Practice Section 5 question answer - general english mcq Online Quiz (set-1) For All Competitive Exams

DIRECTIONS:

Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

PASSAGE

We have inherited the tradition of secrecy about the budget from Britain where also the system has been strongly attacked by eminent economists and political scientists including Peter Jay. Sir Richard Clarke, who was the originating genius of nearly every important development in the British budgeting techniques during the last two decades, has spoken out about the abuse of budget secrecy: "The problems of long-term tax policy should surely be debated openly with the facts on the table. In my opinion, all governments should have just the same duty to publish their expenditure policy. Indeed, this obligation to publish taxation policy is really essential for the control of public expenditure in order to get realistic taxation implications." Realising that democracy flourishes best on the principles of open government, more and more democracies are having an open public debate on budget proposals before introducing the appropriate Bill in the legislature. In the United States the budget is conveyed in a message by the President to the Congress, which comes well in advance of the date when the Bill is introduced in the Congress. In Finland the Parliament and the people are already discussing in June the tentative budget proposals which are to be introduced in the Finnish Parliament in September. Every budget contains a cartload of figures in black and white - but the dark figures represent the myriad lights and shades of India's life, the contrasting tones of poverty and wealth, and of bread so dear and flesh and blood so cheap, the deep tints of adventure and enterprise and man's ageless struggle for a brighter morning. The Union budget should not be an annual scourge but a part of presentation of annual accounts of a partnership between the Government and the people. That partnership would work much better when the nonsensical secrecy is replaced by openness and public consultations, resulting in fair laws and the people's acceptance of their moral duty to pay.

Q-1)   Choose the word which is most nearly the SAME in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.

SCOURGE

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Explanation:

The meaning of the word ‘scourge’ as mentioned in the passage is ‘ a whip used especially formerly for punishing people’. Hence the words ‘scourge’ and ‘whip’ are synonymous.


DIRECTIONS:

Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

PASSAGE

A few weeks ago I ran into an old friend who is currently one of the mandarins deciding India's economic and financial policies. He asked, "And so, how is IIT doing?" As one can only indulge in friendly banter at such gatherings, I responded with, "Not so well actually. Your market-friendly policies have forced us to raise the fee, so we have 50% fewer PhD applicants this year. Not batting an eyelid, he shot back: "Obviously. Your PhD students don't have any market value." Taken aback, I shifted to a more serious tone and tried to start a discussion on the need for research in these globalised times. But he had already walked away. The last word on the imperatives of the 'market' had been spoken. Actually, this view of higher education should not have surprised me. Worthies who look at everything as consumer products classify higher education as a 'non-merit' good. Non-merit goods are those where only the individual benefits from acquiring them and not the society as a whole. Multilateral agencies like The World Bank have too been pushing countries like India to stop subsidies to higher education.

When Ron Brown, former US commerce secretary visited India, a public meeting was organized at IIT Delhi. At that meeting I asked him : "I understand that since the 19th century all the way up to the 1970s, most land grant and state universities in the US virtually provided free education to state citizens. Was that good for the economy, or should they have charged high fees in the early 20th century?" He replied, "It was great for the economy. It was one of the best things that the US government did at that particular time in American history - building institutions of higher education which were accessible to the masses of the people. I think it is one of the reasons why our economy grew and prospered, one of the ways in which the US was able to close some of its social gaps. So people who lived in rural areas would have the same kind of access to higher education as people living in other parts of the country. It was one of the reasons for making America strong."

Our policy-makers seem unaware that their mentors in the US did not follow policies at home which they now prescribe for other countries. Ron Brown's remarks summarise the importance of policymakers in the US place on higher education as a vehicle for upward mobility, for the poorer sectors of their population. Even today, a majority of Americans study in state-run institutions. Some of these institutions, like Berkeley and the Universities of Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas, are among the best in world. The annual tuition charged from state residents (about $ 5000 a year) is about a month's salary paid to a lecturer. Even this fee is waived for most students. In addition, students receive stipends for books, food and hostel charges. The basic principle is that no student who gets admission to a university should have to depend on parental support if it is not available.

Ron Brown's remarks went unnoticed in India. Every other day some luminary or the other opines that universities and technical education institutions should increase their charges and that such education should not be subsidized. Most editorials echo these sentiments. Eminent industrialists pontificate that we should run educational institutions like business houses. Visiting experts from the Bank and the IMF, in their newly emerging concern for the poor, advise us to divert funds from higher education to primary education.

