Directions (1-7): In the following passage, some blanks are given and against each blank five alternative words are suggested. Choose the correct alternative to complete the passage in a meaningful way.
We know that ________________ (1) untreated industrial produce or sewage into rivers will pollute them. But industries and local bodies do it anyway. We know our unsustainable thirst for coal or minerals like gold is ________________ (2) entire hills, accelerating biodiversity loss and affecting the people living near these areas as well as working there. Governments and corporations mine them anyway. There’s a word for such sustained, ________________ (3) actions that we commit despite knowing fully well their monumental and widespread ecological and environmental fallouts: ecocide. It is, literally, ‘the ________________ (4) of the environment’.
Ecocide refers to actions that result in the willful, conscious destruction of the natural environment with consequences for human, animal and plant life. That’s the ________________ (5) in which biologist Arthur Galston used the term for the first time in 1970, at the Conference on War and Responsibility in Washington, D.C. He referred to the US’s use of Agent Orange – a herbicide used to ________________ (6) jungles during the Vietnam War – an act of ecocide. Galston was the first to link the willful destruction of nature with genocide, which is ________________ (7) as an international crime.
Q1.
(a) Lancing
(b) Rankling
(c) Dumping
(d) Ramifying
(e) Gainsaying
Q2.
(a) Ravaging
(b) Meandering
(c) Darting
(d) Fallowing
(e) Harrowing
Q3.
(a) Parochial
(b) Ornate
(c) Mendicant
(d) Deliberate
(e) Conjugal
Q4.
(a) Dissimulating
(b) Killing
(c) Grovelling
(d) Commiserating
(e) Assaying
Q5.
(a) Hurtle
(b) Context
(c) Unanimity
(d) Mettle
(e) Surreptitious
Q6.
(a) Obviate
(b) Interdict
(c) Gripe
(d) Beleaguer
(e) Defoliate
Q7.
(a) Recognised
(b) Blighted
(c) Aggrieved
(d) Defrayed
(e) Adulterated
Directions (8-15): In the following passage, some blanks are given and against each blank five alternative words are suggested. Choose the correct alternative to complete the passage in a meaningful way.
While in technical ________________ (8) the “Cloud” might refer to the pooling of computing resources over a network, in popular culture, “Cloud” has come to signify and encompass the full gamut of infrastructures that make online activity possible, everything from Instagram to Hulu to Google Drive. Like a puffy ________________ (9) drifting across a clear blue sky, refusing to maintain a solid shape or form, the Cloud of the digital is elusive, its inner workings largely mysterious to the wider public, an example of what MIT cybernetician Norbert Weiner once called a “black box.” But just as the clouds above us, however formless or ________________ (10) they may appear to be, are in fact made of matter, the Cloud of the digital is also relentlessly material.
To get at the matter of the Cloud we must ________________ (11) the coils of coaxial cables, fiber optic tubes, cellular towers, air conditioners, power distribution units, transformers, water pipes, computer servers, and more. We must attend to its material flows of electricity, water, air, heat, metals, minerals, and rare earth elements that ________________ (12) our digital lives. In this way, the Cloud is not only material, but is also an ecological force. As it continues to ________________ (13), its environmental impact increases, even as the engineers, technicians, and executives behind its infrastructures strive to balance profitability with sustainability.
Nowhere is this ________________ (14) more visible than in the walls of the infrastructures where the content of the Cloud lives: the factory-libraries where data is stored and computational power is pooled to keep our cloud applications ________________ (15).
Q8.
(a) Parlance
(b) Clandestine
(c) Distend
(d) Glib
(e) Spangle
Q9.
(a) Prattle
(b) Wreak
(c) Depredation
(d)Cumulus
(e) Endue
Q10.
(a) Promiscuous
(b) Invective
(c) Ethereal
(d) Despoil
(e) Irksome
Q11.
(a) Divulge
(b) Brawn
(c) Unravel
(d) Burnish
(e) Palpitate
Q12.
(a) Troth
(b) Belie
(c) Succour
(d) Accentuate
(e) Undergird
Q13.
(a) Expand
(b) Propitiate
(c) Excise
(d) Upbraid
(e) Renegade
Q14.
(a) Nettle
(b) Maraud
(c) Dilemma
(d) Grudging
(e) Caucus
Q15.
(a) Afloat
(b) Wrangle
(c) Diffident
(d) Uncouth
(e) Callous
Solutions
S1. Ans. (c)
Sol. Lancing: moving suddenly and quickly.
Rankling: (of a comment or fact) cause continuing annoyance or resentment.
Dumping: deposit or dispose of (rubbish, waste, or unwanted material), typically in a careless or hurried way.
