Writing and Communication Skills

Which of the following best simplifies sentence (4)?

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

(1) In a world growing ever more noisy, a fight of vital importance to us all is under way – against the tyranny of noise. (2) Noise frays the nerves, lessens efficiency and robs us of sleep. (3) The old and infirm cannot sleep, the student cannot read, the sage cannot meditate, and the professional cannot concentrate. (4) If the general noisy condition of everyday life continues, it is not inconceivable that we might become a race of shouting maniacs. (5) To primitive man, noise was nature’s warning of approaching danger and his response was automatic. (6) The roar of a lion sounds the alert and the human nervous system takes over preparing the man for fight or flight. (7) Today we respond exactly as the primitive man did. (8) An explosion occurs and we are startled. (9) A loud noise and the new-born baby reacts with wide-eyed fear, clutching. (10) Unnecessary noise subjects us to countless false alarms daily and keeps us almost continuously alert. 

(11) Many doctors believe that there is a direct link between this unconscious tension and the rise of such stress conditions as heart disease, hypertension and other disorders. (12) Noise causes the mind to ‘blink’ – split–second periods of blanking. (13) This effect, combined with the annoyance, can lessen efficiency, lower production and make people more error–prone.

Which of the following is the best revision of the underlined portion of sentence (12) below?

Noise causes the mind to 'blink' - split-second periods of blanking

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

(1) In a world growing ever more noisy, a fight of vital importance to us all is under way – against the tyranny of noise. (2) Noise frays the nerves, lessens efficiency and robs us of sleep. (3) The old and infirm cannot sleep, the student cannot read, the sage cannot meditate, and the professional cannot concentrate. (4) If the general noisy condition of everyday life continues, it is not inconceivable that we might become a race of shouting maniacs. (5) To primitive man, noise was nature’s warning of approaching danger and his response was automatic. (6) The roar of a lion sounds the alert and the human nervous system takes over preparing the man for fight or flight. (7) Today we respond exactly as the primitive man did. (8) An explosion occurs and we are startled. (9) A loud noise and the new-born baby reacts with wide-eyed fear, clutching. (10) Unnecessary noise subjects us to countless false alarms daily and keeps us almost continuously alert. 

(11) Many doctors believe that there is a direct link between this unconscious tension and the rise of such stress conditions as heart disease, hypertension and other disorders. (12) Noise causes the mind to ‘blink’ – split–second periods of blanking. (13) This effect, combined with the annoyance, can lessen efficiency, lower production and make people more error–prone.

Which of the following is a serious flaw of sentence (9)?

Directions for the question:

The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answer for the question that follows. Keep in mind that some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask to consider organization and development. In choosing the answer, follow the requirements of standard written English.

(1) In a world growing ever more noisy, a fight of vital importance to us all is under way – against the tyranny of noise. (2) Noise frays the nerves, lessens efficiency and robs us of sleep. (3) The old and infirm cannot sleep, the student cannot read, the sage cannot meditate, and the professional cannot concentrate. (4) If the general noisy condition of everyday life continues, it is not inconceivable that we might become a race of shouting maniacs. (5) To primitive man, noise was nature’s warning of approaching danger and his response was automatic. (6) The roar of a lion sounds the alert and the human nervous system takes over preparing the man for fight or flight. (7) Today we respond exactly as the primitive man did. (8) An explosion occurs and we are startled. (9) A loud noise and the new-born baby reacts with wide-eyed fear, clutching. (10) Unnecessary noise subjects us to countless false alarms daily and keeps us almost continuously alert. 

(11) Many doctors believe that there is a direct link between this unconscious tension and the rise of such stress conditions as heart disease, hypertension and other disorders. (12) Noise causes the mind to ‘blink’ – split–second periods of blanking. (13) This effect, combined with the annoyance, can lessen efficiency, lower production and make people more error–prone.

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

In the context of the passage, what is the meaning of the sentence 'The writing is on the wall'?

