Directions (1-5): In each of the following sentence there are three blank spaces. Below
each sentence there are five options and each option consists of three words
which can be filled up in the blanks in the sentence to make the sentence
grammatically correct.
Q1. The world’s first air ______________ poem, which has removed
more than two tonnes of ______________
from the environment, is being auctioned off for charity to help in the battle _________________ lung disease.
(a)Refining, dirtying, of
(b)Purifying, epidemic, towards
(c)Cleansing, pollution, against
(d)Soaking, poisons, for
(e)Filtering, noxiousness, on
Q2. What we have now is neither the ____________ we deserve nor the one
that our forefathers gave us, it is our own doing and it is now high time to
undo it, to raise our voices and lend ________________
to our literally _______________
voices and spirits.
(a)Prospect, recitation, gag
(b)Fortune, response, squeezed
(c)Fortuity, vociferation, expanded
(d)Destiny, utterance, choking
(e)Proviso, enunciation, wheezing
Q3. The _______________ of ecological crises include overpopulation,
climate change, devastation of ocean fisheries, contamination of ground water, ________________ in the tropics, loss
of genetic diversity, erosion of fertile topsoil, the depletion of nonrenewable
resources and other unwanted processes that are occurring at __________________ rates and
frightening scale and pace.
(a)Litany, deforestation, unsustainable
(b)Account, desertification, fleeting
(c)Problem, erosion, feasible
(d)Catalogue, pollution, high
(e)Communion, logging, unviable
Q4. As the nation slips back into the ____________ of colonialism, the craze for English medium
educational institutions rises to ______________
pitch. The entrepreneurs are only too _______________
to exploit the situation.
(a)Hands, intense, concerned
(b)Cusp, fever, anxious
(c)Acme, firing, perplexed
(d)Extent, furor, wired
(e)Prong, raving, amazed
Q5. The political leadership which had
participated in the freedom _______________
considered the military a _______________
of the British era and the military maintained a _______________ for politicians.
(a)Tussle, part, regard
(b)Scramble, measure, vanity
(c)Accord, slice, twit
(d)Success, taste, contempt
(e)Struggle, legacy, disdain
Directions (6-10): In each of the following questions a short
passage is given with one of the lines in the passage missing and represented
by a blank. Select the best out of the five answer choices given, to make the
passage complete and coherent (coherent means logically complete and sound).
Q6. In mainstream cinema, a film can be
path-breaking in two ways. It can have a genuinely moving, provoking narrative,
or a kind of humour and insight that is, if not unprecedented, certainly rare.
Such a film has to be superbly written, directed and acted and the chord it
strikes with its audience stays with them long after the film is over.
________________________. Its themes will stay relevant after its context seems
dated and its plot points become archetypes for generations of filmmakers and
aficionados.
(a) It is, of course, likely that
film-makers, in setting up a fictional universe, had no socio-political
intentions whatsoever.
(b) The film’s masterful visual effect,
there is some merit to looking at the effects of the story as well.
(c) The sound, camera and editing come
together to bring out a story in novel ways.
(d) It is important to locate the film
in the larger discourse of our times.
(e) But given the influence of cinema,
particularly films as wildly successful as the Baahubali franchise, it is
important to locate them in the larger discourse of our times.
Q7. The monetisation of cow protection
encourages the emergence of criminalised gau raksha gangs, but it is the
spiritual and moral affirmation bringing them together that allows them to
perpetrate brutalities that ordinary people would find repugnant. The ensuing
bonding that takes place, at least for the duration of the assault, creates a
common purpose, an instant imagined community, as it were.
_______________.Young gau rakshas delight in uploading videos of their assaults
as trophies on their Facebook page, unmindful of the trail they thus leave
behind, or perhaps so overwhelmed by a sense of impunity because of their new
connectedness with institutions of power and political benefactors.
(a) There is a smoothly functioning
patronage system for cow protection
(b) Incidents of cow vigilantism in
coastal Karnataka, linked directly to local Sangh affiliates, began to get
reported shortly after the NDA assumed power in 2014.
(c) The newly appointed police chief of
the state, in his first public statement, had vowed to crack down on “gau
rakshaks”.
(d) This is also probably why there is a
performative dimension to such acts.
(e) Mouthing slogans is not enough,
“honest efforts” are needed for cow protection.
Q8. The new buzzword doing the rounds of
the military establishment is “integration” which has been manifested in the
form of theatre commands. A theatre command is an organisational structure
designed to control all military assets in a theatre of war to achieve military
effects. The proponents of this concept liberally quote the US Gold Water
Nichols Act and similar pieces of legislation in the UK and Australia.
___________________________.
(a) Theatre commands will increase the
crucial time element and joint training issues may also hamper operational
efficiency.
(b) We certainly do not need a theatre
command to prosecute such low-key operations.
(c) Communication systems have improved
considerably over the years and now, communication of thoughts amongst military
practitioners must also rise above parochial interests.
(d) Concepts such as synergy, holistic
integration of logistics, and increased systemic effectiveness are often quoted
in such arguments.
(e) Strengthening our time-tested joint
institutions is the way ahead to build a modern defence organisation.
