Table of Contents
Directions (1-5): In each of the following sentence there are three blank spaces. Below each sentence there are five options and each option consists of three words which can be filled up in the blanks in the sentence to make the sentence grammatically correct.
Q1. The world’s first air ______________ poem, which has removed more than two tonnes of ______________ from the environment, is being auctioned off for charity to help in the battle _________________ lung disease.
(a)Refining, dirtying, of
(b)Purifying, epidemic, towards
(c)Cleansing, pollution, against
(d)Soaking, poisons, for
(e)Filtering, noxiousness, on
Q2. What we have now is neither the ____________ we deserve nor the one that our forefathers gave us, it is our own doing and it is now high time to undo it, to raise our voices and lend ________________ to our literally _______________ voices and spirits.
(a)Prospect, recitation, gag
(b)Fortune, response, squeezed
(c)Fortuity, vociferation, expanded
(d)Destiny, utterance, choking
(e)Proviso, enunciation, wheezing
Q3. The _______________ of ecological crises include overpopulation, climate change, devastation of ocean fisheries, contamination of ground water, ________________ in the tropics, loss of genetic diversity, erosion of fertile topsoil, the depletion of nonrenewable resources and other unwanted processes that are occurring at __________________ rates and frightening scale and pace.
(a)Litany, deforestation, unsustainable
(b)Account, desertification, fleeting
(c)Problem, erosion, feasible
(d)Catalogue, pollution, high
(e)Communion, logging, unviable
Q4. As the nation slips back into the ____________ of colonialism, the craze for English medium educational institutions rises to ______________ pitch. The entrepreneurs are only too _______________ to exploit the situation.
(a)Hands, intense, concerned
(b)Cusp, fever, anxious
(c)Acme, firing, perplexed
(d)Extent, furor, wired
(e)Prong, raving, amazed
Q5. The political leadership which had participated in the freedom _______________ considered the military a _______________ of the British era and the military maintained a _______________ for politicians.
(a)Tussle, part, regard
(b)Scramble, measure, vanity
(c)Accord, slice, twit
(d)Success, taste, contempt
(e)Struggle, legacy, disdain
Directions (6-10): In each of the following questions a short passage is given with one of the lines in the passage missing and represented by a blank. Select the best out of the five answer choices given, to make the passage complete and coherent (coherent means logically complete and sound).
Q6. In mainstream cinema, a film can be path-breaking in two ways. It can have a genuinely moving, provoking narrative, or a kind of humour and insight that is, if not unprecedented, certainly rare. Such a film has to be superbly written, directed and acted and the chord it strikes with its audience stays with them long after the film is over. ________________________. Its themes will stay relevant after its context seems dated and its plot points become archetypes for generations of filmmakers and aficionados.
(a) It is, of course, likely that film-makers, in setting up a fictional universe, had no socio-political intentions whatsoever.
(b) The film’s masterful visual effect, there is some merit to looking at the effects of the story as well.
(c) The sound, camera and editing come together to bring out a story in novel ways.
(d) It is important to locate the film in the larger discourse of our times.
(e) But given the influence of cinema, particularly films as wildly successful as the Baahubali franchise, it is important to locate them in the larger discourse of our times.
Q7. The monetisation of cow protection encourages the emergence of criminalised gau raksha gangs, but it is the spiritual and moral affirmation bringing them together that allows them to perpetrate brutalities that ordinary people would find repugnant. The ensuing bonding that takes place, at least for the duration of the assault, creates a common purpose, an instant imagined community, as it were. _______________.Young gau rakshas delight in uploading videos of their assaults as trophies on their Facebook page, unmindful of the trail they thus leave behind, or perhaps so overwhelmed by a sense of impunity because of their new connectedness with institutions of power and political benefactors.
(a) There is a smoothly functioning patronage system for cow protection
(b) Incidents of cow vigilantism in coastal Karnataka, linked directly to local Sangh affiliates, began to get reported shortly after the NDA assumed power in 2014.
(c) The newly appointed police chief of the state, in his first public statement, had vowed to crack down on “gau rakshaks”.
(d) This is also probably why there is a performative dimension to such acts.
(e) Mouthing slogans is not enough, “honest efforts” are needed for cow protection.
Q8. The new buzzword doing the rounds of the military establishment is “integration” which has been manifested in the form of theatre commands. A theatre command is an organisational structure designed to control all military assets in a theatre of war to achieve military effects. The proponents of this concept liberally quote the US Gold Water Nichols Act and similar pieces of legislation in the UK and Australia. ___________________________.
(a) Theatre commands will increase the crucial time element and joint training issues may also hamper operational efficiency.
(b) We certainly do not need a theatre command to prosecute such low-key operations.
(c) Communication systems have improved considerably over the years and now, communication of thoughts amongst military practitioners must also rise above parochial interests.
(d) Concepts such as synergy, holistic integration of logistics, and increased systemic effectiveness are often quoted in such arguments.
