Open In App

IBPS PO Prelims English Question Paper 2021

Improve
Improve
Like Article
Like
Save
Share
Report

IBPS conducts various banks exams like IBPS Clerk, IBPS PO, IBPS SO etc. to encourage the Recruitment of young talent in various National Public Sector Banks. These exams are conducted to fill 4-5K vacancies every year.  

When we talk about the IBPS PO exam, it is conducted for the Recruitment of “Probationary Officer” in the various Public sector banks of India. IBPS PO Notification 2022 will be released in August/September 2022,  It will be a golden opportunity for those, who want to serve in Public Sector Banks.  

In this article, we have provided “Memory-Based English Paper of IBPS PO Prelims 2021”, to give you an idea of the current syllabus and pattern of IBPS PO and score good marks in the exam.  

For more practice read our other articles related to it.                                                                    

                                                                       

 IBPS PO Prelims Memory Based English Question Paper 2021

Direction (1-2): In the given sentence, a word/phrase is highlighted. Choose the word/phrase from the options given which has a similar meaning to the word highlighted in the given sentence.

Q1. Startups were encouraged, which brought a rapid proliferation of small privately-owned restaurants and shops on the city streets.
A. Augmentation
B. Population
C. Profusion 
D. Alleviation
E. Cataclysm
 

Ans(A)
Sol. 
The correct answer is option A.
Consider the meanings of the given words:
Proliferation: when something is increasing in number or amount.
Augmentation: the process of making something greater in size or amount.
Profusion: an abundance of something or something in a very large amount. 
Alleviation: the of making suffering less severe.
Cataclysm: a large-scale and violent event.

Q2. Going to court can be an expensive, time-consuming, and gut-wrenching experience that is best avoided.
A. Thrifty
B. Extravagant
C. Profuse
D. Immoderate
E. Preposterous
 

Ans(B)
Sol.
The correct answer is option B.
Consider the meanings of the given words:
Extravagant: Something which costs a lot of money.
Thrifty: To waste money and other resources
Profuse: something very plentiful; abundant.
Immoderate: not sensible, restrained
Preposterous: No common sense, absurd or ridiculous.

Direction (3-5): Below the sentence, alternatives to the bold part are given which may help to improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative out of the given five options. In case the given sentence is correct, choose option (E), i.e., “No correction required”.

Q3. The vehicle company will not yet declared the date of the launch of its e-vehicle.
A. Are not yet 
B. Have not yet
C. Has not yet
D. Is not yet 
E. No correction required
 

Ans(C)
Sol.
The correct answer is option C.
The main verb that is used in the sentence is ‘declared’ which cannot take modal verb before it, which is ‘will’ in the given case, thus the helping verb should be ‘have or its form’. Since the subject is singular thus ‘has’ should be used.

Q4. The pastor could not decipher the rationale behind his desire.
A. Rationality of
B. Rational above
C. Rationalism for
D. Rationale ahead of
E. No correction required
 

Ans(E)
Sol.
The correct answer is option E.
Because the above-mentioned sentence is contextually and grammatically correct. The word ‘rationale’
means the intentions that cause a particular set of beliefs.

Q5. It is said which children should be seen and not heard, which eventually raises adults with severe self-doubt.
A. It is said being 
B. It was saying that 
C. It is said that 
D. It is being said which 
E. No correction required
 

Ans(C)
Sol.
The correct answer is option C.
In the highlighted phrase, ‘which’ should be changed to ‘that’ as here the context is not of selection from the number of children but of stating a fact about children. 
For the selection ‘which’ can be used. E.g., I don’t know which children did that. 
Here, a selection of children is being made about the children who did something. 
Thus, replace ‘which’ with ‘that’ to make the sentence correct.

Direction (6-7): Given below are six statements A, B, C, D, E, and F which when arranged in the correct order, form a coherent and meaningful paragraph.  Rearrange the statements in a proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph and then answer the questions that follow.

