IBPS RRB PO/Clerk Mains English Quiz: 8th October 2019

Directions (1- 5): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below them.

A recent map published by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has revealed that water in nearly a dozen major stretches of the Ganga in West Bengal is so polluted that it is even unfit for bathing. The development comes at a time when the Centre has claimed that the Namami Gange project, with a budget of ₹20,000 crore, has achieved considerable success.
The graphic map which marks the areas where the water of the Ganga is unfit for bathing with red dots shows that the pollution level in 11 major stretches of the Ganga spread across five districts and Kolkata is so high that it is even unfit for bathing. Apart from Kolkata (Garden Reach), the other affected stretches of the Ganga are located in the districts of Howrah (Uluberia, Shibpur), Hooghly (Tribeni, Serampore), North 24 Paraganas (Palta, Dakhineswar), Nadia (Nabadwip) and Murshidabad (Gorabazar, Behampore, Khagra).

The CPCB guidelines, upon which the map is based, states that water is fit for bathing when the amount of fecal coliform bacteria, found mainly in human faeces, is not more than 2,500 most probable number (MPN) per 100 ml, dissolved oxygen is not more than 5 mg per litre, bio chemical oxygen demand is less than 3 mg per litre and the pH level-measurement of how acidic the water is, is between 6.5 to 8.5.
Apart from West Bengal, the water of the Ganga is also unfit for bathing in States such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The map further reveals that Uttrakhand remains the only exception with 11 stretches of the Ganga being fit for bathing along with Ara town in Bihar.
The map was published after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) authorities to set up display board along the banks of the Ganga at a gap of 100 km to indicate whether the water was fit for bathing or drinking.
West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) chairman Kalyan Rudra told The Hindu that “West Bengal is located at the downstream of the Ganga it receives all the pollutants which accumulates in the river from States in the upstream.”

Mr. Rudra, a renowned river expert, also pointed out that coliform bacteria, mainly found in sewage, is a major cause for concern due to its large presence in the Ganga. He said making intensive use of sewage treatment plants was the most effective way to deal with the issue.
Sources in WBPCB revealed that most of the sewage treatment plants in Bengal were not being utilised properly as “no proper mechanism” has been developed to bring sewage to the treatment plants.
State Irrigation Minister Somen Mahapatra said that he was not aware of the map published by the CPCB.

Anil Gautam, faculty member the People’s Science Institute in Dehradun, said that “with rainfall the pollution level in the Ganga seems to be a little lower due to increase in flow of water. Once the monsoon comes to an end the quantity of pollutants will be even higher.”
Former member of the National Ganga River Basin Authority Ravi Chopra argued that it was not only the Ganga, but almost all the rivers of the country were in a “terrible condition.” He refuted the Centre’s claim that considerable progress has been made in cleaning the rivers under the Namami Gange project.

Q1. What is the tone of the emotion of the passed expressed for the Centre and the State government of West Bengal?
(a) Praising
(b) Criticising
(c) Laudatory
(d) Adulatory
(e) Panegyric

S1. Ans. (b)
Sol. The article seems to criticize the Centre government and the State Government for the high water-pollution at the Ganga. The CPCB reveals high water-pollution at 11 major stretches of the Ganga in the state of West Bengal. This is when the Centre claims that the Namami Ganga Project has achieved considerable success. Also, the passage mentions that the West-Bengal Irrigation Minister Somen Mahapatra was not aware of the report published by the CPCB. Hence, the correct answer is option (b).
Laudatory, Adulatory and Panegyric are synonyms which means expressing praise and commendation.

Q2. At which of the following places, pollution at the water of Ganga is fit for bathing?
(a) Uluberia
(b) Tribeni
(c) Ara
(d) Options (a) and (b)
(e) Options (a) and (c)

S2. Ans. (c)
Sol. The fifth paragraph of the passage mentions “The map further reveals that Uttrakhand remains the only exception with 11 stretches of the Ganga being fit for bathing along with Ara town of Bihar.”
Options (a) and (b) belongs to the stretches in the West Bengal where water-pollution in the Ganga is high. So, (a), (d) and (e) are wrong.
Hence, Option (c) is the correct answer.

