English
Language Practice Questions for IBPS Clerk – Set 12
Directions
(1 – 7): 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.
The Doklam plateau has
become the unlikely scene of the latest India-China ___ (1) ___. The region
falls within Bhutanese territory, but this is now questioned by China. The
Chumbi valley is vital for India, and any change is fraught with dangerous possibilities.
The incident ___ (2) ___ from differences between Bhutan and India on the
one hand and China on the other as to the exact location of the tri-junction
between the three countries.
In 2007, India and Bhutan
had negotiated a Friendship Treaty to replace an earlier one. According to the
revised treaty, the two countries are committed to coordinate on issues
relating to their national interests. The terms of the 2007 Friendship Treaty
are somewhat milder than the one it replaced, which provided India greater ___
(3) ___ in determining Bhutan’s foreign relations, but there is little doubt
about the import of the revised treaty.
China’s current claims
over the Doklam plateau should be seen as yet another instance of ___ (4) ___
aggression, which China ___ (5) ___ engages in. It is, however, China’s action
of building an all-weather road on Bhutan’s territory, one capable of
sustaining heavy vehicles, that has ___ (6) ___ Bhutan and India to coordinate
their actions in their joint national interests, under the terms of the 2007
Friendship Treaty.
Many of the points
involved in the current stand-off are disputed or disputable. The Sikkim
(India) - China border was the only ___ (7) ___ of the nearly 4,000-km-long
India-China border.
1. a) meet b) imbroglio c) association d) enclave
e) gore
2. a) discard b)
reflects c) stems d) acts
e) prevents
3. a) benefit b)
strength c) latitude d) compass
e) ambit
4. a) demographic b)
psychological c) historic d) cartographic e) catastrophic
5. a) undeniably b)
unwillingly c) often d) rarely
e) seldom
6. a) rapped b)
dssuade c) consolidated d) promoted
e) lured
7. a) segment b) delineation c) boundary
d) surplus e) edge
Directions
(8 – 15): Study the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
In a recent article in an
American newspaper, the doyen among police scholars, Prof.
David Bayley, expressed his anguish over what he considered to be a crisis in
U.S. law enforcement. In his view this was caused mainly by three factors:
race, police training and guns. There was an undeniable need for reform, but
the prospects for this happening were bleak because of a multitude of factors,
including the size of police forces, lack of political and community support.
The Indian police is
exactly in the same situation. People are dissatisfied with the quality of
service they are getting from the grass roots. They are frustrated with the
same old alibi trotted out by the police: political interference. Do
rudimentary courtesy to the public at a police station, registration of an FIR
when a complaint is received, and acting against harassment of women in public
spaces all need political direction? Not at all. The system therefore needs
drastic restructuring, beyond cosmetics, in order to make policing more
professional and more acceptable to the common man. Look at what other
professions have done. In my view, the analogy here should be one with public
health service. Despite its many faults, cost being a main drawback, our
medical services have improved vastly through sheer professionalism backed by learning
from experimentation.
Those propounding
evidence-based policing, a movement launched more than a decade ago both in the
U.S and the U.K., often refer to success in the area of health care to
strengthen the case for experiment-based law enforcement. Their plea is unexceptionable,
especially in India, where the popular image of the police is not flattering.
This is despite some remarkable work done by policemen at the cutting edge
level. Notwithstanding some token efforts initiated by a few dynamic IPS
officers in the larger cities, there is an overall reluctance to experiment
with measures that could transform the police from a traditional outfit into a
sleek modern force that is constantly looking for ways to upgrade delivery of
its service.
A recent international
conference organised by the Institute of Criminology at Cambridge University
was the occasion for some serious brainstorming on the issue of how to infuse
some fresh thinking into the twin problems of maintaining public order and
combating conventional crime. In effect, the task was how to make the police
shed their slumber and arbitrariness in reacting to field developments and make
them acquire a fresh mindset to cope with the dire needs of a society under
attack.
On the face of it, the
subject may appear cliched. In reality, however, the task of
policing the community has become far too complex to permit the smug feeling
that throwing increased manpower and use of new technology in themselves would
be enough to steady a deteriorating situation. If this were so, policing all
over the world would be in clover. The fact is, even in countries that have a
strong legacy of clinical public administration, there is increasing
disenchantment with the way the police handle major crises. This again leads us
to only one question: can things improve with a greater scientific approach,
and not necessarily the use of gadgets, to day-to-day police operations?
Simply put, policing has
acquired many new connotations and a certain immediacy which cannot brook any
delay. Terrorism and cyber-attacks in particular are heightening the levels of
fear of the community. How well have the police responded to this serious
challenge to stability?
