Directions (1-8): In the following passage 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.
Inequalities must not become the new normal. Restrictions to check the pandemic have led to the closure of schools and colleges, _____(1)_____ the demand for education to go online. This, in turn, has given rise to numerous concerns about accessibility, with vast sections of the population, especially underprivileged students, getting left behind since they are either _____(2)_____ to afford the technology or live beyond its reach. A recent survey by UNICEF shows that these concerns are not unique to India. Nearly 463 million children worldwide have been deprived of education since schools closed owing to Covid-19, says the report. It also found that even when children had access to the necessary platforms, learning remotely was not always possible owing to such factors as the _____(3)_____ to do domestic chores, the need to earn wages, a poor environment for learning and so on. Exclusion is not the only problem. Another recent study in West Bengal has reported that child labour among school-going children has increased by a shocking 105 per cent in the state during the lockdown, with girls, unsurprisingly, faring worse than boys. Poor access to learning seems to be having a domino effect, _____(4)_____other social ills like malnutrition, child marriage and gender equality.
Prioritizing education in the budget as well as investments in digital literacy and infrastructure would be the first steps to _____(5)_____ these gaps. But to imagine that the radical shift to online education is the way forward would be simplistic. Classrooms are diverse, vibrant learning spaces; clubbing them into a homogenous online model would destroy the ideal of _____(6)_____pedagogy. Online education must thus complement formal systems of schooling — the opening of schools as early as possible is one of the suggestions of the UNICEF report. The pandemic has exposed the shortcomings of both traditional and online modes of teaching. The former suffers from stagnation — the same method of one-way _____(7)_____ of information has killed the spirit of learning. Yet, online education — even if it became accessible to each student — would put many students at a disadvantage owing to the absence of the right learning environment. Take, for instance, the fact that in India, 71 per cent households with three or more members have _____(8)_____ with two or less rooms. The role of online resources should be that of a facilitator, opening up a world of opportunities and information for all students, be it at home or in school. The problem lies in thinking that new technologies can replace tried and tested models of learning without dangerous consequences.
Q1.
(a)Capitulating
(b)Instigating
(c) Arbitrate
(d)Cleave
(e)Appending
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Q2.
(a) Unable
(b)Visage
(c) Horde
(d)Parable
(e)Chastise
Q3.
(a) Foil
(b) Veritable
(c) Grapple
(d) Pressure
(e) Gentry
Q4.
(a)Pall
(b)Maxim
(c) Aggravating
(d)Projected
(e) Prowess
Q5.
(a) Dingy
(b) Semblance
(c) Tout
(d) Fortitude
(e) Bridge
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Q6.
(a) Confluence
(b) Scintilla
(c) Inclusive
(d) Squalor
(e) Stricture
Q7.
(a) Emblazon
(b) Dissemination
(c) Augury
(d) Abut
(e) Banal
Q8.
(a) Congeal
(b) Pilfers
(c) Dwellings
(d) Malcontent
(e) Sublimates
Directions (9-15): In the following questions, a paragraph is given with three blanks, followed by six words. You have to choose the most suitable combination of words among the four alternative options that will fill the blank coherently, forming a grammatically correct and contextually meaningful paragraph. If none of the given combination is appropriate to fill the blank, mark option (e) i.e. “none of these” as your answer choice.
Q9. The Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act was passed in 2002 to ___________ banks to collect debts without ___________to courts. They could take over assets ___________as security by borrowers and recover their loans by selling them.
(i) Enable
(ii) Pledged
(iii) Firebrand
(iv) Recourse
(v) Foolhardy
(vi) Ulterior
(a) (iii), (i) and (vi)
(b) (iv), (v) and (ii)
(c) (i), (iv) and (ii)
(d) (iv), (i) and (vi)
(e) none of these
Q10. India’s ___________may be somewhat worse but it is not isolated. While grudgingly accepting the Taliban insurgency, the US cannot ___________the global terrorism of the IS-K or the Taliban’s ally, al-Qaida, in Afghanistan. Russia, China and Iran want the US out of Afghanistan but share its ___________fears without knowing what to do.
(i) Countenance
(ii) Equable
(iii) Inured
(iv) Invidious
(v) Predicament
(vi) Terrorism
(a) iii, iv, vi
(b) vi, i, iii
(c) vi, ii, iv
(d) v, i, vi
(e) none of these
Q11. As wildfires ___________California in the United States of America, people were forced to check into hotels as most could not be ___________in evacuation centres while ___________to social distancing norms.
(i) Ravaged
(ii) Unmitigated
(iii) Concomitant
(iv)Accommodated
(v) Cozen
(vi) Adhering
(a) i, iv and vi
(b) ii, iv and iii
(c) i, v and vi
(d) ii, v and iii
(e) none of the above
Q12. The suspension of scheduled international commercial flights has been ___________till September 30, sector ___________DGCA said.However, scheduled flights under the ___________bubbles India has started with several countries such as the US, the UK, Germany and France will be allowed.
