Dear Aspirants, Our IBPS Guide team is providing a new series of English Language Questions for SBI Clerk Prelims 2020 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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Reading Comprehension
Direction (1-5): Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. There are some blanks given in the passage based on which some questions are framed, and some words are highlighted as well to help you answer some of the questions.
As many as four potentially hazardous asteroids went past the Earth late on Tuesday. Three out of four of these ………………. (A)rocks were barely discovered a few hours before zipping past the Earth-Moon system, the Daily Express reported. One asteroid called 2019 SM8 was seen by space researchers at the Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona on Monday, which flew by our planet hours later, according to NASA. The asteroid 2019 SM8 at its closest was approximately 99,000 miles (159,000 kilometres) away from Earth, which is a little less than half of the average distance between the Moon and our planet, a report by Space.com said.
According to NASA’s estimate, this particular asteroid was about 16 feet (4.8 metres) in diameter, which is approximately the size of an SUV. (B) Around an hour later, another celestial (1) was discovered, however, this asteroid (2) rock named asteroid 2019 SE8 flew from a distance (3) of approximately 674,000 miles (1.1 million kilometres) from the Earth and hence did not prove to be a threat (4). In terms of size, this asteroid was comparatively bigger than the previous one. It was estimated to be around 47 feet (14 metres) in size. (C) Apart from these, two more celestial rocks named asteroid 2019 SD8 and asteroid 2018 FK5 were detected by the US space agency, which passed approximately 331,000 miles (532,000 kilometres) and 3 million miles (5 million kilometres) far away from the Earth respectively. Even though none of these asteroids had much chance of hitting our planet, however, these rocks are classified by NASA as potentially ……………….. (D)asteroids as they pose a threat in their future course when their orbits intersect that of our planet. In the past, some key space researchers and entrepreneurs have pointed out fears regarding asteroids hitting the Earth.
In August, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk had pointed out on Twitter that the Earth presently has no defence against ‘killer’ asteroids. Responding to a tweet about the asteroid Apophis — dubbed as the ‘God of Chaos’ that is expected to scrape past Earth in 2029, Musk pointed out that there is, currently, no defence system to protect our planet. …………………… (E), a famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson had also warned about the Apophis 99942 hitting the Earth, causing a major tsunami that can wipe out the entire west coast of North America. Researchers have said that the asteroid which wiped away dinosaurs is estimated to have been equivalent to 10 billion atomic bombs that were used in World War II. The impact of that giant asteroid had triggered massive tsunamis and let to wildfires that were thousands of miles away.
1) Which of the following word given in the options should come at the place marked as (A) in the above passage to make it grammatically correct and meaningful? Also, the word should fill in the two sentences given below to make them contextually correct and meaningful?
(I) There were light bulbs representing the stars and line drawings of the ………………….. figures.
(II) The moon is a ……………… body.
A) platonic
B) celestial
C) alluvial
D) terrestrial
E) None of the above
2) The sentence given in (B) has four words given in bold. Amongst the given bold words which of the following must replace each other to make the sentence contextually correct and meaningful?
A) Both 2-1 and 3-4
B) Both 1-4 and 2-3
C) Both 2-4 and 1-3
D) 1-2
E) 3-4
3) In the above passage, sentence (C) may or may not have an error in one part of the sentence, select the part having error in it as your answer.
A) Apart from these, two more celestial rocks named asteroid 2019 SD8 and asteroid 2018 FK5
B) were detected by the US space agency, which passed approximately 331,000 miles (532,000 kilometres)
C) and 3 million miles (5 million kilometres)
D) far away from the Earth respectively.
E) Both (a) and (b)
4) Which of the following should fill the blank given in (D) to make it contextually correct and meaningful?
A) hazardous
B) envious
C) contagious
D) voracious
E) None of the above.
5) Which of the following phrase should fill the blank (F) to make it contextually and grammatically correct and meaningful?
