Directions (1-10): In the following passage, some of the words have been omitted, each of which is indicated by a number. Find the suitable word from the options given against each number and fill up the blanks with appropriate words to make the paragraph meaningful.
After the heat and dust of the last one month, the board meeting of the Reserve Bank of India on Monday turned out to be muted and professional, as it should have been. Any summary and _____(1)_____ action by the Centre to have its way would have created more problems than it solved, apart from it not going down well with the markets. The decisions taken by the board address the concerns of both the Centre and the central bank, though on balance it appears that the RBI carried the day. Two of the biggest concerns of the Centre where it was expecting a/an _________(2)_________ resolution — relaxation of the Prompt Corrective Action framework on 11 public sector banks and provision of liquidity for non-banking financial companies — will be addressed at a future date. The first one has been _________(3) _________ to a department of the RBI for examination, while no decision seems to have been taken on the second. In addition, the Centre’s attempt to tap the RBI’s rich reserves has also been _________(4) _________ off for now, with the matter left to be decided by a committee set up exclusively for the purpose. This is as it should be. Given that the membership and terms of reference of the committee will be jointly decided by the Centre and the RBI, there is little scope for either side to complain of bias. The RBI has been _________ (5) _________ all of its surpluses to the Centre in the last five years based on the recommendations of an earlier committee led by Y.H. Malegam. Given this, it is unclear what more the new committee can possibly recommend on future surpluses, unless of course it is allowed to go into _________ (6) _________ of the reserves that now exist on the RBI’s balance sheet.
The central bank partially _________ (7) _________ to the Centre on two other issues — the Basel capital framework for banks and easing credit flow to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The RBI didn’t _________ (8) _________ the demand for alignment of the capital norms to Basel (they are higher now), but by pushing back the deadline by a year for increasing the capital buffer, it has freed up funds for banks to lend. Again, by permitting debt _________ (9) _________ for MSME borrowers of up to ₹25 crore, the RBI has attempted to address their credit concerns, which was one of the major demands of the Centre. Clearly, there was enough give-and-take in the meeting that left both sides with the feeling that they had gained something. At Monday’s meeting the board turned hands-on _________ (10) _________ for the first time in recent memory, from being just an advisory body. That the meeting went on for over nine hours clearly indicates that there was an intense exchange of views, which is not a bad thing at all. Differences between the Centre and the central bank must be thrashed out in such a setting, rather than in the media or in public speeches.
Q1.
(a) Rejuvenate
(b) Debase
(c) Precipitate
(d) Acolyte
(e) None of these
Q2.
(a) Haven
(b) Expeditious
(c) Ambiguity
(d) Repatriate
(e) None of these
Q3.
(a) Referred
(b) Riled
(c) Finagled
(d) Gleaned
(e) None of these
Q4.
(a) Altercation
(b) Entrench
(c) Chortled
(d) Staved
(e) None of these
Q5.
(a) Perplexing
(b) Transferring
(c) Weaning
(d) Debilitating
(e) None of these
Q6.
(a) Sharing
(b) Envisage
(c) Unsparing
(d) Diffident
(e) None of these
Q7.
(a) Stymied
(b) Yielded
(c) Coaxed
(d) Emboldened
(e) None of these
Q8.
(a) Barb
(b) Reticent
(c) Voluble
(d) Concede
(e) None of these
Q9.
(a) Recast
(b) Referendum
(c) Strait
(d) Acerbity
(e) None of these
Q10.
(a) Eloquent
(b) Glorification
(c) Dramatize
(d) Probably
(e) None of these
Solutions
S1. Ans. (c)
Sol.
Precipitate: done, made, or acting suddenly or without careful consideration.
Rejuvenate: make (someone or something) look or feel better, younger, or more vital
Debase: reduce the quality or value of something
Acolyte: an assistant or follower
Thus, using “Precipitate” in the sentence “Any precipitate action by the Centre to have its way would have created more problems” meant that the hurried action of Centre would result in problems. Other words do not fit in the sentence.
Hence, answer should be option (c).
S2. Ans. (b)
Sol.
Expeditious: done with speed and efficiency, immediate
Haven: A place of safety or refuse, sanctum, sanctuary
Repatriate: send back their own country
Ambiguity: the quality of being open to more than one interpretation
As word “Expeditious” means “immediate”, so use of this word will make the sentence as “the Centre was expecting an immediate resolution”
Hence, answer should be option (b).
S3. Ans. (a)
Sol.
Use of the word “referred” is correct making the sentence as “The first one has been referred to a department of the RBI for examination”. Hence, option (a) is correct answer choice.
Riled: make (someone) annoyed or irritated
Finagled: obtain by dishonest or devious means
Gleaned: obtain (information) from various sources, often with difficulty
S4. Ans. (d)
Sol.
Staved: avert or delay something bad or dangerous.
Altercation: a noisy argument or disagreement
Entrench: fixed firmly or securely
Chortled: to chuckle, laugh merrily, often in a breathy, muffled way
The sentence means that the Centre’s attempt to tap the RBI’s rich reserves has also been reverted off for now. Thus, option (d) is correct answer choice.
S5. Ans. (b)
Sol.
Perplexing: completely baffling; very puzzling
Weaning: be strongly influenced by (something), especially from an early age
Debilitating: (of a disease or condition) making someone very weak and infirm
Only “transferring” fits in the given blank.
Hence option (b) is correct answer choice.
S6. Ans. (a)
Sol.
Envisage: contemplate or conceive of as a possibility
Unsparing: merciless; severe
Diffident: showing modest reserve; lacking self-confidence
Hence option (a) is correct answer choice.
S7. Ans. (b)
Sol.
Yielded: to give up the control of or responsibility for something, concede
Stymied: prevent or hinder the progress of
Coaxed: gently and persistently persuade (someone) to do something
Emboldened: give (someone) the courage or confidence to do something
Only “yielded” fits in the sentence. Others don’t make a contextually and grammatically correct sentence.
Hence option (b) is correct answer choice.
S8. Ans. (d)
Sol.
Concede: to admit, often unwillingly, that something is true:
Barb: a remark that is funny but unkind
Reticent: disinclined to talk, not revealing one’s thought
Voluble: talking fluently, readily, or incessantly.
The use of word “concede” makes the line “RBI didn’t concede the demand for alignment of the capital norms to Base” meaningful and grammatically correct.
Hence option (d) is correct answer choice.
S9. Ans. (a)
Sol.
Recast: present or organize in a different form or style.
Referendum: a general vote by the electorate on a single political question
Strait: a difficult situation, especially because of financial problems
Acerbity: bitterness of speech and temper
Hence option (a) is correct answer choice.
S10. Ans. (d)
Sol.
Eloquent: fluency or persuasiveness in speaking or writing.
The right option that would fit in the given blank is “Probably”.
Hence option (d) is correct answer choice.
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English Language Quiz For Bank Foundatio...
