Directions (1-7): Read the following passage and answer the questions as directed.
To the long line of private airline carcasses (A)——————– the bleak landscape of Indian aviation, one more may soon be added. Jet Airways announced a temporary halt of its operations from Wednesday night as funds to keep the airline going dried up. (B) Despite intense lobbying by the bankrupt airline, banks stood firm on their decision to not release emergency funds to sustain operations until a white night is found. With operations halted and the half a dozen or so planes that were flying till Wednesday grounded, the airline is staring down the barrel, especially because most of its prized departure slots at major airports across the country have either already been or will soon be allocated to other airlines. Jet will be able to regain these slots only if it bounces back before the end of the summer schedule in October. Whether that will happen is now in the hands of prospective buyers, who are said to have evinced interest in buying the airline during the Expression of Interest (EOI) process called by banks last week. The fact that the banks refused to extend emergency support is probably an indicator of the quantity and quality of the EOIs received by them. It is hard to believe that they would not have temporarily supported Jet if the EOIs had been serious. In sum, it does appear at this point that a miracle will be needed for Jet to take wing again.
The collapse of Jet has caused turbulence in the market and also raised some serious questions over why the domestic airline industry is proving to be so perilous for enterprises. There have been more than half-a-dozen private airline companies that have fallen by the wayside in the last decade and more, and it is well-known how Air India is propped up with government support. While it is true that fuel costs, which account for about half of the expenses of running an airline, have been difficult to manage, the fact is that reckless competition is responsible for the sorry plight of the industry. Margins in the airline industry are wafer-thin in the best of times and the combined effect of rising fuel prices and the inability to pass them on to consumers due to competition has proved to be a deadly cocktail. In the race to the bottom, it was Kingfisher seven years ago, Air Deccan and Air Sahara before that, it is Jet now, and who knows which airline could be next. It is notable that airfares have largely stayed stable over several years, benefiting passengers but biting airlines. It is time that airlines took stock of their collective plight and stopped undercutting each other on fares. The Centre can help too by reviewing fuel taxes and surcharges apart from airport levies, which the airlines complain are too high. After all, a healthy airline industry can only be good for government revenues over the long term.
Q1. What measures/ steps can be taken by Airlines so that they can prevent themselves from going into complete state of bankruptcy?
(a) Airlines take stock of their collective plight
(b) Airlines stopped undercutting each other on fares
(c) The Centre can help by reviewing fuel taxes and surcharges apart from airport levies
(d) All (a), (b) and (c)
(e) Only (a) and (b)
Q2. In the passage given, a sentence (B) is given in BOLD. There may or may not be an error in one part of the sentence. Choose the part which has an error in it as your answer. If there is no error then choose option (E) as your answer.
(a) Despite intense lobbying by the bankrupt airline
(b) banks stood firm on their decision
(c) to not release emergency funds to sustain operations
(d) until a white night is found.
(e) No error
Q3. What does the highlighted phrase in the passage “fallen by the wayside” mean?
(a) To fall on the road.
(b) Fail to persist in an endeavour or undertaking.
(c) To fall by the side of the road.
(d) To take up a new endeavor.
(e) None of the above
Q4. What should come in place of the blank of A given in BOLD in the above passage?
(a) glare
(b) doomed
(c) dotting
(d) vision
(e) None of the above
Q5. Which of the following is SIMILAR in meaning to PROSPECTIVE given in BOLD in the above passage?
(a) potential
(b) timid
(c) astound
(d) improbable
(e) None of the above
Q6. What does the highlighted phrase in the passage “wafer- thin” mean?
(a) Extremely thin
(b) Extremely vulnerable
(c) To have a taste similar to that of a wafer
(d) Extremely large
(e) None of the above
Q7. Which of the following is OPPOSITE in meaning to PROPPED given in BOLD in the above passage?
(a) bolster
(b) maintain
(c) carry
(d) weaken
(e) None of the above
Directions (8-15): In each of the following sentences, there is a blank space. Below each such sentence, there are four options with one word each. Fill up the blank with the word that makes the sentence grammatically and contextually correct. If none of the given words is your answer, choose option (e) as your answer choice.
Q8. Fire safety norms for hospitals ——————————————– strictly enforced.