A. On an individual level visitors and residents can try to cycle, scooter, walk, or share rides.
B. Mexico City saw its population grow from 13 million in 1980 to nearly 22 million in 2019.
C. But unless Mexico’s government starts to play a much bigger role in addressing the shortage of infrastructure problem, Mexico City will never be able to address its urban mobility problems.
D. The largest city in North America is Mexico City’s metro area, the population of which is nearly double the size of the L.A. metro area.
E. Residents and visitors alike can see firsthand that Mexico City is the world’s most congested city.
F. Population growth and urban sprawl are creating problems, with businessmen witnessing how difficult it is to drive through the mid-morning traffic to attend meetings in far-flung business districts such as Santa Fe.

Q6. Which of the following will form the SECOND statement of the rearranged paragraph?
A. D
B. C
C. A
D. F
E. B
 

Ans(E)
Sol.
The correct answer is option E.
The correct rearrangement is DBEFAC. 
The theme of the paragraph can be inferred from sentence D, which introduces the topic of Mexico’s population. D should be followed by B which helps to strengthen D’s point with statistical data. After that E should come which shows the consequence of such a population i.e., ‘congestion’. F should follow E as E shows how the problem of congestion is being created due to ‘population growth’ and ‘urban sprawl’, which results in heavy traffic. In the end, C should come which addresses the deeper problem of infrastructure which needs to be addressed.

Q7. Which of the following will form the LAST statement of the rearranged paragraph?
A. E
B. C
C. B
D. A
E. D
 

Ans(B)
Sol.
The correct answer is option B. 
The correct rearrangement is DBEFAC. 
The theme of the paragraph can be inferred from sentence D, which introduces the topic of Mexico’s population. D should be followed by B which helps to strengthen D’s point with statistical data. After that E should come which shows the consequence of such a population i.e., ‘congestion’. F should follow E as E shows how the problem of congestion is being created due to ‘population growth’ and ‘urban sprawl’, which results in heavy traffic. In the end, C should come which addresses the deeper problem of infrastructure which needs to be addressed.

Direction (8): Read the following sentence to find out if there is any error in it. The sentence is divided into four parts. The option containing the part of the sentence containing an error is the answer. If the given sentence is correct as it is, mark E, i.e., ‘No error’ as the answer. Ignore the errors of punctuation if any.
 

Q8. 
Suppose if it was possible to dump (1)/ trash safely into a lava lake: What would happen (2)/ to the trash? When plastics, garbage and metals burn, (3)/ they release a lot of toxic gases. (4)
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
E. No error
 

Ans(A)
Sol.
The correct answer is option A.
The error is in the first segment of the sentence. Since it is a conditional sentence thus, ‘was’ should be replaced with ‘were’.

Direction (9-10): In the given question, five words are printed in bold and are marked A, B, C, D, and E. The positions of some highlighted words may be incorrect and need to be exchanged with another highlighted word to make the sentence correct. Find the words that need to be exchanged. In case the given sentence is correct, your answer is (E), i.e. ‘No exchange required’. 
 

Q9. Shares of companies(A) hit the lowest point ever on Tuesday amid continued(B) selling in loss-making internet companies even as the wider(C) market recovered(D) from frantic(E) selling a day prior.
A. A-C, B-D
B. B-C, D-E
C. A-B, C-D
D. A-E
E. No exchange required
 

Ans(E)
Sol.
The correct answer is option E.
The given sentence is grammatically and contextually correct, thus it does not require any correction in the statement.

Q10.  Requiring (A) bitcoins consumes more countries (B) per year than energy (C) like Malaysia or Sweden, with a single Bitcoin transaction mining (D) 1,544 kWh and Bitcoin has a total of 21 million coins, 90% of which are already in circulation (E).
A. A-D, B-C
B. A-B, D-E
C. A-C, B-D
D. A-B, C-D
E. No exchange required
 

Ans(D)
Sol.
The correct answer is option A. 
Since it is bitcoins which are mined thus, at A ‘mining’ should be used, and D, ‘requiring’ should be used as it indicates how much power is required. At B, ‘energy’ should come as bitcoin consumes energy rather than ‘energy’. 
Thus, A-D and B-C need to be exchanged.

