English Grammar and Usage

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage over and try to understand what it is about. Then, fill blank (ii) with the help of the alternatives given.

Buck lived in a big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley. Judge Miller’s place, it was called. It stood back from the road, half hidden among the trees, through which (i) ______ could be caught of the wide cool veranda that ran around its four sides. The house was (ii) ______ by graveled driveways which wound about through wide-spreading lawns and under the interlacing boughs of tall poplars. At the rear, things were on even a more (iii) ______ scale than at the front. There were great (iv) ___, where a dozen grooms and boys held forth, rows of vine-clad servants’ cottages, an endless and orderly (v) ___ of outhouses, long grape arbors, green pastures, orchards and berry patches. Then there was the pumping plant for the artesian well and the big cement tank where judge Miller’s boys took their morning plunge and kept cool in the hot afternoon. And over this great demesne, Buck ruled. Here, he was born and here he had lived the four years of his life.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage over and try to understand what it is about. Then, fill blank (iv) with the help of the alternatives given.

Buck lived in a big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley. Judge Miller’s place, it was called. It stood back from the road, half hidden among the trees, through which (i) ______ could be caught of the wide cool veranda that ran around its four sides. The house was (ii) ______ by graveled driveways which wound about through wide-spreading lawns and under the interlacing boughs of tall poplars. At the rear, things were on even a more (iii) ______ scale than at the front. There were great (iv) ___, where a dozen grooms and boys held forth, rows of vine-clad servants’ cottages, an endless and orderly (v) ___ of outhouses, long grape arbors, green pastures, orchards and berry patches. Then there was the pumping plant for the artesian well and the big cement tank where judge Miller’s boys took their morning plunge and kept cool in the hot afternoon. And over this great demesne, Buck ruled. Here, he was born and here he had lived the four years of his life.

Directions: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage over and try to understand what it is about. Then, fill blank (iii) with the help of the alternatives given.

Cigars had burned low and we were (i) ______ to sample the disillusionment that usually afflicts old school friends who have met again as men and found themselves with less in common than they had (ii) ______ they had. Rutherford wrote novels; Wyland was one of the embassy secretaries; he had just given us dinner at Tempelhof - not very cheerfully, I fancied, but with the equanimity which a diplomat must always keep on tap for such (iii) ___. It seemed likely that nothing but the fact of being three celibate Englishmen in a foreign capital could have brought us together, and I had already reached the conclusion that the slight touch of priggishness which I remembered in Wyland Tertius had not (iv) ___ with years and an M.V.O. Rutherford I liked more; he had ripened well out of the skinny, precocious infant whom I had once alternately bullied and patronised. The (v) ______ that he was making much more money and having a more interesting life than either of us gave Wyland and me our one mutual emotion - a touch of envy.

Which of these fits gap 17?

Directions: Complete this passage by selecting the most suitable option for the corresponding gap.
All rocks ______ (17) _______ formed in the same way.
One kind of rock, called “sedimentary rock,” is formed by sediment. Sandstones and lime–stones are _____ (18) _______ sedimentary rocks.
Since they are ______ (19) _______ in layers which are called “strata,” these rocks are called “stratified” rocks.
The tiny particles of which such rocks are made are usually rounded, since the sharp edges and corners ______ (20) _____ worn off while the particles were being rolled along stream beds, washed by the waves, or blown by winds.

Which of these fits gap 20?

Directions: Complete this passage by selecting the most suitable option for the corresponding gap.
All rocks ______ (17) _______ formed in the same way.
One kind of rock, called “sedimentary rock,” is formed by sediment. Sandstones and lime–stones are _____ (18) _______ sedimentary rocks.
Since they are ______ (19) _______ in layers which are called “strata,” these rocks are called “stratified” rocks.
The tiny particles of which such rocks are made are usually rounded, since the sharp edges and corners ______ (20) _____ worn off while the particles were being rolled along stream beds, washed by the waves, or blown by winds.

Which of the following options is the best substitute for the underlined words in statement III?

Directions: This passage contains errors and an omission. Choose the correct option to complete the passage.
Statement I: Samsung’s has displaced Nokia to become the world’s top mobile brand for the year 2012.
Statement II: This is the one time in 14 years that Nokia is not on top of the global cell-phone business on an annual basis.
Statement III: The market for smart-phones is going to keep growing and this probably explains the rise of Samsung.
Statement IV: Samsung’s Android powered phones are now ____________.                    

Which of the following options best corrects/completes statement IV?