Q3. An imaginary River ABCD has 3500 Most Probable Number (MPN) per 100 ml as the amount of fecal coliform bacteria, dissolved oxygen is 3 mg per litre, bio chemical oxygen demand is 1 mg per litre and pH level of the water is 7.4. Changing which of the following pollution-related attributes of the river-water would make the water of the imaginary river “ABCD” fit for bathing?
(a) Most probable number (MPN)
(b) Amount of fecal coliform bacteria
(c) Bio chemical oxygen demand
(d) pH level of the river-water
(e) options (a) and (b)

S3. Ans. (b)
Sol. ‘Most Probable Number (MPN)’ is a unit for amount (or concentration of microbes in a water-body). It is not the pollution-related characteristic of the river-water. The pollution-related characteristic of the river-water are: Amount of fecal coliform bacteria, bio chemical oxygen demand, concentration of dissolved oxygen and the pH level of the river-water. Paragraph 3 provides the permissible limits of the pollution related attributes of the water in a water body for bathing. Amount of fecal coliform bacteria in the river ABCD is 3500 MPN per 100 ml which is more than the permissible limit. So, the amount of fecal coliform bacteria in the river ABCD needs to be reduced. Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Q4. An imaginary River EFGH has 4000 Most Probable Number (MPN) per 200 ml as the amount of fecal coliform bacteria, dissolved oxygen is 4 mg per 0.5 litre, bio chemical oxygen demand is 8 mg per 2 litres and pH level of the water is 8.0. Changing which of the following pollution-related attributes of the river-water would make the water of the imaginary river “EFGH” fit for bathing?
(a) amount of fecal coliform bacteria
(b) pH level of the water
(c) bio chemical oxygen demand
(d) amount of the dissolved oxygen
(e) Options (a) and (c)

S4. Ans. (d)
Sol.
Amount of fecal coliform bacteria is 4000 MPN per 200 ml;
So, the amount of fecal coliform bacteria is 2000 MPN per 100 ml;
The permissible limit for fecal coliform bacteria is less than 2500 MPN per 100 ml;
So, amount of fecal coliform bacteria is Not needed to be changed.
Amount of dissolved oxygen is 4 mg per 0.5 litre;
Amount of dissolved oxygen is 8 mg per 1 litre;
The permissible limit for dissolved oxygen is less than 5 mg per litre;
So, the amount of dissolved oxygen is Higher than the permissible limit and hence, the attribute ‘amount of dissolved oxygen’ is Needed to be changed.
The amount of bio chemical oxygen demand is 8 mg per 2 litres;
So, the amount of bio chemical oxygen demand is 4 mg per 1 litre;
The permissible limit for bio chemical oxygen demand is less than 3 mg per 1 litre;
The amount of bio chemical oxygen demand is Within the permissible limit and hence, the attribute is Not required to be changed.
The pH of the river water is 8.0.
The permissible limit for the pH of the river water (so that the river water is fit for bathing) is between 6.5 and 8.5.
The pH level of the river water is Within the permissible limit and hence, the attribute of pH level of the river water is Not required to be changed.
Analysing above, we find that the amount of the dissolved oxygen is needed to be changed.
Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Q5. What is the tone of the statement made by the WBPCB Chairman as mentioned in the paragraph 6?
Paragraph 6: ‘West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) chairman Kalyan Rudra told The Hindu that “West Bengal is located at the downstream of the Ganga it receives all the pollutants which accumulates in the river from States in the upstream.”’
(a) Defensive
(b) Attacking
(c) Praising
(d) Lauding
(e) Acerbic

S5. Ans. (a)
Sol. The passage informs the reader that the pollution in the water of the Ganga passing through West Bengal is very High, and the WBPCB Chairman is giving excuse for the same by stating that “West Bengal is located at the downstream of the Ganga it receives all the pollutants which accumulates in the river from States in the upstream.” The tone of the Chairman is Defensive and hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Directions (6-10): In the following passage against each number four words are suggested in bold which may or may not fit into the sentence contextually. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five options are given. Find out the most inappropriate option reflecting the word which must be replaced to give a contextual meaning to the paragraph. If no such error is there mark (e) i.e. “All are correct” as your answer choice.

