English Quiz for IBPS PO Mains: 29th October 2019

IBPS PO Mains English Quiz on Miscellaneous Topics

Directions (1-8): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain parts are given in bold to answer some of the questions based on the passage.

Ever since I came to the USA in the early 1970s I had been anxious that one day there would be a backlash against the Indian immigrant community in the USA. The reason was the observation that Indians were almost all very well educated, lived in decent houses in upscale neighbourhoods, drove newer cars, had professional jobs and even their children did very well at school. I was worried that some lunatic American would declare one day that these Indians must be doing something unethical, if not illegal that enabled them to live such a good life.

This anxiety subsided over the years aided by the following realisations: a) Indians have always been gentle, peace-loving, law-abiding citizens/ immigrants, not involved in controversies; b) their fluency in English exceeds that of immigrants like the Chinese, Mexicans and even eastern Europeans; c) Indians are open to inter-racial marriages indicating a desire to get assimilated with society, as opposed to living in isolated ethnic pockets like “little Tokyo”; d) many Americans developed appreciation for a variety of elements in Indian culture including yoga and meditation, spicy food, sitar music etc.; e) second generation Indians started to excel in a variety of areas, not the least of which is spelling bee contests and finally; f ) a climate of political correctness started to pervade society.

However, my fears resurfaced over the past ten years or so as I saw a massive influx of Indian Information Technology (IT) professionals into USA, mainly in the Silicon Valley area but also in many other major cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Denver etc. This new generation of Indians is distinctly different from immigrants like us who came here for higher education and then struggled for many years to establish a good life, eventually becoming US citizens. First, most Indians in the IT field are not US citizens and came here on H1B visas for periods of between three and six years. They either do not want to or cannot become US citizens. So, they are oblivious to social and political issues in this country. They know that they can go back to India at any time if the situation warrants. Second, Americans think that they are somewhat rude in their behaviour because they did not have to learn accepted norms of interaction with others. They tend to socialise with each other and live in a world of Indian food, Bollywood movies, watching cricket on TV, daily communication with relatives in India through WhatsApp, etc. Unlike us, they earned good salaries from the time they set their feet here. They live a good life, but their attire and mannerisms spell a “fresh off the boat” image.

There is another aspect to the problem. A recent news report about Indian nationals crossing the US-Mexico border illegally has taken my anxiety levels to new heights. According to this report, it is not just people from central and south America and middle-easterners who are trying to enter the USA illegally from Mexico, but a rapidly increasing number of Indians has been added to the mix. There are Mexican groups called “the cayotes”, basically into human trafficking, who charge $25,000 per person to smuggle Indians in – a fee considerably higher than the more typical $8,000 or so for Mexicans and others. The news is shocking on several fronts. These episodes shatter the
image of Indian immigrants as hardworking, law-abiding professionals. It has also been reported that some of these illegals are Sikhs. When questioned by immigration officers they say that they are seeking asylum in this country because of alleged political and religious persecution in India. The women, on the other hand, are claiming incidents of assault and abuse because of their lower castes and threats of honour killing.

I am puzzled by these claims. While such abuses certainly exist in India they cannot possibly be so widespread or severe as to cause thousands of people to flee India and take this long torturous route to the USA. Ability to pay $25000 also casts some doubt about their claims. It is sad because such claims only reinforce racial stereotyping that exists in this country about Indians. The news is also appalling in the sense that people who are presumably intelligent and educated are willing to spend $25K per person to engage in such a risky and illegal effort. On their long journey through South and Central America there is considerable danger of getting robbed, falling sick and even getting caught in the middle of a violence related to drug trafficking. The story also does not jibe with the continuing economic prosperity and modernisation in India. I wonder if the illegal migration of Indians into this country marks the beginning of the end of dreams of many Indians living peaceful lives in USA. We might be viewed in future in the same way as Mexicans or Middle-easterners are; undesirable people who want to come here at any cost and then become a burden on society. I hope that I am wrong.

