ENGLISH CLERKS MAIN -- 122014

Test-II: English Language

Directions (Q. 41-50): Read the passage carefullyand answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases are given in bold to help you locate them whileanswering some of the questions.

Presence of fresh water zones below the upper salinelayers in the deserts of Jaisalmer, arsenic-free aquifer afterthe top zone in Bihar and water-bearing aquifer at a depthof 200 metres inthe hard rock areas of Tumkur, Karnatakaare among some of interesting findings that emerged fromHeliborne Geophysical surveys undertaken on a pilot basisin five States in the country.

            With uncontrolled exploitation of groundwaterresources across the country adversely affecting theshallow aquifer resources both in terms of quantity andquality, a pilot aquifer mapping project was initiated by theCentral Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources,under a World Bank-funded hydrology project.

            The aim of the project is to develop sustainable andcomprehensive groundwater management plans. Thesurveys' carried out by CSIR-NGRI scientists, Dr ShakeelAhmed and Dr Subhash Chandra and their team, haveproved to be of immense use for aquifer mapping andrevealed an enormous potential for the groundwaterexploration in the country said CSIR-NGRI Director, DrY Bhaskar Rao.

            According to Dr Subhash Chandra, preciseinformation was lacking before. For instance, the scientistscame across a rare finding of weathered-fractured quartzitebelow the 40-60m thick alluvium in Dausa district ofRajasthan, indicating that it was a potential water-bearingzone. He said they were also able to detect some tectonicactivity like folding and faulting.

            A detailed plan for future groundwater resources inDausa could be made based on the high-resolutionmapping and the water-bearing zone could be targeted fordrinking water and irrigation purposes in Bihar,groundwater modeling could be taken up. While the topaquifer had arsenic, the one below it was free from it andwater could be pumped up without disturbing natural hydraulic balance.

            “The top layer can be sealed. That can be done,” headded. He said that' state-of-the-art dual momenttechnology was used with special focus on aquifermapping. Apart from finding potential water-bearing zones,the scientists also found some other interesting informationand were able to map a paleo river channel in Cuddalore,Tamil Nadu.

            Besides Rajasthan, Bihar and Karnataka, thesurveyswere also done in Maharashtra and TamilNadu. They werecarried out in collaboration with Aarhus University,Denmark.

41.       What is the purpose of initiating hydrology project?

a) To determine the presence of harmfulelements inwater

b) To develop sustainable and comprehensivegroundwater management plans

c) To know about the possibility of fishing in the country

d) To assess the possibility of dry farming inacertain area

e) None of these

42.       What does the finding of weathered-fractured quartzitefound in Dausa district of Rajasthan suggest? Answerin the context of the passage,

(A) That tectonic activity had caused fracture ofquartzite

(B) That Dausa was a potential water-bearing zone

(C) That 40-60m thick alluvium is present in the deserts of Rajasthan

a) Only (A)                 b) Only (B)                 c) Only (C)                 d) Only (A) and (B)

e) Only (B) and (C)

43.       Which of the following statements is not correct onthe basis of the given passage?

a) In Bihar, groundwater modeling could be started.

b) Water-bearing zone in Dausa could be used fordrinking water and irrigation purposes.

c) No arsenic was found below top zone in Bihar.

d) Uncontrolled exploitation of groundwater resourcesseverely affects the shallow aquifer resources.

e) None of these

44.       Who among the following did not play any role inhydrology project? Answer in the context of thepassage.

a) Aarhus University, Denmark         b) CSIR-NGRI Scientists

c) World Bank                                                d) Ministry of Human Resources Development

e) Central Ground Water Board

45.       In which of the following states were the HeliborneGeophysical surveys not undertaken?

a) Tamil Nadu            b) Andhra Pradesh      c) Maharashtra           d) Bihar

e) Rajasthan

Directions (Q. 46-48): Choose the word/group ofwords which is MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the word/group ofwords printed in bold as used in the passage.

46.       Exploration

a) study                       b) survey                     c) inquiry                    d) prove         

e) tour

47.       Adversely

a) unfavourably          b) remarkably                         c) fruitfully                 d) skeptically

e) meaningfully

48.       Undertaken

a) tackled                    b) finished                  c) consented                d) affirmed    

e) done

Directions (Q. 49-50): Choose the word/group ofwords which is MOS'I` OPPOSITE in meaning ofthe word/group of words printed in bold as used-in the passage.

