Table of Contents
Directions (1-8): In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are also 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.
Nature, a perceptive thinker has said, is always ahead of the avant-garde. Which is to say that even the ‘advance guard’ of artists and writers which thinks and expresses things before others do is behind nature. Art can be daring, writing _________________ (1). For sheer originality, however, nature is not to be overtaken.
Human nature, likewise, may be said to be ever ahead of those who try to understand it or dare to shape it. M.K. Gandhi, who tried to do both, has, not surprisingly, been described as one who was ‘ahead of his time’. I am not sure if anyone can, in the linear logic of _____________ (2), ever be ahead of his time. But studying human behaviour as thoroughly as he did, ‘in foul weather and fair’, Gandhi had acquired the ____________ (3) of anticipating collective responses to events and then either encouraging or resisting those responses.
He knew in his bones that India’s struggle for freedom was a historical ____________ (4) and did all he could to take it forward. He knew likewise in the pulse of his being that partitioning India was wrong and did all he possibly could to avert it. He along with Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan knew that communal divisiveness would __________ (5) the drawing of the Radcliffe lines. So much so that in the _______________ (6) of 1946, while the subcontinent prepared itself for the transfer of power, he, with Ghaffar Khan, made sure that where the fires would ____________ (7) — along the borders of the two coming-to-be dominions — they would be. As the “one man boundary force” (Lord Mountbatten’s description of him) that he became, Gandhi could not extinguish those fires but he did succeed in ____________ (8) innumerable flames — with the help of some incredible volunteers in the same cause, like SachinMitra and SmritishBanerjea of Calcutta who died by standing between two rioting mobs.
Q1.
(a) Spat
(b) Warble
(c) Audacious
(d) Mien
(e) Sate
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Q2.
(a) Docile
(b) Patronizing
(c) Teem
(d)Estranged
(e) Chronology
Q3.
(a) Fitful
(b) Erode
(c)Knack
(d)Unaffected
(e)Canto
Q4.
(a)Imperative
(b) Raiment
(c) Intrepid
(d) Seemly
(e) Allay
Q5.
(a) Reticent
(b) Propensity
(c) Chide
(d) Outlast
(e) Espoused
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Q6.
(a)Cravens
(b) Embers
(c) Ostensible
(d) Vestige
(e)Plumb
Q7.
(a)Innate
(b) Reverie
(c) Rage
(d) Wrangle
(e) Crevice
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Q8.
(a) Deign
(b) Capricious
(c) Stupendous
(d) Chaffing
(e) Dousing
Directions (9-15): In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are also 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.
Given his wealth and philanthropy, Bill Gates will be heard respectfully when he says that millions more in India and Africa will die before the Covid-19 pandemic ends. _____________ (9) about India’s fatality figure (“The true number… is probably much higher”), Microsoft’s co-founder ____________(10) that the disease itself may account for only 10 per cent of future deaths — the knock-on effects will kill millions more.
All the more reason, therefore, for using this interregnumto consider not only the threat of decimation but also the challenge of the new norm. It’s popular __________ (11) that the Mandarin word for crisis combines two characters standing for danger and opportunity. Where that _________ (12) mix will lead no one knows. Viruses have shaped history. Smallpox, measles and influenza epidemics helped European colonization of the Americas. The Spanish flu sparked an economic ___________ (13) that shaped the Roaring Twenties. Much depends on how long the pandemic rages. Gates’s hope of an effective, mass-produced vaccine by the end of 2021 and the consequent immunization of enough people worldwide to halt the disease in its tracks seems reasonable now that Phase III trials of the Oxford vaccine are ____________ (14).
Our problem is with the government’s callously neglected human responsibilities. Covid-19 has exposed India’s __________ (15) inadequate healthcare system. Remedying this should be Delhi’s first task after the pandemic. Hunger spreads as jobs disappear and agricultural productivity declines. Lockdowns disrupt education. Other causes of death — malaria and HIV here, cancer in the West — are neglected.
Q9.
(a) Foreboding
(b) Sceptical
(c) Pillage
(d) Rend
(e) Livelihood
Q10.
(a)Hewed
(b) Parity
(c) Affable
(d) Warns
(e) Interminable
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Q11.
(a)Sentinel
(b) Lore
(c) Precision
(d)Usurp
(e) Slew
Q12.
(a)Precept
(b)Odium
(c) Heady
(d)Wanton
(e)Depose
Q13.
(a)Enduring
(b)Candid
(c) Fray
(d)Deference
(e) Surge
Q14.
(a)Nominal
(b)Insinuate
(c) Imminent
(d)Bland
(e) Impertinent
Q15.
