Directions (1-10): 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.
Morpheus says in The Matrix, “There’s a difference between knowing the path, and walking the course (1).” Life is not easy, packed as it is with requests (2). And in the process of living, we feverishly pursue success, joy and liveliness (3), believing in our hearts that they are interlinked, that one spooks (4) to the other in a smooth flow. But it’s a mirage that constantly violates(5) us. Joy is often misunderstood; it is also easily forgotten (6). Yet, the optimum quality of action (7) as we recognise it, is realized through these moments of joy. Joy is the ultimate but to experience it, you have to be yourself. The lightness of joy is like a feather, free falling in the surrounding (8) and slipping through your fingers. Joy is familiar (9), experienced through a culmination (10) of perfect alignment, rhythm and timing of the self.
Q1. (a) advent
(b) ingress
(c) approach
(d) path
(e) No improvement required
Q2. (a) requirement
(b) venture
(c) challenges
(d) motives
(e) No improvement required
Q3. (a) Serene
(b) happiness
(c) satisfaction
(d) serenity
(e) No improvement required
Q4. (a) conducts
(b) leads
(c) squires
(d) drags
(e) No improvement required
Q5. (a) stun
(b) rattles
(c) eludes
(d) swerves
(e) No improvement required
Q6. (a) squandered
(b) secluded
(c) departed
(d) neglected
(e) No improvement required
Q7. (a) senility
(b) life
(c) hustle
(d) turmoil
(e) No improvement required
Q8. (a) way
(b) circle
(c) wind
(d) orbit
(e) No improvement required
Q9. (a) integrated
(b) distinctive
(c) inherited
(d) internal
(e) No improvement required
Q10. (a) infliction
(b) termination
(c) cessation
(d) devastation
(e) No improvement required
Directions (11-15): Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is ‘No error’, the answer is (e). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any.)
Q11. He told me (a) / that he wrote a letter (b) / to his superior (c) / for a certain reason. (d) / No Error (e)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) E
Q12. He reminded me (a) / that he has (b) / often told me not to (c) / play with fire.(d) / No Error (e)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) E
Q13. I would have asked (a) / you for dinner (b) / if I had known (c) / that you are staying here tonight. (d) / No Error (e)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) E
Q14. He educated not only (a) / his nephew but also (b) / set him up (c) / in business. (d) / No Error (e)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) E
Q15. As soon as the peon rings (a) / the first bell (b) / then all the students assemble (c) / on the playground for prayer. (d) / No Error (e)
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) E
Solutions
S1. Ans. (d)
Sol. ‘path’ is the correct word as the sentence is talking about the difference between the two i.e. knowing the path and walking the path.
S2. Ans. (c)
Sol. ‘challenges’ best suits the purpose.
Venture means a risky or daring journey or undertaking.
S3. Ans. (b)
Sol. ‘happiness’ is the most appropriate word for the blank as it is going similar in meaning with success and joy.
S4. Ans. (b)
Sol. ‘leads’ is the correct word making the sentence meaningful as it clearify the interlink of success, joy and happiness
S5. Ans. (c)
Sol. ‘eludes’ is the most appropriate word.
Rattles means make or cause to make a rapid succession of short, sharp knocking sounds.
Swerves means change or cause to change direction abruptly.
S6. Ans. (e)
Sol. No improvement is required here.
S7. Ans. (b)
Sol. ‘life’ is the most appropriate word to be replaced as paragraph is all about the life and its challenges.
S8. Ans. (c)
Sol. ‘wind’ best suits the purpose as the sentence is comparing the ‘joy’ with feather that free flows in wind, not in orbit or circle.
S9. Ans. (d)
Sol. ‘internal’ best suits the purpose as the sentence tells about the properties of joy.
S10. Ans. (e)
Sol. No correction is required here.
S11. Ans. (b)
Sol. ‘he had written’ will be used in place of ‘he wrote’ as in Direct Narration, when reporting verb is in past tense and reported speech is in simple past tense then in indirect narration, reported speech is changed to past perfect tense.
Ex. He said to me, ‘I wrote a letter’ (Direct)
He told me that he had written a letter (Indirect)
S12. Ans. (b)
Sol. ‘had’ will be used in place of ‘has’ as past tense is used in reporting verb hence past perfect tense will be used in reported speech.
S13. Ans. (d)
Sol. ‘were’ will be used in place of ‘are’ because reporting clause (I had known) is in past perfect tense hence past tense will be used in reported speech.
S14. Ans. (a)
Sol. ‘not only’ is used before ‘educated’.
Ex. Not only Ram but also Shyam went there.
S15. Ans. (c)
Sol. The Use of ‘then’ is superfluous as after ‘As, Because, Since, as soon as’, ‘therefore, so, then’ is not used.
Ex. As soon as the bell rang, the students entered the class.
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English Quizzes For SBI PO Mains 2023 - ...
