ENGLISH LANGUAGE Practice Set-M 01 For IBPS PO CWE, RBI & SBI Clerk exam

Direction (Qs. 1 to 5) : Which of the phrases (1), (2), (3) and (4) given below each sentence should replace the phrase printed in bold in the given sentence to make it grammatically correct?  If the sentence is correct as it is and no correction is required, then mark your answer as (5) :

1. Ultimately he received the honour he deserve.  (1) Gained the honour he deserve (2) Received the honour he deserves (3) Received the honour he deserved  (4) Bags the honour he deserve (5) No correction required

2. I am totally opposite in the statement of some of our Managers. (1) Totally oppose to the (2) Absolutely oppose by the (3) Totally opposed to the (4) Completely opposed in the (5) No correction required

3. Gayatri turned down the job offer to accommodate her friend. (1) Job offered in accommodate  (2) Job offers for accommodate  (3) Job offer to accommodating  (4) Job offer in accommodate  (5) No correction required

4. She was informed that everyone of them are aware of the fact. (1) Were aware of  (2) Are aware of  (3) Was aware of  (4) Is aware of  (5) No correction required

 5. She has being venturing into areas which she had always avoided in the past. (1) Has been venturing into  (2) Has venturing into  (3) Would venturing into  (4) Had venturing into  (5) No correction required

Directions (Qs. 6 to 10) : Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it.   The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence.  The number of that part will be your answer.  If there is no error (ignore errors of punctuation, if any), then your answer will be (5).

6. They never thought (1) / that Joshi is (2) / oldest than the other (3) / Professors in the Faculty. (4) / No error (5)

7. Taken into consideration (1) / the advice of his (2) /colleagues he decided (3) / to stay in the Institute. (4) /No error (5)

8. I am likely contact (1) / you sometime in (2) / next weekto (3) / discuss with you in detail. (4) / No error (5)

9. The police has making (1) / every effort to provide (2) /best help and (3) / attention to each citizen. (4) / No error (5)

10. He cannot withdraw (1) / all his money (2) / unless he do not (3) / give advance notice. (4) / No error (5)

Directions (Qs. 11 to 25) : Read the following passage to answer these questions given below it.  Certain words / phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions :

“The suicide attacks by militant Palestinian groups killing large numbers of Israeli civilians and the harsh Israeli response, have raised the renewed hopes of peace in the region.  It is Arafat’s leadership and authority that are being severely tested in the latest phase of the west Asian crisis. By accusing the Palestinian Authority (PA) of supporting terrorism by groups, Israel hopes to put pressure on Arafat to act.  Arafat, on the other hand, has never looked a less powerful force than he does today.  If he acts against the militants and elements in his own Fatah movement sympathetic to them, he risks a Palestinian civil conflict.  But if he chooses to do nothing, he faces erosion of his authority and all claim to a central role in the peace process.   Whatever he does, sections of the Palestinians will hold that he has gone too far and Israel that he has not gone for enough.  This is, of course, why Arafat has invariably shrunk from hard decision.  He has refrained from curbing the militant groups, explaining his inaction as necessary to maintain Palestinian unity.  

 The Palestinian leadership’s inability to improve economic conditions for its people has been a decisive factor in the erosion of its ability to act.  Palestinians in Gaza have targeted the PA as being responsible for their condition. The Militant organizations have capitalized on the PA?s failure to establish a functioning administrative infrastructure by setting up a parallel welfare system with the help of the millions of dollars.   Though the Palestinian security forces claim to have arrested more than 100 militants after the suicide bomb attacks in Israel, the other similar militant groups remain defiant, confident of their popular support and of the certainty that in the ultimate analysis the PA leadership will stop short of decisive action against them.  That the militant groups enjoy popular support in Gaza is hardly surprising.  The Gaza Strip today resembles a vast prison camp in which some 1.2 million Palestinians are crammed.  Despite the Oslo Accord, 7000 Israeli settlers still remain in 20 percent of the Gaza’s area and are protected by heavily armed Israeli forces.  With its recent blockade of and extensive incursion into PA controlled territories, the Israeli government has placed the whole civil society in Palestine under siege.  Over 450 NGOs, eight universities and numerous other educational, civic, social, developmental and health institutions have had their work impeded and their vital services to the population blocked.  An international conference on Israel?s treatment of human rights in West Bank and Gaza, attended by signatories to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, that has opened in Switzerland overriding Israeli and American protests, is expected to censor Israel for its treatment of civilians in the Palestinian territories. 