Ramifying: spread or branch out; grow and develop in complexity or range.
Gainsaying: denying or contradicting (a fact or statement).
S2. Ans. (a)
Sol. Ravaging: causing severe and extensive damage to.
Meandering: proceeding in a convoluted or undirected fashion.
Darting: moving or running somewhere suddenly or rapidly.
Fallowing: leave (land) fallow for a period.
Harrowing: acutely distressing.
S3. Ans. (d)
Sol. Parochial: having a limited or narrow outlook or scope.
Ornate: elaborately or highly decorated.
Mendicant: given to begging.
Deliberate: done consciously and intentionally.
Conjugal: relating to marriage or the relationship between a married couple.
S4. Ans. (b)
Sol. Dissimulating: concealing or disguising (one’s thoughts, feelings, or character).
Killing: an act of causing death, especially deliberately.
Grovelling: acting obsequiously in order to obtain forgiveness or favour.
Obsequiously: marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness.
Commiserating: express or feel sympathy or pity; sympathize.
Assaying: determining the content or quality of (a metal or ore).
S5. Ans. (b)
Sol. Hurtle: move or cause to move at high speed, typically in an uncontrolled manner.
Context: the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood.
Mettle: a person’s ability to cope well with difficulties; spirit and resilience.
Surreptitious: kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of.
Unanimity: agreement by all people involved; consensus.
S6. Ans. (e)
Sol. Obviate: remove (a need or difficulty).
Interdict: an authoritative prohibition.
Gripe: complain about something in a persistent, irritating way.
Beleaguer: cause problems or difficulties for.
Defoliate: remove leaves from (a tree, plant, or area of land), for agricultural purposes or as a military tactic.
S7. Ans. (a)
Sol. Recognised: identify from knowledge of appearance or character.
Blighted: had a severely detrimental effect on.
Aggrieved: feeling resentment at having been unfairly treated.
Defrayed: provided money to pay (a cost or expense).
Adulterated: render (something) poorer in quality by adding another substance.
S8. Ans. (a)
Sol. Parlance: a particular way of speaking or using words, especially a way common to those with a particular job or interest.
Clandestine: kept secret or done secretively, especially because illicit.
Distend: swell or cause to swell by pressure from inside.
Glib: (of words or a speaker) fluent but insincere and shallow.
Spangle: a small thin piece of glittering material, typically sewn as one of many on clothing for decoration; a sequin.
S9. Ans. (d)
Sol. Prattle: talk at length in a foolish or inconsequential way.
Wreak: cause (a large amount of damage or harm).
Depredation: an act of attacking or plundering.
Cumulus: cloud forming rounded masses heaped on each other above a flat base at fairly low altitude.
Endue: endow or provide with a quality or ability.
S10. Ans. (c)
Sol. Promiscuous: demonstrating or implying an unselective approach; indiscriminate or casual.
Invective: insulting, abusive, or highly critical language. Ethereal:
Despoil: steal or violently remove valuable possessions from; plunder.
Irksome: irritating; annoying.
S11. Ans. (c)
Sol. Divulge: make known (private or sensitive information).
Brawn: physical strength in contrast to intelligence.
Unravel: investigate and solve or explain (something complicated or puzzling).
Burnish: enhance or perfect (something such as a reputation or a skill).
Palpitate: shake; tremble.
S12. Ans. (e)
Sol. Troth: faith or loyalty when pledged in a solemn agreement or undertaking.
Belie: (of an appearance) fail to give a true impression of (something).
Succour: assistance and support in times of hardship and distress.
Accentuate: make more noticeable or prominent.
Undergird: provide support or a firm basis for.
S13. Ans. (a)
Sol. Expand: become or make larger or more extensive.
Propitiate: win or regain the favour of (a god, spirit, or person) by doing something that pleases them.
Excise: a tax levied on certain goods and commodities produced or sold within a country and on licences granted for certain activities.
Upbraid: find fault with (someone); scold.
Renegade: a person who deserts and betrays an organization, country, or set of principles.
S14. Ans. (c)
Sol. Nettle: irritate or annoy (someone).
Maraud: go about in search of things to steal or people to attack.
Dilemma: a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable.
Grudging: given or allowed only reluctantly or resentfully.
Caucus: an informal group composed of legislators who have shared concerns or interests.
S15. Ans. (a)
Sol. Afloat: out of debt or difficulty.
– in general circulation; current.
Wrangle: a dispute or argument, typically one that is long and complicated.
Diffident: modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence.
Uncouth: lacking good manners, refinement, or grace.
Callous: showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others.
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