13 January 2020 IBPS Clerk Mains English Daily Mock Cloze Test & Phrasal verb Fillers

Q1. She was not at all like Rebecca, who paraded herself about and _____________________________.

(a) get cold feet

(b) gave herself airs

(c) maiden speech

(d) bring to light

(e) none of the above

Q2. Since its completion, the new pier has been _____________________________ with tour boat operators over the issue of safety in mooring their boats.

(a) a left handed compliment

(b) a cuckoo in the nest

(c) a bone of contention

(d) on tenterhooks

(e) none of the above

Q3. I am certainly disappointed that since her death so many people that she trusted have broken her trust and for financial gain have _____________________________.

(a) spilt the beans

(b) taken to task

(c) get cold feet

(d) driven home

(e) none of the above

Q4. The furthest patch of ground is only _____________________________ away from the Heritage Amphitheatre Stage and the sound quality of the venue is superb.

(a) maiden speech

(b) a house of cards

(c) a wild-goose chase

(d) a stone’s throw

(e) none of the above

Q5. The paper decides _____________________________, giving it a front page story and an apology, which seems to be 15 years too late.

(a) hard of hearing

(b) to catch a tartar

(c) to burn its boats

(d) to smell a rat

(e) to eat humble pie

Directions (6-15): In the following passage there are words highlighted in bold, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, four words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case. If the word highlighted in bold does not require any replacement, choose (e) as your answer.

The Chinese government is attempting to (6) fix China’s “silver time bomb”. Recently, state media (7) criticized parents in Shandong province for their fertility; there were more children born in the province last year than in any other. There have also been policy measures in the ether since last year (8) follows at encouraging people to have more children. This is a stark (9) forecast from over three decades of a heavy-handed one-child policy that began to be phased out only in 2015. With good reason. China is (10) poised to face a problem a number of developed economies have been grappling with for years now: the fiscal and labour market (11) fundamentals of an ageing population. Can technology, seen as the (12) world of painful labour market disruption, ease the shift? Enter, the gig economy. China’s working age population has been (13) upholding since 2012 and is projected to shrink by almost a quarter by 2050. This is not a slope, it is a cliff edge. The government’s about-face is unlikely to help much. The causal links between rising (14) population and declining fertility have been (15) conclusively established. For a preview of what awaits China further down this path, look to Europe.

Q6. (a) plant

(b) grow

(c) manufacture

(d) defuse

(e) no improvement required

Q7. (a) applauded

(b) disapproved

(c) blamed

(d) glorified

(e) no improvement required

Q8. (a) raised

(b) aimed 

(c) formulated

(d) praised

(e) No improvement required

Q9. (a) cancellation

(b) enactment

(c) validation

(d) turnaround

(e) No improvement required

Q10. (a) unskilled

(b) bankrupt

(c) frustrated

(d) benefited

(e) No correction required

Q11. (a) implications

(b) verities

(c) ideologies

(d) gospels

(e) No improvement required

Q12. (a) ambience

(b) harbinger

(c) minister

(d) society

(e) No improvement required

Q13. (a) refusing

(b) disapproving

(c) granting

(d) declining

(e) No Improvement required

Q14. (a) prosperity

(b) abetment

(c) predicaments

(d) chaos

(e) No Improvement required

Q15. (a) sufficiently

(b) randomly

(c) frequently

(d) encouragingly 

(e) No improvement required

Solutions

S1. Ans. (b)

Sol. To give oneself airs means ‘behaving arrogantly’.

To get cold feet means ‘fear’;

Maiden speech means ‘first speech’;

Bring to light means ‘revealed’;

In the sentence, ‘She’ is compared with ‘Rebecca’. The usage of ‘who paraded herself about’ in the context of the sentence suggests that Rebecca is someone who behaves arrogantly.

Among the given idioms, the idiom presented in the option (b) correctly provides the context to the blank.

Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

S2. Ans. (c)

Sol. A bone of contention means ‘cause of quarrel’;

A left handed compliment means ‘an ambiguous compliment’;

A cuckoo in the nest means ‘an unwelcome intruder’;

On tenterhooks means ‘in suspense and anxiety’;

Moor [verb] means ‘make fast (a boat) by attaching it by cable or rope to the shore or to an anchor’;

Pier [noun] means ‘a structure projecting from the shore into a river, lake, or the sea, used as a landing stage for boats.’

There is something between tour boat operators over the issue of safety in mooring their boats. The context of the sentence suggests that this something between tour boat operators is disagreement or a cause of quarrel between tour boat operators.

Among the given phrases, the phrase given in the option (c) provides the correct context to the blank.

Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

S3. Ans. (a)

Sol. To spill the beans means ‘to reveal a secret’;

Taken to task means ‘reprimanded him’;

To get cold feet means ‘fear’;

Drive home means ‘emphasise’;

The hint for the blank can be derived from ‘many people that she trusted have broken that trust…’ It seems that the idiom or phrase filling the blank should have a meaning which should complement the mentioned clause. Among the given phrases, the phrase given in the option (a) provides the correct context.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

S4. Ans. (d)

Sol. At a stone’s throw means ‘at a short distance’;

Maiden speech means ‘first speech’;

A house of cards means ‘an insecure scheme’;

A wild-goose chase means ‘a pointless search’;

The context of the sentence, esp. the usage of the words/phrases ‘away’, ‘furthest patch of ground’, suggests that the idiom filling the blank should inform about the distance between two locations.

