clockwise - counterclockwise
close - far, distant
closed - ajar, open
clumsy - graceful
cold - hot
combine - separate
come - go
comfort - discomfort
common - rare
• A health worker from Bihar on 6 November 2013 won the global UN Award for her commitment and
dedication to eradicate Polio in India
-
Martha Doodray
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 8 November 2013 has allowed third
party payment for
-
the export
and import transactions
• A doctor of Indian origin was selected for the prestigious Outstanding American by Choice award for his
contribution to US health sector
-
Rahul Jindal
• UNESCO on suspended the voting rights over
Palestine row of
-
United States and Israel
• A Senior IRS officer was appointed as the Secretary General of National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) is
-
Parvinder Sohi Behuria
• Who won the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals title after defeating Rafael Nad
al is
-
Novak Djokovic
• Benigno Aquino on 11 November 2013 declared a state of national calamity to speed relief efforts for
victims of Typhoon Haiyan is
-
the President of Philippines
• MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited) signed MoU with a firm of
US on 12 November 2013
-
Los Alamos Technical Associates, Inc. (LATA)
• India and Australia on 18 November 2013 signed two agreements in New Delhi during the visit of Julie
Bishop to India
-
Julie Bishop is the Foreign Minister of Australia.
• The Electi
on Commission of India on 18 November 2013 has allowed the launch of the first all women
-
Bharatiya Mahila Bank.
• The book entitled Birth of Cinema was released at ICFFI media centre on 18 November 2013. The book
is written by
-
N. Gopal Krishna
• The
Reserve Bank of India on 18 November 2013 opened refinance window for MSME sector of what
sum
–
5000 crore rupees
• The US sprinter on 18 November 2013 announced his retirement after 13 years career
-
Darvis Patton
• The World Toilet Organization created
World Toilet Day to raise global awareness of the struggle 2.5
billion face every day without access to proper, clean sanitation. The World Toilet Day is observed on
–
19 November
• The British biochemist who is the only person to win Nobel Prize two ti
mes for Chemistry died on 19
November 2013
-
Frederick Sanger
• The political party that emerged as single largest Party in the second Constituent Assembly elections
which are held on 19 November 2013
-
Nepali Congress (NC)
Friday, November 29, 2013
CLOZE TEST EXERCISE
Can we see (1) ......... the earth is a globe? Yes, we can, when we watch a ship that sails out to sea.
If we watch closely, we see that the ship begins (2) ........ . The bottom of the ship disappears first,
and then the ship seems to sink lower and lower, (3) ......... we can only see the top of the ship,
and then we see nothing at all. What is hiding the ship from us? It is the earth.
Stick a pin most of the way into an orange, and (4) ......... turn the orange away from you.
You will see the pin disappear, (5) ......... a ship does on the earth.
1.
A. if
B. where
C. that
D. whether
E. when
2.
A. being disappeared
B. to be disappeared
C. to have disappeared
D. to disappear
E. having disappeared
3.
A. until
B. since
C. after
D. by the time
E. unless
4.
A. reluctantly
B. accidentally
C. slowly
D. passionately
E. carefully
5.
A. the same
B. alike
C. just as
D. by the way
E. similar to
1. C
2. D
3. A
4. C
5. C
After months of colder weather, the days get longer, the buds (1) ............ in the trees, birds sing,
and the world (2) ............ a green dress. Spring passes (3) ............ summer. Everyone knows that summer will not (4) ............ .
The power of all the wisest men and women in the world cannot keep it for us.
The corn becomes ripe, the leaves turn brown and then drop to the ground,
(5) ............ the world changes its green dress for a dress of autumn colors.
1.
A. fall off
B. take up
C. put off
D. come out
E. bring down
2.
A. looks after
B. puts on
C. carries on
D. comes round
E. deals with
3.
A. into
B. by
C. from
D. on
E. out of
4.