(e) Strengthening our time-tested joint institutions is the way ahead to build a modern defence organisation.
Q9. It was a cool winter morning in late December 2001 when India decided to mobilise its forces on its border with Pakistan, in retaliation to the terror attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13 that year. The reaction, which was meant to pressure the seemingly recalcitrant neighbour, was the biggest troops deployment since the war in 1971. However, no lines were crossed due to foreign intervention and a realisation around the world that a conflict between the two South Asian neighbours who had gone overtly nuclear in 1998 might result in something very ugly. _____________________________
(a) Pakistan reacted to India’s plan by developing a range of battlefield tactical nuclear weapons.
(b) Unlike in the past, the US may not be in a position to give its advice due to its own internal chaos, lesser interest in South Asia and an inability to develop a relationship with anyone in Islamabad.
(c) The region stands on the brink of an impending conflict with little clarity regarding the threshold and even less lucidity regarding which international player will intervene.
(d) It was in the backdrop of this standoff or the earlier Kargil crisis that redlines were drawn informally.
(e) So, India’s “cold start” doctrine was meant for Delhi to circumvent the four redlines highlighted by the head of Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Lieutenant General Khalid Kidwai.
Q10. You might think there is no fate worse than death. But there is. Just ask cartoon character Pepe the Frog, or rather, his hapless creator, Matt Furie. Pepe was originally created as a good-natured, cucumber-green, bumbling amphibian who just liked to chill, his fun moments in memes accompanied by a drawling, “Feels good, man”. Appearing in Furie’s MySpace “Boy’s Club” series in 2005, the wide-eyed Pepe grew in popularity. Singer Katy Perry tweeted a picture of Pepe not feeling good, man, to explain jet lag, while Niki Minaj chose Pepe to represent her croaking, sorry, twerking online. ________________________________
(a) Pepe was associated with everything a nice frog should abhor — hate, spite, even gore.
(b) Bemoaning Pepe’s multiple avatars, Furie lamented how his own creation had gone rogue on the internet, where any artistic entity could be poached, turning it into its opposite.
(c) Little wonder that Furie has now, in a public comic, killed Pepe.
(d) Even the New Zealand government, pondering over a new flag, reportedly received a design sporting Pepe.
(e) It’s enough to make a frog croak in disgust.
Directions (11-15): Five statements are given below, labeled (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e). Among these, four statements are in logical order and form a coherent paragraph/passage. From the given options, choose the option that does not fit into the theme of the passage/paragraph.
Q11.
(a) Still, the latest agreement is significant for a number of reasons.
(b) The so-called de-escalation agreement reached among Russia, Turkey and Iran last week in Astana is the latest in a series of attempts to bring the six-year-old Syrian civil war to an end.
(c) First of all, any attempt to cease violence is welcome given the destruction the war has wreaked in Syria.
(d) Previous ceasefire plans have either failed to take off or collapsed soon after, given the continued hostility between the regime of Bashar al-Assad and rebels.
(e) But implementing the agreement itself will be a major challenge given the complex nature of the civil war.
Q12.
(a) The new political charter of Hamas marks a departure from several of its earlier controversial positions, indicating that the Islamist movement is willing to take a more realistic view of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
(b) It has shown willingness in the past to live with Israel, but its original charter, marked by anti-Semitic language and unrealistic objectives, was a major point of contention.
(c) There were efforts in recent times to bring both parties together to put up a united front against the occupation.
(d) Over the years, Hamas has been criticised by rival Palestinian groups as well as the international community over its original charter and actions.
(e) For example, it vowed to “raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine”, called for the “obliteration” of Israel, and repeatedly harped on its fight against the Jewish people.
Q13.
(a) The World Health Organisation estimates that deficiency of key micronutrients such as iron, vitamin A and iodine together affects a third of the world’s population; in general, insufficient consumption of vitamins and minerals remains problematic.
(b) It is imperative, for a start, to make iron-fortified food widely available, since iron deficiency contributes to 20% of maternal deaths and is associated with nearly half of all maternal deaths.
(c) Since a diversified diet that meets all nutritional requirements is difficult to provide, fortification of food is relied upon by many countries to prevent malnutrition.
(d) The efficacy of the fortification standards introduced by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will depend on enforcement.
(e) Viewed against the nutrition challenge India faces, processed foods with standards-based fortification can help advance overall health goals, starting with maternal health.
Q14.
(a) Bangladesh, which will launch its first satellite Bangabandhu-1 this year, is working with a European agency.
(b) Within a month of taking over as Prime Minister in 2014, Narendra Modi went to Sriharikota for the launch of PSLV C-23 and “challenged” ISRO scientists to build this satellite for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
(c) To begin with, the Centre has kept its promise of considering India’s “neighbourhood first”.
(d) The decision was then announced at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu, and the government has kept its commitment of gifting its neighbours at least one transponder each on the GSAT-9, a project that cost about Rs. 450 crore.