8. Which of the following is/are true in the
context of the passage?
I. Policing needs to be reformed even in the U.S.
II. Cyber-attacks instill a sense of fear among people.
III. Police administration requires internal restructuring.
a) I and II
b) II and III
c) I and III
d) All of the above
e) None of these
9. According to author’s view, whom should Indian
police take inspiration from?
a) Institute of Criminology at
Cambridge University
b) Public health service
c) U.S. law enforcement agencies
d) Public works department
e) None of these
10. Which of the following is/are the major
challenge/challenges in order to make policing people’s friendly in India?
I. Technological upgradation
II. Political interference
III. Man power requirements
a) None
b) I and III
c) Only II
d) None of the above
e) All of these
11. Which of the following is/are false in the
context of the passage?
a) Adequate manpower can make
policing efficient.
b) The police work arbitrarily
sometimes.
c) Policing is in the need of
advanced technology.
d) Both A and C
e) None of these
12. How our medical services have performed well
despite cost being a main disadvantage as given in the passage?
a) Due to immense poltical support
from all state parties
b) Through professionalism coupled
with learning that came through experimentation
c) Due to people's participation on a
large scale
d) Due to positive campaigning by
mass media
e) None of these
13. Which one of these words is similar to the
word ‘doyen’ as highlighted in the given passage?
a) Veteran
b) Amateur
c) Intellectual
d) Novice
e) Senile
14. Which one of these words is similar to the
word ‘cliched’ as highlighted in the given passage?
a) Uninteresting
b) Amusing
c) Absurd
d) Abject
e) Stale
15. Which one of these words is antonym to the
word ‘Unexceptionable’ as highlighted in the given passage?
a) Flawed
b) Reckless
c) Irrelevant
d) Impeccable
e) Exquisite
Answers with Explanation:
1. B) Out of the given choices only the word 'Imbroglio' which
means 'an extremely confused, complicated, or embarrassing
situation' fits the blank both grammatically and contextually.
2. C) Here
the word ‘stems’ would fit the blank perfectly as implies the origin of the
issue or problem.
3. C) The
beginning of the sentence implies that the terms of treaty are milder and
hence, the word 'latitude' which means 'freedom, leeway or elbow room' would be
the best choice among the given ones.
4. D) Out
of the available choices, only the word 'cartographic' which relates to the
science or practice of drawing maps. As the passage talks about the same,
'cartographic' would be the best choice.
5. C) ‘Often’
is used as an adverb here. It means frequently or many times and hence it fits
the blank contextually.
6. D) Here
the blank requires a word that implies encouragement as the context points
towards national interest. “Prompt’ means to make them decide something or 'to
evoke'.
7. A) A
segment of something is one part of it, considered separately from the rest.
Therefore, out of the available words, the best choice would be 'segment'.
8. D) The
paragraph mentions the need of internal restructuring. It not only discusses
the need of outside appearance but also to make it more acceptable to common
people. Option III is also true.
Options I, II and III are
true according to the passage.
9. B)
Paragraph conveys the idea that public health service has done exceptionally
well in their field and India police department must adopt their model.
Options A & C are
absurd as it is not given in the whole passage that they act as a source of inspiration
for Indian police.
Option D is clearly false
as it is not mentioned in the whole passage.
Therefore, option B is
the right answer.
10. D) Although
the author has mentioned political interference as a hurdle in the paragraph,
he/she terms it as a traditional excuse given by the police administration.
Politeness, quick action in cases of women harassment and FIR registration do
not require political direction. Hence political interference is not a major
impediment to police reforms.
11. D)
Refering paragraph 5, it clearly validates the fact that manpower increment and
technological advancement are no longer effective in policing. The paragraph 4
talks about how to make police not take unfair decisions.
12. B) The
last lines of paragrap 2 clearly validates what is stated in the statement
given as option B.
13. A) We
use veteran to refer to someone who has been involved in a particular activity
for a long time.
Synonyms: Veteran, old hand, old-timer,
stager.
Antonyms: Apprentice, novitiate, amateur,
dilettante, learner, student, novice.
14. A) If
we read the paragraph, we get an idea that the subject of 'Police Reforms' is
either boring or uninteresting. Hence we get a clue that the subject doesn’t
appeal much to the people in general.
15. A) Unexceptionable
(Adjective): not offering any basis for exception or objection; beyond
criticism
Out of the available
options, the word 'Flawed' is an antonym of the word 'Unexceptionable'.
Synonyms: bright, exquisite, flawless,
etc.
Antonyms: defective, flawed,
imperfect, etc.
