IBPS Clerk Prelims English Language 23rd October, 2020 – Miscellaneous

Directions
(1-10): Read the following passage
carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in
bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Last
week, Amazon founder and chief executive officer Jeff Bezos tweeted a request
for ideas on philanthropic strategy. He noted that much of his work—through
Amazon and The Washington Post, for example—was designed for impact in the long
term. But for his philanthropic activities, he was interested in working at the
intersection of urgent need and lasting impact. His tweet has since received
thousands of responses, many from social enterprises looking for funding, but
also from economists and development professionals advising Bezos on how best
to channel his resources. This is an important conversation—one Indian
philanthropist would do well to follow.

Indian
philanthropy, especially individual philanthropy, is at a critical point. According to Bain’s “India Philanthropy Report
2017”, India’s philanthropy market has “matured” considerably, particularly
when it comes to contributions from individual philanthropists. Indeed, the
report finds that the amount of funds coming from individual philanthropists
has grown sixfold in the past five years, from Rs6,000 crore in 2011 to
Rs36,000 crore in 2016. Contributions from individual philanthropists have also
grown faster than those coming from any other source, such as foreign aid, or
from corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.

The
Bain report estimates that India will be short by Rs533 trillion if it’s to
achieve its UN-mandated Sustainable
Development Goals by 2030. Individual philanthropists can play an important
role in bridging the gap. Funding trends for the development sector are already
moving in that direction. In 2016, private donations made up 32% of total
contributions to the development sector compared to just 15% in 2011. The
government, of course, is still the largest contributor—in 2016, it spent Rs1.5
trillion in the development sector—but its share in the funding pie is
declining steadily and its profile is being renegotiated as philanthropic
foundations take on a greater role in driving development initiatives.

For
these initiatives to be effectively realized, the focus has to go beyond the
quantum of philanthropy to asking how and where those rupees can be leveraged
for maximum impact. From the government’s point of view, this means preparing
the ground for greater collaboration with philanthropic foundations. This is
already happening at the local level but there’s more scope for cooperation
with the Centre. The government also has a role in ensuring transparency and
accountability—a Dalberg study found that India has been unable to leverage the
philanthropic potential of its diaspora because the latter perceives the
development sector to be corrupt and inefficient, and is overwhelmed by
regulatory constraints and
unfavourable tax policies.

From
the donor’s point of view, the crux
of effective philanthropy needs to be designing for maximum impact. First, a
potential donor needs to decide where he wants his money to be spent—education,
healthcare, disaster relief, public policy, arts and culture, etc. In India, a
2013 study by McKinsey found, there are at least 50 sub-sectors that suffer
from a funding gap but donor efforts are focused on just seven to 10
sub-sectors, such as disaster relief and primary health and education. In
comparison, in the US, where the philanthropy sector is more developed, donor
resources cover a wider range of sub-sectors such as public affairs and
environment, even though education and healthcare still get the lion’s share of
funding.

Q1.
Why according to the passage, Jeff Bezos required ideas on philanthropic
strategies?

(I)
He wanted his work—through Amazon and The Washington Post to be designed for
impact in the long term.

(II)
He was more concerned about his philanthropic contributions as he felt the
urgency and long term impacts of these activities.

(III)He
wanted the best ideas from economists and professionals already working in this
field.

(a)Only
(I) is correct

(b)Only
(II) is correct

(c)Both
(I) and (III) are correct

(d)Both
(II) and (III) are correct

(e)All
are correct

Q2.
Which of the following statements justify the state of maturity of India’s
philanthropy market?

(I)There
is a six-fold increment in the amount of contribution from individual
philanthropists in the past five years.

(II)Individual
philanthropists have shown a tremendous growth in their contributions as
compared to foreign aid and Corporate Social Responsibility activities.

(III)It
is expected to fulfill the UN-mandated Sustainable Development goals by 2030 if
continues to follow the same development pattern.

(a)Only
(I) is correct

(b)Only
(II) is correct

(c)Only
(III) is correct

(d)Both
(I) and (II) are correct

(e)All
are correct

Q3.
Which of the following is not correct about India’s UN-mandated Development
Goals?

(a)India
may end up with the deficiency of Rs. 533 trillion by 2030.

(b)The
private donations to the development sector have almost doubled since 2011.

(c)Individual
philanthropists could play a crucial role in achieving the desired target of
UN-mandated Development goals.

(d)Despite
being the largest contributor to the development sector, the government’s grant
is contracting steadily every year.

(e)All
are correct.

Q4.
How according to the passage development initiatives could be efficiently accomplished?

(I)The
focus should shift beyond the quantum of philanthropy to asking how and where
those rupees can be utilized for maximum impact.

(II)The
government should extend its association with philanthropic foundations.

(III)The
government should ensure transparency and accountability to attain the
philanthropic potential of its diaspora.

(a)Only
(I) is correct

(b)Only
(II) is correct

(c)Both
(I) and (III) are correct

(d)Both
(II) and (III) are correct

(e)All
are correct

Q5.
How according to the passage, a potential donor could help in the development
of philanthropy sector?

(I)A
potential donor should know where he wants his money to be spent—education,
healthcare, disaster relief, public policy, arts and culture, etc. to implement
the maximum impact of his donation.

(II)It
is important that donors consider the design and impact of their philanthropic
activities and the intersection with development activities carefully.

(III)A
potential donor should work in collaboration with the government to ensure the
proper leverage of his donation.