49.       Immense

a) vast             b) endless        c) huge                        d) great           e) limited

50.       Precise

a) actual          b) proper         c) specific       d) ambiguous e) absolute

Directions (Q. 51-55): Read each sentence to tind outwhether there is any grammatical or idiomatic error in it.The error, if any, will be in one part ofthe sentence. Thenumber of that part is,the answerIf there is ‘No error’,the answer is e). (Ignore errors of punctuation, ifany.)

51.       a)Archaeologists set out to use a revolutionary new/b) deep-sea diving suit to explore the ancientshipwreck / c) where one of the most remarkablescientific object / d) of antiquity was found. / e) Noerror

52.       a)Experts say that although the tiger population/ b) isthought to have remained stable in the / c) last fouryears, a lack of accurate numbers / d) is hinderingeffective policies. / e) Noerror

53.       a) Seminal works by one of / b) India’s most well-knownmodem artists / c) will be put onthe block/ d) at a leadUS auction house. / e) No error

54.       a) State such as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana / b)are increasingly looking at solar power /c) evenbeyond the renewal purchase obligations / d) to meettheir peak deficit. / e) No error

55.       a) The CPI has alleged that/ b) the 100-day rule oftheBJP/ c) government at the Centre have failed /d) tofulfill election promises. / e) No error

Directions (Q. 56-60): Each question below has twoblanks, each blank indicating that something has beenomitted. Choose the set of words for each blank that bestfits the meaning ofthe sentence as a whole.

56.       London __________ HongKong as the world’s mostexpensive city for companies to locate employees alterrents climbed and the pound __________ against the dollar.

a) beat, acknowledged            b) exceeded, criticised                       c) outpaced, decreased

d) surpassed, appreciated       e) outweighed, disparaged

57.       Researchers have found evidence ofa major __________ in the warming ofthe Indianocean, which could afterthe __________ of the southwest monsoon.

            a) anomaly, strength               b) departure, vigour                c) peculiarity, stability

d) deviation, clout                  e) exception, health

58.       World football's governing body FIFA announcedplans to allowreferees to __________ matches for threeminutes so that players__________ of sustaining aconcussion can be assessed.

a) freeze, imagined                 b) stoppage, doubtful             c) halt, suspected

d) let up, uncertain                 e) end, hoping

59.       Amazon’s new smart phone has cameras that not only __________ pupil and head movements but also canuse facial recognition data to __________ the gender,age and ethnicity ofthe person looking at the screen.

a) mark, survey                       b) stop, measure                     c)trail, evaluate

d) record, guess                      e) track, estimate

60.       When India was growing richer and when the stockmarkets were __________ rapidly, Indians were notinvesting in the stock markets __________ with theirrising income levels.

a) increasing, proportionate                           b) rising, commensurate

c) growing, appropriate                                  d) flourishing, related

e) moving, consistent

Directions (Q. 61-65): In the following questions, asentence has been given with some of its parts in bold. Tomake the sentence grammatically correct, you have toreplace the bold part with the correct alternative givenbelow. If the sentence is correct as it is, give e) as youranswer (i.e. No correction required).

61.       Since the inception of the Accurate Institute in 2006we are wide range of courses pertaining to differentfields of studies;

a) we had wider range of                                            b) we had wide range of

c) we have a wide range of                                         d) we had been wide range of

e) No correction required

62.       Excellent team work and effective coordination amongthe various agencies involved gives us an edge to ourcompetitors.

a)an edge over our                                                      b) an edge against our’s

c) an edge for our                                                       d) an edge alike our

e) No correction required

63.       All our projects are designed for complete peace ofmind for our customers.

a) complete peace of mind of                                    b) whole piece of mind for

c) entire piece of mind of                                           d) full peace of minds of

e) No correction required

64.       Own a home is a cherish part ofthe Indian dream.

a) To own a home is a cherishable                 b) Owning a home is a cherished

c) To owning a home is a cherishing             d)Own a home is a cherishable

e) No correction required

65.       The city known for its diamond mines is also a nature’sparadise with its vast expanse ofgreen meadows.

a) with their vast expanse                              b) with its vastly expanse

c) with its vast expanses                                d) about its vast expense

e) No correction required

Directions (Q. 66-70): Rearrange the following sixsentences (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F) in the propersequence to form a meaningful paragraph and then answerthe questions given below.