Direction (11-12): In the given question, a part of the sentence is printed in bold. Below the sentence, alternatives to the emboldened part are given as (A), (B), (C) and (D), which may help improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative out of the given five options. In case the given sentence is correct, your answer will be an option (E), i.e., “No correction required”.
 

Q11. The microcosm becomes the macrocosm thus, the key to the whole universe may well be hidden in one hydrogen atom. 
A. Hidden inside 
B. Hidden from
C. Hidden behind
D. Hidden before 
E. No correction required
 

Ans. (C)
Sol. The answer is C. The correct preposition would be ‘behind’ as behind means ‘at the back of’. And here ‘at the back of hill’ is the context. Thus ‘hidden behind’ is the correct option.

Q12. Although America is a democracy, a lot of key decisions are made after closed doors by unselected advisers.
A. Over closed doors 
B. Out of closed doors
C. Behind closed doors 
D. In front of closed doors  
E. No correction required
 

Ans. (C)
Sol. The correct answer is ‘behind closed doors’. Thus, option B is the correct answer.
‘behind closed doors’ is a phrase that means ‘taking place secretly or without public knowledge.’

Direction (13-15): In the given question four statements are given in the options. One word is used in all of the statements; pick up the statement in which the word has been used correctly. If the usage is correct in all the statements, then choose option E i.e., ‘All are correct’ as your answer.
 

Q13. Fellow
A. Most EU countries have signed the agreement and the US is expected to fellow shortly
B. Disney, which once dominated TV, has lost ground to Nickelodeon and is under pressure to broaden its fellowship.
C. He became a fellow of Queens’ College, Cambridge, in 1530, and in 1533 was appointed a public reader or professor.
D. Your hash is then indexed by Twitter screen name, and the associated value is the user’s fellow count.
E. All are correct
 

Ans. (C)
Sol. ‘B’ is wrong as the right word will be ‘viewership’. 
‘D’ demands ‘follower’ as we are talking about prayers and faith. 
‘A’ requires a verb that is ‘follow’ and not a noun ‘fellow’.

Q14. Wind
A. I love waking up in the morning not knowing what’s going to happen or, who I’m am going to meet, where I’m going to wind up.
B. The fall nearly winded him
C. We started to feel we couldn’t walk any further but when we saw the village in the distance we got our second wind. 
D. He reached the river, crossed the ford, and climbed the winding path up the opposite cliff.

E. All are correct
 

Ans. (E)
Sol. All the words related to ‘wind’ are correct. 
In A, ‘wind up’ means gradually or finally coming to a conclusion.
‘winded’ means having difficulty breathing because of exertion or a blow to the stomach.
‘Second wind’ means “ A man is able to freely breathe during exercise, after having been out of breath.”
‘Winding’ means a twisting movement.

Q15.Ascent
A. The climbers made their ascent of the mountain without oxygen.
B. Once the directors have given their ascent to the proposal we can begin.
C. She’s taking classes to rid herself of her Southern ascent.
D. A topic-based approach can be hard to ascent in primary schools with a typical spread of ability.
 

Ans (A)
Sol. In B: the correct word would be ‘assent’ which means the expression of approval or agreement.
A is correct 
In C: the correct word would be ‘accent’ which means to emphasize a particular feature.
In D: the correct word would be ‘assess’ which means to evaluate or estimate the nature, ability, or quality of something.

Direction (16-18): In the given statement some words have been highlighted. These words may not be at the correct place making the sentence grammatically and contextually incorrect. Choose the option which represents the correct sequence of words, which will make the sentence grammatically and contextually correct. If the sentence is correct as it is, choose E i.e. ‘No rearrangement required’ as your answer.
 

Q16. Some goals (A) define life’s achievements (B) in terms of material people (C), while others would say they want happiness.
(a) BAC
(b) BCA
(c) CAB
(d) CBA
(e) No rearrangement required
 

 Ans (c)
Sol. The correct arrangement will be CAB
Let us understand the rearrangement:
The first word should be ‘people’ as it is people who define life goals. Thus the second word should be ‘goals’ and the last word should be ‘achievements’.  
Some people define life’s goals in terms of material achievements, while others would say they want happiness.