(6) A country’s currency utility determines its competitiveness in global trade. This strength is determined by fiscal deficit, trade deficit, forex reserves and capital flows in an economy. (7) Economies where foreign reserves are very high, trade is in deficit and capital flows are positive, their currencies have a tendency to appreciate. Countries, where there is high trade deficit, negative capital flows and negative current account, are likely to witness depreciation in currency. (8) Depending on the situation, countries fluctuate to manipulation of currency by either buying or selling dollars. Buying dollars leads to appreciation of currency and selling dollars leads to depreciation. The extent of buying and selling determines the level of appreciation or depreciation. (9) Weak currencies provide cost-competitive advantage to nations in gaining share in global trade. China gained advantage in global trade by keeping its currency weak for long, supported by artificial depression of cost of production in the country. This helped China become the leader in global manufacturing. After pressure from the US and others, China allowed appreciation of its currency. (10) The advent of the trade war is focusing a major challenge to countries. It will lead to slow growth in global trade and many countries that mainly depend on trade will be affected in a big way. To counter the trade war, countrieswill adopt the strategy of weakening their currencies.

Q6.
(a) utility
(b) global
(c) determined
(d) economy
(e) All are correct

S6. Ans. (a)
Sol. The paragraph is describing about role of currencies to gain competitive edge in the global trade. The word ‘utility’ does not fit properly in the context of the paragraph. Drawing a hint from the next sentence of the paragraph [This strength…] indicates that the previous sentence is illustrating about the strength of the currency. Therefore, the most suitable word to replace the erroneous word is “strength”. Hence, option (a) becomes the most suitable answer choice.

Q7.
(a) Economies
(b) deficit
(c) tendency
(d) witness
(e) All are correct

S7. Ans. (b)
Sol. It is to be noted that the paragraph is describing about all the positive aspects in Economies [foreign reserves are very high… capital flows are positive… currencies have a tendency to appreciate]. This gives a clue for the to find the erroneous word which is “deficit” as deficit means the amount by which something, especially a sum of money, is too small. Since, this gives a contrasting meaning to the word required, the most suitable word to replace deficit should be surplus. All the other given words are precise in context of the paragraph. Hence, option (b) is the most feasible answer choice.

Q8.
(a) Depending
(b) fluctuate
(c) appreciation
(d) extent
(e) All are correct

S8. Ans. (b)
Sol. The word ‘fluctuate’ does not fit in the theme of the paragraph. ‘Fluctuate’ means rise and fall irregularly in number or amount. The most suitable word to replace ‘fluctuate’ in order to provide meaning to the paragraph is ‘resort’ which is a verb which means turn to and adopt (a course of action, especially an extreme or undesirable one) so as to resolve a difficult situation. Hence, option (b) is the most suitable answer choice.

Q9.
(a) provide
(b) supported
(c) leader
(d) pressure
(e) All are correct

S9. Ans. (e)
Sol. All the given words in bold are grammatically correct and contextually meaningful. The given set of words provides complete coherence to theme of the paragraph. Hence, option (e) is the most suitable answer choice.

Q10.
(a) advent
(b) focusing
(c) affected
(d) strategy
(e) All are correct

S10. Ans. (b)
Sol. The word ‘focusing’ does not fit in the theme of the paragraph as it creates grammatical as well as contextual error. ‘Focusing’ means pay particular attention to. The most suitable word to replace ‘focusing’ in order to provide meaning to the paragraph is ‘posing’ which means present or constitute (a problem or danger). Hence, option (b) is the most suitable answer choice.

Directions (11-15): Five statements are given below, labelled a, b, c, d and e. Among these, four statements are in logical order and form a coherent paragraph. From the given options, choose the option that does not fit into the theme of the paragraph.

