English Quiz for IBPS Clerk Prelims: 1st December

IBPS Clerk Prelims English Quiz

Directions (1-5): Given below are a set of phrasal verbs and their meanings. Choose the option that best describes the meaning of the phrasal verb given in bold in the statements below.

Q1. It is the first draft – one which the officials probably expected Ministers to beef up and argue about.
(a)Decay
(b) Improve
(c)Responsible
(d)Worsen
(e)Conscious

Q2. I have a tendency to space out at the end of a hard day.
(a)Dirty
(b)Narrow
(c)Confident
(d)Distracted
(e)Complex

Q3. He’s always banging on about football.
(a)Blabbering
(b)Learning
(c)Revolving
(d)Targeting
(e)Turning

Q4. Haven’t you finished? You’ve been beavering away on that report all morning.
(a)Ignoring
(b)Working Hard
(c)Neglecting
(d)Assuming
(e)Storing

Q5. If it’s ok, I’d like to chime in, because I think it’s a good idea.
(a) Pretend
(b)Withdraw
(c)Intervene
(d)Remove
(e)Deposit

Directions (6-15): In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, some words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.

As a human being, you have no choice about the fact that you need a philosophy. Your only choice is whether you define your philosophy by a conscious, _______(6)__________, disciplined process of thought and _________(7)___________ logical deliberation — or let your subconscious __________(8)__________ junk heap of unwarranted conclusions, false generalizations, undefined contradictions, undigested slogans, unidentified wishes, doubts and fears, thrown together by chance, but _______(9)_____________ by your subconscious into a kind of mongrel philosophy and ________(10)___________ into a solid weight: self-doubt, like a ball and chain in the place where your mind’s wings should have grown. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by the_______(11)______________ — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and __________(12)___________. All our activities are ________(13)_____________ by time, by our death. We fill up our time with _________(14)_______________, never asking whether they are important, whether we really find them of value. And so we come to live an _________(15)____________ life.

Q6.(a)Baseless
(b)Irrational
(c)Rational
(d)Scientific
(e)Unreasonable

Q7.(a)Artificially
(b)Thoroughly
(c)Recklessly
(d)Negligently
(e)Carelessly

Q8.(a)Scatter
(b)Distribute
(c)Twist
(d)Disperse
(e)Accumulate

Q9.(a)Integrated
(b)Diverge
(c)Sequential
(d)Constituted
(e)Confused

Q10.(a) Caught
(b) Unit
(c) Separated
(d)Fused
(e) Disconnected

Q11.(a)Ambiguity
(b)Belief
(c)Illusion
(d)Uncertainty
(e)Queue

Q12.(a)Reassurance
(b)Supposition
(c)Evidence
(d)Conception
(e)Intuition

Q13.(a)Indefinite
(b)Obvious
(c)Immeasurable
(d)Limited
(e)Awful

Q14.(a)Applications
(b)Records
(c)Distractions
(d)Researches
(e)Willingness

Q15.(a)Genuine
(b)Inauthentic
(c) Original
(d)Accurate
(e)Unanimous

Solutions

S1.Ans. (b)
Sol. Beef up means to add strength or substance to something. Hence option (b) is the right choice. For example,
Let’s beef this music up with a little more on the drums. They beefed up the offer with another thousand dollars.
Decay means cause to rot or decompose.

S2.Ans. (d)
Sol. Option (d) is the right choice. “Space out” here in the context of the sentence means getting frail, weak and distracted.
Confident means feeling or showing confidence in oneself or one’s abilities or qualities.
Complex means consisting of many different and connected parts.

S3.Ans. (a)
Sol. Banging on about is a phrasal verb which means to keep talking about something.
Blabbering means talkative excessively. Hence option (a) is the answer.
Revolving means treat as the most important element.
Targeting means select as an object of attention or attack.

S4.Ans. (b)
Sol. Beavering away means working hard. Hence option (b) is the answer.
Neglecting means fail to care for properly.
Assuming means supposing to be the case, without proof.
Storing means keep or accumulate (something) for future use.

S5Ans. (c)
Sol. Chime in means interject a remark.
Intervene means take part in something so as to prevent or alter a result or course of events.Hence option (c) is the answer.
Pretend means behave so as to make it appear that something is the case when in fact it is not.
Withdraw means remove or take away (something) from a particular place or position.

S6.Ans. (c)
Sol. Option (c) is the correct choice. The passage is based about the philosophy of life. Since in the given line the author is talking that it depends on a person how one defines philosophy that is either by a conscious and a logical inquisitive mind that is described by the word ‘rational’ or by a heap of unwarranted conclusions.
Scientific means based on or characterized by the methods and principles of science.
Baseless means without foundation in fact.

S7.Ans. (b)
Sol. Option (b) is the correct choice. This is because we are talking about the disciplined process of thought and a thorough and careful way of logical deliberation. Thoroughly is an adverb which means in a thorough manner.
Recklessly means without regard to the danger or the consequences of one’s actions; rashly.
Negligently means habitually neglecting duties.

S8.Ans. (e)
Sol. Option (e) is the right option. The author is referring about the two choices we have as an option i.e.
either to define the philosophy of life by our conscious and rational thought process or to lead our subconscious accumulate means gather junk heap of unwarranted conclusions and false generalizations.
Scatter means throw in various random directions.
Disperse means distribute or spread over a wide area.

S9.Ans. (a)
Sol. Option (a) fits appropriately in the blank.This is so because in the above line we are talking about unification of one’s subconscious into a kind of mongrel philosophy that is the consolidation .
Integrated means meshed.
Diverge means (of a road, route, or line) separate from another route and go in a different direction.

S10.Ans. (d)
Sol. Option (d) is the correct choice.Fused means joined or blended to form a single entity.
Separated means cause to move or be apart.
Disconnected means having had a connection broken.

S11.Ans. (b)
Sol. Option (b) fits appropriately in the given blank.This is so because in the next line the explanation of doctrine is given “which is living with the results of other people’s thinking”.Hence belief means a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.
Ambiguity means inexactness.
Illusion means a deceptive appearance or impression.
Uncertainty means unreliability.

S12.Ans. (e)
Sol.Option (e) is the right choice.This is so because the author is asking humans to have the courage to follow their heart and intuition to know the philosophy of life.Intuition means instinct.
Reassurance means the action of removing someone’s doubts or fears.
Supposition means a belief held without proof or certain knowledge; an assumption or hypothesis.
Conception means the forming or devising of a plan or idea.

S13.Ans. (d)
Sol. Option (d) fits appropriately according to the context of the passage. Author is saying that all our activities are limited by time and death.
Indefinite means not clearly expressed or defined; vague.
Appalling means very bad;awful.

S14.Ans. (c)
Sol. Option (c) is the right answer. The author is saying that we fill up our time with activities that include distractions, never asking whether they are important or even whether they hold any value.
Applications means the action of putting something into operation.
Deliberations means long and careful consideration or discussion.

S15.Ans. (b)
Sol. Option (b) is the appropriate choice of the word that must come in the given blank.The concluding line of the passage is portraying that how due to our choices of life we come to live an insincere or say not genuine life;i.e inauthentic.
Genuine means truly what something is said to be; authentic.
Unanimous means (of two or more people) fully in agreement.
Accurate means (especially of information, measurements, or predictions) correct in all details; exact.