A) Musk’s priority
B) Prioritising Musk
C) Prior of Musk
D) Prior to Musk
E) None of the above
Reading Comprehension
Direction (6-10): Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
Anybody who has watched the quick succession of aircraft landings and takeoffs at Delhi or Mumbai airports would be aware of the time precision required. An air-traffic-control error of less than 30 seconds could be disastrous. Yet, the entire civil aviation sector, including passengers, takes such clockwork operations for granted. The same cannot be said about the railways, or other means of public transport in most of India. Nor can it be said about our social behaviour as a nation, where being on time for a meeting, party or wedding often puts you at risk of being ahead of the hosts themselves. Often, not being on time is also seen a power statement—it’s a mark of status to have a roomful of people wait for your arrival.
We, as citizens of India, seem to believe that we are “like that only”, culturally hardwired to say “chaltahai” as a catch-all pardon for anything slipshod. As a visitor once wryly observed of Indian timeliness, “two minutes” here could mean anything from “right now” to an eternity. But habits and a “culture” of lateness are not encoded in anybody’s genes. It’s not about nature, but nurture. And that could change. Difficult as it is to believe, the Japanese were known for their ambivalence towards time just a century ago. In fact, the big societal change that turned Japan into a nation always on time took place only after the shock of World War II. In a paper titled Japanese Clocks and the History of Punctuality in Modern Japan, Takehiko Hashimoto, a professor of history and technology, maps out its transition from the tardy to the time-bound country it is today.
When the colonizing West encountered the Japanese East on factory shop floors, at train stations and at shipping docks in mid- to late-19th century Japan, Westerners found that “the Japanese worked with an apparent indifference to the clock”. Sensitivity increased after being on time in schools, factories, docks and work places became mandatory. But in their private spaces, people were still on the “variable hour system of seasonal time”. How did that change? Cheap quartz watches on every wrist, a realization that time is money, social movements, and a leadership push in 1960, when Japan’s then Prime MinisterHayato Ikeda galvanized the country to double its national income in a decade. It was largely over the 1960s that Japan transformed its consciousness of time and what it meant for daily life. If the Japanese could throw off the sloth of the past without any cultural loss, so can we. The conditions are ripe for a sharp habitual shift in India—a prime minister who is leading citizens to break centuries-old habits like open defecation, a buoyant middle class, 300 million aspirants to the mid-income bracket, and a national desire to shed all that held us back, so that a quantum leap can be taken for prosperity. Some signs of change are already visible. Metro trains run mostly on schedule, the government issuance of passports, driving licences and other such documents are now time-bound. A major digital push aims at removing the human interface that delays services which citizens have a right to. Changes at the workplace may take a while to reach the wedding pandal, but don’t write off the possibility. Success is not inevitable, but maybe 25 years later, the world will be saying, “If it’s on time, it’s Indian.”
6) Which of the following is true regarding Japanese people the passage?
I) Japanese were known for their punctuality towards time just a century ago.
II) Westerners found that the Japanese worked with an apparent indifference to the clock.
III) In a paper titled Japanese Clocks and the History of Punctuality in Modern Japan, Takehiko Hashimoto, a professor of history and technology, maps out its transition from the tardy to the time-bound country it is today.
A) I & II
B) I & III
C) II & III
D) All of the above
E) None of the above
7) Which of the following statements does not satisfy with the habitual shift in India?
A) Metro trains run mostly on schedule.
B) In a country like India, there is no one to usher people to break centuries-old habits that held us back, so that a quantum leap can be taken for prosperity.
C) The time bound issuance of passports, driving licences and other such documents.
D) A major digital push aims at removing the human interface that delays services which citizens have a right to.
E) None of the above.
8) Which of the following is/are synonymous with wryly observation?
I) As a visitor once wryly observed of Indian timeliness, “two minutes” here could mean anything from “right now” to an eternity.
II) The big societal change turned Japan into a nation, always on time, took place only after the shock of World War II.
III) Japanese could throw off the sloth of the past without any cultural loss.
A) I & II
B) I & III
C) Only I
D) All of the above
E) None of the above
9) Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/ group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
Slipshod
A) Token
B) Slapdash
C) Painstaking
D) Attestation
E) None of the above.
10) Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/ group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
Ambivalence
A) Decisiveness
B) Equivocation
C) Resolution
D) Redundancy
E) None of the above.
Answers :
Directions (1-5) :
1) Answer: (b)
‘celestial’ means positioned in or relating to the sky, or outer space as observed in astronomy.. It perfectly fits in the blank (A) and in the given two statements as well. Hence, option (A) is the correct answer choice.
‘platonic’ means (of love or friendship) intimate and affectionate but not sexual.
‘alluvial’ means relating to or derived from alluvium.
‘terrestrial’ means of, on, or relating to the earth.
2) Answer: (d)
After making the replacements, the thus formed is ‘Around an hour later, another asteroid was discovered, however, this celestial rock named asteroid 2019 SE8 flew from a distance of approximately 674,000 miles (1.1 million kilometres) from the Earth and hence did not prove to be a threat’.
3) Answer: (d)
Here only ‘away’ should come in place of ‘far away’. The error free sentence is “Apart from these, two more celestial rocks named asteroid 2019 SD8 and asteroid 2018 FK5 were detected by the US space agency, which passed approximately 331,000 miles (532,000 kilometres) and 3 million miles (5 million kilometres) away from the Earth respectively. ”
4) Answer: (a)
The Blank (D) is suitably fit by ‘hazardous’ which means risky; dangerous.
‘envious’ means feeling or showing envy.
‘contagious’ means (of a disease) spread from one person or organism to another by direct or indirect contact.
‘voracious’ means wanting or devouring great quantities of food.
5) Answer: (d)
Option D is suitable to fill in the blank (F) making the sentence both grammatically and contextually right.
Directions (6-10) :
6) Answer: (c)
Japanese were known for their ambivalence towards time just a century ago. In fact, the big societal change that turned Japan into a nation always on time took place only after the shock of World War II. In a paper titled Japanese Clocks And The History of Punctuality In Modern Japan, Takehiko Hashimoto, a professor of history and technology, maps out its transition from the tardy to the time-bound country it is today. When the colonizing West encountered the Japanese East on factory shop floors, at train stations and at shipping docks in mid- to late-19th century Japan, Westerners found that “the Japanese worked with an apparent indifference to the clock”. Sensitivity increased after being on time in schools, factories, docks and work places became mandatory. But in their private spaces, people were still on the “variable hour system of seasonal time”.
7) Answer: (b)
The conditions are ripe for a sharp habitual shift in India—a prime minister who is leading citizens to break centuries-old habits like open defecation, a buoyant middle class, 300 million aspirants to the mid-income bracket, and a national desire to shed all that held us back, so that a quantum leap can be taken for prosperity. Some signs of change are already visible. Metro trains run mostly on schedule, the government issuance of passports, driving licences and other such documents are now time-bound. A major digital push aims at removing the human interface that delays services which citizens have a right to. Changes at the workplace may take a while to reach the wedding pandal, but don’t write off the possibility. Success is not inevitable, but maybe 25 years later, the world will be saying, “If it’s on time, it’s Indian.”
8) Answer: (c)
As a visitor once wryly observed of Indian timeliness, “two minutes” here could mean anything from “right now” to an eternity. But habits and a “culture” of lateness are not encoded in anybody’s genes. It’s not about nature, but nurture. And that could change.
9) Answer: (c)
‘Slipshod’ means (typically of a person or method of work) characterized by a lack of care, thought, or organization.
‘Token’ means a voucher that can be exchanged for goods or services, typically one given as a gift or offered as part of a promotional offer.
‘Slapdash’ means done too hurriedly and carelessly.
‘Painstaking’ means done with or employing great care and thoroughness.
‘Attestation’ means evidence or proof of something.
10) Answer: (b)
‘Ambivalence’ means the state of having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
‘Decisiveness’ means the ability to make decisions quickly and effectively.
‘Equivocation’ means the use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself; prevarication.
‘Resolution’ means a firm decision to do or not to do something.
‘Redundancy’ means the state of being not or no longer needed or useful.
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