ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEST Directions—(Q. 1–12) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions. One day Nandu rode his horse to the village fair. On his way back he met Somendra, the merchant. The merchant was a crafty man, ready to do anything to earn some money. The villagers knew this. In fact no one knew what trick he would be up to next. Now, Nandu was poor and had no one in the world to call his own except a beautfiul, white horse. He loved it more than anything else in the world. The merchant had his eye on the horse for a long time and tried to think of a way to get it for himself. Seeing Nandu, the merchant thought, “Nandu is a simpleton. Let me see if I can trick him out of his horse. “So he said to Nandu, “You live all alone. How do you manage ? What does a young boy like you need with a horse ? Sell it to me and I shall make you rich in return.” Nandu replied, “No I don’t want to sell my horse.” But the merchant refused to give up so easily. He offered Nandu more money. Finally, when the offer reached five hundred gold coins, Nandu paused and said, “Five hundred gold coins seems like a good price. But I have a condition. If you agree to it, I shall give you my horse.” What is it ?” The merchant asked impatiently. “Give me the money right now and I shall give you my horse when I have given you ten lashes,” said Nandu. “Is that all ?” asked the merchant. He could easily bear ten lashes. After all he would resell the horse for over a thousand gold coins in the market. He would take twenty lashes for such a gain. He agreed instantly. He ran home and got the money for Nandu and brought along his whip as well. Nandu counted the money carefully. He then took the whip and the lashes fell on the merchant’s back in quick succession. By the eighth lash the merchant was almost in tears but he told himself that there were only two lashes to go and the horse would be his ! The merchant held his breath waiting for the final lash. But Nandu had mounted his horse and was riding off. “Wait !” shouted the merchant in anger. “What about the tenth lash ? Where are you going with the horse ? We had a deal.” Nandu stopped and said, “I agreed to give you the horse only after I had given you ten lashes. But it is upsetting my horse. I’ll give you the last lash later. Till then goodbye !” “Come back you cheat !” the merchant shouted. But the crowd that had gathered around agreed with Nandu. A deal was a deal. Till the last lash was given the horse could not belong to the merchant. Nandu rode away richer by five hundred gold coins and Somendra waited in vain for several days for the final lash which never came ! 1. Why did the merchant offer to buy Nandu’s horse ? (A) He was very fond of horses and Nandu’s horse was rare breed (B) It was his way of helping Nandu who was poor (C) The horse would be useful for carrying goods to the market (D) He hated Nandu and wanted to deprive him of something he loved (E) None of these 2. Which of the following is TRUE in the context of the passage ? (1) Nandu was an orphan (2) The marchant was very persevering (3) The merchant was fonder of Nandu’s horse than Nandu was (A) None (B) Only (1) (C) Both (1) & (2) (D) All (1), (2) & (3) (E) None of these 3. Why did Nandu set the condition of giving the merchant ten lashes ? (A) To discourage the merchant from buying his horse (B) To demonstrate how painful a whipping was so that the merchant would never hit the horse (C) To bargain with the merchant to offer more money (D) To outwit the merchant who was trying to cheat him (E) None of these 4. Why did the bystanders take Nandu’s side in the argument ? (1) They hoped that Nandu would give them a reward from the five hundred gold coins he had earned. (2) They were sure that the merchant would ill treat the horse and wanted to prevent that from happening. (3) They knew that Nandu would be miserable without his horse of whom he was very fond. (A) None (B) Only (1) (C) Both (1) & (3) (D) Only (3) (E) None of these 5. What reason did Nandu cite for not giving the merchant the final lash ? (A) He was tired and not in the mood (B) He realised that the merchant was in great pain and took pity on him (C) He was following the advice of the people around (D) His horse was distressed by the whipping (E) He had changed his mind about selling his horse 6. Which of the following can be said about Nandu ? (1) He was very cunning. (2) He needed moeny. (3) He was cruel to people but loved animals. (A) Only (1) (B) Both (1) & (2) (C) Both (2) & (3) (D) All (1), (2) & (3) (E) None of these 7. What made the merchant agree to Nandu’s strange condition for buying the horse ? (A) He wanted to show Nandu how brave he was (B) The thought of the profit he would make on selling the horse (C) The fear that Nandu would raise the price of his horse otherwise (D) He did not think that Nandu would actually whip him (E) None of these 8. Why did Nandu consider selling his horse to the merchant ? (A) He had no real use for the horse (B) The merchant’s offer was more than what the horse was worth (C) He had not managed to sell it at the village fair (D) He could no longer afford to feed his horse (E) None of these 9. Which of the following best describes the merchant’s reputation in the village ? (A) He was enterprising and had made a lot of money (B) He was dishonest and would do anyting to get what he wanted (C) He would squander his money on things he liked (D) He was generous and helped the less fortunate (E) He was successful because he was courageous and stubborn Answers from 1-9 are as follows, 1. (E) 2. (C) 3. (D) 4. (A) 5. (D) 6. (A) 7. (B) 8. (E) 9. (B) Directions—(Q. 10–11) Choose the word which is MOST SIMILAR in MEANING to the word printed in bold as used in the passage. 