SBI Clerk Prelims English Daily Mock 20th January 2020 Cloze Test Practice Set

SBI Clerk English Daily Mock 20th January 2020 Cloze Test Practice Set

Directions (1-10): In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words/phrases are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word/phrase in each case.

Scientists said on Wednesday they had (1) down the oldest known lizard, a tiny creature that lived about 240 million years ago when Earth had a single continent and dinosaurs were brand new.
Scans of the fossilized skeleton of Megachirella (2) the chameleon-sized reptile was an ancestor of today’s lizards and snakes, which belong to a group called squamates, an international team (3) in the science journal Nature.
This finding (4) the group back in time by 75 million years, and means that “lizards (5) the planet since at least 240 million years ago,” study co-author Tiago Simoes of the University of Alberta in Canada said. That, in turn, suggested that squamates had already split from other ancient reptiles before the Permian/Triassic mass extinction some 252 million years ago, and survived it.
Up to 95% of marine- and 75% of terrestrial life on earth was lost.
Megachirella, (6) some 20 years ago buried in (7) sand and clay layers in the Dolomites mountain range in northeast Italy, was initially misclassified as a close lizard relative.
But Mr. Simoes had questions. “When I first saw the fossil, I (8) it had important features that could link it to the early evolution of lizards,” he said. So, he hooked up with colleagues to perform a more (9) analysis of the tiny skeleton, which included CT scanning. The scans revealed previously unseen physical features, including the underside of the fossil, (10) in rock.
The team found a tiny bone in Megachirella’s lower jaw that is unique to the squamate family.

Q1. (a) founded
(b) tracked
(c) footprinted
(d) overlooked
(e) passed

Q2. (a) closed
(b) leaked
(c) revealed
(d) confronted
(e) concealed

Q3.(a) autographed
(b) replied
(c) wrote
(d) associated
(e) determined

Q4. (a) yawned
(b) cornered
(c) continued
(d) stopped
(e) dragged

Q5. (a) inhabited
(b) presented
(c) followed
(d) escaped
(e) settled

Q6. (a) realized
(b) calculated
(c) overlooked
(d) discovered
(e) curtained

Q7. (a) flattened
(b) compacted
(c) condensed
(d) abbreviated
(e) scattered

Q8. (a) puzzled
(b) ignored
(c) masked
(d) accomplished
(e) realized

Q9. (a) listed
(b) unspecified
(c) complicated
(d) detailed
(e) unvarnished

Q10. (a) embedded
(b) established
(c) detached
(d) dislodged
(e)uprooted

Directions (11-15): The paragraph consists of few words in bold against each number. You must choose the option that can be interchanged with the bold word without altering the context of the paragraph.

In turn, the neat separation has allowed the Army to maintain its (11) professionalism and retain public trust even as it is frequently called upon to assist the administration in times of communal (12) strife and sub regional (13) insurgencies. This arrangement has also inhibited governments from (14) bidding the Army to do their politically expedient tasks. It is a balance that must hold, and this is why General Rawat’s possibly off-the-cuff observations on foreign policy and domestic politics were (15) unfortunate.

Q11. (a) greenness
(b) juvenility
(c) bloom
(d) probity
(e) disgrace

Q12.(a) cooperation
(b) contention
(c) harmony
(d) concurrence
(e) liaison

Q13. (a) uprisings
(b) obedience
(c) orthodoxies
(d) submissions
(e) acquiescence

Q14. (a) remarking
(b) interpreting
(c) explaining
(d) commanding
(e) commenting

Q15. (a) auspicious
(b) suitable
(c) doomed
(d) favourable
(e) sanctified

Solutions

S1. Ans. (b)
Sol. Option (b) is the correct choice. ‘Track down’ means to find something or someone after looking for it, him, or her in a lot of different places.
Founded means establish or originate (an institution or organization).
Footprint means the impression left by a foot or shoe on the ground or a surface.
Overlooked means failed to notice.

S2. Ans. (c)
Sol. Option (c) is the correct choice. Here the author talks about scans of the skeleton of an animal and later describes about its characteristics, so the word “revealed” fits the best, as the scans will reveal something then only anyone would know about the characteristics of the animal.
Leaked means become known.
Confronted means come face to face with (someone) with hostile or argumentative intent.
Concealed means kept secret; hidden.

S3. Ans. (c)
Sol. Option (c) is the correct choice. “Wrote” is the word that fits the best here as the author talks about a science journal Nature afterwards. So, things are written in a science journal.
Autographed means a signature, especially that of a celebrity written as a memento for an admirer.
Associated means (of a person or thing) connected with something else.
Determined means having made a firm decision and being resolved not to change it.