(a) Suppliant
(b) Languid
(c) Rave
(d) Monetary
(e) Scandalously
Solutions
S1. Ans. (c)
Sol. “Audacious” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (c) is the right answer choice.
Audacious: showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks.
Spat: a quarrel about petty points
Warble: sing or play with trills
Mien: a person’s appearance, manner, or demeanor
Sate: fill to contentment
S2. Ans. (e)
Sol. “Chronology” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (e) is the right answer choice.
Chronology: the arrangement of events or dates in the order of their occurrence.
Docile: easily handled or managed
Patronize: treat condescendingly
Teem: be full of or abuzz with
Estrange: arouse hostility or indifference in
S3. Ans. (c)
Sol. “Knack” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (c) is the right answer choice.
Knack: an acquired or natural skill at doing something.
Fitful: occurring in spells and often abruptly
Erode: become ground down or deteriorate
Canto: a major division of a long poem
S4. Ans. (a)
Sol. “Imperative” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (a) is the right answer choice.
Imperative: of vital importance; crucial.
Raiment: especially fine or decorative clothing
Intrepid: invulnerable to fear or intimidation
Seemly: according with custom or propriety
Allay: lessen the intensity of or calm
S5. Ans. (d)
Sol. “Outlast” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (d) is the right answer choice.
Outlast: live or last longer than.
Reticent: temperamentally disinclined to talk
Chide: scold or reprimand severely or angrily
Propensity: an inclination to do something
Espouse: choose and follow a theory, idea, policy, etc.
S6. Ans. (b)
Sol. “Embers” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (b) is the right answer choice.
Embers: a small piece of burning or glowing coal or wood in a dying fire.
Craven: lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful
Ostensible: appearing as such but not necessarily so
Vestige:an indication that something has been present
Plumb: examine thoroughly and in great depth
S7. Ans. (c)
Sol. “Rage” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (c) is the right answer choice.
Rage: violent uncontrollable anger.
Innate: not established by conditioning or learning
Reverie: an abstracted state of absorption
Wrangle: quarrel noisily, angrily, or disruptively
Crevice: a long narrow opening
S8. Ans. (e)
Sol. “Dousing” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (e) is the right answer choice.
Dousing: extinguish (a fire or light).
-pour a liquid over; drench.
Deign: do something that one considers to be below one’s dignity
Capricious: determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
Stupendous: so great in size, force, or extent as to elicit awe
Chaffing: material consisting of seed coverings and pieces of stem
S9. Ans. (b)
Sol. “Sceptical” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (b) is the right answer choice.
Sceptical: not easily convinced; having doubts or reservations.
Foreboding: a feeling of evil to come
Pillage: steal goods; take as spoils
Rend: tear or be torn violently
S10. Ans. (d)
Sol. “Warns” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (d) is the right answer choice.
Hew: make or shape as with an axe
Parity: functional equality
Affable: diffusing warmth and friendliness
Interminable: tiresomely long; seemingly without end
S11. Ans. (b)
Sol. “Lore” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (b) is the right answer choice.
Lore: a body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth.
Sentinel: a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
Precision: the quality of being reproducible in amount or performance
Usurp: seize and take control without authority
Slew: a large number or amount or extent
S12. Ans. (c)
Sol. “Heady” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (c) is the right answer choice.
Heady: having a strong or exhilarating effect.
-(of alcoholic drink) potent; intoxicating.
Precept: a rule of personal conduct
Odium: state of disgrace resulting from detestable behavior
Wanton: unprovoked or without motive or justification
Depose: force to leave an office
S13. Ans. (e)
Sol. “Surge” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (e) is the right answer choice.
Surge: a sudden powerful forward or upward movement, especially by a crowd or by a natural force such as the tide.
Deference: a courteous expression of esteem or regard
Fray: a noisy fight
Candid: openly straightforward and direct without secretiveness
Enduring: unceasing
S14. Ans. (c)
Sol. “Imminent” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (c) is the right answer choice.
Imminent: about to happen.
Nominal: insignificantly small; a matter of form only
Insinuate: suggest in an indirect or covert way; give to understand
Bland: lacking stimulating characteristics; uninteresting
Impertinent: improperly forward or bold
S15. Ans. (e)
Sol. “Scandalously” fits the blank appropriately making the sentence contextually meaningful and grammatically correct. Hence, option (e) is the right answer choice.
Scandalously: causing general public outrage by a perceived offence against morality or law.
-(of a state of affairs) disgracefully bad.
Monetary: relating to or involving money
Rave: praise enthusiastically
Languid: lacking spirit or liveliness
Suppliant: humbly entreating
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