A. forego
B. evaluate
C. succumb
D. last
E. evolve
1 c 11 d 21 c 31 a
2 b 12 a 22 d 32 b
3 c 13 b 23 d 33 c
4 e 14 c 24 c 34 b
5 d 15 e 25 a 35 e
6 a 16 a 26 d 36 a
7 b 17 e 27 e 37 e
8 e 18 c 28 c 38 e
9 d 19 b 29 b 39 b
10 a 20 c 30 a 40 d
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Check your English score before IBPS clerk exam 2013
Directions—(Q. 1 to 10) Read the following
passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are
printed in bold to help you to locate them while answering
some of the questions.
Once upon a time there lived a queen in
the city of Benaras. Her name was Khema and she was the wife of King
Bahuputtaka. One night, the Queen had a dream of a beautiful golden goose that
spoke with great wisdom, almost as if he was a sage. She told her husband that
she desperately wanted to see a bird just like the one in her dream. So the
King asked his ministers to find out all that they could about a bird such as
this. He was told that such a bird did exist but was extremely rare and
difficult to find. They advised him to build a beautiful lake on the outskirts
of Benaras so that he may attract such rare and lovely creatures to reside
there. In this way the queen might have her wish.
Towards the north, on Mount Cittakuta,
there lived about ninety thousand wild geese headed by a beautiful golden goose
called King Dhatarattha. He got to hear of this exquisite lake
surrounded by water lilies and lotuses floating on the surface. The King had
invited all the birds to come and live on it, promising that none of them would
ever be harmed. Corn was scattered on a daily basis in order to attract the
birds. So a couple of geese went up to their King, the golden goose and told
him that they were quite tired of living up on the mountains and would like to
see this wonderful lake where they had been promised food and protection. The
king agreed to their request and took the flock down south towards Benaras.
Meanwhile, at the lake King Bahuputtaka had placed hunters all around in order
to capture any golden goose that happened to pass by. So the next morning when
the headhunter saw this flock of geese approaching he was very excited to see
their golden leader. He immediately went about setting up a snare amongst
the water lilies and lotuses, as he knew that the leader would definitely be
the first to alight.
The whole flock came flying down in one
mighty swoop and as expected it was the King's foot that touched the water
first. He was ensnared and could not escape. Seeing this, the other geese flew
into a panic. But none had the courage to try to free their king and so flew
back to Mount Cittacuta for safety. All except one. He was the chief captain,
Sumukha. King Dhatarattha entreated him to fly to safety too, as he would
surely be captured if he stayed by his side. But Sumukha replied that he would
never desert his master in the face of danger and would either
try to save him or die by his side.
At this point the hunter approached and as
Sumukha saw him he decided to appeal to his compassion. The hunter asked the
golden goose how come he had not noticed the trap that was set. The golden
goose replied that when one's time was up it was no use to struggle against
what was fated and one must just accept it. The huntsman was very impressed
with his grace and wisdom. He then turned to Sumukha and asked why he had not
fled with the other birds even though he was free to do so. Sumukha answered
that the golden goose was his King, best friend and master and that he could
never desert him even at the cost of his own life. Hearing this, the hunter
realised that these were a couple of rare birds of great nobility. He did not
much care for his own King's reward and decided to do the right thing and set
them free. He told Sumukha that as he was ready to die for his King he would
set them both free to fly wherever they wish.
1. Why were the geese keen on visiting the
lake in Benaras ?
(A) They were invited personally by king
Bahuputtaka
(B) They were tired of their old lake
(C) They were amused by the water lilies
and lotuses
(D) The lake was not very far from the
mountains
(E) To lake was to be source of good food
and protection
2. Why did the king approach the ministers
?
(A) In order to find out the best location
for the lake
(B) In order to find out if a golden goose
existed
(C) To enquire about his wife's dreams
(D) To devise a plan to capture all rare
bird species
(E) To enquire about the best hunter in
the locality
3. What advice did the ministers give to
the king ?
(A) That no such golden goose existed and
he was only wasting his time searching for one
(B) To create an artificial golden goose
for the queen
(C) To build a lake in order to attract
the golden goose
(D) To open a sanctuary of rare birds for
the queen
(E) To have a beautiful garden surrounded
by flowers and trees
4. Which of the following statements would
best describe the qualities of Sumukha ?