Q1. According to the passage what are the point(s) that the author has anxiety for?
(a)Backlash against the Indian immigrant community in the USA
(b)Indian’s good standard of living life might be questioned someday on the basis of unwarranted unethical deeds; if not any illegal one.
(c)Indians might be viewed in future as an undesirable people who want to come to U.S. at any cost and then become a burden on society.
(d) Both (a) and (b)
(e)All (a) (b) and (c)

Q2. How Indian people living in U.S. are taking an edge over ‘the living’ of many other Asian people?
(a)Indians are open to inter-racial marriages indicating a desire to get assimilated with society.
(b)Indians are open for adapting the new culture as opposed to living in isolated ethnic pockets like “little Tokyo”
(c)Their fluency in English exceeds that of other immigrants like the Chinese.
(d)All (a) (b) and (c)
(e)None of these

Q3. According to the author how people fleeing from India to U.S. now-a-days are different from the people who flew many years ago?
(a)Earlier people used to fly to U.S. for higher education, eventually becoming US citizen, but most Indians now-a-days are in the IT field and are not US citizens. They know that they can go back to India at any time if the situation arises.
(b)Unlike people from the earlier times who struggled for many years to establish a good life, migrants now-a-days earn good salaries from the time they set their feet here.
(c)Both (a) and (b)
(d)Second generation Indians started to excel in a variety of areas, not the least of which is spelling bee contests and finally.
(e)None of these

Q4. “They live a good life, but their attire and mannerisms spell a fresh off the boat image.” In the given sentence what does the bold part implies?
(a)Immigrants who arrive from a foreign nation and have yet to assimilate into the host nation’s culture, but still continue with their ethnic ideas and practices
(b)Emigrants who arrive from a foreign nation and assimilate into the host nation’s culture, giving off their ethnic ideas and practices
(c)Immigrants who arrive from a foreign nation and don’t want to assimilate into the host nation’s culture
(d)Tourists who arrive from a foreign nation and have yet to assimilate into the host nation’s culture, but still continue with their ethnic ideas and practices
(e)None of these

Q5. Why the news of illegal migration of Indians into U.S. is shocking and perplexed for the author?
(a)The claims made by immigrants like assault and abuse because of their lower castes and threats of honour killing, alleged political and religious persecution in India cannot possibly be so widespread or severe as to cause thousands of people to flee India and take this long torturous route to the USA.
(b)The claims also do not agree with the continuing economic prosperity and modernisation in India.
(c)It doesn’t seem plausible that people who are presumably intelligent and educated are willing to spend $25K per person to engage in such a risky and illegal effort where there is considerable danger of getting robbed, falling sick and even getting caught in the middle of a violence related to drug trafficking.
(d)All (a) (b) and (c)
(e)None of these

Directions (6-8): Choose the word which is most nearly the SIMILAR in meaning to the given word printed in bold as used in the passage.

Q6. Oblivious
(a)Irritating
(b)Unaware
(c)Agreeable
(d)Placid
(e)Pacifying

Q7. Torturous
(a)Agonizing
(b)Suave
(c)Provincial
(d)Cultured
(e)Worldly

Q8. Choose the word which is most nearly the OPPOSITE in meaning to the word ‘jibe’ printed in bold as used in the passage.
(a)Agree
(b)Taunt
(c)Barb
(d)Sneer
(e)Differ

Directions (9-5): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain parts are given in bold to answer some of the questions based on the passage.

Limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels would be a herculean task, involving rapid, dramatic changes in how governments, industries and societies function, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). But even though the world has already warmed by 1 °C, humanity has 10–30 more years than scientists previously thought in which to kick its carbon habit.
The world would have to curb its carbon emissions by at least 49% of 2017 levels by 2030 and then achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 to meet this target, according to a summary of the latest IPCC report, released on 8 October. The report draws on research conducted since nations unveiled the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which seeks to curb greenhouse-gas emissions and limit global temperature increase to between 1.5 and 2 °C. The world is on track for around 3 degrees of warming by the end of the century if it doesn’t make major reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions. It could breach 1.5 °C sometime between 2030 and 2052 if global warming continues at its current rate.