Q9. It was a cool winter morning in late
December 2001 when India decided to mobilise its forces on its border with
Pakistan, in retaliation to the terror attack on the Indian Parliament on
December 13 that year. The reaction, which was meant to pressure the seemingly
recalcitrant neighbour, was the biggest troops deployment since the war in
1971. However, no lines were crossed due to foreign intervention and a
realisation around the world that a conflict between the two South Asian
neighbours who had gone overtly nuclear in 1998 might result in something very
ugly. _____________________________
(a) Pakistan reacted to India’s plan by
developing a range of battlefield tactical nuclear weapons.
(b) Unlike in the past, the US may not
be in a position to give its advice due to its own internal chaos, lesser
interest in South Asia and an inability to develop a relationship with anyone
in Islamabad.
(c) The region stands on the brink of an
impending conflict with little clarity regarding the threshold and even less
lucidity regarding which international player will intervene.
(d) It was in the backdrop of this
standoff or the earlier Kargil crisis that redlines were drawn informally.
(e) So, India’s “cold start” doctrine
was meant for Delhi to circumvent the four redlines highlighted by the head of
Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Lieutenant General Khalid Kidwai.
Q10. You might think there is no fate
worse than death. But there is. Just ask cartoon character Pepe the Frog, or
rather, his hapless creator, Matt Furie. Pepe was originally created as a
good-natured, cucumber-green, bumbling amphibian who just liked to chill, his
fun moments in memes accompanied by a drawling, “Feels good, man”. Appearing in
Furie’s MySpace “Boy’s Club” series in 2005, the wide-eyed Pepe grew in
popularity. Singer Katy Perry tweeted a picture of Pepe not feeling good, man,
to explain jet lag, while Niki Minaj chose Pepe to represent her croaking,
sorry, twerking online. ________________________________
(a) Pepe was associated with everything
a nice frog should abhor — hate, spite, even gore.
(b) Bemoaning Pepe’s multiple avatars,
Furie lamented how his own creation had gone rogue on the internet, where any
artistic entity could be poached, turning it into its opposite.
(c) Little wonder that Furie has now, in
a public comic, killed Pepe.
(d) Even the New Zealand government,
pondering over a new flag, reportedly received a design sporting Pepe.
(e) It’s enough to make a frog croak in
disgust.
Directions (11-15): Five statements are given below, labeled (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e).
Among these, four statements are in logical order and form a coherent
paragraph/passage. From the given options, choose the option that does not fit
into the theme of the passage/paragraph.
Q11.
(a) Still, the latest agreement is significant for a number of reasons.
(b) The so-called de-escalation agreement reached among Russia, Turkey and Iran
last week in Astana is the latest in a series of attempts to bring the
six-year-old Syrian civil war to an end.
(c) First of all, any attempt to cease violence is welcome given the
destruction the war has wreaked in Syria.
(d) Previous ceasefire plans have either failed to take off or collapsed soon
after, given the continued hostility between the regime of Bashar al-Assad and
rebels.
(e) But implementing the agreement itself will be a major challenge given the
complex nature of the civil war.
Q12. (a) The new political charter of
Hamas marks a departure from several of its earlier controversial positions,
indicating that the Islamist movement is willing to take a more realistic view
of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
(b) It has shown willingness in the past to live with Israel, but its original
charter, marked by anti-Semitic language and unrealistic objectives, was a
major point of contention.
(c) There were efforts in recent times to bring both parties together to put up
a united front against the occupation.
(d) Over the years, Hamas has been
criticised by rival Palestinian groups as well as the international community
over its original charter and actions.
(e) For example, it vowed to “raise the banner of Allah over every inch of
Palestine”, called for the “obliteration” of Israel, and repeatedly harped on
its fight against the Jewish people.
Q13. (a) The World Health Organisation
estimates that deficiency of key micronutrients such as iron, vitamin A and
iodine together affects a third of the world’s population; in general,
insufficient consumption of vitamins and minerals remains problematic.
(b) It is imperative, for a start, to make iron-fortified food widely
available, since iron deficiency contributes to 20% of maternal deaths and is
associated with nearly half of all maternal deaths.
(c) Since a diversified diet that meets all nutritional requirements is
difficult to provide, fortification of food is relied upon by many countries to
prevent malnutrition.
(d) The efficacy of the fortification standards introduced by the Food Safety
and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will depend on enforcement.
(e) Viewed against the nutrition challenge India faces, processed foods with
standards-based fortification can help advance overall health goals, starting
with maternal health.
Q14. (a) Bangladesh, which will launch
its first satellite Bangabandhu-1 this year, is working with a European agency.
(b) Within a month of taking over as Prime Minister in 2014, Narendra Modi went
to Sriharikota for the launch of PSLV C-23 and “challenged” ISRO scientists to
build this satellite for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
(c) To begin with, the Centre has kept its promise of considering India’s
“neighbourhood first”.
(d) The decision was then announced at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu, and the
government has kept its commitment of gifting its neighbours at least one
transponder each on the GSAT-9, a project that cost about Rs. 450 crore.
(e) By launching the GSAT-9 ‘South Asia satellite’, India has reaffirmed the
Indian Space Research Organisation’s scientific prowess, but the messaging is
perhaps more geopolitical than geospatial.
Q15. (a) The vaccine has been
successfully put through a Phase III trial, in which the drug is tested for
safety and efficacy.
(b) If the vaccine does indeed prove to be ready for large-scale use, it will
be a milestone in the fight against malaria.
(c) Beginning next year, the World Health Organisation will begin pilot tests
of the injectable malaria vaccine RTS,S (or Mosquirix) on 750,000 children aged
5-17 months in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
(d) The pilot tests will be useful in evaluating the likelihood of replicating
the immunisation schedule in the context of routine health-care settings.
(e) Any decision on wider use will be taken based on the results of the pilot
tests in the three countries.
Also Check:
S1. Ans. (c)
Sol. Cleansing means rid of something unpleasant or defiling.
Noxiousness means harmful to the mind or morals; corrupting
S2. Ans. (d)
Sol. Utterance means a spoken word, statement, or vocal sound.
Vociferation means to utter (something) or cry out loudly and vehemently,
especially in protest.
Gag means a piece of cloth put in or over a person’s mouth to prevent
them from speaking.
S3. Ans. (a)
Sol. Litany means a tedious recital or repetitive series.
Logging means the activity or business of felling trees and cutting and
preparing the timber.
S4. Ans. (b)
Sol. Fever means the excitement felt by a group of people about a
particular public event.
Furor means an outbreak of public anger or excitement.
Acme means the point at which something is at its best or most highly
developed.
S5. Ans. (e)
Sol. Legacy means something left or handed down by a predecessor.
Disdain means the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one’s
consideration or respect.
Twit means a silly or foolish person.
S6. Ans. (c)
Sol. The paragraph here describes about
how a film can be made successful. After going through all the options, we find
that only sentence (c) fits into the paragraph as it continues describing with
above sentences saying all(sound, camera and editing) bring out a story in
novel ways. Hence sentence (c) is the right choice while others are irrelevant
to this particular paragraph.
S7. Ans. (d)
Sol. Going through the paragraph, we
find that the paragraph revolves around the theme of cow vigilantism that will
come out to be tragic. The paragraph before blank is about performing
brutalities on people that they are finding unacceptable. Hence the sentence
(d) is appropriate as it talks about why this facet is performative to the act.
Hence option (d) is the right choice.
S8. Ans. (d)
Sol. The paragraph talks about the Unity
that is needed during war between military forces like in US and Australia.
After going through the sentences, we find that sentence (d) fits into the
paragraph as it tells about the concepts that are needed for war. All other
sentences are not going in the agreement to the paragraph. Hence sentence (d)
is the right choice.
S9. Ans. (d)
Sol. The paragraph is all about the
taking revenge of the parliament attack that didn’t happen as it might result
in something ugly. After reading all the sentences, we find that sentence (d)
is more potent option over others as it tells that the conflict happened
informally. All other options do not go in agreement or harmony to the
paragraph. Hence sentence (d) is the right option.
S10. Ans. (d)
Sol. The paragraph revolves around the
theme of using pepe as a symbol to express their state of mind. Go through the
sentences, we will find that sentence (d) goes in harmony with the paragraph as
it also talks about using the Pepe as a symbol. Hence sentence (d) is most
appropriate to the paragraph. All other sentences are irrelevant.
S11. Ans. (e)
Sol. Sentences BDAC forms a coherent
paragraph. We see here that the sentences forming paragraph is all about the
agreement among Russia, Turkey and Iran to bring war to an end and failing of
the previous plans while sentence (e) talks about implementing the agreement
which will be a major challenge. Hence sentence (e) is not a part of the
coherent paragraph so formed.
S12. Ans. (c)
Sol. Going through the paragraph, we
find that sentences in the sequence of ADBE form a coherent paragraph. The
paragraph is about political charter of Hamas which has been criticized by Palestinian
groups and other international community due to its willingness to live with
Israel. Sentence (c) talks about the two parties which are not mentioned
anywhere in other sentences. Hence sentence (c) is the right option.
S13. Ans. (d)
Sol. CAEB forms a coherent paragraph
while sentence (d) is not a part of the paragraph. The paragraph talks about
the deficiency of nutritional diet in the world leading to health issues.
Sentence (d) is not a part of the coherent paragraph as it talks about fortification
standards set up by FSSAI, which is different from the other sentences. Hence
sentence (d) is the right choice.
S14. Ans. (a)
Sol. After reading the sentences, we
find that sentences ECBD form a coherent paragraph while sentence (a) is not a
part of it. The paragraph is all about India launching GSAT-9 satellite for its
neighbouring countries, while sentence (a) is about Bangladesh launching its
first satellite. Hence sentence (a) is the right choice.
S15. Ans. (d)
Sol. Sentences CAEB forms a coherent paragraph
while sentence (d) is not a part of it. The paragraph is about the pilot
testing of the vaccine of Malaria in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, while sentence
(d) talks about the usefulness of the pilot tests. Hence sentence (d) is the
correct choice.
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