(a)Only
(I) is correct

(b)Only
(III) is correct

(c)Both
(I) and (II) are correct

(d)Both
(II) and (III) are correct

(e)All
are correct

Q6.
Which of the following words expresses the tone of the author in writing the
passage?

(a)Encouraging

(b)Evasive

(c)Critical

(d)Ironic

(e)Scornful

Directions (7-8): Choose the
word/group of words which is most similar
in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in passage.

Q7.
Crux

(a)Grief

(b)Source

(c)Essence

(d)Urgency

(e)Stew

Q8.
Sustainable

(a)Tenable

(b)Ordinary

(c)Sufficient

(d)Adequate

(e)Satisfactory

Directions (9-10): Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/group
of words printed in bold as used in passage.

Q9.
Critical

(a)Satirical

(b)Unimportant

(c)Pivotal

(d)Decisive

(e)Unsympathetic

Q10.
Constraint

(a)Curb

(b)Control

(c)Formality

(d)Openness

(e)Interest

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. I declined
the invitation (A)/ not because I did not (B)/ want to go but (C)/ because I
have no time. (D)/ No error (E)

(a) A

(b) B

(d) D

(e) E

Q12. Let us (A)/
congratulate him (B)/ for his success (C)/ in the examination (D)/ No error (E)

(a) A

(b) B

(d) D

(e) E

Q13. Ancient
artefacts are (A)/ a part of global heritage (B)/ and should not be (C)/ sold to
the highest bidder. (D)/ No error (E)

(a) A

(b) B

(d) D

(e) E

Q14. When I
heard his knock (A)/ I went to the door and opened it, (B)/ but I did not
recognize him (C)/ at first because I was not wearing my glasses. (D)/ No
error. (E)

(a) A

(b) B

(d) D

(e) E

Q15. We had
heard the engine roar (A)/ as the plane began to move (B)/ and we saw the
people (C)/ on the ground waving good bye (D)/ No error. (E)

(a) A

(b) B

(d) D

(e) E

SOLUTIONS:

S1.
Ans. (b)

Sol.
Refer the first paragraph, “But for his philanthropic activities, he was
interested in working at the intersection of urgent need and lasting impact.”
Hence only option (II) is correct in context of the passage.

S2.
Ans. (d)

Sol.
Refer the second paragraph, “According to Bain’s “India Philanthropy Report
2017”, India’s philanthropy market has “matured” considerably……………………………………
…amount of funds coming from individual philanthropists has grown sixfold in
the past five years, from Rs6,000 crore in 2011 to Rs36,000 crore in 2016.
Contributions from individual philanthropists have also grown faster than those
coming from any other source, such as foreign aid, or from corporate social
responsibility (CSR) activities.” Hence both the statements (I) and (II)
justify the maturity of India’s philanthropic market.

S3.
Ans. (e)

Sol.
Read the third paragraph carefully, it can be easily inferred from there that
all four statements are correct regarding India’s UN-mandated development
goals. Hence (e) is the correct option.

S4.
Ans. (e)

Sol.
Refer the fourth paragraph, all three statements can be easily inferred from
there. Hence (e) is the correct option.

S5.
Ans. (c)

Sol.
Refer the last paragraph of the passage, “From the donor’s point of view, the
crux of effective philanthropy needs to be designing for maximum impact. First,
a potential donor needs to decide where he wants his money to be
spent—education, healthcare, disaster relief, public policy, arts and culture,
etc.” Hence both the statements (I) and (II) are correct in context of the
passage.

S6.
Ans. (a)

Sol.
The author has tried his best in encouraging the development of the
philanthropic sector by focusing on vivid areas of concern. Also the statement
in the first paragraph, “This is an important conversation—one Indian
philanthropist would do well to follow.” further explains the encouraging,
optimistic and supportive attitude of the author. Hence (a) is the correct
option.

S7.
Ans. (c)

Sol.
Crux means the decisive or most
important point at issue. Hence ‘essence’
is the word most similar in meaning to it.

Stew means a state of great
anxiety or agitation.

S8.
Ans. (a)

Sol.
Sustainable means conserving an
ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources. Tenable means able to be maintained or
defended against attack or objection. Hence both are almost similar in meaning.

S9.
Ans. (b)

Sol.
Critical means having a decisive or
crucial importance in the success, failure, or existence of something. Hence ‘unimportant’ is the word most opposite
in meaning to it.

S10.
Ans. (d)

Sol.
Constraint means a limitation or
restriction. Hence ‘openness’ is the
word most opposite in meaning to it.

S11. Ans. (d)

Sol. ‘had’ will
be used in place of ‘have’ because words like ‘declined’ and ‘did’ infer that
the sentence is in past.

S12. Ans. (c)

Sol. Use ‘on’
in place ‘for’ because ‘congratulate somebody on something’ or ‘Be
congratulated on something’ is used. Ex. I congratulated
him on his grand success.

S13. Ans. (e)

Sol. The sentence
is grammatically correct.

S14. Ans. (a)

Sol. In place
of ‘his’, ‘him’ will be used because pronoun used after verbs like ‘hear,
watch, behold, see, let, make and bid’ is in objective case. Ex. I saw him yesterday.

S15. Ans. (a)

Sol. Use
‘heard’ in place of ‘had heard’ because ‘had+ third form of verb’ is used in
Past perfect while second form of verb is used in simple past.