English Quiz for IBPS SO Prelims: 30th November

Directions (1-5): 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.

The Reserve Bank of India’s annual report for 2017-18 reveals that 99.3% of currency notes that were demonetized at midnight on November 8, 2016 have returned to the banking system. This is only marginally higher than its provisional estimate last year that over 99% — or 15.28 lakh crore worth of the old 500 and 1,000 notes — out of the 15.44 lakh crore that were in circulation at the time had been deposited by June 30, 2017. This makes a couple of things crystal clear. First, the hope that a large chunk of unaccounted money would not return to the system — arguably, the principal reason for the exercise — was almost wholly belied. As a result, the plan to transfer the arising surplus from the RBI to the Centre, which was not formally declared but strongly rumored, was a non-starter. Second, given the sheer logistical difficulty in penalizing all those who converted unaccounted money into legal tender, demonetization worked as an unintended amnesty scheme. Despite the significant cost to the economy, demonetization, to the disappointment of the Prime Minister’s critics, had no political fallout. Narendra Modi succeeded in portraying the move as one that would knock out the corrupt rich — a harsh but necessary shock therapy. This was perhaps why the massive disruption caused by the overnight removal of 86% of the currency in value terms did not cause agitations.

Nevertheless, the RBI report, which points to a spurt in counterfeiting of the new 500 and 2,000 notes, raises the old question all over again. Was it worth the slowdown in growth, the damage to informal sector supply chains, and job losses in sectors such as construction that were the bulwark of employment creation for the unskilled? True, there have been some benefits. For instance, the number of income tax returns filed has surged a little over the trend growth rate. But surely this could have been achieved by other policy measures. Cashless modes of payment have become more common, but financial savings in the form of currency have also risen, suggesting that people still value cash. Not all policy choices work out and accepting mistakes or planning flaws helps strengthen governance processes. For example, learning from the UPA’s mistakes, a cleaner auction process for natural resources has been worked out.

The government must not disown its biggest reform attempt or try to sidestep parliamentary scrutiny of the outcomes of demonetization. Instead, it could focus on fixing the problems that people still face — transactions with 2,000 notes in the absence of 1,000 notes are difficult as it is a departure from the currency denomination principle (every note should be twice or two and a half times its preceding denomination). Even as these issues are sorted out, the larger lesson must be heeded: sudden shocks to the economy don’t always yield intended policy objectives. The introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) last year has only spurred India to move even further away from the discretion-based approach. The introduction of GST has only underlined the audit trails in economic transactions, making it that much more difficult to conceal money.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley had disclosed last week, in a social media post, that the number of income tax returns almost doubled from 38 million in 2013-14 to 68.6 million in fiscal 2017-18.While it was never the Plan A of the demonetization strategy, the growth in digital money has got a big leg-up. With e-commerce poised to accelerate, there is every reason to believe that this will only gather further momentum. Exactly why foreign investors, including  Warren Buffet, are lining up for a slice of the action. Finally, the biggest let-down has been that politics of confrontation has denied the country a fair debate on demonetization. Disruption in Parliament ensured that we never really heard from the finance minister on the logic of the move, the extent of black money and so on.

Q.How did the demonetization work as an undevised official pardon for some people?

Directions (1-5): 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.

The Reserve Bank of India’s annual report for 2017-18 reveals that 99.3% of currency notes that were demonetized at midnight on November 8, 2016 have returned to the banking system. This is only marginally higher than its provisional estimate last year that over 99% — or 15.28 lakh crore worth of the old 500 and 1,000 notes — out of the 15.44 lakh crore that were in circulation at the time had been deposited by June 30, 2017. This makes a couple of things crystal clear. First, the hope that a large chunk of unaccounted money would not return to the system — arguably, the principal reason for the exercise — was almost wholly belied. As a result, the plan to transfer the arising surplus from the RBI to the Centre, which was not formally declared but strongly rumored, was a non-starter. Second, given the sheer logistical difficulty in penalizing all those who converted unaccounted money into legal tender, demonetization worked as an unintended amnesty scheme. Despite the significant cost to the economy, demonetization, to the disappointment of the Prime Minister’s critics, had no political fallout. Narendra Modi succeeded in portraying the move as one that would knock out the corrupt rich — a harsh but necessary shock therapy. This was perhaps why the massive disruption caused by the overnight removal of 86% of the currency in value terms did not cause agitations.

Nevertheless, the RBI report, which points to a spurt in counterfeiting of the new 500 and 2,000 notes, raises the old question all over again. Was it worth the slowdown in growth, the damage to informal sector supply chains, and job losses in sectors such as construction that were the bulwark of employment creation for the unskilled? True, there have been some benefits. For instance, the number of income tax returns filed has surged a little over the trend growth rate. But surely this could have been achieved by other policy measures. Cashless modes of payment have become more common, but financial savings in the form of currency have also risen, suggesting that people still value cash. Not all policy choices work out and accepting mistakes or planning flaws helps strengthen governance processes. For example, learning from the UPA’s mistakes, a cleaner auction process for natural resources has been worked out.

The government must not disown its biggest reform attempt or try to sidestep parliamentary scrutiny of the outcomes of demonetization. Instead, it could focus on fixing the problems that people still face — transactions with 2,000 notes in the absence of 1,000 notes are difficult as it is a departure from the currency denomination principle (every note should be twice or two and a half times its preceding denomination). Even as these issues are sorted out, the larger lesson must be heeded: sudden shocks to the economy don’t always yield intended policy objectives. The introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) last year has only spurred India to move even further away from the discretion-based approach. The introduction of GST has only underlined the audit trails in economic transactions, making it that much more difficult to conceal money.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley had disclosed last week, in a social media post, that the number of income tax returns almost doubled from 38 million in 2013-14 to 68.6 million in fiscal 2017-18.While it was never the Plan A of the demonetization strategy, the growth in digital money has got a big leg-up. With e-commerce poised to accelerate, there is every reason to believe that this will only gather further momentum. Exactly why foreign investors, including  Warren Buffet, are lining up for a slice of the action. Finally, the biggest let-down has been that politics of confrontation has denied the country a fair debate on demonetization. Disruption in Parliament ensured that we never really heard from the finance minister on the logic of the move, the extent of black money and so on.

Q. Despite many critics why demonetization had no political fallout?

Directions (1-5): 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.

The Reserve Bank of India’s annual report for 2017-18 reveals that 99.3% of currency notes that were demonetized at midnight on November 8, 2016 have returned to the banking system. This is only marginally higher than its provisional estimate last year that over 99% — or 15.28 lakh crore worth of the old 500 and 1,000 notes — out of the 15.44 lakh crore that were in circulation at the time had been deposited by June 30, 2017. This makes a couple of things crystal clear. First, the hope that a large chunk of unaccounted money would not return to the system — arguably, the principal reason for the exercise — was almost wholly belied. As a result, the plan to transfer the arising surplus from the RBI to the Centre, which was not formally declared but strongly rumored, was a non-starter. Second, given the sheer logistical difficulty in penalizing all those who converted unaccounted money into legal tender, demonetization worked as an unintended amnesty scheme. Despite the significant cost to the economy, demonetization, to the disappointment of the Prime Minister’s critics, had no political fallout. Narendra Modi succeeded in portraying the move as one that would knock out the corrupt rich — a harsh but necessary shock therapy. This was perhaps why the massive disruption caused by the overnight removal of 86% of the currency in value terms did not cause agitations.

Nevertheless, the RBI report, which points to a spurt in counterfeiting of the new 500 and 2,000 notes, raises the old question all over again. Was it worth the slowdown in growth, the damage to informal sector supply chains, and job losses in sectors such as construction that were the bulwark of employment creation for the unskilled? True, there have been some benefits. For instance, the number of income tax returns filed has surged a little over the trend growth rate. But surely this could have been achieved by other policy measures. Cashless modes of payment have become more common, but financial savings in the form of currency have also risen, suggesting that people still value cash. Not all policy choices work out and accepting mistakes or planning flaws helps strengthen governance processes. For example, learning from the UPA’s mistakes, a cleaner auction process for natural resources has been worked out.

The government must not disown its biggest reform attempt or try to sidestep parliamentary scrutiny of the outcomes of demonetization. Instead, it could focus on fixing the problems that people still face — transactions with 2,000 notes in the absence of 1,000 notes are difficult as it is a departure from the currency denomination principle (every note should be twice or two and a half times its preceding denomination). Even as these issues are sorted out, the larger lesson must be heeded: sudden shocks to the economy don’t always yield intended policy objectives. The introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) last year has only spurred India to move even further away from the discretion-based approach. The introduction of GST has only underlined the audit trails in economic transactions, making it that much more difficult to conceal money.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley had disclosed last week, in a social media post, that the number of income tax returns almost doubled from 38 million in 2013-14 to 68.6 million in fiscal 2017-18.While it was never the Plan A of the demonetization strategy, the growth in digital money has got a big leg-up. With e-commerce poised to accelerate, there is every reason to believe that this will only gather further momentum. Exactly why foreign investors, including  Warren Buffet, are lining up for a slice of the action. Finally, the biggest let-down has been that politics of confrontation has denied the country a fair debate on demonetization. Disruption in Parliament ensured that we never really heard from the finance minister on the logic of the move, the extent of black money and so on.

Q.Among the following options which is the benefit of demonetization that has been proved? (Answer only in the context of the passage.)

Directions (1-5): 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.

The Reserve Bank of India’s annual report for 2017-18 reveals that 99.3% of currency notes that were demonetized at midnight on November 8, 2016 have returned to the banking system. This is only marginally higher than its provisional estimate last year that over 99% — or 15.28 lakh crore worth of the old 500 and 1,000 notes — out of the 15.44 lakh crore that were in circulation at the time had been deposited by June 30, 2017. This makes a couple of things crystal clear. First, the hope that a large chunk of unaccounted money would not return to the system — arguably, the principal reason for the exercise — was almost wholly belied. As a result, the plan to transfer the arising surplus from the RBI to the Centre, which was not formally declared but strongly rumored, was a non-starter. Second, given the sheer logistical difficulty in penalizing all those who converted unaccounted money into legal tender, demonetization worked as an unintended amnesty scheme. Despite the significant cost to the economy, demonetization, to the disappointment of the Prime Minister’s critics, had no political fallout. Narendra Modi succeeded in portraying the move as one that would knock out the corrupt rich — a harsh but necessary shock therapy. This was perhaps why the massive disruption caused by the overnight removal of 86% of the currency in value terms did not cause agitations.

Nevertheless, the RBI report, which points to a spurt in counterfeiting of the new 500 and 2,000 notes, raises the old question all over again. Was it worth the slowdown in growth, the damage to informal sector supply chains, and job losses in sectors such as construction that were the bulwark of employment creation for the unskilled? True, there have been some benefits. For instance, the number of income tax returns filed has surged a little over the trend growth rate. But surely this could have been achieved by other policy measures. Cashless modes of payment have become more common, but financial savings in the form of currency have also risen, suggesting that people still value cash. Not all policy choices work out and accepting mistakes or planning flaws helps strengthen governance processes. For example, learning from the UPA’s mistakes, a cleaner auction process for natural resources has been worked out.

The government must not disown its biggest reform attempt or try to sidestep parliamentary scrutiny of the outcomes of demonetization. Instead, it could focus on fixing the problems that people still face — transactions with 2,000 notes in the absence of 1,000 notes are difficult as it is a departure from the currency denomination principle (every note should be twice or two and a half times its preceding denomination). Even as these issues are sorted out, the larger lesson must be heeded: sudden shocks to the economy don’t always yield intended policy objectives. The introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) last year has only spurred India to move even further away from the discretion-based approach. The introduction of GST has only underlined the audit trails in economic transactions, making it that much more difficult to conceal money.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley had disclosed last week, in a social media post, that the number of income tax returns almost doubled from 38 million in 2013-14 to 68.6 million in fiscal 2017-18.While it was never the Plan A of the demonetization strategy, the growth in digital money has got a big leg-up. With e-commerce poised to accelerate, there is every reason to believe that this will only gather further momentum. Exactly why foreign investors, including  Warren Buffet, are lining up for a slice of the action. Finally, the biggest let-down has been that politics of confrontation has denied the country a fair debate on demonetization. Disruption in Parliament ensured that we never really heard from the finance minister on the logic of the move, the extent of black money and so on.

Q.Which one of the statements is definitely false according to the given passage?

Directions (1-5): 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.

The Reserve Bank of India’s annual report for 2017-18 reveals that 99.3% of currency notes that were demonetized at midnight on November 8, 2016 have returned to the banking system. This is only marginally higher than its provisional estimate last year that over 99% — or 15.28 lakh crore worth of the old 500 and 1,000 notes — out of the 15.44 lakh crore that were in circulation at the time had been deposited by June 30, 2017. This makes a couple of things crystal clear. First, the hope that a large chunk of unaccounted money would not return to the system — arguably, the principal reason for the exercise — was almost wholly belied. As a result, the plan to transfer the arising surplus from the RBI to the Centre, which was not formally declared but strongly rumored, was a non-starter. Second, given the sheer logistical difficulty in penalizing all those who converted unaccounted money into legal tender, demonetization worked as an unintended amnesty scheme. Despite the significant cost to the economy, demonetization, to the disappointment of the Prime Minister’s critics, had no political fallout. Narendra Modi succeeded in portraying the move as one that would knock out the corrupt rich — a harsh but necessary shock therapy. This was perhaps why the massive disruption caused by the overnight removal of 86% of the currency in value terms did not cause agitations.

Nevertheless, the RBI report, which points to a spurt in counterfeiting of the new 500 and 2,000 notes, raises the old question all over again. Was it worth the slowdown in growth, the damage to informal sector supply chains, and job losses in sectors such as construction that were the bulwark of employment creation for the unskilled? True, there have been some benefits. For instance, the number of income tax returns filed has surged a little over the trend growth rate. But surely this could have been achieved by other policy measures. Cashless modes of payment have become more common, but financial savings in the form of currency have also risen, suggesting that people still value cash. Not all policy choices work out and accepting mistakes or planning flaws helps strengthen governance processes. For example, learning from the UPA’s mistakes, a cleaner auction process for natural resources has been worked out.

The government must not disown its biggest reform attempt or try to sidestep parliamentary scrutiny of the outcomes of demonetization. Instead, it could focus on fixing the problems that people still face — transactions with 2,000 notes in the absence of 1,000 notes are difficult as it is a departure from the currency denomination principle (every note should be twice or two and a half times its preceding denomination). Even as these issues are sorted out, the larger lesson must be heeded: sudden shocks to the economy don’t always yield intended policy objectives. The introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) last year has only spurred India to move even further away from the discretion-based approach. The introduction of GST has only underlined the audit trails in economic transactions, making it that much more difficult to conceal money.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley had disclosed last week, in a social media post, that the number of income tax returns almost doubled from 38 million in 2013-14 to 68.6 million in fiscal 2017-18.While it was never the Plan A of the demonetization strategy, the growth in digital money has got a big leg-up. With e-commerce poised to accelerate, there is every reason to believe that this will only gather further momentum. Exactly why foreign investors, including  Warren Buffet, are lining up for a slice of the action. Finally, the biggest let-down has been that politics of confrontation has denied the country a fair debate on demonetization. Disruption in Parliament ensured that we never really heard from the finance minister on the logic of the move, the extent of black money and so on.

Q.In which way has the introduction of GST yielded intended policy objective?

Directions (6-8): Find out the word from the given option which is similar in meaning to the word given in bold in the passage .

Q.Belied

Directions (6-8): Find out the word from the given option which is similar in meaning to the word given in bold in the passage .

Q.Sheer

Directions (6-8): Find out the word from the given option which is similar in meaning to the word given in bold in the passage .

Q.Spurt

Directions (9-10): Find out the word from the given option which is opposite in meaning to the word given in bold in the passage .

Q.Discretion

Directions (9-10): Find out the word from the given option which is opposite in meaning to the word given in bold in the passage .

Q.Spurred

Directions (11-15): Read each sentence, divided into five parts, 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. Below each sentence you are provided with five options. The first three options suggest you the possible sequences of the correct parts of the sentence. Choose the sequence which consists of correct parts of the sentence. If there is no error in the sentence, choose option (d). If none of the options gives the correct sequence and if there is indeed an error in some parts of the sentence, choose (e) as your option. 

Q. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a strong female politician, who is now in Darjeeling, (A)/ is expected (B)/ to cut short his visit (C)/ and return to Kolkata (D)/ on Wednesday and visit the site (E).

Directions (11-15): Read each sentence, divided into five parts, 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. Below each sentence you are provided with five options. The first three options suggest you the possible sequences of the correct parts of the sentence. Choose the sequence which consists of correct parts of the sentence. If there is no error in the sentence, choose option (d). If none of the options gives the correct sequence and if there is indeed an error in some parts of the sentence, choose (e) as your option. 

Q. The domestic currency had lost 37 paise (A)/ to end besides a fresh lifetime low (B)/ of 71.58 against (C)/ the resurgent (D)/ dollar on Tuesday (E).

Directions (11-15): Read each sentence, divided into five parts, 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. Below each sentence you are provided with five options. The first three options suggest you the possible sequences of the correct parts of the sentence. Choose the sequence which consists of correct parts of the sentence. If there is no error in the sentence, choose option (d). If none of the options gives the correct sequence and if there is indeed an error in some parts of the sentence, choose (e) as your option. 

Q. Rafael Nadal were pushed (A)/ to the very limit (B)/ by a spirited Dominic Thiem (C)/ in their US Open quarter-final (D)/ on Tuesday night (E).

Directions (11-15): Read each sentence, divided into five parts, 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. Below each sentence you are provided with five options. The first three options suggest you the possible sequences of the correct parts of the sentence. Choose the sequence which consists of correct parts of the sentence. If there is no error in the sentence, choose option (d). If none of the options gives the correct sequence and if there is indeed an error in some parts of the sentence, choose (e) as your option. 

Q. Weather was a hot topic (A)/ at the US Open again (B)/ as players again battled high heat and humidity (C)/ as well as each other (D)/ in a bid for semi-final berths (E).

Directions (11-15): Read each sentence, divided into five parts, 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. Below each sentence you are provided with five options. The first three options suggest you the possible sequences of the correct parts of the sentence. Choose the sequence which consists of correct parts of the sentence. If there is no error in the sentence, choose option (d). If none of the options gives the correct sequence and if there is indeed an error in some parts of the sentence, choose (e) as your option. 

Q. Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra (A)/ is having (B)/ a gala time (C)/ with fiancé and singer Nick Jonas (D)/ at the US Open(E).