English Questions

Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. If there is no error, the answer is (E), ie ‘No error’. (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any.)The consolation messages (A) / received on the(B)/ demise of Mrs. Malhotra (C) / speaks highly of her enormity. (D)

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the idiom/phrase.
Get up on the wrong side of the bed

Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given four alternatives.

One should consciously engage in activities that will nourish your soul. Just as we nourish the body, we need to nurture the soul to connect to the creative power of the universe and to manifest joy in our lives. Often, we forget to address the soul, lost as we are in a jungle of material and sensual pleasures. But the more you embrace what feeds your soul, the happier you become. So if you want to enjoy the abundance of life, engage in what enriches your soul. Nurturing the soul is all about finding calm amidst chaos. There are a number of practices that empower people towards this end including silent contemplation, various forms of meditation, yoga and tai chi However, the rigor and discipline involved in the pursuit of such practices often seems to discourage people. Add to this, the temptations of the material world that leave little time and motivation for anyone to pursue the spiritual path. Poet Walt Whitman declared: “Whatever satisfies the soul is truth”. The good news is that simple, everyday activities can also nutrify the soul — like spending time in the midst of nature, dancing in the rain or just putting thoughts on paper. Do whatever is calming and pleases you. Creative pursuits are particularly appealing as inside each one of us, there is an artist craving for release and awaiting an opportunity for expression. One of the ways to indulge the artist within is to get started with the practice of any one or more of the creative art forms such as music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction or essay writing.

When you engage in such soul nourishing activities, all thought and energy gets focused toward goal accomplishment. At this point, you will find that even unknown forces of the universe are conniving to assist you in your amateurish but sincere attempts. As you progress, you are motivated to do better. You touch and access a faculty, a part of you that you never knew existed. Your inner artist is unleashed, baring the beauty of your soul that has found a fond medium of expression. For instance, a sculptor’s soul is seen in his artwork; a musician’s in his compositions; an actor’s in his acting, a painter’s in his paintings and so on. It is immaterial whether your effort is an immaculate artwork or just a clumsy attempt by a layperson. The idea is to try, be inspired and to create giving free rein to the mind. As Michelangelo remarked: “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free”!

Why do creative pursuits appeal us?

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

________________ various signs of economic slowdown such as languishing industrial production and adverse __________________of the drought on rural livelihoods and demand, the government is apparently unable ____________________ unwilling to increase public spending to _________________ people’s material distress or to kick-start economic ____________________ to increase employment.

adverse __________________of the drought on rural livelihoods and demand

Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives and click the button corresponding to it.

Awareness means the capacity to see a coffee pot and hear the birds sing in one's own way, and not the way one was taught. It may be assumed on good grounds that seeing and hearing have a different quality for infants than for grownups and that they are more aesthetic and less intellectual in the first years of life. A little boy sees and hears birds with delight. Then the 'good father' comes along and feels he should 'share' the experience and help his son 'develop'. He says, "That's a jay and this is a sparrow." The moment the little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing. He has to see and hear them the way his father wants him to. Father has good reasons on his side: since few people can afford to go through life listening to the birds sing, sooner the little boy starts his 'education' the better. Maybe he will be an ornithologist when he grows up.

The passage implies that when the boy starts his 'education' he will _____ .

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.

The trainee asked his boss, "Shall I email this letter again, Sir?"

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

Put one's foot down

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which will improve the bracketed part of the sentence. In case no improvement is needed, select "no improvement".

They loaded their ships with spices and silks and (returns) with the summer monsoon.