S4. Ans. (e)
Sol. Option (e) is the correct choice. “Dragged” is the word that fits best in the context of the passage as here the author talks about some finding which took the research group several million years back in the past.
Yawned means involuntarily open one’s mouth wide and inhale deeply due to tiredness or boredom.
Cornered means (of a person or animal) forced into a place or situation from which it is hard to escape.

S5. Ans. (a)
Sol. Option (a) is the correct choice. Here the author is talking about a timeline since when the lizards have lived on this planet, so “inhabited” is the word that fits the best in the context of the passage.
Settled means sit or come to rest in a comfortable position.

S6. Ans. (d)
Sol. Option (d) is the correct choice. Here the author is talking about Megachirella, an ancestor of lizard and we can see that the whole paragraph is about the discovery of this species, so “discovered” is the word that fits best in the context of the passage.
Overlooked means fail to notice.
Curtained means conceal or screen with a curtain.

S7. Ans. (b)
Sol. Option (b) is the correct choice. “Compacted” is the word that fits best in the context of the passage, as we know that the species Megachirella was discovered through its fossil and in fossils, usually skeletons are compacted in layers of sand and clay.
Compacted means become compressed by the exertion of force.
Flattened means make or become flat or flatter.
Condensed means made denser or more concise; compressed or concentrated.
Abbreviated means shortened; cut short.

S8. Ans. (e)
Sol. Option (e) is the correct choice. “Realized” is the word that fits best in the context of the passage, as you realize things (some feature) after looking at something, as mentioned in the passage.
Puzzled means unable to understand; perplexed.
Masked means (of one’s true character or feelings) concealed.
Accomplished means highly trained or skilled in an activity.

S9. Ans. (d)
Sol. Option (d) is the correct choice. “Detailed” is the word that fits best in the context of the passage, as the scientists hooked up with his colleagues to perform analysis on the skeleton to gain detailed knowledge.
Complicated means involving many different and confusing aspects.
Unvarnished means not covered with varnish.

S10. Ans. (a)
Sol. Option (a) is the correct choice. “Embedded” is the word that fits best in the context of the passage. Embedded means fix (an object) firmly and deeply in a surrounding mass. Fossils are normally embedded in rocks when they are found.
Detached means separate or disconnected.
Dislodged means knock or force out of position.
Uprooted means pull (something, especially a tree or plant) out of the ground.

S11. Ans. (d)
Sol. Option (d) is the correct choice. ‘professionalism’ means the competence or skill expected of a professional. While, ‘Probity’ means the quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency. Hence, they can be used interchangeably as usage of any word won’t alter the meaning of the paragraph.
Greenness means lack of maturity or experience; youthfulness.
Juvenility means childish or immature behaviour.
Bloom means the state or period of greatest beauty, freshness, or vigour.
Disgrace means loss of reputation or respect as the result of a dishonourable action.

S12. Ans. (b)
Sol. Option (b) is the correct choice. ‘strife’ means angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues; conflict, while; ‘contention’ means heated disagreement. As, both the words are similar in meaning they can be substituted for each other.
Cooperation means the action or process of working together to the same end.
Harmony means the quality of forming a pleasing and consistent whole.
Concurrence means agreement or consistency.
Liaison means communication or cooperation which facilitates a close working relationship between people or organizations.

S13. Ans. (a)
Sol. Option (a) is the correct choice. ‘insurgencies’ means an active revolt or uprising. ‘uprisings’ means an act of resistance or rebellion; a revolt. Hence, they are synonyms for each other.
Obedience means compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority.
Orthodoxies means authorized or generally accepted theory, doctrine, or practice.
Submissions means the action of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person.
Acquiescence means the reluctant acceptance of something without protest.

S14. Ans. (d)
Sol. Option (d) is the correct choice. ‘bidding’ means the ordering or requesting of someone to do something, whereas; ‘commanding’ means to give an authoritative or peremptory order. Therefore, they both are similar in meaning with each other.
Remarking means say something as a comment; mention.
Interpreting means express an opinion or reaction in speech or writing.

S15. Ans. (c)
Sol. Option (c) is the most suitable choice, as ‘unfortunate’ means having or marked by bad fortune; unlucky, while ‘doomed’ means likely to have an unfortunate and inescapable outcome; ill-fated. Hence, they both are similar in meaning.
Auspicious means conducive to success; favourable.
Sanctified means set apart as or declare holy; consecrate.

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