Directions: This passage contains errors and an omission. Choose the correct option to complete the passage.
Statement I: Samsung’s has displaced Nokia to become the world’s top mobile brand for the year 2012.
Statement II: This is the one time in 14 years that Nokia is not on top of the global cell-phone business on an annual basis.
Statement III: The market for smart-phones is going to keep growing and this probably explains the rise of Samsung.
Statement IV: Samsung’s Android powered phones are now ____________.                    

Which of the following options is the best substitute for the underlined words in statement II?

Directions: This passage contains errors and an omission. Choose the correct option to complete the passage.
Statement I: Samsung’s has displaced Nokia to become the world’s top mobile brand for the year 2012.
Statement II: This is the one time in 14 years that Nokia is not on top of the global cell-phone business on an annual basis.
Statement III: The market for smart-phones is going to keep growing and this probably explains the rise of Samsung.
Statement IV: Samsung’s Android powered phones are now ____________.                    

Which of the following options best corrects/completes statement I?

Directions: This passage contains errors and an omission. Choose the correct option to complete the passage.
Statement I: Samsung’s has displaced Nokia to become the world’s top mobile brand for the year 2012.
Statement II: This is the one time in 14 years that Nokia is not on top of the global cell-phone business on an annual basis.
Statement III: The market for smart-phones is going to keep growing and this probably explains the rise of Samsung.
Statement IV: Samsung’s Android powered phones are now ____________.                    

Which of these fits gap 20?

Directions: Complete this passage by selecting the most suitable option for the corresponding gap.
History reveals that copper was used by man as early as the Stone Age. By 4000 BC, mining of copper______ (17) _______.
_____ (18) ______, man came to know that bronze, an alloy of copper, zinc and tin is harder than copper.
As time ____ (19) ______, copper came to be one of the most important metals in the world, used extensively in electrical and other industries.
______ (20) ______ of the world’s copper comes from Canada, USA, Chile, Zambia and Russia.

Which of these fits gap 24?

Directions: Complete this passage by selecting the most suitable option for the corresponding gap.
Gorilla, chimpanzee and orangutan are some of the animals which resemble man in many _____ (21) _____. Among these animals, chimpanzee has the _____ (22) _____ resemblance to man. In fact, the bone structure of all these animals has many similarities to that of man. Their constitution and the number of their teeth are _____ (23) ______ to ours. Like human beings, they too have wrinkles on their forehead. Their skulls are also like ours. Even their blood is similar to ours. _____ (24) ______ , they cannot speak like us.

Which of these fits gap 17?

Directions: Complete this passage by selecting the most suitable option for the corresponding gap.
History reveals that copper was used by man as early as the Stone Age. By 4000 BC, mining of copper______ (17) _______.
_____ (18) ______, man came to know that bronze, an alloy of copper, zinc and tin is harder than copper.
As time ____ (19) ______, copper came to be one of the most important metals in the world, used extensively in electrical and other industries.
______ (20) ______ of the world’s copper comes from Canada, USA, Chile, Zambia and Russia.

Which of the following options best corrects/completes statement IV?

Directions: This passage contains errors and an omission. Choose the correct option to complete the passage.
Statement I: Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from one-day cricket, brought an end to a glorious 23-year-old career.
Statement II: Tendulkar made his ODI debut against Pakistan much ago in 1989.
Statement III: He finally became part of the world Cup winning Indian team in 2011.
Statement IV: Besides being a great batsman,_____________.                       

Which of these fits gap 17?

Directions: Complete this passage by selecting the most suitable option for the corresponding gap.
The word ‘petroleum’ _____ (17) _____ from the two Latin words ‘petra’ and ‘oleum’ meaning rock and oil respectively.
Intense pressure and heat inside the earth converted the decomposed plants and animals _______ (18) ______ petroleum.
Scientists have ______ (19) ______ in synthesising petrol by some artificial techniques also, but petrol prepared in this way is costlier.
It is found in many countries but mainly in Gulf countries, USA and Russia. In India, it is _____ (20) ______ found in Assam and Bombay High.

Which of these fits gap 19?

Directions: Complete this passage by selecting the most suitable option for the corresponding gap.
History reveals that copper was used by man as early as the Stone Age. By 4000 BC, mining of copper______ (17) _______.
_____ (18) ______, man came to know that bronze, an alloy of copper, zinc and tin is harder than copper.
As time ____ (19) ______, copper came to be one of the most important metals in the world, used extensively in electrical and other industries.
______ (20) ______ of the world’s copper comes from Canada, USA, Chile, Zambia and Russia.