Scientists have “high confidence” that 1.5 °C of warming would result in a greater number of severe heat waves on land, especially in the tropics, the report says. They have “medium confidence” that there will be more extreme storms in areas such as high-elevation regions, eastern Asia and eastern North America. The risk of such severe weather would be even greater in a 2 °C world. Temperatures on extreme hot days in mid-latitudes could increase by 3 °C with 1.5 °C of global warming, versus 4 °C in a 2 °C world. Two degrees of warming could destroy ecosystems on around 13% of the world’s land area, increasing the risk of extinction for many insects, plants and animals. Holding warming to 1.5 °C would reduce that risk by half. The Arctic could experience ice-free summers once every decade or two in a 2 °C world, versus once in a century at 1.5 °C. Coral reefs would almost entirely disappear with 2 degrees of warming, with just 10–30% of existing reefs surviving at 1.5 °C. Without aggressive action, the world could become an almost impossible place for most people to live in, says Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, director of the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland in St Lucia, Australia. “As we go toward the end of the century, we have to get this right.”

Given that current national commitments on greenhouse-gas emissions fall well short of the goals laid out in the Paris climate agreement, many scientists have argued that meeting even the 2 °C goal is virtually impossible. But the IPCC report sidestepped questions of feasibility and focused instead on determining what governments, businesses and individuals would need to do to meet the 1.5 °C goal.
Measures include ramping up installation of renewable energy systems such as wind and solar power to provide 70–85% of the world’s electricity by 2050 and expanding forests to increase their capacity to pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Most scenarios in the report suggest that the world would still need to extract massive amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and pump it underground in the latter half of this century. The technology to do this is in the early stages of development and many researchers say it could be difficult to develop it for use on a global scale. Other proposed options involve changing lifestyles: eating less meat, riding bicycles and flying less. The report also waded into murky questions about ethics and values, stressing that governments must address climate change and sustainable development in parallel, or risk exacerbating poverty and inequality. The IPCC report incorporates recent research suggesting that the amount of carbon that humanity can emit while limiting warming to 1.5 °C might be larger than previously thought. The previous IPCC assessment, released in 2014, estimated that the world would breach 1.5 °C by the early 2020s at the current rate of emissions. The latest report extends that timeline to 2030 or 2040 based on studies that revised the amount of warming that has already occurred. “Every extra tonne of carbon that we dump into the atmosphere today is a tonne that will have to be scrubbed out at the end of the century,” says Myles Allen, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford, UK, and one of the lead authors of the report. “I think we need to start a debate about who is going to pay for it, and whether it’s right for the fossil-fuel industry and its customers to be enjoying the benefits today and expecting the next generation to pay for cleaning it up,” Allen says. But scientists have only “medium confidence” in the revised carbon budgets, says Thomas Stocker, a climate scientist at the University of Bern in Switzerland. He says that researchers will provide a more comprehensive look at the numbers in the next full climate assessment, which is scheduled to be released in 2021. In the meantime, the newer and larger carbon budget could send the wrong message to policymakers, says Oliver Geden, a social scientist and visiting fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany. He fears that the IPCC report undersells the difficulty of achieving the 1.5 °C goal. “It’s always five minutes to midnight, and that is highly problematic,” he says. “Policymakers get used to it, and they think there’s always a way out.”

Q9. Which of the following information, if assumed to be true, would be in line with the recommendations of the IPCC?
(i) Tata Steel was emitting 100 Metric tons (MT) of annual carbon and its compounds in the air in 2017 but was emitting 30 Metric tons of the same in 2025 and was further decreasing its annual carbon emissions year-on-year basis since 2025.
(ii) The annual carbon (and its compound) emission in the atmosphere for Djibouti, a poor nation of the Africa, which in the year 2017 was 250 MT remained at the same level in the year 2050.
(iii) The People’s Republic of China was able to reduce its annual carbon (and its compound) emission in the air from 1000 MT in the year 2017 to 400 MT in the year 2024 and was further decreasing its annual carbon emissions year-on-year basis since 2024.

