English

Question 1

Which one of the following options is the closest in meaning to the word given below? Nadir

• A. Highest
• B. Lowest
• C. Medium
• D. Integration

Answer: (B)

Nadir means below 1. Astronomy A point on the celestial sphere directly below the observer, diametrically opposite the zenith. 2. The lowest point: the nadir of their fortunes. Source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nadir

Question 2

Complete the sentence: Universalism is to particularism as diffuseness is to _________________

• A. specificity
• B. neutrality
• C. generality
• D. adaptation

Answer: (A)

Diffuseness means to spreading widely.

Question 3

Were you a bird, you ______________ in the sky.

• A. would fly
• B. shall fly
• C. should fly
• D. shall have flown

Answer: (A)

Were you a bird, you would fly in the sky. See http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/conditional2.htm

Question 4

Choose the grammatically INCORRECT sentence:

• A. He is of Asian origin.
• B. They belonged to Africa.
• C. She is an European.
• D. They migrated from India to Australia.

Answer: (C)

The correct sentence is "She is a European." 'an' applies to those words which get pronounced with a, e, i, o, u. Here pronunciation is "Yuropean" ( E-silent; has a "Y" sound) , similar to ' a University'. Hence a European.

Question 5

After several defeats in wars, Robert Bruce went in exile and wanted to commit suicide. Just before committing suicide, he came across a spider attempting tirelessly to have its net. Time and again, the spider failed but that did not deter it to refrain from making attempts. Such attempts by the spider made Bruce curious. Thus, Bruce started observing the near-impossible goal of the spider to have the net. Ultimately, the spider succeeded in having its net despite several failures. Such act of the spider encouraged Bruce not to commit suicide. And then, Bruce went back again and won many a battle, and the rest is history. Which one of the following assertions is best supported by the above information?

• A. Failure is the pillar of success.
• B. Honesty is the best policy.
• C. Life begins and ends with adventures.
• D. No adversity justifies giving up hope.

Answer: (D)

None of A, B and C make sense. Only option D "No adversity justifies giving up hope" is related to the given information.

Question 6

Choose the most appropriate alternative from the options given below to complete the following sentence: Despite several ––––––––– the mission succeeded in its attempt to resolve the conflict.

• A. attempts
• B. setbacks
• C. meetings
• D. delegations

Answer: (B)

See http://www.thefreedictionary.com/despite

Question 7

Which one of the following options is the closest in meaning to the word given below? Mitigate

• A. Diminish
• B. Divulge
• C. Dedicate
• D. Denote

Answer: (A)

See http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mitigate

Question 8

Choose the grammatically INCORRECT sentence:

• A. They gave us the money back less the service charges of Three Hundred rupees.
• B. This country’s expenditure is not less than that of Bangladesh.
• C. The committee initially asked for a funding of Fifty Lakh rupees, but later settled for a lesser sum.
• D. This country’s expenditure on educational reforms is very less.

Answer: (D)

See http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/38202/is-very-less-correct-english

Question 9

Choose the most appropriate alternative from the options given below to complete the following sentence: Suresh’s dog is the one ––––––––– was hurt in the stampede.

• A. that
• B. which
• C. who
• D. whom

Answer: (A)

Refer http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/whoVwhVt.asp

Question 10

Wanted Temporary, Part-time persons for the post of Field Interviewer to conduct personal interviews to collect and collate economic data. Requirements: High School-pass, must be available for Day, Evening and Saturday work. Transportation paid, expenses reimbursed. Which one of the following is the best inference from the above advertisement?

• A. Gender-discriminatory
• B. Xenophobic
• C. Not designed to make the post attractive
• D. Not gender-discriminatory

Answer: (D)

Nothing is mentioned about any particular gender. Xenophobic [disliking people from other countries] also doesn't fit. We can't estimate whether the job is attractive or not. So, only option D is the correct answer.