Q-2)   Who among the following supports the view that higher education should be free to everyone aspiring for it?
  1. Editors and Journalists
  2. Industrialists
  3. Visiting Experts from the Bank and the IMF

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Explanation:

Read the last para.


DIRECTIONS:

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below. Certain words/phrases are printed in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

PASSAGE

Street theatre in India is a well established ancient art form. Despite the proliferation of modern means of entertainment and communication, street theatre continues to flourish in India.

Street theatre as a channel of communication has for centuries been propagating reforms by highlighting social, economic and political issues present in the society. Unlike in the olden days, its performance is no longer restricted to villages or small localities of the city. Today small groups of performers including students, would stage performances to mobilize public opinion or to help create or raise awareness over a particular issue of public importance. Themes on substance abuse, AIDS awareness, and domestic violence are some of the areas highlighted by contemporary street theatre troupe. Unlike in regular drama street drama employ very little props and images. The human body becomes the main tool in which choreography, mime, dialogues, songs and slogans are extensively used.

Street theatre is one of the most intimate media. Its appeal is to the emotions leading to quick psychological impact on audiences. By being local and live they also are able to establish not only direct contact with the audience but by being costeffective and flexible they are popular among all age groups.

Q-3)   Street theatre creates an/a _______ impact on audiences.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Explanation:

Street theatre creates an emotional impact on audiences that leads to quick psychological impact.


DIRECTIONS:

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words in the passage are printed in bold to help you to locate them easily while answering some of the questions.

PASSAGE

Giving loans to Impoverished women to make ceramics or to farmers to buy milk cows were not seen as great business. Microfinance was an industry championed by antipoverty activists. Today it is on the Verge of a revolution, with billions of dollars from big banks, private equity shops and pension funds pouring In, driving growth of 30% to 40% this year alone. In 1998, a nonprofit microfinance organisation in Peru, converted into bank (called Mibanco). This demonstrated that the poor Eire good risks who repay lotions on time and getting them together, not only chips away at poverty but also turns a profit. The success of Mibanco has piqued the interest of commercial banks, which had previously shunned the countries poor. Now big banks are going after Milbank's clients with low rate loans and realising it likes special know how to work with the unbanked Eire hiring away Milbank's staff. But with the emergence of players who are only out for profit, microfinance schemes could end up milking the poor.

This could happen in countries where lenders don't have to disclose interest rates. When a Mexican micro financer went public, revealing its loans had rates of about 86% annually, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) criticised it for putting shareholders ahead of clients. The pressure of turn a profit also forces micro financiers to change their business models In ways that depart from the industries core mission to help poor people lead better lives. Such shifts have caused the average loan size to triple. Moreover smaller loans being costlier to service, a lower percentage of loans go to women because they tend to take out similar sums. According to CGAP, with the flood of new large entities there is the risk that a large percentage of cross border funds go to Latin America and eastern Europe, the world's most developed microfinance markets. The poorest of the world's poor, who are predominantly in Asia and Africa get left out, says the CEO of the nonprofit Grameen Foundation, which helps develop microfinance Institutions. Segmenting the Industry, might be worthwhile if It allows more of the poor to get access to credit. Multinational corporations could take the top microfinance institutions to the next level, and the remainder could be the responsibility of development groups and regional banks. Yet making loans to poor people is hardly a poverty cure.

Property rights and the rule flaw matter too, One cannot over idealize what microfinance alone can do. Most nonprofits started with lending simply because local laws prohibited nonbanks from offering deposit accounts. With an increase in competition and marketing efforts, poverty alleviation experts are concerned that people will be talked into loans they would not otherwise want, For example, organizations like Mibanco are providing consumer loans. There is nothing wrong with buying TVs and micro waves on credit, but certain markets, like Mexico, have been flooded with loans that have nothing to do with providing capital to aspiring entrepreneurs —just increasing household debt.

