IBPS Clerk Mains English (Day-01)

Dear Aspirants, Our IBPS Guide team is providing a new series of English Language Questions for IBPS Clerk 2020 Mains so the aspirants can practice it on a daily basis. These questions are framed by our skilled experts after understanding your needs thoroughly. Aspirants can practice these new series questions daily to familiarize with the exact exam pattern and make your preparation effective.

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Paragraph fillers

Directions (1-5): Each of the following questions has a paragraph from which one sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the one that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.

1) In other circumstances, during this time of the year, the bylanes of north Kolkata potters’ village, Kumartuli, would be bustling with crowds, photographers and tourists, hoping to catch a glimpse of artisans putting final touches to the idols of deities in time for the autumn festival of Durga Puja. _______________________________. Most artisans work in semi-permanent structures, propped up using bricks, bamboo and plastic sheets, and the storm that the cyclone brought, wreaked havoc in the neighbourhood, residents said.The process of idol-making begins months before Durga Puja and had just gotten started when the cyclone arrived

1. Costs that are sometimes inconspicuous to customers include payments that the artisans need to make to the many workers and assistants they employ under them and to suppliers from whom they purchase raw materials
2. However, fewer customers is only the most visible part of the story
3. Having been hit by Cyclone Amphan in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic in May this year, the scenario now is unlike any other the artisans of Kumartuli have ever seen
4. For weeks, no orders meant that artisans were keeping to themselves, but many now fear that customers who have started coming in, may bring the infection with them
5. None of the above

2) For the first time in more than three months, the novel coronavirus numbers in Maharashtra have now started to grow at a faster rate than the country as a whole. The daily growth rate (seven-day compounded rate) in Maharashtra has gone up to 2.21 per cent, while at the national level this has remained at 2.14 per cent. ______________________________________. From a level of about 10,000 to 12,000 cases per day, Maharashtra has beginning to report more than 20,000 cases now.

1. The national growth rate has been steadily going down since the middle of May
2. At one point of time, Maharashtra accounted for nearly 40 per cent of all cases in India
3. But the recent trends in Delhi show that Pune’s unenviable position as the city with the highest caseload in the country would be challenged

D.The increase in daily growth rate has been the result of big jump in the number of daily detection of new cases in Maharashtra in the last three weeks

E. None of the above

3) A red flag warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for Ventura and Los Angeles counties through Wednesday morning. ________________________________. The fast moving Creek Fire in the Sierra National Forest has grown to 135,523 acres and has no containment, US Forest Service Supervisor Dean Gould said during a Monday night press briefing.

1. Peak wind gusts of up to 50 mph are expected for many elevated areas in Northern California, which only exacerbates an already active fire season in the state as hot and dry weather will continue to dry out vegetation and make it more susceptible to fires during a wind event
2. Throughout the day, helicopters have been attempting to rescue those who are trapped by the fire
3. There are currently 76 large wildfires burning across the United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, but California has remained the hardest hit state
4. Over the weekend, more than 200 people were rescued from the area as flames surrounded Lake Mammoth Reservoir.
5. None of the above

4) Nearly 300 protesters were arrested on Sunday, according to the police, during one of the largest pro-democracy demonstrations since China imposed a national security law in June. ___________________________________________________. Some pro-democracy activists, who had been aiming to win a majority in the city’s Legislative Council, accused the government of using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse — for fear that pro-government parties could do badly in the vote.

1. Since then, the demonstrations have evolved into a broader protest movement against the city’s pro-Beijing government, the Chinese central government, and the police force, which many accuse of excessive force
2. Hong Kong was originally scheduled to go to the polls on Sunday, but in July the city’s leader postponed legislative elections for a year, citing public health concerns
3. Police have consistently argued that their tactics are the result of protesters’ violence and disruption, and have strenuously denied wrongdoing and accusations of brutality
4. In a press conference on Tuesday, the city’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, said it would “not be right” for the Chief Executive to give an opinion on the police operation
5. None of the above

5) In the quarterfinal of the 2016 French Open against Tomas Berdych, angered by missing out on a break point opportunity, Djokovic flung his racquet backwards without looking, nearly hitting one of the line judges. _______________________________________. Later, during the press conference when he was asked about the incident, he said “It’s not an issue for me. It’s not the first time I did it.”

Neither incident resulted in a default.

1. The Serb superstar immediately raised his arm in apology and went over to check on the line umpire
2. In the build-up to the US Open, he resigned from his position as president of the ATP Council and just two days before the Grand Slam, launched a rival players’ association
3. At the ATP Tour Finals the same year, in a match against Dominic Thiem, Djokovic hit a ball into the stands.
4. According to The Guardian, Djokovic left the venue immediately after and returned to his rented accommodation, and gave no indication that he would be returning to the site to offer an explanation
5. None of the above

Connectors

Directions (6-10): In the questions given below few sentences are given which are grammatically correct and meaningful. Connect them by the word given above the statements in the best possible way without changing the intended meaning. Choose your answer accordingly from the options to form a correct, coherent sentence.