 Arafat’s standing among Palestinians rests on the authority conferred on the PA by the international community to represent and speak for the Palestinians.  Even the major militant group has so far never openly challenged Arafat’s leadership.  Israel’s latest vicious attacks directed against the PA and Arafat present the international community with the danger that this precarious balance of power in the Palestinian community may be destroyed. 

Continuance of the Israeli attacks can only further radicalize and harden the attitudes of ordinary Palestinians.  On the other hand, Israeli moves to freeze further expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza and, as soon as security conditions permit it, ease the economic blockade of Palestinian towns’ however remote such measures appear just now alone can restore the authority of the PA and give it a chance to get a grip on Palestinian militancy.” 

11. Which of the following factors have raised the hope for peace in West Asia?

A.  Killings of Israeli civilians  B.  Harsh response of Israelites                 C.  Revocation of Oslo Accord

 (1) Only A and C (2) Only B and C (3) Both A and B (4) Either A or B (5) None of these

12. Which of the following explains the lack of action on the part of Palestinian leader? (1) He fears the army action against him (2) This according to him will fasten peace process (3) He feels that this step will keep Palestinians united (4) He is seriously worried about the degeneration of his power base (5) None of these

 13. What is ultimate analysis of other similar militant groups?

 (1) The PA leadership will only act if a definite forceful action is taken on the PA

 (2) The suicidal attacks will only aggravate the situation

 (3) The PA leadership should be changed

 (4) The action on the Palestinians was justified (5) None of these

14. Which of the following words is just opposite in meaning to the word impeded as used in the passage? (1)Hindered(2) Facilitated(3)Felicitated(4)Stopped(5)Courage

15. What does the word overriding mean as used in the passage?

 (1) Notwithstanding (2)Concurring(3)Welcoming (4)Criticizing(5)None of these

 16. Which of the following best describes the meaning of the word challenged as used in the passage? (1)Questioned(2)Accepted(3)Attacked(4)Scared(5)None of these

17. Which of the following is the most similar word as accusing as used in the passage?

 (1) Abusing (2) Blaming (3) Charging (4) Responding (5) Praising 

18. Which of the following is the expected outcome of International Conference which is in progress in Switzerland? (1) To revoke 1949 Geneva Convention (2) Impose censorship on propaganda of PA (3) To build cordial relations between Conflicting parties  (4) To put a curb on Israel?s policies while treating civilians in an alien territory  (5) None of these

19. Which of the following best explains the word vicious as used in the passage?

 (1) Dangerous  (2) Fatal  (3) Reoccurring and cyclic  (4) Cyclic but not reoccurring  (5) None of these

 20. Which of the following best explains the word remote as used in the passage?

 (1) Far away from reality  (2) Distant  (3) Most likely to happen  (4) Control in someone else’s hand   (5) None of these

21. Who according to the passage conferred the authority to PA?  (1) Arafat  (2) Israel  (3) Militant groups  (4) International community (5) None of these

22. Which of the following can restore the degenerating authority of the PA?

A.  Arresting the expansion of Jewish settlements

B.  Easening the economic blockade of Palestinian towns

 (1) Only A  (2) Only B  (3) Either A or B  (4) Both A and B together  (5) Neither A or B

23. Which of the following is the most opposite in meaning as the word shrunk as used in the passage?  (1) Coming forward  (2) Abdicating  (3) Control  (4) Expand  (5) None of these

24. What may be the affect of continuous Israeli attacks?

 (1) It may harness a negative attitude amongst the civil Palestinians 

 (2) It may destroy militancy from its basic roots

 (3) It may revitalize the weakening leadership of the PA

 (4) It may enhance militant activities 

 (5) None of these

25. What dangers are being perceived by the International Community?

 (1) Both the nations may get destroyed if war erupts

 (2) The PA and Israel will never strike a deal

 (3) The attacks against the PA may destroy the balance of power in Palestinians 

 (4) The militancy may spread in other countries also

 (5) None of these

 Directions (Qs. 26 to 35) : 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

are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately.  Find out the appropriate word in each case:

 Whatever prosperity India enjoyed in the seventeenth century disappeared when the Mughal Empire ___(26)___ apart.  The most immediate cause of this breakdown was the religious intolerance, which led to the open rebellion.  It was to ___(27)___ these revolts that the bigot ruler spent ___(28)___ years in the field, with immense armies consuming the revenues of the country.  There were, however, more deep-seated ___(29)___  The corruption of officials and the oppression of the masses steadily ___(30)___ away the empire’s life blood.  For sometime, there had been a noticeable deterioration in the character of the ruling class.  Wars of succession ___(31)___ wiped out the leading families, and new blood from central Asia was no ___(32)___ recruited for the higher governmental posts.  Finally, the Mughal Empire was an alien regime.  It continues to be so ___(33)___  Akbar’s policy of conciliation was abandoned, and it wore itself out trying to maintain its power ___(34)___ the ceaseless opposition, only now and then overt but always present, of the ___(35)___ citizens. 

26. (1) Joined(2)Broke(3)Dashed(4)Banged(5)Became

27. (1) Run out(2)Crash(3)Crush(4)Cajole(5)Motivate

28. (1) No(2)Hardly(3) Many(4)Inexpensive(5) Most

29. (1) Variables(2)Attributes(3)Characteristics(4)Causes(5)Affect

30. (1) Drained(2)Gone(3)Sucked(4)Released(5)Went

31. (1) Has(2)Have(3)Was(4)Did(5)Had

32. (1) Longer(2)Pumped(3)Far(4)Candidate(5)Shorter

33. (1) At (2)Into (3)Over(4)After(5)Before

34. (1) Far (2) At(3)Against(4)Favouring (5)For

35. (1) Discontented (2)Weeping (3)Ruling(4)Calm(5)Contented 

Directions (Qs. 36 to 40) : Pick out the most effective word/phrase from the given words to fill in the blanks to make the sentences meaningfully complete:

36. Tiwari’s well-wishers went to the extreme to _____ his business reputation.

 (1) Speak(2)Enhance(3)Cajole(4)Provoke (5)Advocate

37. A group of junior college boys _____ the highest peak of the Shivalik range of the Himalayas.(1)Scaled (2)Walked(3)Climb up(4)Avoided(5)Won

38. A special programme to raise the standard of living of the village folks has been _____ by the Government.(1)Affixed (2) Stalled(3)Glued (4)Launched(5) Propose

39. A herd of elephants _____ ready to attack the lion.(1)Were(2)Is(3)Was(4)Are (5)Has been

 40. It is not possible this year to run this company with so many employees, without increasing the _____ of deficit. (1)Loss (2)Altitude(3)Gain(4)Magnitude(5)Extend 

Answer:- 1: ( 3 ) Received the honour he deserved   2: ( 3 ) Totally opposed to the  3: ( 5 ) No correction required  4: ( 3 ) Was aware of     5: ( 1 ) Has been venturing into   6: ( 3 )   7 ( 1 )      8: ( 1 )    9: ( 1 )    10: ( 3&4 )  11: ( 3 ) Both A and B 12: ( 4 ) He is seriously worried about the degeneration of his power base          13: ( 5 ) None of these   14: ( 1 ) Hindered 15: ( 1 ) Notwithstanding 6: ( 1 ) Questioned   17: ( 2 ) Blaming    18: ( 3 ) To build cordial relations between Conflicting parties    19: ( 3 ) Reoccurring and cyclic  20: ( 1 ) Far away from reality     21: ( 4 ) International community    22: ( 4 ) Both A and B together 23: ( 1 ) Coming forward         24: ( 4 ) It may enhance militant activities 25: ( 3 ) The attacks against the PA may destroy the balance of power in Palestinians 26: ( 2 ) Broke 27: ( 3 ) Crush  28: ( 3 ) Many 29: ( 4 ) Causes  30: ( 1 ) Drained   31: ( 5 ) Had 32: ( 1 ) Longer   33: ( 4 ) After 34: ( 3 ) Against     35: ( 1 ) Discontented  36: ( 2 ) Enhance    37: ( 1 ) Scaled  38: ( 4 ) Launched 39: ( 2 ) Is  40: ( 4 ) Magnitude