Q11.
(a) Mr. Purnama, a Christian, narrowly lost the election after a hard-fought campaign in which hardline groups accused him of blasphemy.
(b) The electoral face-off between Mr. Widodo and Mr. Prabowo comes also against the backdrop of a highly charged gubernatorial race in Jakarta in 2017.
(c) The incumbent at that time, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, had succeeded Mr. Widodo when he became President in 2014 and was considered his protégé.
(d) He was subsequently imprisoned on the charge.
(e) An economic nationalist, he has denied the accusations against him of human rights violations.

S11. Ans. (e)
Sol. The proper logical order of the above given sentences should be ‘bcad’ and the given option (e) doesn’t fit well in the paragraph. In sentence (e) some person has been called as an ‘economic nationalist’. So the predecessor of the sentence should have some personality.

Q12.
(a) Sending out the signal that the government is finally recognising the linkages between health care and economic development.
(b) Political parties have not yet made the right to health a campaign issue, and the National Health Policy does not recommend such a right since it cannot be fulfilled.
(c) Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on Independence Day that Ayushman Bharat, or the National Health Protection Mission, will be launched formally on September 25.
(d) Less ethical institutions have been found ordering unnecessary treatments to claim insurance compensation.
(e) But there is increasing awareness that Ayushman Bharat is unsustainable for a country of 1.3 billion people to rely on household savings to pay for health care.

S12. Ans. (d)
Sol. the proper logical order of the above given sentences should be ‘cabe’ and the given option (d) doesn’t fit well in the paragraph. In sentence (d) though they have talked about some institutions ordering unnecessary treatments but there is no mention or discussion of the Ayushman Bharat, or the National Health Protection Mission.

Q13.
(a) India’s stock markets are booming, with the BSE Sensex touching new highs.
(b) The regulation of securities markets has evolved over the last two and a half decades since the setting up of the Securities and Exchange Board of Indi, but it is still a work in progress.
(c) A panel headed by T.K. Viswanathan, a former Lok Sabha Secretary General, has now submitted recommendations to curb illegal practices in the stock market and ensure fair conduct among investors.
(d) A key recommendation is that the stock market watchdog be granted the power to act directly against “perpetrators of financial statements fraud”.
(e) The newly SEBI Regulations, 2018 limits the number of directorship of a person to eight entities.

S13. Ans. (e)
Sol. The proper logical order of the above given sentences should be ‘abcd’ and the given option (e) doesn’t fit well in the paragraph. In sentence (e) it has been mentioned about SEBI’s regulation regarding the number of directorship which is irrelevant in the theme of the sentences.

Q14.
(a) Given that e-cigarettes are a young technology, they said, it will take time to uncover their ill-effects.
(b) Writing in the same journal issue, however, another group of researchers advocated the precautionary principle.
(c) In the American Annual Review of Public Health, in January 2018 a group of researchers argued that e-cigarettes must be viewed from a “harm minimisation” perspective.
(d) Either way, conflicting evidence makes it a tough call for policymakers.
(e) Given that combustible cigarettes are more noxious than electronic ones, switching from the former to the latter can only help addicts, they argued.

S14. Ans. (d)
Sol. The proper logical order of the above given sentences should be ‘ceba’ and clearly the given option (d) doesn’t fit well in the paragraph. In sentence (d) there is a discussion of some evidences that are said to be conflicting but there is nowhere mention of such evidences or conflicts.

Q15.
(a) Over the years though, the challenge also assumed physical proportions.
(b) He played all four Majors and raised hopes of winning two of them, the other being the British Open, where he eventually finished in a tied sixth place.
(c) In a relative sense, 2018 has been a decent year for Woods.
(d) When personal issues led to his form dropping a decade ago, it seemed as if what prevented him from returning to his winning ways lay entirely in the mind.
(e) A recent trend is to produce woods and hybrids that can be adjusted by the player to provide different lofts and other settings.

S15, Ans. (e)
Sol. the proper logical order of the above given sentences should be ‘cbda’ and clearly the given option (e) doesn’t fits well in the paragraph. Sentence (e) is describing about the improvements made in the game for the benefits of the player and hence fails to find relevance with other sentences.

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