English
Language Practice Questions for IBPS Clerk – Set 11
Directions
(1 – 10): Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside it.
It is difficult to
compare countries because various factors such as size, culture, history,
geography, natural endowments, geopolitics and internal polity come
into play. There are some goals which can be achieved by smaller countries; but
sometimes smaller countries find it difficult to embark upon certain big
technological plans even if they have the funds, because the size of the
domestic market is too small. If we consider the bigger countries, the closest
comparison to India is China, though there are many crucial differences.
The Chinese vision is to
prepare the country for entry into the ranks of mid-level developed nations by
the middle of the twenty-first century. Acceleration of the nation's economic
growth and social development by relying on advances in science and technology
is pivotal in this.
Documents describing the
Chinese vision state that science and technology constitute premier productive
forces and represent a great revolutionary power that can propel economic and
social development. It is interesting to note that the main lessons the Chinese
have drawn from their past performance is their failure to promote science and
technology as strategic tools for empowerment. They also point to the absence
of mechanisms and motivations in their economic activity to promote dependence
on science and technology. Similarly, they hold that their scientific and
technological efforts were not oriented towards economic growth. Consequently,
they conclude that a large number of scientific and technological achievements
were not converted into productive forces as they were too far removed from
China's immediate economic and social needs. The Chinese vision is therefore
aimed at exploiting state-of-art science and technology to enhance the nation's
overall power and strength, to improve people's living standards, to focus on
resolving problems encountered in large-scale industrial and agricultural
production and to effectively control and alleviate pressures brought on by
population, resources and the environment. By the year 2000, China had aimed at
bringing the main industrial sectors up to the technological levels achieved by
the developed countries in the 1970s or 80s and by 2020 to the level they would
have attained by the early twenty-first century. The aim is to bridge the
overall gap with the advanced world. There is a special emphasis on research
and development of high technologies that would find defense applications. Some
of these technologies are critical for improving the features of key
conventional weapons. Some technologies are meant for enhancing future military
capabilities. Other efforts are aimed at maintaining the momentum to develop
capabilities for cutting-edge defense technologies. They call for unremitting
efforts in this regard with the aim of maintaining effective self defense and
nuclear deterrent capabilities and to enable parity in
defense, science and technology with the advanced world.
1. Comparison between two countries becomes
difficult because:
I. The countries differ in their
internal political systems.
II. Each country has its own demography.
III. The countries with
homogenous backgrounds are many in number.
a) Only I
b) Only II
c) I and II
d) All the above
e) None of these
2. What is the goal of China to be accomplished by
the middle of 21st century?
a) To become one of the most
developed nations.
b) To surpass the level of all
middle-level developed nations by a good margin.
c) To be the most influential
superpower.
d) To be the most developed nation in
Asia.
e) None of these
3. What, according to the Chinese vision, can
boost socio-economic development of China?
a) Research and development
b) Science and technology
c) Premier productive forces
d) Minds united with revolutionary
powers
e) None of these
4. Which of the following fields has particularly
been valued by China?
a) Building high quality
infrastructure
b) Innovation in the field of
Medicine
c) Defence applications based on high
technologies
d) Agricultural production
e) None of these
5. Which of the following have the Chinese
identified as the pitfall/pitfalls from their past?
I. Lack of orientation of science and
technology towards economic growth.
II. Lack of mechanism in their economic
activities to promote use of science and technology.
III. Excessive emphasis on
science and technology as a strategic measure for empowerment.
a) Only I
b) Only II
c) Only III
d) I and II
e) All the above
6. Which of the following is/are the expected result(s)
of China’s new visions?
I. To augment people’s standard of
living.
II. To tackle effectively pressures
brought on by the environment.
III. To utilize modern
technology for bringing the latent power under control.
a) I and II
b) II and III
c) I and III
d) All the above
e) None of these
7. Why can’t smaller countries take up big
technological planning?
a) They are economically weak to fund
their ideas.
b) They have smaller domestic market
size.
c) Smaller countries lack
technological knowhow.
d) None of these
e) Nowhere mentioned in the passage.
