Directions (1-15): In each of the following sentences, parts of the sentence are left blank. Beneath each sentence, five different ways of completing the sentence are indicated. Choose the best alternative from among the five options.
Q1. The financial implication of ensuring universal energy access are __________, but not over-whelming when weighed against the enormous __________.
(a) insignificant, disadvantages
(b) large, benefits
(c) immaterial, benefits
(d) vast, drawbacks
(e) small, investments
Q2. Long stretches of __________ rule, with its emphasis on command and control, has left policymaking in Pakistan highly __________.
(a) inefficient, enfeebled
(b) military, efficient
(c) parliamentary, democratic
(d) totalitarian, vulnerable
(e) military, centralized
Q3. Quite simply, if the European Union is to overcome national __________ and embrace a shared and binging purpose, it must abandon the __________ of accountants and speak in a language that comprehends what is good and bad, beautiful and ugly, right and wrong.
(a) boundaries, rhetoric
(b) integration, language
(c) parochialism, rhetoric
(d) paradoxes, language
(e) pride, matters
Q4. Clearly, the popular response to the agitation was so __________ that the government could not __________ it as it had done many times in the past.
(a) downbeat, deal with
(b) strong, join
(c) extensive, ignore
(d) pervasive, control
(e) massive, unite
Q5. As the __________ of manufacturing industries such as chemicals, textiles, pharmaceuticals and engineering, Mumbai has been a city of opportunity for the __________.
(a) center, political class
(b) hub, elites
(c) hub, working class
(d) edge, middle class
(e) heart, avant-garde
Q6. Ironically, the conditions of the unorganized class of workers are far __________ in those states that boast __________ per capita incomes and high minimum wages.
(a) worse, high
(b) worse, low
(c) better, high
(d) safer, higher
(e) subhuman, low
Q7. The __________ nature of the food inflation over the last year has brought the acuteness of food __________ in India into political focus.
(a) truculent, scarcity
(b) persistent, insecurity
(c) hostile, shortage
(d) unrelenting, surplus
(e) repugnant, conference
Q8. The food procurement policy of the government had two objectives: __________ regional distribution of food grains at __________ prices and the provision of a fair price to farmers.
(a) restricted, low
(b) limited, fair
(c) just, low
(d) equal, reasonable
(e) equitable, reasonable
Q9. The situation in Kashmir has always been __________, but policymaking in New Delhi, which has remained “one track”, has only helped to __________ it further.
(a) sensitive, alleviate
(b) confounded, exacerbate
(c) fragile, aggravate
(d) violent, assuage
(e) peaceful, spoil
Q10. Being unsure of itself, reform is pursued __________ by a coalition government constantly __________ of voters’ reactions.
(a) vigorously, hopeful
(b) slowly, chary
(c) hesitantly, wary
(d) nervously, circumspect
(e) reluctantly, eager
Q11. Palestinian officials say that there is no use holding talks with Israeli leaders that are nothing more than a photo opportunity intended to create the __________ of a peace process while avoiding any substantive __________.
(a) impression, conflicts
(b) blueprint, problems
(c) proposal, arrangements
(d) impression, commitments
(e) conception, implementation
Q12. We should be wary of hyperbolic predictions; more often than not, what sound like horrific changes in climate and geography actually turn out to be __________ -and in some cases even __________.
(a) beneficial, malignant
(b) destructive, catastrophic
(c) worse, unmanageable
(d) manageable, benign
(e) productive, catastrophic
Q13. Climate science is a subtle and fiendishly convoluted discipline that rarely yields __________ forecasts or __________ prescriptions.
(a) unambiguous, straightforward
(b) ambiguous, unreliable
(c) unreliable, useless
(d) extreme, dubious
(e) ambiguous, reliable
Q14. Despite his long tenure, North Korea’s “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il’s hold on power sometimes has been __________ by a small group of __________.
(a) threatened, dissidents
(b) reinforced, dissidents
(c) reconciled, loyalists
(d) compromised, patriots
(e) endangered, patriots
Q15. The relationship between the International Monetary Fund and the G-20 is __________ but conflicted. Like a long-married couple who habitually bicker and fight, the two can’t seem to live together-but they can’t live __________, either.
(a) certified, together
(b) official, separate
(c) symbiotic, apart
(d) synergetic, apart
(e) harmonious, together
Solutions
S1. Ans.(b)
Sol. large, benefits fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S2. Ans.(e)
Sol. military, centralized – fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S3. Ans.(c)
Sol. parochialism, rhetoric- fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S4. Ans.(d)
Sol. pervasive, control- fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S5. Ans.(c)
Sol. hub, working class- fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S6. Ans.(a)
Sol. worse, high- fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S7. Ans.(b)
Sol. persistent, insecurity- fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S8. Ans.(e)
Sol. equitable, reasonable- fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S9. Ans.(c)
Sol. fragile, aggravate- fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S10. Ans.(c)
Sol. hesitantly, wary- fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S11. Ans.(d)
Sol. impression, commitments- fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S12. Ans.(d)
Sol. manageable, benign- fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S13. Ans.(a)
Sol. unambiguous, straightforward- fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S14. Ans.(a)
Sol. threatened, dissidents- fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
S15. Ans.(c)
Sol. symbiotic, apart – fits in the context of the sentence correctly.