(1) Betrayer of the flock
(2) The Selfless Goose
(3) Loyal towards the king
(4) The naive and ignorant goose
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Only (3) and (4)
(D) Only (1) and (4)
(E) Only (2) and (3)
5. What was the king's intention behind
building a lake ?
(A) To attract all rare species of living
animals and birds
(B) To beautify the city of Benaras
(C) He did not want to go against the
wishes of his wife
(D) He wanted to capture the golden goose
(E) He enjoyed bird watching and wanted to
create a natural habitat for them
6. Why did the head hunter release the king, the golden
goose ?
(A) He was impressed by his wisdom and
nobility
(B) The geese were a rare species of birds
(C) The golden goose, King Dhatarattha
promised him a handsome reward
(D) The hunter sympathised with the golden
goose
(E) The hunter did not want the chief
captain to lose a friend
7. Why did the flock of geese panic and
retreat to Mount Cittacuta ?
(A) Their king took the wrong route to the
lake and they lost their way
(B) Their king, the golden goose was
captured
(C) Their chief captain, Sumukha betrayed
the king
(D) They spotted many hunters by the lake
(E) None of these
Directions—(Q. 8 to 10) Choose the word which is most
nearly the same in meaning as the word printed in bold as
used in the passage.
8. Desert
(A) Displease
(B) Encourage
(C) Instigate
(D) Escort
(E) Abandon
9. Exquisite
(A) Expensive
(B) Delicate
(C) Elaborate
(D) Wonderful
(E) Efficient
10. Snare
(A) Trap
(B) Alarm
(C) Plan
(D) Arrangement
(E) Protection
Directions—(Q. 11 to 15) In each of the following sentences, and idiomatic
expression or aproverb is highlighted. Select the alternative
which best describes its use in the sentence.
11. The team put their plan into
execution the very next day—
(A) proposed a plan
(B) discussed their plan
(C) started thinking about a plan
(D) started carrying out their plan
(E) None of these
12. Mrs. Nayak opened the discussion on
the “alarming rate of poverty in India”—
(A) started the discussion
(B) gave her opinion in the discussion
(C) did not agree on the discussion
(D) welcomed the people to the discussion
(E) None of these
13. The course of events made it
necessary for Joseph to start working—
(A) events that were planned
(B) long list of future events
(C) A succession of unexpected events
(D) nature of events that followed after
Joseph joined work
(E) None of these
14. The new law on “Right to Food Safety” will come
into force next month—
(A) be forced upon the people
(B) be associated from next month onwards
(C) be implemented next month
(D) be withdrawn next month
(E) be widely rejected next month
15. When the girl wanted to stay out past
midnight, her father put his foot down ?
(A) gave in to her request
(B) walked away disapprovingly
(C) obstructed her from leaving the house
(D) requested her to be home on time
(E) None of these
Directions—(Q. 16 to 20) Read each sentence to find out whether there
is any grammatical 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 no error, the
answer is (E) i.e. ‘No Error’. (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any.)
16. Nuclear waste will still being (A) /
radioactive even after twenty thousand years, (B) / so it must be disposed (C)
/ of very carefully. (D) No Error (E)
17. My friend lived at the top (A) / of an old house
(B) / which attic had been (C) / converted into a flat. (D) No Error (E)
18. A public safety advertising (A) /
campaign in Russia (B) / hope to draw attention (C) / of pedestrians crossing
the road. (D) No Error (E)
19. A cash prize was (A) / award to the
most (B) / successful salesman of the year (C) / by the President of the
company. (D) No Error (E)
20. The Renaissance was (A) / a time to
‘re-awakening’ (B) / in both the arts (C) / and the sciences. (D) No Error (E)
Directions—(Q. 21 to 25) Each
sentence below has a blank/s, each blank indicates that something has been
omitted. Choose the word/s that best fit/s the meaning of the sentence as a
whole.
21. Many leading members of the opposition
party … to justify the party's decision.
(A) having tried
(B) has tried
(C) have been trying
(D) tries
(E) is trying
22. The state-of-the art school is … with a medical
clinic and fitness centre.
