Directions (1-5): In each of the questions given below a sentence is given with a blank. Below each of the question five options are given. Choose the phrase which fits the blank most appropriately.
Q1. I ____________ that he was being promoted, but I don’t know anything further.
(a) heard on the grapevine
(b) give the benefit of the doubt
(c) hit the sack
(d) sit on the fence
(e) see eye to eye
Q2. My partner _________________ when he told the professor that he did all the work on the presentation
(a) burned the boat
(b) stole my thunder
(c) face the music
(d) threw up the sponge
(e) painted the town red
Q3. I have read the article, but I_______________.
(a) to keep the wolf away from the door
(b) take it with a grain of salt
(c) to speak of the devil
(d) to break the ice
(e) yeoman service
Q4. From the plane we had ______________ of Manhattan.
(a) speak and expand
(b) a bird’s eye view
(c) to play to the gallery
(d) dark horse
(e) to be at sea
Q5. I know you didn’t mean to break my phone, so there’s no use in _______________ now.
(a) going through the whole hog
(b) green horn
(c) crying over spilt milk
(d) missing the boat
(e) Dutchman’s courage
Direction (6-10): In each of the following questions, a sentence is written in four different ways conveying the same meaning and following the correct grammar structure. Choose the sentence among the four options which is grammatically incorrect or carrying a grammatical/idiomatic error in it as the answer. If there is no error in any of the sentences, choose (e), i.e. “All are correct” as the answer.
Q6. (a) Do not mistake Fire and Fury for a moral exercise.
(b)Fire and Fury should not be mistaken for a moral exercise.
(c)One should not mistake Fire and Fury for a moral exercise.
(d)Fire and Fury ought not to be mistaken in a moral exercise.
(e)All are correct
Q7. (a) The Finance Minister devoted a considerable part of his speech to elaborate the focus areas in the Budget.
(b)To elaborate the focus areas in the Budget, the Finance Minister devoted a considerable part of his speech.
(c)While elaborating the focus areas inside the Budget, the Finance Minister devoted a considerable part of his speech.
(d)Devoting a considerable part of his speech, the Finance Minister elaborated the focus areas in the Budget.
(e)All are correct
Q8. (a) Vanishing of lazy work habits is utmost in the relentless pursuit for excellence.
(b)In the relentless pursuit for excellence, lazy work habits should be vanished.
(c) All the lazy work habits have to be vanished in the relentless pursuit for happiness.
(d)It is important to vanish all the lazy work habits in the relentless pursuit for excellence.
(e)All are correct
Q9. (a) India is supposed to be a software leader, but is yet to produce a Microsoft or Google.
(b)Although India is supposed to be a software leader, it is yet to produce a Microsoft or Google.
(c)Notwithstanding that India is supposed to be a software leader, it is yet to produce a Microsoft or Google.
(d)While India is supposed to be a software leader, it is yet to produce a Microsoft or Google.
(e)All are correct
Q10. (a) India can do it, because India has the potential.
(b)Since India has the potential, India can do it.
(c)Considering India’s potential, India can do it.
(d)Despite having the potential, India can do it.
(e)All are correct
Solutions
S1. Ans. (a)
Sol. Option (a) is the correct choice. ‘heard on the grapevine’ is an idiom which means to hear some news from someone who heard it from someone else. ‘give the benefit of the doubt’ means Believe someone’s statement, without proof. ‘hit the sack’ means to go to bed. ‘sit on the fence’ means this is used when someone does not want to choose or make a decision. ‘see eye to eye’ means this idiom is used to say that two (or more people) agree on something.
S2. Ans. (b)
Sol. Option (b) is the right choice. ‘stole my thunder’ means to take credit for something that someone else did. ‘burned the boat’ means do something which makes it impossible to return to an earlier state. ‘face the music’ means be confronted with the unpleasant consequences of one’s actions. ‘threw up the sponge’ means to give up a contest; to acknowledge defeat. ‘Painted the town red’ means go out and enjoy oneself flamboyantly.
S3. Ans. (b)
Sol. Option (b) is the correct choice. ‘to take it with a grain of salt’ means to view something with skepticism or not to interpret something literally. ‘to keep the wolf away from the door’ means to maintain oneself at a minimal level. ‘yeoman service’ means efficient or useful help in need.
S4. Ans. (b)
Sol. Option (b) is the correct choice. ‘a bird’s eye view’ means an elevated view of an object from above, with a perspective as though the observer were a bird, often used in the making of blueprints, floor plans, and maps. It can be an aerial photograph, but also a drawing.
S5. Ans. (c)
Sol. Option (c) is the correct choice. ‘to cry over spilt milk’ means to dwell pointlessly on past misfortunes. ‘Dutchman’s courage’ refers to courage gained from intoxication with alcohol. ‘green horn’ is referred to a person who is new to or inexperienced at a particular activity.
S6. Ans. (d)
Sol. All the sentences, except (d), are grammatically correct sentences and they follow the similar meaning. However, in the sentence (d), there is a grammatical error. There is an error of preposition in the sentence; the preposition “in” should be replaced by “for” as in the case of other three sentences to make it grammatically viable. The preposition “for” in this case refers “comparing one thing with others of the same type”. If the preposition “in” is used here, it would alter the exact meaning of the sentence. Hence option (d) is the correct choice.
S7. Ans. (c)
Sol. All the sentences, except (c), are grammatically and structurally correct and they all convey the same meaning. However, in the sentence (c), there is a grammatical error. There is an error of preposition in the sentence; the preposition “inside” should be replaced by “in” as in the case of other three sentences to make it grammatically feasible. It is to be noted that “In” and “Inside” are two words used differently in terms of usage in English grammar although they appear to be alike. The preposition ‘in’ is used to describe the noun in the locative case, while the word ‘inside’ is used to convey the sense of ‘depth’. In this case, the correct use of preposition is “in” rather than “inside”. Hence option (c) is the correct choice.
S8. Ans. (e)
Sol. All the given statements are grammatically correct and they convey the similar meaning. Thus, none of the sentences require any correction. Hence option (e) is the correct choice.
S9. Ans. (e)
Sol. All the four statements are grammatically correct and follow the same meaning. The use of the conjunctions in each case is suitable and gives the similar meaning to the sentence. Hence option (e) is the correct choice.
S10. Ans. (d)
Sol. All the sentences, except (d), are both grammatically and contextually correct. There is an error in the sentence (d); the use of the preposition “despite” is incorrectly matched with the sentence which isn’t the case in the previous three statements. The use of the preposition just changes the meaning of the sentence. The word “despite” implies without being affected by; in spite of. It makes the sentence contradictory. Hence option (d) is the correct choice.
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