Among the given options, the phrase/idiom given in option (d) provides the correct context.

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

S5. Ans. (e)

Sol. To eat humble pie means ‘to yield under humiliating circumstances’;

Hard of hearing means ‘to be deaf’;

To burn your boats means ‘do something that makes it impossible to return to the previous situation’;

To smell a rat means ‘to suspect foul dealings’;

The hint for the blank is provided by the word ‘apology’ and the phrase, ‘which seems to be 15 years too late’. The paper published an apology on the front page. The paper seems to have yielded under humiliating circumstances.

Among the given idioms, the idiom provided in the option (e) provides the correct context to the blank.

Hence, option (e) is the correct answer. 

S6. Ans. (d)

Sol. Option (d) is the correct choice. The paragraph is describing about the issue of shrinking working population of China. It has also described about various causes that are leading towards this issue of the country. All the other words fail to provide meaning to the theme of the paragraph. Thus, “defuse” is the most appropriate word to make the paragraph coherent.

S7. Ans. (a)

Sol. Option (a) is the correct choice. Option (a) i.e., applauded aptly fits into the blank as in the latter part of the paragraph it has been mentioned that the government is introducing several policies for encouraging people to have more children. However, all the other words do not provide the logical meaning to the paragraph, making option (a) the correct choice.

Applauded is a verb which is used to show strong approval of (a person or action); praise.

Blamed means to assign the responsibility for a bad or unfortunate situation or phenomenon to (someone or something).

Glorified is an adjective which means (of something or someone ordinary or unexceptional) represented as or appearing more elevated or special than is the case.

S8. Ans. (b)

Sol. Option (b) is the correct choice. The word given in bold is both grammatically and contextually wrong. “follows” should be replaced with “aimed” to make the sentence contextually meaningful. Moreover, the sentence in the paragraph is in the past tense. Thus, the verb should also be in its past form. However, the word “follows” is in the present tense making the sentence grammatically incorrect. There might some confusion regarding the word “formulated” given in option (c) but it cannot satisfy the contextual structure of the sentence as, the preposition provided next i.e., “At” is used to indicate the person or thing toward which an action, motion, or feeling is directed or aimed or used to indicate something that is being tried or attempted. Thus, here the usage of the word “formulated” becomes contextually incorrect. Hence, only option (b) is making the paragraph contextually and grammatically feasible.

Formulated means to express (an idea) in a concise or systematic way.

Praised means to express warm approval or admiration of.

S9. Ans. (d)

Sol. Option (d) is the correct choice. “forecast” means to predict or estimate (a future event or trend). It doesn’t fit into the theme of the paragraph as here; the paragraph is describing about the one-child policy which was introduced in the past. Whereas, “Turnaround” means an abrupt or unexpected change, especially one that results in a more favourable situation. Thus, it becomes the most suitable choice comprehending the theme of the paragraph. All the other words fail to accomplish the logical meaning of the paragraph. 

S10. Ans. (e)

Sol. The word given in bold successfully fits into the theme of the paragraph making it meaningful and logical. All the other options fail to provide the meaning to the paragraph. Thus, option (e) is the most viable choice as the word doesn’t require any replacement.

S11. Ans. (a)

Sol. Option (a) is the correct choice. Replace the word “fundamentals” with “implications”. “fundamentals” as an adjective means forming a necessary base or core; of central importance; while “implications” is a noun which means the conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated. Thus, replacing the bold word with option (a) is the most feasible choice.

Verities means a true principle or belief, especially one of fundamental importance.

Ideologies means a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Gospels means a set of principles or beliefs.

S12. Ans. (b)

Sol. Option (b) is the correct choice. The word given in bold “world” doesn’t support the subject matter of the paragraph. The sentence is describing about the effect of technology on the labour market. “Harbinger” means a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another. Therefore, to make the sentence contextually correct replace the word “world” with “harbinger”. All the other words fail to provide the coherence to the paragraph.

Ambience means the character and atmosphere of a place.

Minister means a person or thing used to achieve or convey something.

Society means the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community.

S13. Ans. (d)

Sol. Option (d) is the correct choice. The word “shrink” in the latter part of the sentence is providing a hint of decline in the population. “upholding” is a verb which means to confirm or support (something which has been questioned) while; “declining” means (typically of something regarded as good) become smaller, fewer, or less; decrease. Thus, to make the sentence grammatically and contextually correct replace “upholding” with “declining”. 

Refusing means indicate or show that one is not willing to do something.

Disapproving means expressing an unfavourable opinion.

Granting means agree to give or allow (something requested) to.

S14. Ans. (a)

Sol. In order to make the sentence contextually and grammatically correct replace the bold word “population” with “prosperity”. As, in the previous part of the paragraph it has been mentioned about the shrinking population of china. Therefore, in this sentence “rising population” will not fit into the subject matter. However, “prosperity” is a noun which means the state of being prosperous. Thus, it aptly fits into the blank. Hence, option (a) is the most suitable answer choice.

Abetment means to encourage, support, or countenance by aid or approval, usually in wrongdoing

Predicaments means a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation

Chaos means complete disorder and confusion.

S15. Ans. (e)

Sol. The word given in bold successfully fits into the theme of the paragraph making it meaningful and logical. All the other options fail to provide the meaning to the paragraph. Thus, option (e) is the most viable choice as the word doesn’t require any replacement.