(A) establish
(B) illustrative
(C) having
(D) equipped
(E) compromising
23. The Bhagavad Gita is a part of the Mahabharata, but
it stands … and is … in itself.
(A) dependent, incomplete
(B) together, justified
(C) separate, dignified
(D) apart, complete
(E) united, connected
24. The artist's work of art is worthy … praise.
(A) for
(B) of
(C) to
(D) about
(E) to be
25. The charity … most of its money through private
donations.
(A) receives
(B) borrows
(C) uses
(D) proposes
(E) invests
Directions—(Q. 26 to 30) In each question below, four words printed
in bold type are given. These are lettered (A), (B), (C) and
(D). One of these words printed in bold may either be wrongly
spelt or inappropriate in the context of the sentence. Find out the
word that is inappropriate or wrongly spelt, if any. The letter of that word is
your answer. If all the words printed in bold are correctly
spelt and appropriate in the context of the sentence then mark (E) i.e. ‘All
Correct’ as your answer.
26. The ship (A) was at
sea for many days and finally (B) anchored (C)
near the costline. (D) All Correct (E)
27. Employees must familiarise (A)
themselves with the health (B) and safety (C) mannual (D)
of the organization. All Correct (E)
28. The political (A) environment (B)
is not condusive (C) to economic reforms. (D)
All Correct (E)
29. The report (A) found
that the safety (B) equipment had been very poorly (C) maintained. (D)
All Correct (E)
30. Some of our regular listeners (A)
have complained (B) about the new programme (C)schedule. (D)
All Correct (E)
Directions—(Q. 31 to 35) Rearrange
the following six sentences / group of 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) The merchant greedily counted his gold
and said, “The purse I dropped had 200 pieces of gold in it. You've already
stolen more than the reward ! I Go away or I will tell the police.”
(2) The judge, looking towards the
merchant said, “you stated that the purse you lost contained 200 pieces of
gold. Well, that's a considerable cost. But, the purse this beggar found had
only 100 pieces of gold”.
(3) Being an honest man, the beggar came
forward and handed the purse to the merchant saying, “Here is your purse. May I
have my reward now ?”
(4) “This purse therefore cannot be the
one you lost.” And, with that, the judge gave the purse and all the gold to the
beggar.
(5) A beggar found a leather purse that
someone had dropped in the marketplace. On opening it, he discovered that it
contained 100 pieces of gold. Then he heard a merchant shout, “A reward! A
reward to the one who finds my leather purse”.
(6) “I am an honest man,” said the beggar
defiantly. “Let us take this matter to the court. The judge patiently listened
to both sides of the story.
31. Which of the following should be
the FIRST sentence after the rearrangement ?
(A) 5
(B) 2
(C) 4
(D) 3
(E) 6
32. Which of the following should be the FOURTH sentence
after the rearrangement ?
(A) 4
(B) 6
(C) 2
(D) 5
(E) 3
33. Which of the following should be the FIFTH sentence
after the rearrangement ?
(A) 5
(B) 4
(C) 2
(D) 3
(E) 6
34. Which of the following should be
the SIXTH (LAST) sentence after the rearragement ?
(A) 1
(B) 4
(C) 6
(D) 5
(E) 3
35. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence
after the rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 4
(C) 6
(D) 2
(E) 3
Directions—(Q. 36 to 40) 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.
The Bhagavad Gita is a poem of 700 verses
which is a part of the Mahabharata. It is the only philosophical song existing
in all languages. Its popularity and influence have never waned. It …36…light
and guidance to the troubled mind in times of crisis. It is in the …37… of
a dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna on the battlefield. Arjuna's mind is
troubled at the thought of the killings of his friends and relatives. He cannot
conceive of any gain. Arjuna is the …38… of the tortured
spirit of man torn by conflicting obligations andmoralities.The dialogue proceeds and takes us to
the higher level of individual duty and social behaviour, application of ethics
to practical life and social outlook that should govern all. An attempt
is …39… to reconcile the three paths of human advancement– the
path of knowlede, the path of action and the path of faith. But more …40… is
laid on faith. There is a call of action to meet the obligations of life,
keeping in view the spiritual background and the large purpose of the universe.