Q17. The dialogue slipped (A) with the usual explorations but soon advertising (B) into an intense discussion on issues of what ailed started (C).
(a) BAC
(b) BCA 
(c) CAB
(d) CBA
(e) No rearrangement required
 

Ans (c)
Sol. Thus, the correct arrangement becomes:
The sentence after rearrangement:
The first word should be ‘started’ as dialogue always start with something, but later on it may change to something else, which is the case here, thus for that ‘slipped’ should be used. And the last word should be ‘advertising’. 
The dialogue started with the usual explorations but soon slipped into an intense discussion on issues of what ailed advertising.

Q18. The system would have(A) to need(B) the proper controls in place that(C) would enable privacy, security and inclusion to be baked into its design. 
(a) BAC
(b) BCA
(c) CAB
(d) CBA
(e) No rearrangement required
 

Ans (a)
Sol. Thus, the correct arrangement becomes:
The sentence after rearrangement:
Since it is required to have proper controls thus for that the first word should be ‘need’ and the second word should be ‘have’ and the last word is placed correctly. 
The system would need to have the proper controls in place that would enable privacy, security and inclusion to be baked into its design.

Direction(19-20): A sentence with one blank is given, indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the word that best fits the blank appropriately.

Q19. Courage means to keep working a relationship, to continue seeking solutions to difficult problems, and to stay ______________ during stressful periods.
A. Composed 
B. Aligned 
C. Focused 
D. Stagnant
E. Calm

Ans (C)
Sol. The correct fit would be ‘stay focused’. 
‘Being calm & composed’ means to be able to control their feelings. However, ‘courage’ which is strength in the face of pain or grief helps us to stay focused. ‘aligned’ will be incorrect as it means to line up which does not fit as per the context of the statement.

Q20. The paintwork on the corner of a stairway tends to get nicked and scratched as people _________ by. 
A. Stop
B. Getaway
C. Gone
D. Pass
E. Drop

Ans (D)
Sol. The correct answer is D.
The correct word to use here is ‘pass’ to go give the context of ‘pass by’ which means ‘happen without being noticed or fully experienced by someone.’

Direction (21-27) Read the passages carefully and chooses the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

We are still in the midst — perhaps even the early days — of the coronavirus pandemic, but there have been many predictions of how it has permanently changed the world. The virus _______________________ the vulnerability of our supply chains, interrupting the flow of critical imports into the U.S., and triggering calls for American multinationals to restore production. Coming on the heels of the trade war and Washington’s push to de-couple economically from China, this has brought widespread predictions of deglobalization. The U.S. Special Trade Representative even wrote a recent op-ed calling for the end of offshoring. 
But American multinational corporations know the future will look different than these mid-crisis pronouncements. They know that deglobalization of supply chains and de-coupling from China will actually reduce their ability to produce in the U.S. and compete with Chinese companies in the long run. They know that a U.S.-led deglobalization of commerce will play right into China’s hands, isolating the U.S. economically and politically. And they know that reshoring is only a small part of putting more resilience into their supply chains. So they will resist well-intended calls by others for actions that would shoot the U.S. economy in the foot. Ultimately the pandemic and economic cold war with China will lead to changes in the way the global economy works, such as manufacturing key health care supplies closer to home and more embargoes of strategic technology. But the fundamentals of our globalized economy — and China’s role within it — will not change. It is because the U.S. tech industry relies on global sales and operations. The United States’ strongest tech companies rely on a global scale of sales and operations to stay ahead of foreign rivals. For example, semiconductors, ultra-clean diesel engines, and consumer electronics all demand high levels of R&D spending, and Intel, Cummins, and Apple’s global leadership would collapse if it could not produce and sell in China. The U.S. industries that run positive trade balances with China are high-value-added sectors, while those with the biggest deficits, such as apparel, furniture, and electronics assembly, tend to be low-value-added. China’s domestic market for high-value-added industries is the largest in the world and will continue to grow faster, so a U.S. technology war with China where one’s access to the other is closed would simply advance China’s goal of taking leadership away from the U.S.
Deglobalization will not bring factories back to the U.S. The great majority of all U.S. corporate foreign affiliates’ production is sold where it is produced. Very little is outsourcing sent back to the U.S. that American “runaway” plants might have produced at home. Limiting foreign inputs into U.S.-made final products would simply raise the cost of the products, as the recent U.S.-China trade war illustrated. A study by the New York Fed estimates the cost of the tariffs on Chinese imports to the average American household at $620. The U.S. trade deficit with China has shrunk during the pandemic because American consumers are buying less of everything, including from China, not because of reshoring. In addition, U.S. companies in fields like advanced robotics, for example, rely on cheaper components made abroad, enabling another U.S. high-value-added export. Global trade in such intermediate products is a huge two-way street. The U.S. exports almost as many intermediate products as it imports. Limiting trade in intermediates from steel to semiconductors would just raise prices everywhere and leave no country better off.
China is actively globalizing and recognizing that it is losing cheap labour-driven production to SE Asia and Eastern Europe, China is rapidly globalizing its industries by encouraging its higher-value-adding industries, such as power generation, construction equipment, and telecommunications systems, to supply overseas projects in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and to invest in foreign market operations.