Q-4)   Which of the following cannot be said about the Grameen Foundation?
  1. It regulates the activities of microfinance firms in developing countries.
  2. It functions primarily in Asia and Latin America.
  3. It approves of privatizing microfinance institutions.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Explanation:


DIRECTIONS:

Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

PASSAGE

We have inherited the tradition of secrecy about the budget from Britain where also the system has been strongly attacked by eminent economists and political scientists including Peter Jay. Sir Richard Clarke, who was the originating genius of nearly every important development in the British budgeting techniques during the last two decades, has spoken out about the abuse of budget secrecy: "The problems of long-term tax policy should surely be debated openly with the facts on the table. In my opinion, all governments should have just the same duty to publish their expenditure policy. Indeed, this obligation to publish taxation policy is really essential for the control of public expenditure in order to get realistic taxation implications." Realising that democracy flourishes best on the principles of open government, more and more democracies are having an open public debate on budget proposals before introducing the appropriate Bill in the legislature. In the United States the budget is conveyed in a message by the President to the Congress, which comes well in advance of the date when the Bill is introduced in the Congress. In Finland the Parliament and the people are already discussing in June the tentative budget proposals which are to be introduced in the Finnish Parliament in September. Every budget contains a cartload of figures in black and white - but the dark figures represent the myriad lights and shades of India's life, the contrasting tones of poverty and wealth, and of bread so dear and flesh and blood so cheap, the deep tints of adventure and enterprise and man's ageless struggle for a brighter morning. The Union budget should not be an annual scourge but a part of presentation of annual accounts of a partnership between the Government and the people. That partnership would work much better when the nonsensical secrecy is replaced by openness and public consultations, resulting in fair laws and the people's acceptance of their moral duty to pay.

Q-5)   The secrecy of the budget is maintained by all of the following countries except
  1. Finland
  2. India
  3. United States

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Explanation:


DIRECTIONS:

Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

PASSAGE

We have inherited the tradition of secrecy about the budget from Britain where also the system has been strongly attacked by eminent economists and political scientists including Peter Jay. Sir Richard Clarke, who was the originating genius of nearly every important development in the British budgeting techniques during the last two decades, has spoken out about the abuse of budget secrecy: "The problems of long-term tax policy should surely be debated openly with the facts on the table. In my opinion, all governments should have just the same duty to publish their expenditure policy. Indeed, this obligation to publish taxation policy is really essential for the control of public expenditure in order to get realistic taxation implications." Realising that democracy flourishes best on the principles of open government, more and more democracies are having an open public debate on budget proposals before introducing the appropriate Bill in the legislature. In the United States the budget is conveyed in a message by the President to the Congress, which comes well in advance of the date when the Bill is introduced in the Congress. In Finland the Parliament and the people are already discussing in June the tentative budget proposals which are to be introduced in the Finnish Parliament in September. Every budget contains a cartload of figures in black and white - but the dark figures represent the myriad lights and shades of India's life, the contrasting tones of poverty and wealth, and of bread so dear and flesh and blood so cheap, the deep tints of adventure and enterprise and man's ageless struggle for a brighter morning. The Union budget should not be an annual scourge but a part of presentation of annual accounts of a partnership between the Government and the people. That partnership would work much better when the nonsensical secrecy is replaced by openness and public consultations, resulting in fair laws and the people's acceptance of their moral duty to pay.

Q-6)   Which of the following statement(s) is/are definitely False in the context of the passage?
  1. Transparency helps unscrupulous elements to resort to corrupt practices.
  2. The open approach of Government is a sign of healthy democracy.
  3. People’s acceptance of their moral duties can best be achieved through openness and public consultations.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Explanation:

The statement goes against the idea of the passage.


DIRECTIONS:

Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

PASSAGE

We have inherited the tradition of secrecy about the budget from Britain where also the system has been strongly attacked by eminent economists and political scientists including Peter Jay. Sir Richard Clarke, who was the originating genius of nearly every important development in the British budgeting techniques during the last two decades, has spoken out about the abuse of budget secrecy: "The problems of long-term tax policy should surely be debated openly with the facts on the table. In my opinion, all governments should have just the same duty to publish their expenditure policy. Indeed, this obligation to publish taxation policy is really essential for the control of public expenditure in order to get realistic taxation implications." Realising that democracy flourishes best on the principles of open government, more and more democracies are having an open public debate on budget proposals before introducing the appropriate Bill in the legislature. In the United States the budget is conveyed in a message by the President to the Congress, which comes well in advance of the date when the Bill is introduced in the Congress. In Finland the Parliament and the people are already discussing in June the tentative budget proposals which are to be introduced in the Finnish Parliament in September. Every budget contains a cartload of figures in black and white - but the dark figures represent the myriad lights and shades of India's life, the contrasting tones of poverty and wealth, and of bread so dear and flesh and blood so cheap, the deep tints of adventure and enterprise and man's ageless struggle for a brighter morning. The Union budget should not be an annual scourge but a part of presentation of annual accounts of a partnership between the Government and the people. That partnership would work much better when the nonsensical secrecy is replaced by openness and public consultations, resulting in fair laws and the people's acceptance of their moral duty to pay.

