Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
Tests English language skills including idioms, vocabulary, verbal reasoning, and reading comprehension through multiple passages
Questions
What is the meaning of the idiom 'Once in a blue moon'?
- after a lunar eclipse
- sometimes
- very often
- usually at night
Who knows; it might rain today!
Which of the following options can be interpreted from this statement?
- The sky is cloudy.
- The weather reports say so.
- The sky is sunny.
- It is raining.
Read the options and select the one that can be opted as a suitable title for the other three.
- stamina
- energy
- strength
- health
Which of the following can be called a group?
- unit
- body
- flock
- division
Find the odd one out
- long : high
- sweet : sour
- pointed : blunt
- hard : soft
“Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”
Which of the following statements counters the spirit of the above saying?
- Power flows from the barrel of the gun
- The opposition parties don't have much role to play in a democracy.
- Power and responsibility must go hand in hand.
- Political power is a function of honesty in public.
In context of the passage what is the meaning of 'conflict'?
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions.
Graham Greene was one of the most outstanding novelists after the Second World War. His remarkable novels are mainly concerned with evil and its endless conflict with righteousness. He saw action as a series of moral dilemmas and he depicts fundamental good and fundamental evil. His famous novels are Power and the Glory, The End of the Affair, Brighton Rock.
- Debate
- Opposition between ideas
- Argument
- Differences
The elephant in the passage can be said to be
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with the preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill large animals.) Besides, there was the beast's owner to be considered. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking people who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing; he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.
- defensive
- offensive
- violent
- ferocious
The author was reluctant to shoot the elephant because he
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with the preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill large animals.) Besides, there was the beast's owner to be considered. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking people who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing; he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.
- was afraid of it
- did not have the experience of shooting big animals
- did not wish to kill a harmless animal
- did not find the elephant to be ferocious
From the passage it appears that the author was
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with the preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill large animals.) Besides, there was the beast's owner to be considered. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking people who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing; he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.
- an inexperienced hunter
- kind and considerate
- possessed with fear
- a worried man
One of the chief concerns of the country is to
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions.
March 12, 1992 Mauritius becomes a republic and is tipped as the first tiger of the Indian Ocean and Africa. It has always solved its problems on its own. Population density is still high at 1500 persons per square mile but the population growth rate has been contained at less than two percent per year in the 1990s. The structure of the economy has undergone substantial transformation. Diversification away from sugar (but not at its expense) has been achieved. Textile and garment and tourism are other leading sectors today. The major challenge today is not finding jobs but finding enough skilled labour to maintain the competitiveness of the economy. The unemployment rate stands at less than three percent. The overall balance of payments is positive. Income per capita is Rs 25000, placing Mauritius among the middle income group of countries. Mauritius is now poised to move to a higher development phase.
- find skilled labour
- find jobs
- diversify industrial growth
- change the economic structure
That Mauritius is tipped as the first tiger of the Indian Ocean and Africa suggests it
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions.
March 12, 1992 Mauritius becomes a republic and is tipped as the first tiger of the Indian Ocean and Africa. It has always solved its problems on its own. Population density is still high at 1500 persons per square mile but the population growth rate has been contained at less than two percent per year in the 1990s. The structure of the economy has undergone substantial transformation. Diversification away from sugar (but not at its expense) has been achieved. Textile and garment and tourism are other leading sectors today. The major challenge today is not finding jobs but finding enough skilled labour to maintain the competitiveness of the economy. The unemployment rate stands at less than three percent. The overall balance of payments is positive. Income per capita is Rs 25000, placing Mauritius among the middle income group of countries. Mauritius is now poised to move to a higher development phase.
- can fight its own battle
- has developed a good image
- can help other countries solve their problems
- has transformed its environmental features
It can be inferred from the passage that
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with the preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill large animals.) Besides, there was the beast's owner to be considered. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking people who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing; he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.
- the narrator was in a moral dilemma
- the elephant posed a deadly threat to the narrator
- the narrator was afraid of the elephant's owner
- the elephant was very old
What would be the opposite of the word 'dilemmas' as used in the passage?
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions.
Graham Greene was one of the most outstanding novelists after the Second World War. His remarkable novels are mainly concerned with evil and its endless conflict with righteousness. He saw action as a series of moral dilemmas and he depicts fundamental good and fundamental evil. His famous novels are Power and the Glory, The End of the Affair, Brighton Rock.
- Choice in two immoral things
- Surety to choose one good option
- Surety to choose one immoral thing
- Choice in two moral things
The phrase 'preoccupied grandmotherly air' signifies
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with the preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill large animals.) Besides, there was the beast's owner to be considered. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking people who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing; he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.
- being totally unconcerned
- pretending to be very busy
- a very superior attitude
- calm, dignified and affectionate disposition
Which of the following statements does not directly refer to the economic development of the country?
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions.
March 12, 1992 Mauritius becomes a republic and is tipped as the first tiger of the Indian Ocean and Africa. It has always solved its problems on its own. Population density is still high at 1500 persons per square mile but the population growth rate has been contained at less than two percent per year in the 1990s. The structure of the economy has undergone substantial transformation. Diversification away from sugar (but not at its expense) has been achieved. Textile and garment and tourism are other leading sectors today. The major challenge today is not finding jobs but finding enough skilled labour to maintain the competitiveness of the economy. The unemployment rate stands at less than three percent. The overall balance of payments is positive. Income per capita is Rs 25000, placing Mauritius among the middle income group of countries. Mauritius is now poised to move to a higher development phase.
- Population growth has been contained.
- Industry has become competitive.
- Income per capita is nearly Rs 25000.
- Mauritius has become a republic, which has always solved its problems on its own.
Which of the following statements is correct in respect of Graham Greene?
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions.
Graham Greene was one of the most outstanding novelists after the Second World War. His remarkable novels are mainly concerned with evil and its endless conflict with righteousness. He saw action as a series of moral dilemmas and he depicts fundamental good and fundamental evil. His famous novels are Power and the Glory, The End of the Affair, Brighton Rock.
- He wrote during the Second World War.
- All his novels are outstanding.
- He depicts fundamental right and wrong.
- Most of his novels depict the conflict between good and evil.
Which word can best replace the word 'murder' as used in the passage?
Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with the preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill large animals.) Besides, there was the beast's owner to be considered. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking people who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing; he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.
- slaughter
- assassination
- killing
- butchery