Q21. Which of the following can be correctly concluded from the third paragraph of the passage?
A. Excluding itself from globalization, the US will no more be a world leader as this deglobalisation will not affect china much as they will continue to grow faster. 
B. De-coupling from china may lead to deglobalization which will eventually result in the trade war and the major players will be china and US in it. 
C. The cost of the product in the US may surge by limiting the foreign inputs and the deglobalization will hit the US hard as it will not bring the countries back to the US. 
D. Coronavirus pandemic has permanently changed the world and its functioning, and perhaps the foreseeing and predictions no more hold true when the global pandemic is concerned. 
E. None of the above 
 

Ans (C)
Sol. option C is correct, and the gist of the third paragraph is given in the option C which can be validated from the 1st, 2nd and 5th statement of the paragraph, rest of the options may hold true but are not from the third paragraph, i.e. option A and B is from the first paragraph and option D is incorrect as the statement mentioned in option c is not present anywhere in the complete passage. 

Q22. Which of the following statements is NOT true with respect to the passage?
A. the pandemic and the economic cold war of the US with china is apparent, it will not affect the global economic framework and its working. 
B. US has interpreted otherwise as deglobalization is not going to bring the companies back to the US as the companies sell most of their products where they produce. 
C. High valued sectors ran positive trade balance with china but the sectors such as apparel furniture etc was running low valued trade balance.  
D. Even though the US knows that it will be severely affected in global supply chains post deglobalization, it still has opted for ending offshoring. 
E. None of the above. 
 

Ans (A)
Sol. Only option A is not true with respect to the passage which can be validated from the second paragraph wherein it is clearly written in the 8th statement.

Q23. Which of the following statements can be correctly inferred from the passage?
I. China is leaving no stone unturned in globalizing itself by introducing industries in different domains such as construction, equipment, telecommunications etc. 
II. This pandemic has hit everyone hard and so does to American citizens as well who are buying less in compare to previous years and the reason is not boycotting of china but the obvious reasons of not having enough money. 
III. the US has the leading companies in the tech sector and it does not have to rely on global sales for their country to run as they themselves have enough consumers of their product. 
A. Only I
B. Only II
C. Both I and II
D. Only III
E. All I, II and III
 

Ans (C)
Sol. The only statements I and II can be inferred from the passage. Statement 1 can be validated from the last paragraph which clearly states what china is up to. Statement 2nd can be validated from the 7th statement of the 2nd last paragraph. 
And the last statement can be validated from the 13th statement of the 2nd paragraph i.e. “The United States’ strongest tech companies rely on a global scale of sales and operations to stay ahead of foreign rivals”

Q24. Which of the following statements is not true about China with reference to the given passage?
A. Deglobalisation will bring the matter in the hands of China and unlike other countries, it will be an advantage due to this deglobalisation. 
B. China, though not completely but still a major consumer of many products of Intel, Cummins and Apple and if these companies could not sell in China, these companies will be on the verge of collapsing.
C. An average cost of tariffs on Chinese imports is $620 to an average American. 
D. China though being on the advantage side of deglobalisation, does not realize that it is losing the industries to SE Asia due to the availability of cheap labour there.  
E. None of the above
 