(A) India and its space agency, the ISRO, now proudlyjoin their ranks.

(B) Alter a journey of over 660 million kilometers thattook 10 months, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission hasswept with effortless ease into orbit around theRed Planet, making this country to achieve sucha feat in a maiden attempt.

(C) Thus far, only the United States, the former SovietUnion and the European Space Agency havesucceeded in doing so.

(D) Although ISRO could draw on its experience withthe lunar probe, Chandrayaan-l, launched sixyears back, the challenges involved in sending aspacecraft all the way to Mars are far greater.

(E) That includes propelling the spacecraft withsufficient velocity to escape Earth’s gravitationalgrasp, guiding it along the proper trajectory over4 vast distances, and then slowing it downsufficiently to go into orbit around that planet.

(F) Probes dispatched to Earth’s sibling planet overthe last half a century have often mn into troubleof one kind or another, with only less than half ofthose spacecraft ending the voyage successfully.

66.       Which ofthe following should be the FIRST sentenceafter rearrangement?

a)A                  b)B                  c)D                  d)F                  e)C

67.       Which of the following should be the SECONDsentence after rearrangement?

a) E                 b)D                  c) F                  d)A                  e) B

68.       Which ofthe following should be the THIRD sentenceafter rearrangement?

a)C                  b)D                  c)E                  d)F                  e)A

69.       Which of the following should be the FOURTHsentence after rearrangement?

a) B                 b)E                  c)C                  d)B                  e)A

70.       Which ofthe following should be the LAST (SIXTH)sentence after rearrangement?

a)D                  b)C                  c)A                  d) E                 e)F

Directions (Q. 71-80): In the following passage, someofthe words have been left out, each of which is indicatedbyanumber. Find thesuitableword fromtheoptiongivenagainst each number and fill up the blanks withappropriate words to make the paragraph meaningfullycomplete.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) isneedlessly pushing IITs to (71) their four-yearundergraduate programmes (FYUP). Conformity with theUGC's national policy was used as the (72) to end DelhiUniversity’s misguided FYUP. Now, the UGC wants tostraitjacket that national policy on the Indian Institutes ofTechnology, the Indian Institute of Science and some (73)private universities. This is a (74) error. India needs reformin higher education to (75) in an increasingly knowledge-intensive economy. Students graduating from ouruniversities should have the ability to (76) out of the boxand to innovate. All this calls for a change in culture,(77)how courses are designed, and how institutions are run.The UGC should not be a (78) block in nurturinginnovation. (79)its policy framework should not just leaveroom for but also (80) innovation and experimentation.

71.       a) scrap           b) cut               c) waste           d) forgo           e) throw

72.       a)appliance     b) gadget         c) instrument  d) machinery e)tool

73.       a) inventive     b) worn out     c) creative       d) rotten          e)innovative

74.       a) heavy          b) dull                         c) grave           d) deep            e) trivial

75.       a) compete      b)battle           c) challenge    d) contend       e) give up

76.       a) envisage      b) think           c) understand  d) expect         e) guess

77.       a) perceiving   b) leaving        c) thinking      d) except         e) including

78.       a) staggering   b) bumbling    c) pitching      d) stumbling   e) big

79.       a) But              b) Rather         c) Then            d) Actually      e) Therefore

80.       a) restore         b) excite          c) deter            d) console       e) encourage

ANSWERS

41. b                42. b                43. e                44. d                45. b

46. b                47. a                48.e                 49. e                50. d

51. a;   Replace ‘object’ with ‘objects’

52. b;   Replace ‘in’ with ‘over’

53. d;   Replace ‘lead’ with ‘leading’

54. a;   Replace ‘State’ with ‘States’

55. c;   Replace ‘have’ with ‘has’

56. d                57. a                58. c                59. e                60. b

61. c                62. a                63. e                64. b                65. c

(66 - 70): BFCADE

66. b                67. c                68. a                69. e                70. d

71. a                72. c                73. e                74. c                75. a

76. b                77. e                78. d                79. b                80. e