Q-7)   Choose the word which is most OPPOSITE in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.

FLOURISHES

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Explanation:

The meaning of the word flourish’ as mentioned in the passage is ‘to grow in a healthy way’. Out of the given words ‘degenerate’ means ‘to pass into a worse physical, mental or moral state than one which is considered normal or desirable’. Hence the words ‘flourish’ and ‘degenerate’ are antonymous.


DIRECTIONS:

Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

PASSAGE

A few weeks ago I ran into an old friend who is currently one of the mandarins deciding India's economic and financial policies. He asked, "And so, how is IIT doing?" As one can only indulge in friendly banter at such gatherings, I responded with, "Not so well actually. Your market-friendly policies have forced us to raise the fee, so we have 50% fewer PhD applicants this year. Not batting an eyelid, he shot back: "Obviously. Your PhD students don't have any market value." Taken aback, I shifted to a more serious tone and tried to start a discussion on the need for research in these globalised times. But he had already walked away. The last word on the imperatives of the 'market' had been spoken. Actually, this view of higher education should not have surprised me. Worthies who look at everything as consumer products classify higher education as a 'non-merit' good. Non-merit goods are those where only the individual benefits from acquiring them and not the society as a whole. Multilateral agencies like The World Bank have too been pushing countries like India to stop subsidies to higher education.

When Ron Brown, former US commerce secretary visited India, a public meeting was organized at IIT Delhi. At that meeting I asked him : "I understand that since the 19th century all the way up to the 1970s, most land grant and state universities in the US virtually provided free education to state citizens. Was that good for the economy, or should they have charged high fees in the early 20th century?" He replied, "It was great for the economy. It was one of the best things that the US government did at that particular time in American history - building institutions of higher education which were accessible to the masses of the people. I think it is one of the reasons why our economy grew and prospered, one of the ways in which the US was able to close some of its social gaps. So people who lived in rural areas would have the same kind of access to higher education as people living in other parts of the country. It was one of the reasons for making America strong."

Our policy-makers seem unaware that their mentors in the US did not follow policies at home which they now prescribe for other countries. Ron Brown's remarks summarise the importance of policymakers in the US place on higher education as a vehicle for upward mobility, for the poorer sectors of their population. Even today, a majority of Americans study in state-run institutions. Some of these institutions, like Berkeley and the Universities of Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas, are among the best in world. The annual tuition charged from state residents (about $ 5000 a year) is about a month's salary paid to a lecturer. Even this fee is waived for most students. In addition, students receive stipends for books, food and hostel charges. The basic principle is that no student who gets admission to a university should have to depend on parental support if it is not available.

Ron Brown's remarks went unnoticed in India. Every other day some luminary or the other opines that universities and technical education institutions should increase their charges and that such education should not be subsidized. Most editorials echo these sentiments. Eminent industrialists pontificate that we should run educational institutions like business houses. Visiting experts from the Bank and the IMF, in their newly emerging concern for the poor, advise us to divert funds from higher education to primary education.

Q-8)   Which of the following is MOST OPPOSITE in the meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage?

GLOBALISED

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Explanation:


DIRECTIONS:

Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

PASSAGE

A few weeks ago I ran into an old friend who is currently one of the mandarins deciding India's economic and financial policies. He asked, "And so, how is IIT doing?" As one can only indulge in friendly banter at such gatherings, I responded with, "Not so well actually. Your market-friendly policies have forced us to raise the fee, so we have 50% fewer PhD applicants this year. Not batting an eyelid, he shot back: "Obviously. Your PhD students don't have any market value." Taken aback, I shifted to a more serious tone and tried to start a discussion on the need for research in these globalised times. But he had already walked away. The last word on the imperatives of the 'market' had been spoken. Actually, this view of higher education should not have surprised me. Worthies who look at everything as consumer products classify higher education as a 'non-merit' good. Non-merit goods are those where only the individual benefits from acquiring them and not the society as a whole. Multilateral agencies like The World Bank have too been pushing countries like India to stop subsidies to higher education.

