English Quiz (Cloze test) for IBPS 2019 Exam: 11th February 2019

Directions (1-10) In the following two passages there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case. 

 Barely four months after the Reserve Bank of India switched its monetary policy ………… (1)…………. to one of ‘calibrated tightening’, signalling interest rates were set to trend higher, it has reversed direction. Not only did the RBI’s monetary policy committee unanimously ….……. (2)………… to revert to a ‘neutral’ posture, but the rate-setting panel unexpectedly decided, by a 4-2 majority, to cut the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points, to 6.25%. The MPC’s reasoning has been fairly straightforward. With Consumer Price Index-based inflation having continued to slow and projected to stay well below the medium-term target of 4% till at least the October-December quarter, the MPC saw an ……. (3)………….. moment to pivot to a growth-supportive stance. That there is a need to bolster economic momentum is …….(4)……….. from the RBI’s downward revision of the forecast for growth in the first half of the next fiscal year. The projection has been lowered to a range of 7.2-7.4%, from 7.5% posited in the RBI’s December statement, as moderating global growth and slowing overseas demand add uncertainties to the prevailing domestic imbalances. Specifically, production and import of capital goods, which is a key gauge of investment demand, contracted in November/December and credit flows to industry remain muted. With an overall shortfall of 4% in rabi sowing across various crops, and storage in major reservoirs at just 44% of the full level, the slowdown in farm output growth may, ……….(5)…………. , end up being more protracted. The less-than-sanguine outlook for the rural economy is also ……..(6)………….. in the high-frequency indicators of the services sector. Data on sales of both motorcycles and tractors in December underscore weakening demand in the hinterland. This weakness in the farm sector is ………(7)………… the unprecedented softness in food prices. The December CPI data showed continuing deflation in food items. While the RBI’s inflation calculus clearly benefits from the ongoing trend in price gains, the MPC is justifiably cognisant of the tenuousness of the assumptions it has made for its forward ……..(8)…………. Importantly, while it has assumed a normal monsoon this year, the central bank acknowledges that any variation in geographic spread or uneven distribution in terms of time could ………….(9)………… the inflation outlook. Inexplicably, however, the RBI’s policy statement fails to make any mention of its hitherto abiding concern about fiscal prudence. With the Interim Budget showing some slippage from the fiscal roadmap and projecting a budget deficit of 3.4% for both the current financial year and the next, the risk of government borrowing crowding out private investment demand remains ………(10)………. real. One must assume that the central bank will resume normal service on providing salutary caution to the government after the coming general election.

Q1.

Q2.

Q3.

Q4.

Q5.

Q6.

Q7.

Q8.

Q9.

Q10.

Directions (11-15): In the following two passages there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case. 

Every time we head towards an election, people have this question: can we sustain this growth? I was recently at an event in Mumbai and my answer to this question was to look at what is ………(11)………… our country’s ambition and what we need to watch out for to sustain this growth rate and make 8% the new rate of ………..(12)………… . These words summarize India’s evolving growth story. Today, India is probably one of the few large emerging economies where growth and development seem to be ……..(13)……… along at the same pace, making it unique in many ways. Prudent monetary and fiscal policies, along with the implementation of several domestic structural reforms, have not only strengthened the macroeconomic fundamentals but also raised the reforms bar. The push towards accessibility and affordability has resulted in ground-level ……….(14)…………….. of reforms. At its heart, there are three distinct factors that are propelling India’s growth story. First, the impatience of the country’s youth has put ……….(15)…………….. pressure on the government to transform and perform, leading to greater accountability and quicker implementation of reform measures.

 Q11.

Q12.

Q13.

Q14.

Q15.