10. return (A) reject (B) profit (C) settle (D) replace (E) exchange 11. paused (A) halted (B) relaxed (C) ended (D) stuck (E) interval Answers from 10-11 are as follows, 10. (E) 11. (A) Q-Directions—Choose the word which is MOST OPPOSITE in MEANING to the word printed in bold as used in the passage. 12. gathered (A) dissolved (B) collected (C) dispersed (D) melted (E) distributed Answers for 12 question are as follows, 12. (C) Directions—(Q. 13–17) In each question below a sentence with four words printed in bold type is given. These are lettered as (A), (B), (C) and (D). One of these four words printed in bold may be either wrongly spelt or inappropriate in the context of the sentence. Find out the word wh ich is wrongly spelt or inappropriate if any. The letter of that word is your answer. If all the words printed in bold are correctly spelt and also appropriate in the context of the sentence, mark (E) i.e., ‘All correct’ as your answer. 13. We are now facing stiff (A) competing (B) from foreign companies manufacturing (C) similar (D) products. All correct (E) 14. I have mentioned (A) this case to indicate (B) how deliberate (C) it will be to achieve our goal. (D) All correct (E) 15. Today, thank (A) to our support (B) she has managed (C) to purchase (D) her own house. All correct (E) 16. As per your request (A) this is a detail (B) list of our basic (C) requirements. (D) All correct (E) 17. The final decision (A) of whether (B) to go ahead (C) or not does not rest (D) with the manager. All correct (E) Answers from 13-17 are as follows, 13. (B) , 14. (C) , 15. (A) , 16. (B) , 17. (E) Directions—(Q. 18–25) 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. Initially, the Grameen Bank did not …(18)… to get involved with the education of its borrowers. But as time went by, they began to feel the …(19)… for it. Most of the borrowers had no formal education …(20)… the ability to read and write. The borrowers had difficulty in expanding their business. They …(21)… to be able to keep accounts, read …(22)… about business, health, new ways of farming etc. They …(23)… their children to school and their children in turn helped their parents to keep accounts, read instructions and …(24)… else needed to be read. But this is not enough for the future. So the bank has set out to make sure that their borrowers …(25)… a hundred per cent literacy rate with five years. 18. (A) meant (B) deserve (C) plan (D) intent (E) realise 19. (A) concern (B) need (C) duty (D) relevance (E) value Answers from 18 to 19 are as follows 18. (D) 19. (B) Section-II: English Paper 20. (A) except (B) having (C) besides (D) unless (E) without 21. (A) tried (B) must (C) knew (D) wanted (E) discovered 22. (A) knowledge (B) awareness (C) information (D) fact (E) circular 23. (A) sent (B) enrolled (C) insisted (D) urge (E) encourage 24. (A) above (B) nothing (C) anything (D) whatever (E) something 25. (A) acquire (B) qualify (C) collect (D) reaching (E) fulfilling Answers from 20-25 are as follows, 20. (A),21. (D) 22. (C) 23. (A) 24. (D) 25. (A) Directions—(Q. 26–30) Which of the phrases (A), (B), (C) and (D) given below each sentence should replace the phrase printed in bold in the sentence to make it grammatically correct ? If the sentence is correct as it is given and ‘No correction is required’, mark (E) as the answer. 26. He has visited many places all over the city looked at the perfect location to set up his factory. (A) looking out (B) looking for (C) looking after (D) looked forward to (E) No correction required 27. No traffic will be allowed in this area since the minister visit scheduled today. (A) minister’s visit (B) minister is visiting (C) minister’s visit is (D) visit of the Minister (E) No correction required 28. Medical treatment here is very expensive that they had to sell off their land to pay for it. (A) quite expensive and (B) too expensive for (C) so expensive but (D) more expensive (E) No correction required 29. To be successful it is important to know why your failure in the past and ensure that it doesn’t happen again. (A) why you had failed (B) because you have failed (C) that your failure (D) where you were failed (E) No correction required 30. These hand woven shawls are much in demand in many European countries. (A) were much demand (B) are lots of demand (C) demanded much (D) will be lot to demand (E) No correction required Answers from 26-30 are as follows, 26. (B) 27. (C) 28. (A) 29. (A) 30. (E) Directions—(Q. 31–35) Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The letter of that part is the answer. If there is not error, the answer is (E). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any.) 31. Some of our staff is worried (A) / that as soon as (B) / the project is over they (C) / will lose their jobs. (D) No error (E) 32. If you decide to hold (A) / the function in Kolkata (B) / not much of us (C) / will be able to attend. (D) No error (E) 33. In case you need five people (A) / to run a branch you (B) / should be selected (C) / ten since some may leave. (D) No error (E) 34. Although he approached (A) / many private businessess to invest (B) / in his printing business (C) / nobody of them was interested. (D) No error (E) 35. How can you give up (A) / this job when you are (B) / just about to be (C) / appointed for General Manager ? (D) No error (E) Answers from 31-35 are as follows, 31. (A), 32. (C), 33. (C), 34. (D), 35. (E). Directions—(Q. 36-40) Rearrange the following six sentences (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph; then answer the questions given below them. 1. Such was his down to earth nature. 2. He placed the album before the President saying, “Sir, please do us the honour of attending the prize distribution ceremony of our Institute. 3. Hearing this, the man asked the photographer to take a photo of him placing a shawl around the President’s shoulders as a momento. 4. He entered the room with a photographer, holding an album and a shawl. 5. The President glanced through it and said, “I shall not be able to make it but may God bless the children.” 6. The man then left and I angrily pointed out that he had taken the shawl with him, to which the President replied, “I do not need it. Perhaps he does.” 36. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement ? (A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5 37. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement ? (A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5 38. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement ? (A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 5 (E) 6 39. Which of the following should be the FIFTH sentence after rearrangement ? (A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 5 (E) 6 40. Which of the following should be the LAST (SIXTH) Sentence after rearrangement ? (A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5 Answers from 36-40 are as follows, 36. (D) 37. (B) 38. (D) 39. (E) 40. (A) Computer General Awareness 1. If a word is typed that is not in Word’s dictionary, a ___ wavy underline appears below the word. (A) red (B) green (C) blue (D) black (E) None of these Ans (A) 2. The _____ button on the quick access Toolbar allows you to cancel your recent commands or actions. (A) Search (B) Cut (C) Document (D) Undo (E) None of these Ans (D) 3. In Excel, any set of characters containing a letter , hyphen, or space is considered ___ (A) a formula (B) text (C) a name (D) a title (E) None of these Ans (B) 4. ________ Software allows users to perform calculations on rows and columns of data. (A) Word processing (B) Presentation graphics (C) Database Management Systems (D) Electronic Spreadsheet (E) None of these Ans (C) 5. A _________ represent approximately one billion memory locations. (A) kilobyte (B) megabyte (C) gigabyte (D) terabyte (E) None of these Ans (C) 6. ______ cells involves creating a single cell by combining two or more selected cells. (A) Formatting (B) Merging (C) Embedding (D) Splitting (E) None of these Ans (B) 7. The operating system is the most common type of ______________ software. (A) communication (B) application (C) system (D) word-processing (E) None of these Ans (C) 8. When you quickly press and releaes the left mouse button twice , you are ____ (A) Primary-clicking (B) pointing (C) Double-clicking (D) Secondary-clicking (E) None of these Ans (C) 9. The horizontal and vertical lines on a worksheet are called ___ (A) cells (B) sheets (C) block lines (D) gridlines (E) None of these Ans (D) 10. To delete an incorrect character in a document, __________ to erase to the right of the insertion point. (A) press the left mouse key (B) double-click the right mouse key (C) press the BACKSPACE key (D) press the delete key (E) None of these Ans (D) 11. The operating system does all of the following EXCEPT: A provide a way for the user to interact with the computer. B manage the central processing unit (CPU). C manage memory and storage. D enable users to perform a specific task such as document editing. Ans (D) 12. During the boot process, the ____________ looks for the system files. A CD B. BIOS C. CPU D. DVD AnS (B) 13. ____________ are lists of commands that appear on the screen. A GUIs B Icons C Menus D Windows Answer: C 14. ____________ is the ability of an operating system to control the activities of multiple programs at the same time. A Multitasking B Streamlining C Multiuser D Simulcasting Answer: A 15. The unique signal, generated by a device, that tells the operating system that it is in need of immediate attention is called an: A action. B event. C interrupt. D activity. Answer: C 16. The operating system controls access to the processor by assigning a(n) ____________ to each task requiring the processor’s attention. A CPU B slice of time C stack D event Answer: B 17. The blocks of code, included in the operating system, that software applications interact with are known as: A application