(e) By launching the GSAT-9 ‘South Asia satellite’, India has reaffirmed the Indian Space Research Organisation’s scientific prowess, but the messaging is perhaps more geopolitical than geospatial.
Q15.
(a) The vaccine has been successfully put through a Phase III trial, in which the drug is tested for safety and efficacy.
(b) If the vaccine does indeed prove to be ready for large-scale use, it will be a milestone in the fight against malaria.
(c) Beginning next year, the World Health Organisation will begin pilot tests of the injectable malaria vaccine RTS,S (or Mosquirix) on 750,000 children aged 5-17 months in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
(d) The pilot tests will be useful in evaluating the likelihood of replicating the immunisation schedule in the context of routine health-care settings.
(e) Any decision on wider use will be taken based on the results of the pilot tests in the three countries.
Practice More Questions of English for Competitive Exams:
Solutions
S1. Ans. (c)
Sol. Cleansing means rid of something unpleasant or defiling.
Noxiousness means harmful to the mind or morals; corrupting
S2. Ans. (d)
Sol. Utterance means a spoken word, statement, or vocal sound.
Vociferation means to utter (something) or cry out loudly and vehemently, especially in protest.
Gag means a piece of cloth put in or over a person’s mouth to prevent them from speaking.
S3. Ans. (a)
Sol. Litany means a tedious recital or repetitive series.
Logging means the activity or business of felling trees and cutting and preparing the timber.
S4. Ans. (b)
Sol. Fever means the excitement felt by a group of people about a particular public event.
Furor means an outbreak of public anger or excitement.
Acme means the point at which something is at its best or most highly developed.
S5. Ans. (e)
Sol. Legacy means something left or handed down by a predecessor.
Disdain means the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one’s consideration or respect.
Twit means a silly or foolish person.
S6. Ans. (c)
Sol. The paragraph here describes about how a film can be made successful. After going through all the options, we find that only sentence (c) fits into the paragraph as it continues describing with above sentences saying all(sound, camera and editing) bring out a story in novel ways. Hence sentence (c) is the right choice while others are irrelevant to this particular paragraph.
S7. Ans. (d)
Sol. Going through the paragraph, we find that the paragraph revolves around the theme of cow vigilantism that will come out to be tragic. The paragraph before blank is about performing brutalities on people that they are finding unacceptable. Hence the sentence (d) is appropriate as it talks about why this facet is performative to the act. Hence option (d) is the right choice.
S8. Ans. (d)
Sol. The paragraph talks about the Unity that is needed during war between military forces like in US and Australia. After going through the sentences, we find that sentence (d) fits into the paragraph as it tells about the concepts that are needed for war. All other sentences are not going in the agreement to the paragraph. Hence sentence (d) is the right choice.
S9. Ans. (d)
Sol. The paragraph is all about the taking revenge of the parliament attack that didn’t happen as it might result in something ugly. After reading all the sentences, we find that sentence (d) is more potent option over others as it tells that the conflict happened informally. All other options do not go in agreement or harmony to the paragraph. Hence sentence (d) is the right option.
S10. Ans. (d)
Sol. The paragraph revolves around the theme of using pepe as a symbol to express their state of mind. Go through the sentences, we will find that sentence (d) goes in harmony with the paragraph as it also talks about using the Pepe as a symbol. Hence sentence (d) is most appropriate to the paragraph. All other sentences are irrelevant.
S11. Ans. (e)
Sol. Sentences BDAC forms a coherent paragraph. We see here that the sentences forming paragraph is all about the agreement among Russia, Turkey and Iran to bring war to an end and failing of the previous plans while sentence (e) talks about implementing the agreement which will be a major challenge. Hence sentence (e) is not a part of the coherent paragraph so formed.
S12. Ans. (c)
Sol. Going through the paragraph, we find that sentences in the sequence of ADBE form a coherent paragraph. The paragraph is about political charter of Hamas which has been criticized by Palestinian groups and other international community due to its willingness to live with Israel. Sentence (c) talks about the two parties which are not mentioned anywhere in other sentences. Hence sentence (c) is the right option.
S13. Ans. (d)
Sol. CAEB forms a coherent paragraph while sentence (d) is not a part of the paragraph. The paragraph talks about the deficiency of nutritional diet in the world leading to health issues. Sentence (d) is not a part of the coherent paragraph as it talks about fortification standards set up by FSSAI, which is different from the other sentences. Hence sentence (d) is the right choice.
S14. Ans. (a)
Sol. After reading the sentences, we find that sentences ECBD form a coherent paragraph while sentence (a) is not a part of it. The paragraph is all about India launching GSAT-9 satellite for its neighbouring countries, while sentence (a) is about Bangladesh launching its first satellite. Hence sentence (a) is the right choice.
S15. Ans. (d)
Sol. Sentences CAEB forms a coherent paragraph while sentence (d) is not a part of it. The paragraph is about the pilot testing of the vaccine of Malaria in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, while sentence (d) talks about the usefulness of the pilot tests. Hence sentence (d) is the correct choice.
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