8. Which one of these words is similar to the word ‘endowments’highlighted in the given
passage?
a) Powers
b) Measures
c) Habitats
d) Findings
e) Gifts
9. Which of the following words is the antonym of
the word ‘Pivotal’highlighted
in the passage?
a) Irrelavent
b) Unmanageble
c) Irreparable
d) Inauspicious
e) Irritating
10. Which of the following words is the antonym of
the word ‘parity’ highlighted in the passage?
a) Impropriety
b) Indecency
c) Inequality
d) Similarity
e) Homogeneity
Directions
(11 – 15): In the following passage, some of the words have been left out, each
of which is indicated by a letter. Find the suitable word from the options
given against each letter and fill up the blanks with appropriate words to make
the paragraph meaningful.
Digital India can be the
prime ____ 11 ____ behind making a reality of the government’s promise of
minimum government, maximum governance. Such a transformation requires
technology to be firmly ____ 12 ____ into government, something that the
Digital India project lists as one of its foremost objectives. Embedding technology
into government ____ 13 ____ will do three things; transform the government and
make it more transparent and efficient, transform the lives of citizens
especially those at the bottom of ____ 14 ____ pyramid and make our economy
more efficient and competitive. A 2014 McKinsey Global Institute report predicts
that the large- scale ____ 15 ____ of technology through Digital India
positions India with the biggest opportunity yet to accelerate economic growth.
11. a) factors b) might c) force
d) impact e) hindrance
12. a) stuck b)
planted c) routed d) inserted
e) embedded
13. a) offices b)
hierarchies c) processes d) details
e) organisation
14. a) hypothetical b) proverbial c) mythical
d) classified e) infamous
15. a) adaptation b)
enhancement c) monitoring d) anticipation e) production
Answers with explanation:
1. C) The author, in the very beginning of
the passage, clearly mentions a number of demographical and political factors,
the presence of which makes it difficult to compare countries. Statement I and
II hence hold true. However, statement III can’t be inferred from the passage.
2. E) As
per the passage China wants to reach the level of middle-level developed
nations by the middle of 21st century. Hence, option B which states that China
aims at surpassing the level of middle-level developed nations can be
eliminated.
None of the other options
can be inferred from the passage either.
3. B) It
can be easily inferred from the reference that the author regards “Science and
technology” as ‘premier productive forces for socio-economic development of
China.
4. C) It
can easily be inferred from the reference that it is the development of
‘Defence applications based on high technologies’ which is specifically given
importance to by China.
5. D) Statement
I and II can be inferred from the references last paragraph, 3rd and 4th
sentences while statement III contradicts what is being stated in the passage.
6. A) Statement
I and II can be easily inferred from the reference last paragraph, 6th sentence.
Statement III, however, is nowhere mentioned in the passage.
7. B) It
is evident from the reference 1st paragraph, 2nd sentence, that a smaller
domestic market size hinders smaller countries to take up big technological
planning.
8. E) Endowment
(Noun):
An endowment is a gift.
It is a quality or ability possessed or inherited by someone.
Ex. His natural endowments were his
height and intelligence.
Synonyms: quality, characteristic, feature,
attribute, facility, faculty, ability, talent, gift, strength,
aptitude, capability, etc.
9. A) Pivotal
(Adjective): of crucial importance in relation to the development or
success of something else.
Ex. Japan plays a pivotal role in the
world economy.
Synonyms: central, crucial, vital, critical,
focal, essential, key, significant, important, determining, decisive, deciding,
etc.
10. C) Parity
(Noun):
the state or condition of
being equal, especially as regards status or pay.
Ex. There should be some parity of
incomes between rural workers and those in industrial occupations.
Synonyms: equality, equivalence, uniformity,
sameness, consistency, correspondence, congruity, congruence, etc.
11. C) 12. E) 13. C)
14. B) 15. A)
