Bank Exam English Directions (Q.1 to 5): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. To know Bombay is to know modern India. It is the channel for a billion ambitions. And it's globalization you can touch and walk around, a giant city where change is pouring in and rippling out around the globe. What makes this dynamism all the more stunning is that it exists in spite of India's political and bureaucratic dysfunction. Ironically, for Bombay bad government may have meant good business. Decades of inept and sometimes corrupt rule have produced a city of self-starters. Sanjay Bhandarkar, managing director of Rothschild's India, says the city is a "disaster" in terms of government: "From that point of view, there are absolutely no arguments for being based in Bombay." But lack of state backup has helped to create an exceptionally able talent pool for employers. "The quality of the workforce is amazing," he says. "Things just happen here, because people have to make things work themselves." Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, a billionaire stock investor based in Bombay, says that with liberalization, the central government has sufficiently reduced its role in managing the economy that it can be virtually ignored. Bosses can now devote their energies to straightforward business, rather than outwitting the bureaucracy. That's not to say the government is actively helping. "Right now, India is like a runner without shoes," says Jhunjhunwala. "But look at that speed." 1. What does the line “India is like a runner without shoes” imply? a. Indian businesses are struggling due to the lack of government support b. Indian businesses are self reliant and don’t require much of government support c. Indian industry holds its own despite the absence of state backing d. Indian industry has been doing well since the government has curtailed its economic interference e. Indian runners are not provided with shoes 2. Which of the following can be inferred from the line “To know Bombay is to know modern India”? a. Bombay and modern India are two sides of the same coin b. One must understand Bombay to understand present day India c. Bombay enjoys an unparalleled pride of place in today’s India d. Bombay is the quintessential example of contemporary India e. Bombay can replace modern India 3. The author of the passage will disagree with which of the following? a. Years of incompetent governance in Bombay has spawned a city of self-starters b. Bombay is a mirror of globalization c. As Bombay does well on its own, the style of governance there does not matter d. Bombay is a city of aspirations and dreams e. None of these 4. What is the irony described in the passage? a. The city does well despite the lack of resources b. Poor governance may have worked well for the businesses c. The city is a disaster in terms of government yet it is channel for a billion ambitions d. Knowing Bombay is akin to knowing modern India e. Indian industry does well despite India being a third world country 5. Why is the vitality of the city of Bombay astonishing? a. Because the quality of Bombay’s workforce is excellent b. Because the people of the city take initiative and make things happen c. Because it exists, regardless of poor governance
d. Because the city does not ask for any support from the bureaucracy e. Because people in Bombay don’t work on their own Directions (Q.6 to 10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. In February this year, the government presented its new population policy with much fanfare. Although claiming to incorporate new and more effective incentives for population stabilization, a close examination of the policy reveals that it is more a "population discrimination" policy than an effective population management policy. Lacking in concrete measures, the crux of the policy rests on denying states representation to parliament based on their population. In other words - the essence of the population policy is that by taking away the democratic rights of those states whose population is growing too fast i.e. the states in the Hindi belt - these states will somehow find a way of controlling their population. This is both naive and absurd - even as it is discriminatory and unethical under India's constitution. The new population policy is but a sophisticated excuse for passing the buck - and for ensuring that nothing concrete is done. Rather than investigate why the Hindi-belt states have failed to control their population and what the centre could do to facilitate that process, the centre has taken to a cheap discriminatory formulation that essentially washes its hands off the problem - as if India as a whole will be unaffected by unsustainable population growth in the Hindi-belt states. 6. The outlook of the author towards government’s new population policy can be described as a. Frivolous b. Critical c. Serious d. Somber e. Laudatory 7. As per the passage, which of the following is true? a. The new population policy is in line with the spirit of constitution b. Tangible efforts have been made by the government towards the management of population c. The centre has done little to find out why certain states have failed to contain their population d. The new population policy is undemocratic, yet ethical in nature e. Unsustainable population growth in Hindi-belt states will have no bearing on the rest of the country 8. The essence of the new population policy is a. To refrain from taking any concrete steps towards solving the population problem b. That a state is responsible for managing its population and centre has no right to interfere in it c. That the states will come to manage their population if their democratic rights are denied d. To punish the Hindi-belt states which are responsible for population explosion e. That population control in the country can be achieved by denying states the monetary incentives they deserve 9. The author is of the opinion that a. India will not be affected by the unsustainable population growth in the Hindi-belt states b. The new population policy is a pretext for the government to shirk away its responsibility c. The government has not done enough in order to discipline the Hindi-belt states d. It is the responsibility of the centre and not the state to sort out the population problem e. All measures are justified in the quest for population control in the country 10. As claimed by the government, the new population policy a. Can be rightly termed as a "population discrimination" policy b. Will teach a lesson to the Hindi-belt states c. Is nothing but old wine in a new bottle
d. Has better provisions for ensuring population control e. Can create tension between the centre and the states Directions (Q.11 to 15): Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the words printed in bold. 11. Ostensible a. Apparent b. Innocuous c. Showy d. Insidious e. None of these 12. Grovel a. Stones b. Crawl c. Dictate terms d. Salute e. None of these 13. Nebulous a. Starry b. Young c. Wholesome d. Imprecise e. None of these 14. Fatuous a. Foolish b. Dangerous c. Levelheaded d. Bearable e. None of these 15. Plaudit a. Intellectual b. Swindle c. Approval d. Moan e. None of these Directions (16 to 20): Choose the word which is most nearly opposite in meaning as the words printed in bold. 16. Jarring a. Disconcerting b. Shocking c. Mellifluous d. Smothering e. None of these
17. Peril a. Security b. Ignorance c. Hazard d. Clean e. None of these 18. Teetotaler a. Religious b. Sumptuous c. Alcoholic d. Thrifty e. None of these 19. Repudiate a. Permit b. Inflict c. Momentary d. Stalk e. None of these 20. Grandiloquent a. Imbecile b. Immoral c. Repulsive d. Straightforward e. None of these Directions (Q.21 to 25): Six sentences are given below from A to F which are not in the proper order. Arrange them in proper order to form a meaningful paragraph and then answer the questions given below: A. Our body too is an expression of this subtle force. B. Every potent phenomenon is bound between the law of cause and effect. C. An apple falls due to gravitation but we can’t just perceive it. D. Though the cause is not visible, effect can be seen. E. So this force which is subtle which is invisible can be felt only when we witness the gross object of this force i.e. the result. F. Every change that takes place is due to this hidden unseen subtle force. 21. Which of the following should be the First sentence of the paragraph? a. C b. D c. B d. E e. None of these
22. Which of the following should be the Fourth sentence of the paragraph? a. B b. A c. E d. F e. None of these 23. Which of the following should be the Fifth sentence of the paragraph? a. F b. B c. E d. D e. None of these 24. Which of the following should be the Second sentence of the paragraph? a. B b. E c. F d. D e. None of these 25. Which of the following should be the Third sentence of the paragraph? a. F b. D c. B d. C e. None of these Directions (Q26-35): Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical mistake/error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. Mark the number of the part with error as your answer. If there is no error mark (e) as your answer. 26. Either Noah, (a) / the billionaire business tycoon, or (b) / his worthless brothers has (c) / committed this mistake. (d) / No error (e) 27. The Captain of the (a) / Indian cricket team, as well as (b) / his distant cousins, have (c) / played for the country many times. (d) / No error (e) 28. The man who (a) / is known as Mr. Mark is still (b) / considered as the best male (c) / actor by some film experts. (d) / No error (e) 29. Tom’s dear friend (a) / Agatha has been pursuing a (b) / financial accounting programme (c) / in my college from one year. (d) / No error (e) 30. We will do our (a) / very best to reach on time for (b) / the presentation, but do not get anxious (c) / if we will be late. (d) / No error (e) 31. The new gizmo tablet (a) / which has been launched (b) / by Samsung is superior than (c) / an average laptop. (d) / No error (e) 32. Now-a-days music (a) / albums normally comprise of (b) / seven or eight different tracks (c) / that have nothing common among them. (d) / No error (e)
33. Jack, Jill and Jenny are old (a) / friends, but they seldom (b) / seem to agree with (c) / each other on any issue. (d) / No error (e) 34. The kingdoms of (a) / India were repeatedly attacked (b) / by foreign invaders of Afghan descent (c) / between 1701 to 1851. (d) / No error (e) 35. John’s mother has always (a) / been supportive of him, but she (b) / does not approve of (c) / his mountain biking. (d) / No error (e) Directions (Q.36 to 40): In each of the following sentences there are two blank spaces given. Below each sentence there are five pair of words given. Find out which pair of words can be filled up in the blanks in the sentence in the same sequence to make it a meaningful one. 36. The _____ of time had left the fort _____: it towered above the town looking much as it must have done in Akbar’s time. a. tidings…..ruined b. passage…..alone c. dearth…..imperilled d. status…..tarnished e. ravages…..untouched 37. One of the most _____ academicians of Pune, Dr. Satyendra Mishra ignited a controversy in 1992 by calling the municipal schools a “pathetic excuse for an education system in need of _____ reform”. a. choleric…facile b. outspoken…systemic c. brilliant…systematic d. cantankerous…rapid e. disputatious…little 38. Man is a(an) _____ being, and much more so in his mind than in his body: he may like to go alone for a stroll, but he dislikes standing alone in his _____. a. unpredictable...feelings b. transitory...beliefs c. gregarious...opinion d. sociable...footsteps e. social…solitude 39. Although Mr. Myers _______ an interest in the spiritual wellbeing of the worshippers visiting the church, in reality his concern for their welfare was so _____ as to be practically non-existent. a. expressed...commendable b. showed...intense c. declared...situational d. feigned...negligible e. projected…immense 40. Although a decade ago, the primary facts about our galaxy seemed fairly well _____ now even its mass and diameter have come into _____. a. confounded…dispute b. understood…peril c. sorted…prominence d. recognized…disrepute e. established…question
Directions (Q.41to 50): In the following passage there are blanks given, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each some words are suggested one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word. Economic backwardness of a region is ___(41)___by the co-existence of utilized or underutilized ___(42)___ on the one hand, and ___(43)___natural resources, on the other. Economic development essentially means a process of ___(44)___change whereby the real per capita income of an economy ___(45)___over a period of time. Then a simple but meaningful question arises: what causes economic development? Or what makes a country developed? This question has absorbed the ___(46)___of scholars of socio-economic change for decades. Going through the ___(47)___history of developed countries like America, Russia and Japan, man is essentially found to be ___(48)___in the process of economic development. Japan, whose economy was ___(49)___damaged by the ravages of the Second World War, is the clearest example of our time to ___(50)___ the kingpin role of man in economic development. 41. a. understood 42. a. wealth 43. a. utilized 44. a. gradual 45. a. enhances 46. a. strategy 47. a. contemporary 48. a. pivotal 49. a. rapidly 50. a. negotiate 1. C 2. D 3. C 4. B 5. C
6. B 7. C 8. C 9. B 10. D
b. treated b. investments b. unexploited b. rapid b. decelerates b. efforts b. magnificent b. proficient b. slightly b. validate 11. A 12. B 13. D 14. A 15. C
16. C 17. A 18. C 19. A 20. D
c. known c. means c. redundant c. insignificant c. increases c. attention c. early c. insignificant c. truly c. contradict 21. C 22. C 23. A 24. D 25. D
d. characterised d. manpower d. abandoned d. massive d. prevails d. spirit d. economic d. indifferent d. badly d. decimate 26. C 27. C 28. C 29. D 30. D
31. C 32. B 33. D 34. D 35. E
e. None of these e. None of these e. None of these e. None of these e. None of these e. None of these e. None of these e. None of these e. None of these e. None of these 36. E 37. B 38. C 39. D 40. E
41. D 42. D 43. B 44. A 45. C
46. C 47. D 48. A 49. D 50. B