programming interfaces (APIs). B complimentary metal-oxide conductors (CMOS). C device drivers. D bootstrap loaders. Answer: A 18. MS-DOS is a ____________ operating system. A point-and-click B user-friendly C command-driven D Mac Answer: C 19. An interrupt handler is a(n): A location in memory that keeps track of recently generated interrupts. B peripheral device. C utility program. D special numeric code that indicates the priority of a request. Answer: D 20. A spooler is a(n): A location in memory that maintains the contents of a document until it prints out. B print job. C program that coordinates the print jobs that are waiting to print. D message sent from the printer to the operating system when a print job is completed. Answer: C 21. Virtual memory is typically located: A on a floppy disk. B in the CPU. C in a flash card. D on the hard drive. Answer: D 22. The purpose of a swap (or page) file is to: A maintain pages of documents that are being spooled to the printer. B hold a program’s data or instructions in virtual memory when it can’t fit in RAM. C prevent thrashing in a multitasking environment. D allow multiple print jobs to print their pages out simultaneously. Answer: B 23. The definition of thrashing is: A swapping data between virtual memory and RAM too frequently. B insufficient hard disk space. C too many processors being managed by the operating system. D inaccurate information stored in the registry. Answer: A 24. All of the following are TRUE of Safe Mode EXCEPT: A Safe Mode is a special diagnostic mode. B Safe Mode loads all nonessential icons. C Safe Mode allows users to troubleshoot errors. D Safe Mode loads only the most essential devices. Answer: B 25. Verification of a login name and password is known as: A configuration. B accessibility. C authentication. D logging in. Answer: C 26. The combination of the operating system and the processor is referred to as the computer’s: A CPU. B platform. C BIOS. D CMOS. Answer: B 27. The following message generally means: A a nonsystem floppy has been left in the floppy disk drive. B the CD drive is not functioning. C the BIOS is corrupted. D there is a problem loading a device. Answer: A 28. Which of the following is the correct sequence of actions that takes place during the boot-up process? A Load operating system ? Activate BIOS ? Perform POST ? Check configuration settings B Activate BIOS ? Perform POST ? Load operating system ? Check configuration settings C Perform POST ? Load operating system ? Activate BIOS ? Check configuration settings D Activate BIOS ? Check configuration settings ? Perform POST ? Load operating system Answer: B 29. All of the following are steps involved in the boot process EXCEPT: A load the operating system into RAM. B the power-on self-test. C activate the basic input/output system (BIOS). D load application programs. Answer: D 30. The ____________, stored on a ROM chip, is responsible for loading the operating system from its permanent location on the hard drive into RAM. A BIOS B API C device driver D supervisor program Answer: A 31. The basic input/output system (BIOS) is stored in: A RAM. B ROM. C the CPU. D the hard drive. Answer: B 32. Ensuring that the essential peripheral devices are attached and operational is the ____________ process. A configuration B CMOS C POST D ROM Answer: C 33. The memory resident portion of the operating system is called the: A registry. B API. C CMOS. D kernel. Answer: D 34. Which of the following does NOT occur during the power-on self-test (POST)? A The ScanDisk utility begins to run. B The video card and video memory are tested. C The BIOS identification process occurs. D Memory chips are checked to ensure they are working properly. Answer: A 35. All of the following are TRUE regarding virtual memory EXCEPT: A any amount of RAM can be allocated to virtual memory. B the setting for the amount of hard drive space to allocate to virtual memory can be manually changed. C this temporary storage is called the swap file (or page file). D virtual memory is physical space on the hard drive. Answer: A 36. The operating system allows users to organize the computer’s contents in a hierarchical structure of directories that include all of the following EXCEPT: A files. B folders. D drives. D systems. Answer: D 37. All of the following statements concerning windows are true EXCEPT: A windows are an example of a command-driven environment. B windows can be resized and repositioned on the desktop. C more than one window can be open at a time. D toolbars and scrollbars are features of windows. Answer: A 38. All of the following statements concerning files are true EXCEPT: A A file is a collection of related pieces of information stored together for easy reference. B Files can be generated from an application. C Files are stored in RAM. D Files should be organized in folders. Answer: C 39. Using Windows Explorer, a plus (+) sign in front of a folder indicates: A an open folder. B the folder contains subfolders. C a text file. D a graphics file. Answer: B 40. In Windows XP, if you want to see the file size and modified dates of all files in a folder, the best viewing option is the __________ view. A List B Thumbnails C Details D Icon Answer: C