(a) Only (i)
(b) Both (i) and (iii)
(c) Only (ii)
(d) All of (i), (ii) and (iii)
(e) Both (ii) and (iii)

Q10. Which of the following activities, if assumed to be true, would help in limiting the global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial level?
(i) The number of textile factories, assuming every factory emits same amount of carbon annually, increased by 65% from 2017 to 2045.
(ii) The total carbon emission in the production of a Bollywood movie is 50 Metric tons (MT). By 2028, because of the decreasing affinity toward watching movies, lesser number of movies were annually produced as compared to that in 2017, and by 2030, 60% less number of movies were produced.
(iii) To promote Make in India and encourage domestic industries, the government of India has increased import duties on the solar panels while knowing that increase usage of solar energy would reduce carbon emission.

(a) Only (iii)
(b) Only (i)
(c) Both (i) and (iii)
(d) Only (ii)
(e) Both (ii) and (iii)

Q11. Which of the followings could be responsible, if in the year 2054 13.45 % of additional world’s land become inhabitable?
(i) a rise of 2°C in the global warming.
(ii) a rise of 1.2 °C in the global warming.
(iii) a rise of 1.5°C in the global warming.
(a) Only (i)
(b) Both (ii) and (iii)
(c) Both (i) and (iii)
(d) Only (iii)
(e) Only (ii)

Q12. What could be said with the highest possible confidence about the consequences in the case of 1.5 °C of global warming?
(i) Greater number of severe heat waves on the land in the tropics.
(ii) Increase incidence of extreme storms in areas such as high-elevation regions, eastern Asia and eastern North America.
(iii) 13% of the world’s land area would be destroyed
(a) Both (i) and (iii)
(b) Only (ii)
(c) Only (i)
(d) Both (i) and (ii)
(e) All of (i), (ii) and (iii)

Q13. Which of the following things would help in meeting the 1.5 °C goal?
(a) Increasing the share of wind, solar and renewable power to provide 70-85% of the world’s electricity by 2050.
(b) People increasingly riding the bicycle.
(c) Developing technologies which would pull the carbon from the atmosphere and pump it underground in large volume.
(d) Options (a) and (b)
(e) Options (a), (b) and (c)

Q14. Which of the following is true as per the passage?
(i) The world would breach 1.5 °C of global warming by the early 2020s at the current rate of carbon emissions.
(ii) The world would breach 1.5 °C of global warming between 2030 and 2040 at the current rate of carbon emissions.
(iii) The technology that extract massive amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and pump it underground is highly developed.
(a) Both (i) and (iii)
(b) Both (ii) and (iii)
(c) Only (ii)
(d) Only (i)
(e) Only (iii)

Q15. Choose a word which has a meaning SIMILAR to the word ‘herculean’.
(a) Perpetual
(b) Plausible
(c) Agrarian
(d) Arduous
(e) Indelible

Solutions

S1. Ans. (e)
Sol. All the given three options are correct .Option (a) and (b) can be traced from the 1st paragraph where it is given that “Ever since I came to the USA in the early 1970s I had been anxious that one day there would be a backlash against the Indian immigrant community in the USA, ……….I was worried that some lunatic American would declare one day that these Indians must be doing something unethical, if not illegal that enabled them to live such a good life.” Option (c) can be traced from the last paragraph where it is given “We might be viewed in future in the same way as Mexicans or Middle-easterners are; undesirable people who want to come here at any cost and then become a burden on society. I hope that I am wrong.” Thus option (e) is the correct answer choice.