When Ron Brown, former US commerce secretary visited India, a public meeting was organized at IIT Delhi. At that meeting I asked him : "I understand that since the 19th century all the way up to the 1970s, most land grant and state universities in the US virtually provided free education to state citizens. Was that good for the economy, or should they have charged high fees in the early 20th century?" He replied, "It was great for the economy. It was one of the best things that the US government did at that particular time in American history - building institutions of higher education which were accessible to the masses of the people. I think it is one of the reasons why our economy grew and prospered, one of the ways in which the US was able to close some of its social gaps. So people who lived in rural areas would have the same kind of access to higher education as people living in other parts of the country. It was one of the reasons for making America strong."

Our policy-makers seem unaware that their mentors in the US did not follow policies at home which they now prescribe for other countries. Ron Brown's remarks summarise the importance of policymakers in the US place on higher education as a vehicle for upward mobility, for the poorer sectors of their population. Even today, a majority of Americans study in state-run institutions. Some of these institutions, like Berkeley and the Universities of Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas, are among the best in world. The annual tuition charged from state residents (about $ 5000 a year) is about a month's salary paid to a lecturer. Even this fee is waived for most students. In addition, students receive stipends for books, food and hostel charges. The basic principle is that no student who gets admission to a university should have to depend on parental support if it is not available.

Ron Brown's remarks went unnoticed in India. Every other day some luminary or the other opines that universities and technical education institutions should increase their charges and that such education should not be subsidized. Most editorials echo these sentiments. Eminent industrialists pontificate that we should run educational institutions like business houses. Visiting experts from the Bank and the IMF, in their newly emerging concern for the poor, advise us to divert funds from higher education to primary education.

Q-9)   Which of the following is MOST NEARLY THE SAME in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage?

UNAWARE

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Explanation:


DIRECTIONS:

Read the fol lowing passages carefully and answer the questions given below them. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

PASSAGE

A few weeks ago I ran into an old friend who is currently one of the mandarins deciding India's economic and financial policies. He asked, "And so, how is IIT doing?" As one can only indulge in friendly banter at such gatherings, I responded with, "Not so well actually. Your market-friendly policies have forced us to raise the fee, so we have 50% fewer PhD applicants this year. Not batting an eyelid, he shot back: "Obviously. Your PhD students don't have any market value." Taken aback, I shifted to a more serious tone and tried to start a discussion on the need for research in these globalised times. But he had already walked away. The last word on the imperatives of the 'market' had been spoken. Actually, this view of higher education should not have surprised me. Worthies who look at everything as consumer products classify higher education as a 'non-merit' good. Non-merit goods are those where only the individual benefits from acquiring them and not the society as a whole. Multilateral agencies like The World Bank have too been pushing countries like India to stop subsidies to higher education.

When Ron Brown, former US commerce secretary visited India, a public meeting was organized at IIT Delhi. At that meeting I asked him : "I understand that since the 19th century all the way up to the 1970s, most land grant and state universities in the US virtually provided free education to state citizens. Was that good for the economy, or should they have charged high fees in the early 20th century?" He replied, "It was great for the economy. It was one of the best things that the US government did at that particular time in American history - building institutions of higher education which were accessible to the masses of the people. I think it is one of the reasons why our economy grew and prospered, one of the ways in which the US was able to close some of its social gaps. So people who lived in rural areas would have the same kind of access to higher education as people living in other parts of the country. It was one of the reasons for making America strong."

Our policy-makers seem unaware that their mentors in the US did not follow policies at home which they now prescribe for other countries. Ron Brown's remarks summarise the importance of policymakers in the US place on higher education as a vehicle for upward mobility, for the poorer sectors of their population. Even today, a majority of Americans study in state-run institutions. Some of these institutions, like Berkeley and the Universities of Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas, are among the best in world. The annual tuition charged from state residents (about $ 5000 a year) is about a month's salary paid to a lecturer. Even this fee is waived for most students. In addition, students receive stipends for books, food and hostel charges. The basic principle is that no student who gets admission to a university should have to depend on parental support if it is not available.

Ron Brown's remarks went unnoticed in India. Every other day some luminary or the other opines that universities and technical education institutions should increase their charges and that such education should not be subsidized. Most editorials echo these sentiments. Eminent industrialists pontificate that we should run educational institutions like business houses. Visiting experts from the Bank and the IMF, in their newly emerging concern for the poor, advise us to divert funds from higher education to primary education.

Q-10)   Which of the following is MOST NEARLY THE SAME in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage?

WAIVED

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Explanation: