxation likewise does nothing to increase domestic demand; it simply provides some solace to the stock market. The middle classes repaying home loans may see a minor benefit if banks actually do pass on lower interest rates, but this too will not provide a major boost to the economy. The decision of the government to buy more cars to shore up the automobile industry is bizarre in the extreme because it undermines the medium-term strategy of shifting to electric vehicles as soon as possible.

What could the Finance Minister have done instead? If the immediate problem is lack of demand, the immediate response should be to increase it — ideally in ways that provide the desired basis for future economic growth.

Q8. According to the above passage, what does the highlighted phrase ‘bellwether of activity’ infer?

(a) One of the leading industries in post-liberalization years

(b) Leading all the industries

(c) Bellwether the activities

(d) Leading Indian Economy

(e) None of these

S8. Ans. (a)

Sol. ‘Bellwether’ means ‘leading sheep of a flock’. Here, it is used for the automobile industry which was once a leading industry post-liberalization year. Hence, option (a) is the right answer choice.

Q9. As given in the above passage, what does the phrase ‘laid off’ mean?

(a) Laying off the entire industry

(b) Permanently terminating the employment of employees due to business reasons

(c) Calling off certain activities within an organization

(d) Checking for any malfunctions in the company

(e) None of these

S9. Ans. (b)

Sol. The phrasal verb ‘lay/laid off’ means ‘to terminate the employment of employees permanently or temporary suspension). Hence option (b) is the right answer choice.

Q10. As per the above passage, what is the cause of the slowdown in sales?

(a) Nominal GDP growth

(b) Reduction in sales of food and non-food items

(c) Household budgets are restricted

(d) Both (a) and (c)

(e) None of these

S10. Ans. (d)

Sol. Here, because GDP growth is nominal in the April-June quarter of this year, it cast an impact on food and non-food items. Therefore, when the budget of people falls under strain, it results in a slowdown in sales.

Q11. What are the causes of the credit system mess, a factor in a current slowdown?

(a) An overhang of banks’ bad debts

(b) Erosion of non-banks after the collapse of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited.

(c) Both (a) and (b)

(d) Finance stress inherited from UPA government

 (e) None of these

S11. Ans. (c)

Sol. Here, one factor responsible for current slowdown which is credit system disorder. It reflects bad debts of banks and it has resulted into formation of non-banks after the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited, most aggressive lender collapsed. Hence, option (c) is the right answer choice.

Q12. What does the slowdown in consumption and suppressed rates of investment have led to?

(a) Crisis of insufficient effective demand in the Indian economy

(b) Extreme price sensitivity due to reduced livelihood.

(c) Increased disproportion in jobless growth

(d) Broader economic improvement

(e) None of these

S12. Ans. (a)

Sol. According to the information given in the paragraph, consumption slowdown and suppressed rates of investment have resulted in a lack of active demand of consumers. Hence, option (a) is the correct answer choice.

Q13. The poor implementation of GST affected the demand for formal sector output?

(a) Blowing informal economic activities

(b) Huge declination in employment and output

(c) Loss in livelihoods

(d) Reduction in wage incomes

(e) All of the above

S13. Ans. (e)

Sol. As per the information is given in the above passage, it is stating that poor execution of GST after demonetization served a catalyst for informal economic activities and thus caused declination of employment and output. Further, it resulted in livelihoods loss and loss in wage incomes as well. Hence, the option (e) is the right answer choice.

Q14. In the above paragraph, what does the phrase ‘by providing fiscal stimulus’ means?

(a) By stimulating financial support

(b) Declined employment and consumption

(c) Disproportional growth

(d) Inadequacy in demand

(e) None of these

S14. Ans. (a)

Sol. With the phrase, it means that the government could have dealt with the impacts of declination in employment and consumption demand through catering a stimulated financial growth to the producers of formal enterprises. Hence, option (a) is the right answer choice.

Q15. According to the above passage, what steps the government took to deal with the decline in employment as well as consumer demand?

(a) It manipulated indicators of ‘ease of doing business’

(b) It offered incentives to foreign capital for attracting more inflows

(c) It assumed that attracting investment into the economy would be able to counteract negative impulses

(d) All of the above

(e) None of these

S15. Ans. (d)

Sol. With the given information in the above passage, option (e) is the right answer choice.