(a) need to be strengthened and
(b) need too be strengthened and
(c) need to been strengthened and
(d) need to be strengthening and
(e) None of the above
Q9. That a blaze ————————————— new building with such deadly consequences calls into question the precautions taken by the authorities.
(a) could break out in an relatively
(b) could break out in a relatively
(c) could break out in a relative
(d) could breaking out in a relatively
(e) None of the above
Q10. The Andheri ——————————————– AMRI hospital blaze in Kolkata seven years ago in which 92 people had died.
(a) horror evokes memories of that
(b) horror evokes memories of them
(c) horror evokes memories off the
(d) horror evokes memories of the
(e) None of the above
Q11. A strong building code with features for reduction of fire hazards is important for all structures, but it is more so for hospitals ————————————– incapacitated and cannot be evacuated quickly.
(a) since the host people who are
(b) since they hosting people who are
(c) since they host people who are
(d) since they host people whom are
(e) None of the above
Q12. In private, public or commercial buildings, official agencies tend to favour tokenism ———————————- safety of occupants and visitors.
(a) rather then high standards for the
(b) rather then higher standards for the
(c) rather than high standards for the
(d) rather than high standards for then
(e) None of the above
Q13. Beijing, of late, has once again ———————————————- public and private businesses, apart from implementing various fiscal measures to boost consumer spending.
(a) been prodding its banks to boost lending too
(b) been prodded its banks to boost lending to
(c) been prodding its banks to boost lending to
(d) been prodding it’s banks to boost lending to
(e) None of the above
Q14. With trade tensions with the United States———————————–, export growth may accelerate, further boosting the Chinese economy.
(a) subsiding significant for now
(b) subsiding significantly for now
(c) subsiding significantly for know
(d) subside significantly for now
(e) None of the above
Q15. The latest growth figure —————————————- Chinese government’s efforts over the last few quarters to stimulate what is the world’s second largest economy are beginning to have a positive effect.
(a) is seen as a sign that the
(b) is seen as an sign that the
(c) is seen as a sign that them
(d) is seen as a signed that the
(e) None of the above
Solutions
S1. Ans.(e)
Sol. Only (a) and (b) are correct options here. Refer paragraph 2 of the above passage.
S2. Ans.(d)
Sol. The error is in option (d). It should be ‘knight’ instead of ‘night’. ‘A white knight’ means one that comes to the rescue of another
S3. Ans.(b)
Sol. Fallen by the wayside: Fail to persist in an endeavour or undertaking.
S4. Ans.(c)
Sol. ‘Dotting’ is the correct fit for the blank here.
S5. Ans.(a)
Sol. ‘Potential’ is similar to ‘prospective’. ‘Prospective’ means relating to or effective in the future.
S6. Ans.(a)
Sol. Wafer- thin: Extremely thin
S7. Ans.(d)
Sol. ‘Weaken’ is opposite to ‘propped’. ‘Propped’ means something that props or sustains.
S8. Ans.(a)
Sol. Option (a) makes the sentence contextually and grammatically correct. The preposition ‘to’ will be used here instead of the adverb ‘too’.
S9. Ans.(b)
Sol. Option (b) makes the sentence contextually and grammatically correct. ‘Relatively’ will be used here and not ‘relative’ as the use of the adverb ‘relatively’ is more appropriate in this sentence.
S10. Ans.(d)
Sol. Option (d) makes the sentence contextually and grammatically correct.
S11. Ans.(c)
Sol. Option (c) makes the sentence contextually and grammatically correct. Since the sentence is in simple present we will use ‘host’ and not ‘hosting’.
S12. Ans.(c)
Sol. Option (c) makes the sentence contextually and grammatically correct. ‘Than’ will be used here instead of ‘then’ as a comparison is being made in the sentence.
S13. Ans.(c)
Sol. Option (c) makes the sentence contextually and grammatically correct. The preposition ‘to’ will be used in this sentence.
S14. Ans.(b)
Sol. Option (b) makes the sentence contextually and grammatically correct.
S15. Ans.(a)
Sol. Option (a) makes the sentence contextually and grammatically correct. Article ‘a’ will be used with ‘sign’.
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