S2. Ans. (d)
Sol. All the three options are correct .Option (a) (b) and (c) can be traced from the 2nd paragraph where it is given “their fluency in English exceeds that of immigrants like the Chinese, Mexicans and even eastern Europeans; Indians are open to inter-racial marriages indicating a desire to get assimilated with society, as opposed to living in isolated ethnic pockets like “little Tokyo”. Thus option (d) is the correct answer choice.

S3. Ans. (c)
Sol. Both the options (a) and (b) are correct. The option (a) can be traced from the 3rd paragraph where it is given that “This new generation of Indians is distinctly different from immigrants like us who came here for higher education and then struggled for many years to establish a good life, eventually becoming the US citizens. First, most Indians in the IT field are not US citizens and came here on H1B visas for periods of between three and six years. They either do not want to or cannot become the US citizens. So, they are oblivious to social and political issues in this country. They know that they can go back to India at any time if the situation warrants.” Thus, the option (c) is the correct answer choice.

S4. Ans. (a)
Sol. Option (a) is the correct answer choice.
Fresh off the boat- The phrases fresh off the boat, off the boat, banana boat, or just simply boat are terms used to describe immigrants who have arrived from a foreign nation and have yet to assimilate into the host nation’s culture, language, and behaviour, but still continue with their ethnic ideas and practices.
When a person leaves his country to take up permanent residence in another country, he becomes an emigrant and an immigrant. He is an emigrant upon leaving his homeland and an immigrant upon arriving at his destination.

S5. Ans. (d)
Sol. All the options (a) (b) and (c) are correct. All the three options can be traced from the 5th paragraph where it is given that “. I am puzzled by these claims. While such abuses certainly exist in India they cannot possibly be so widespread or severe as to cause thousands of people to flee India and take this long torturous route to the USA. Ability to pay $25000 also casts some doubt about their claims. It is sad because such claims only reinforce racial stereotyping that exists in this country about Indians. The news is also appalling in the sense that people who are presumably intelligent and educated are willing to spend $25K per person to engage in such a risky and illegal effort. On their long journey through South and Central America there is considerable danger of getting robbed, falling sick and even getting caught in the middle of a violence related to drug trafficking. The story also does not jibe with the continuing economic prosperity and modernisation in India.” Thus option (d) is the correct answer choice.

S6. Ans. (b)
Sol. Oblivious- not aware of or concerned about what is happening around one
Option (b) is the correct answer choice for the given word.
Placid- not easily upset or excited.

S7. Ans. (a)
Sol. Option (a) is the correct answer choice for the given word.
Torturous- characterized by, involving, or causing pain or suffering.
Agonizing- causing great physical or mental pain.

S8. Ans. (e)
Sol. Option (e) is the correct answer choice for the given word.
Jibe- be in accord; agree.
All the given options are the synonyms of the given word ‘jibe’ except option (e), ‘differ’.

S9. Ans. (b)
Sol. The answer for the given question can be derived from the paragraph 1. The IPCC shares her recommendations in relation to curbing carbon emission in the sentence ‘The world would have to curb its carbon emissions by at least 49% of 2017 levels by 2030 and then achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 to meet this target, according to a summary of the latest IPCC report, released on 8 October.’
Let’s discuss the alternative (i): The annual carbon emission for the Tata Steel in the year 2017 was 100 MT which would be reduced to 30 MT in the year 2025, registering a reduction of more than 49% of the level of 2017. And because, the company was decreasing its annual carbon emission further on a year-on-year basis. Hence, the alternative (i) is in line with the recommendations of the IPCC.
(ii) Because Djibouti couldn’t become carbon neutral till the year 2050, so ideally, the alternative (ii) violates the recommendations given by the IPCC.
In the alternative (iii), The People’s Republic of China too was able to reduce its annual carbon emission by more than 49% till 2024 of the level of the same in 2017, and it was further decreasing its carbon emission on a year-on-year basis since 2024. So, till 2030, the carbon emitted by China should be decreased more than 49% that of its level in 2007.
Hence, the correct answer is the option (b).