Ans (D)
Sol. Only the option D is incorrect and it is nowhere mentioned in the passage, rest of the options are correct and can be validated from the 4th statement of the 2nd paragraph i.e. “They know that a U.S.-led deglobalization of commerce will play right into China’s hands”, 14th statement “. For example, semiconductors, ultra-clean diesel engines, and consumer electronics all demand high levels of R&D spending, and Intel, Cummins, and Apple’s global leadership would collapse if it could not produce and sell in China.” And 5th statement of the third paragraph i.e. “A study by the New York Fed estimates the cost of the tariffs on Chinese imports to the average American household at $620.”

 Q25. Which of the following can fill the blank given in the passage?
A. Withdrawn
B. Reprobated
C. Exposed
D. Plunged
E. None of the given options
 

Ans (C)
Sol. Since the context of the paragraph is about the helplessness of supply chains and the problem that arose due to it which now got exposed due to the corona pandemic, thus “exposed” is the correct word that fits perfectly in the blank. 
Withdrawn means to remove or take away (something) from a particular place or position.
Reprobated means an unprincipled person.
Exposed means not covered or hidden; visible.
Plunged means jump or dive quickly and energetically.

    
Q26. Which of the following is the MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the given word as used in the passage?
Embargo
A. Proscription 
B. Prescription 
C. Artful 
D. Codify 
E.  Suave
 

Ans. (A)
Sol. The word synonymous to the word “Embargo” is “Proscription” which means continuing for a long time or longer than usual; lengthy 
Proscription means the action of forbidding something; banning.
Prescription is an instruction written by a medical practitioner that authorizes a patient to be issued with a medicine or treatment.
Artful means clever or skillful, especially in a crafty or cunning way.
Codify means arranging laws or rules into a systematic code.
Suave means charming, confident, and elegant.

Q27. Which of the following is the OPPOSITE in meaning to the given word as used in the passage?
Vulnerability
A. Downright 
B. Repudiation 
C. Insusceptible
D. Normalcy
E. Munificent 
 

Ans. (C)
Sol. The word antonymous to the word “Vulnerability” is “Insusceptible” which means not likely to be affected.
Downright means complete or absolute
Repudiation means rejection of an idea or a proposal
Insusceptible means not likely to be affected.
Normalcy means the condition of being normal; the state of being usual, typical, or expected.
Munificent means characterized by or displaying great generosity.

Direction (28-30): In each of the following questions, two statements and five connectors are given. Only one of the connectors from those given can be used to combine the given two statements into one sentence without changing the meaning. Choose that connector as your answer.

Q28. 
I. We must accept life in its entirety.
II. We would have lived completely, soulfully and happily.
(a) owing to
(b) hence 
(c) only then
(d) only if
(e) none of the above
 

Ans (c)
Sol. Here one sentence seems to be the result of the other sentence, thus for that ‘only then’ should be used. 
We must accept life in its entirety only then we would have lived completely, soulfully and happily.

Q29. 
I. This was lower than what it did in the first nine months of FY20.
II. In the nine months to 31 December, the bank has recovered delinquent loans of Rs3,523 crore 
(a) owing to
(b) hence 
(c) because of
(d) however 
(e) none of the above
 

Ans (d)
Sol. here, there is contrast between the sentences thus for that ‘however’ should be used. 
In the nine months to 31 December, the bank has recovered delinquent loans of Rs3,523 crore however This was lower that what it did in the first nine months of FY20.

Q30. 
I. being afraid of it
II. we need to take OTT in our stride
(a) owing to
(b) instead 
(c) because of
(d) instead of 
(e) none of the above
 

Ans (d)
Sol. Here, one thing is preferred over the other, and for that ‘instead of’ should be used. 
we need to take OTT in our stride instead of being afraid of it
 



Last Updated : 08 Sep, 2022
Like Article
Save Article
Share your thoughts in the comments
Similar Reads