(i) Travel
(ii) Regulator
(iii) Phlegmatic
(iv) Dormer
(v) Extended
(vi) Pontifical
(a) v, iv and i
(b) v, ii and i
(c) iii, v and vi
(d) iii, ii and i
(e) none of the above
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Q13. States may propose a counter offer to the Centre to meet the ___________in collection of cess meant for paying GST compensation to the states.Under the broad ___________of the offer, which was discussed on Monday during an informal meeting of ___________non-BJP state finance ministers.
(i) Shortfall
(ii) Disport
(iii) Apologist
(iv) Abeyance
(v) Contours
(vi) Several
(a) i, iv and vi
(b) ii, iv and iii
(c) i, v and vi
(d) ii, v and iii
(e) none of the above
Q14. In a historic step towards ___________in the Middle East, the first commercial direct flight between Israel and the UAE landed in Abu Dhabi on Monday after both countries announced ___________of relations.The flight carried a top level Israeli ___________led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat.
(i) Normalization
(ii) Enclave
(iii) Improvident
(iv) Disquisition
(v) Peace
(vi) Delegation
(a) iii, iv, vi
(b) vi, i, iii
(c) vi, ii, iv
(d) v, i, vi
(e) none of these
Q15. The EMI clock will ___________ticking from Tuesday — as the loan moratorium has officially ended amid a lack of ___________on the new debt recast scheme.Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is due to hold talks with bankers on Thursday and the RBI is ___________to come out with a notification on September 6.
(i)Categorical
(ii) Scheduled
(iii)Placate
(iv) Start
(v) Clarity
(vi)Redolent
(a) (iii), (i) and (vi)
(b) (iv), (v) and (ii)
(c) (i), (iv) and (ii)
(d) (iv), (i) and (vi)
(e) none of these
Solutions
S1. Ans. (b)
Sol. “Instigating”fits the blank appropriately. Hence, option (b) is the right answer choice.
Capitulating: surrendering under agreed conditions
Arbitrate:act between parties with a view to reconciling differences
Cleave:separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
Appending: adding to the very end
S2. Ans. (a)
Sol. “Unable” fits the blank appropriately. Hence, option (a) is the right answer choice.
Visage:the human face
Horde:a moving crowd
Parable: a short moral story
Chastise: censure severely
S3. Ans. (d)
Sol. “Pressure”fits the blank appropriately. Hence, option (d) is the right answer choice.
Gentry: the most powerful members of a society
Grapple: work hard to come to terms with or deal with something
Veritable: being truly so called; real or genuine
Foil:hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire
S4. Ans. (c)
Sol. “Aggravating”fits the blank appropriately. Hence, option (b) is the right answer choice.
Pall:a sudden numbing dread
Maxim: a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits
Projecting: a prediction made by extrapolating from past observations
Prowess:a superior skill learned by study and practice
S5. Ans. (e)
Sol. “Bridge” fits the blank appropriately. Hence, option (e) is the right answer choice.
Dingy:thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
Semblance: the outward or apparent appearance or form of something
Tout:advertise in strongly positive terms
Fortitude:strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity
S6. Ans. (c)
Sol. “Inclusive”fits the blank appropriately. Hence, option (c) is the right answer choice.
Confluence: a flowing together
Scintilla:a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
Squalor:sordid dirtiness
Stricture:severe criticism
S7. Ans. (b)
Sol. “Dissemination”fits the blank appropriately. Hence, option (b) is the right answer choice.
Emblazon:decorate with heraldic arms
Abut:lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
Augury: an event indicating important things to come
Banal:repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
S8. Ans. (c)
Sol. “Dwellings”fits the blank appropriately. Hence, option (c) is the right answer choice.
Congeal:solidify, thicken, or come together
Pilfer:make off with belongings of others
Malcontent: a person who is unsatisfied or disgusted
Sublimate:direct energy or urges into useful activities
S9. Ans. (c)
Sol. The most appropriate set of words that fills the blanks of the paragraph is “Enable, Recourse and Pledged”. Hence, option (c) is the right answer choice.
S10. Ans. (d)
Sol. The most appropriate set of words that fills the blanks of the paragraph is “Predicament, Countenance, and Terrorism”. Hence, option (d) is the right answer choice.
S11. Ans. (a)
Sol. The most appropriate set of words that fills the blanks of the paragraph is “Ravaged, Accommodated, and Adhering”. Hence, option (a) is the right answer choice.
S12. Ans. (b)
Sol. The most appropriate set of words that fills the blanks of the paragraph is “Extended, Regulator and Travel”. Hence, option (b) is the right answer choice.
S13. Ans. (c)
Sol. The most appropriate set of words that fills the blanks of the paragraph is “Shortfall, Contours and Several”. Hence, option (c) is the right answer choice.
S14. Ans. (d)
Sol. The most appropriate set of words that fills the blanks of the paragraph is “Peace, Normalization and Delegation”. Hence, option (d) is the right answer choice.
S15. Ans. (b)
Sol. The most appropriate set of words that fills the blanks of the paragraph is “Start,
Clarity, and Scheduled.” Hence, option (b) is the right answer choice.
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