S10. Ans. (d)
Sol. The answer for the given question can be derived from the paragraph 1. The IPCC shares her recommendations in relation to curbing carbon emission in the sentence ‘The world would have to curb its carbon emissions by at least 49% of 2017 levels by 2030 and then achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 to meet this target, according to a summary of the latest IPCC report, released on 8 October.’
In the alternative (i), a textile factory emits some quantity of carbon in the atmosphere. It is given that we must assume every factory emits same amount of carbon annually. So, increasing the number of factories would increase the annual carbon emission. The recommendation of the IPCC tells us that the world must decrease its carbon emissions by at least 49% of 2017 levels by 2030. Clearly, activity mentioned in the alternative (i) wouldn’t help in limiting the global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial level.
In the alternative (ii), 60% less number of annual movies were produced as compared to that in 2017. And because, production of a Bollywood movie emits 50 MT of carbon in the atmosphere, if, annually, total number of movie production decreases, the annual amount of carbon emission also decreases.
Hence, the alternative (ii) would help in achieving the mentioned target.
In the alternative (iii), increasing import duties on the solar panels would make solar panels costly. This would discourage the use of the solar panels. Increasing the use of solar panels reduces the carbon emission. So, decreasing the use of solar panels should increase the likelihood of increasing the carbon emission. So, the alternative (iii) shouldn’t help in achieving the mentioned target.
Hence, the correct answer is the option (d).

S11. Ans. (a)
Sol. The answer to the given question can be derived from the second paragraph, especially in the sentence ‘Two degrees of warming could destroy ecosystems on around 13% of the world’s land area, increasing the risk of extinction for many insects, plants and animals.’ In the given question, it is mentioned that ’13.45%’ of additional world’s land become inhabitable. So, it can be safely assumed that it should be caused due to a rise of 2°C in the average global temperature.
Hence, the correct answer is the option (a).

S12. Ans. (c)
Sol. The given question demands stating the consequence with ‘the highest possible confidence’.
The answer for the given question can be derived from the second paragraph. The alternative (i) can be derived from the first sentence of the second paragraph. Hence, the correct answer is the option (c).

S13. Ans. (e)
Sol. The answers to given question can be derived from the third paragraph, specifically from the sentences ‘ramping up installation of renewable energy systems such as wind and solar power to provide 70-85 % of the world’s electricity by 2050’, ‘other proposed options involve changing lifestyles: eating less meat, riding bicycles and flying less’. Moreover, for option (c) refer to the 7th line of the 3rd paragraph “Most scenarios in the report suggest that the world would still need to extract massive amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and pump it underground in the latter half of this century”.
Hence, the correct answer is the option (e).

S14. Ans. (c)
Sol. The sentence ‘The previous IPCC assessment, released in 2014, estimated that the world would breach 1.5 °C by the early 2020s at the current rate of emissions. The latest report extends that timeline to 2030 or 2040 based on studies that revised the amount of warming that has already occurred’ which is present in the third paragraph clearly shows that the option (i) is incorrect but the option (ii) is correct.
The sentence ‘Most scenarios in the report suggest that the world would still need to extract massive amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and pump it underground in the latter half of this century. The technology to do this is in the early stages of development and many researchers say it could be difficult to develop it for use on a global scale’ suggests that the option (iii) is false.
From above, we find out that the correct answer is the option (c).
Hence, the correct answer is the option (c).

S15. Ans. (d)
Sol. Herculean [adjective] means ‘requiring great strength or effort’;
Perpetual [adjective] means ‘never ending or changing’;
Plausible [adjective] means ‘(of an argument or statement) seeming reasonable or probable’;
Agrarian [adjective] means ‘relating to cultivated land or the cultivation of land’;
Arduous [adjective] means ‘involving or requiring strenuous effort’ difficult and tiring’;
Indelible [adjective] means ‘not able to be forgotten’;
Clearly, the correct answer is the option (d) because the synonym of ‘arduous’ means ‘herculean’.

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