English Questions

A passage is given with five questions following it. Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given four alternatives.

He wasn't the first, nor would he be the last, but the wiry, bespectacled man from Gujarat is certainly the most famous of the world's peaceful political dissidents. Mohandas Gandhi – also affectionately known as Mahatma – led India's independence movement in the 1930s and 40s by speaking softly without carrying much of a big stick, facing down the British colonialists with stirring speeches and non-violent protest. More than anything else, historians say, Gandhi proved that one man has the power to take on an empire, using both ethics and intelligence.

Urges Britain to quit India

It is hard to imagine the thin, robed Gandhi working in the rough and tumble world of law, but Gandhi did get his start in politics as a lawyer in South Africa, where he supported the local Indian community's struggle for civil rights. Returning to India in 1915, he carried over his desire to improve the situation of the lower classes.

Gandhi quickly became a leader within the Indian National Congress, a growing political party supporting independence, and traveled widely with the party to learn about the local struggles of various Indian communities.

It was during those travels that his legend grew among the Indian people, historians say.

Gandhi was known as much for his wit and intelligence as for his piety. When he was arrested several more times over the years for his actions during the movement,  Gandhi calmly fasted in prison, believing that his death would embarrass the British enough to spur independence, which had become the focus of his politics by 1920.

Gandhi's non-cooperation movement, kicked off in the early 1920s, called for Indians to boycott British goods and traditions and become self-reliant. His most famous protest came in 1930, when Gandhi led thousands of Indians on a 250-mile march to a coastal town to produce salt, on which the British had a monopoly.

Which of the following can help one to "take on" an empire?

In the following passage some of the words have been left out. Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer for the given blank out of the four alternatives.

War and Peace, an epic historical novel by Leo Tolstoy, was_____ published as Voyna i mir in 1865-69. This ____study of early 19th century Russian society, noted for its _____of realistic detail and variety of psychological______is generally regarded as one of the world's greatest novels. War and Peace is_____concerned with the histories of five aristocratic families, the members of which are _____against the_____background of Russian social life during the war against Napoleon. The_____ of war, however, is____to the story of family existence which involves Tolstoy's optimistic belief in the life-asserting ______of human existence.

Variety of psychological _____ is generally regarded as one of the world's greatest novels.

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which is the best substitute of the phrase.

A person who is blamed for the wrong doings of others.

In the following question, some part of the sentence may have errors. Find out which part of the sentence has an error and select the appropriate option. If a sentence is free from error, select 'No Error'.

The boy who (1)/ sat close him (2)/ was his son. (3)/No Error (4)

In the following question, a sentence has been given in Active/Passive voice. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best
expresses the same sentence in Passive/Active voice.
Meenu will return the book.

In the following question, a sentence has been given in Direct/Indirect speech. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best expresses the same sentence in Indirect/Direct speech.
"Do you want some more chocolates?" asked my cousin.

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the word opposite in meaning to the word given.
Desecrate

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the idiom/phrase.

A slap on the wrist