6) WHO

I) There was Allan Octavian Hume, for example, Customs commissioner and ornithologist, son of a great English radical

II) New names, belonging to the cultural descendants of Rammohan Roy, began to travel through the bazars

III) Instead of retiring to London, he set himself up in Shimla and helped found the Indian National Congress to promote liberal and secular ideals

IV) Their educated elite, the bhadralokhad long been aware how heavily the economic condition of the land had been weighted against its natives

1. II – IV
2. I – IV
3. I – III
4. I – IV & II – IV
5. None of the above

7) WHICH

I) At the time of time of the Black Hole, Calcutta’s population was estimated to be no more than 4, 00, 000

II) A great deal of Calcutta’s problems arose from enormous migration to the city

III) They had poured down the Hooghly in search of wealth, just like the Englishmen had sailed up it for the same purpose

IV) It had occurred from almost the moment of Charnock’s settlement

1. I – IV
2. III – IV
3. II – III
4. II – IV
5. None of the above

8) NONETHELESS

I) Party general-secretary Ajoy Ghosh managed to mediate between the two warring factions

II) And a semblance of unity was retained in the party

III) In ensuing months, futile efforts were made to reach a middle ground

IV) At the same time, a strongly pro-China faction existed in the party

1. III – IV
2. I – III
3. I – II
4. I – IV
5. None of the above

9) EVEN AS

I) New revelations about the President’s alleged disrespect for American military service members are a reminder that in the Trump era, damning insider accounts are around every bend

II) The very nature of voting has changed, leading to false accusations by the President of a rigged contest

III) Trump continued to deny he is anything except reverent toward US veterans

IV) He lobbed a vicious attack on the military leadership on Monday

1. I – II
2. III – IV
3. I – III
4. Both I – IV and II – III
5. None of the above

10) WHILE

I) Icelandic authorities were furious at the breach of its strict Covid-19 guidelines

II) Footage shows the two Icelandic cousins nervously making their way to the hotel in the early hours of Sunday

III) The team-mates smuggled the two women in hours after England’s 1-0 win

IV) The pair also broke the “bubble” rules designed to protect them and the England squad

1. I – IV
2. II – III
3. III – IV
4. I – III
5. None of the above

Answers :

Directions (1-5):

1) Answer: C

Let us proceed with each of the blanks one by one.

Option A can be straightaway ruled out as the opening sentence makes no reference related to costs. Same with option B – there is nothing related to customers in the opening statement.

The opening statement begins with describing how things usually are in Kumortuli village in the months leading up to Durga pujas. This implies that the follow up sentence is likely to shed light on what/how/why things are different this year. The option that does it better between C and D is clearly the former.

Therefore option C is the correct answer to this question.

2) Answer: D

The first two sentences of the given passage are detailing about how growth rate of coronavirus is growing in Maharashtra and has become more than the India average. The last sentence gives the magnitude of increase in caseloads due to this increase in growth rate. The missing sentence therefore needs to act as bridge between the first two and the last sentence. Of the given options, the one that is perfectly doing this is option D – giving the reason for the increase in daily growth rate and also acting as perfect lead up for the last sentence (which is quantifying the increase daily additions to caseloads).

Therefore option D is the correct answer to this question.

3) Answer: A

The 1^st sentence of the passage is talking about a warning being issued by National Weather Service. It therefore logically follows that the next sentence after this will elaborate on the nature/contents of this warning. If we look at the options, only option A fits the bill as it is describing high winds etc.

Therefore option A is the correct answer to this question.

4) Answer: B

We can rule out options C and D as they do not appear to have any linkage to the given passage. The first sentence ends with “June” and hence option A, which starts off with a time reference (“Since then”) could fit in that way. However, it is not having any linkage to the last sentence of the passage. Option B however, provides a perfect lead-up for the last sentence and presents a logically meaningful passage.

Therefore option B is the correct answer to this question.

5) Answer: C

If we read the passage and look into the options, there are only two relevant choices – options A and C. The first sentence ends with saying that Djokovic almost ended up hitting the line judge. So option A which says he immediately went to apologize to the umpire is a good follow up. However, if we read the lines after the blank, we can see that the last line is referring to two such incidents of violent behavior. One is mentioned in the 1^st sentence. Hence, the 2^nd must be mentioned in the blank which is the 2^nd sentence.

Therefore option C is the correct answer to this question.

Directions (6-10):

6) Answer: C

The pronoun “who” is used to describe a person. The one fragment that is describing a person is fragment I. The best way that “who” can be used here is to connect I with III – in this way: There was Allan Octavian Hume, for example, Customs commissioner and ornithologist, son of a great English radical WHO, instead of retiring to London, set himself up in Shimla and helped found the Indian National Congress to promote liberal and secular ideals.

Therefore, option C is the correct answer to this question.

7) Answer: D

“Which” is a pronoun that is used as a determiner. It can be used most effectively when qualifying / describing an event. In the given case, the best way this can be achieved is by combining sentences II and IV as follows:  A great deal of Calcutta’s problems arose from enormous migration to the city WHICH had occurred from almost the moment of Charnock’s settlement.

Therefore, option D is the correct answer to this question.

8) Answer: C

“Nonetheless” means “in spite of”.It is quite clear that the 2^nd fragment in the combination will be II – “and a semblance of unity was retained in the party.”Therefore, the fragment before it must signify something some efforts/work that would achieve unity. The only fragment that does this is I. Hence, the given word can be used to combined I and II in this way – NONETHELESS, Party general-secretary Ajoy Ghosh managed to mediate between the two warring factions and a semblance of unity was retained in the party.

Therefore, option C is the correct answer to this question.

9) Answer: B

The given phrase “even as” means at the same time. Therefore, the use has to be made in such a way to show two activities happening simultaneously – often contradictory. The best way to do that will be linking fragments III and IV like this – EVEN AS Trump continued to deny he is anything except reverent toward US veterans, He lobbed a vicious attack on the military leadership on Monday.

Therefore, option B is the correct answer to this question.

10) Answer: A

The term “while” means two activities at the same time – either in a common cause or something different. Here, the best use of this term will be by combining fragments I and IV as follows – Icelandic authorities were furious at the breach of its strict Covid-19 guidelines WHILE the pair also broke the “bubble” rules designed to protect them and the England squad.

Therefore, option A is the correct answer to this question.