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Educational planning should aim at meeting the educational needs of the entire population of all age groups. While the traditional structure of education as three layer hierarchy from the primary stage to the university represents the core, we should not overlook the periphery which is equally important. Under modern conditions, workers need to rewind, or renew their enthusiasm, or strike out in a new direction or improve their skills as much as any university professor. The retired and the aged have their needs as well. Educational planning, in their words, should take care of the needs of everyone.
            Our structures of education have been built up on the assumption that there is a terminal point to education. This basic defect has become all the more harmful today. A UNESCO report entitled ‘Learning to Be’ prepared by Edgar Faure & others in 1973 asserts that the education of children must prepare the future adult for various forms of self learning. A viable education system of the future should consist of modules with different kinds of functions serving a diversity of constituents. The performance, not the period of study, should be the basis for credentials. The writing is already on the wall.
            In view of the fact that the significance of a commitment of lifelong learning & lifetime education is being discussed only in recent years even in educationally advanced countries, the possibility of the idea becoming an integral part of educational thinking seems to be a far cry. For to move in that direction means more than some simple rearrangement of the present organization of education. But a good beginning can be made by developing open university programmes for older learners of different categories & introducing extension services in the conventional colleges & schools. Also these institutions should learn to cooperate with numerous community organizations such as libraries, museums, recreational programmes, health services, etc.

Direction for question: The sentences given in the question, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Each sentence is labeled with a letter. Choose the most logical order of sentences from among the given choices to construct a coherent paragraph.

(A) When identity is thus 'defined by contrast', divergence with the West becomes central. (B) Indian religious literature such as the Bhagwad Gita or the Tantric texts, which are identified as differing from secular writings seen as 'western', elicits much greater interest in the West than do other Indian writings, including India's long history of heterodoxy. (C) There is a similar neglect of Indian writing on non-religious subjects, from mathematics, epistemology and natural science to economics and linguistics. (D) Through selective emphasis that point up differences with the West, other civilizations can, in this way, be redefined in alien terms, which can be exotic and charming, or else bizarre and terrifying, or simply strange and engaging. (E) The exception is the Kamasutra in which western readers have managed readers have managed to cultivate an interest.

Directions: Choose the correct option to fill in the fourth blank.

A rhetorical figure can be defined as an artful_(1)__ in the form taken by a statement. Since antiquity dozens of figures have been _(2), ranging from the familiar to the(3). Despite the frequent appearance of the rhetorical figures in print advertisements, their(4)__ into advertising theory and research has been minimal.

Directions: Choose the correct option and fill in the first blank.

A rhetorical figure can be defined as an artful_(1)__ in the form taken by a statement. Since antiquity dozens of figures have been _(2), ranging from the familiar to the(3). Despite the frequent appearance of the rhetorical figures in print advertisements, their(4)__ into advertising theory and research has been minimal.

Directions: Choose the correct option to fill in the third blank.

A rhetorical figure can be defined as an artful_(1)__ in the form taken by a statement. Since antiquity dozens of figures have been _(2), ranging from the familiar to the(3). Despite the frequent appearance of the rhetorical figures in print advertisements, their(4)__ into advertising theory and research has been minimal.

Directions: Choose the correct option to fill in the second blank.

A rhetorical figure can be defined as an artful_(1)__ in the form taken by a statement. Since antiquity dozens of figures have been _(2), ranging from the familiar to the(3). Despite the frequent appearance of the rhetorical figures in print advertisements, their(4)__ into advertising theory and research has been minimal.

What should be done with the sentence 3 (reproduced below)? Kizer, a much decorated and Pulitzer- Prize winning poet, ironically compares the successful life of a much-decorated poet with the life of an unsuccessful and struggling poet.

Direction for questions 1 to 6: The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

Passage – I
(1) “To an Unknown Poet,” was first published in Michigan Quarterly Review and consequently appears in Carolyn Kizer’s 1986 collection, The Nearness of You. (2) It is included in a section of poems called “Friends,” which contains numerous poems about, and dedicated to, other poets. (3) Kizer, a much decorated and Pulitzer- Prize winning poet, ironically compares the successful life of a much-decorated poet with the life of an unsuccessful and struggling poet. (4) Kizer wrote the poem shortly after winning the Pulitzer Prize for her collection Yin: New Poems. (5) In simple, straightforward language, the speaker addresses a poor poet who comes to visit her.(6) He was making excuses for why she does not have time for him, and then later telling him about an award she is about to receive.
(7) Her response has been addressing issues which were dealing with the place of poetry in American society, the role played by the poet, and the nature of literary fame achieved by the poet. (8) It appeared at a time when more poetry is produced and published—in print, on the web, etc.—and more poetry readings are given than perhaps at any other time in American history. (9) It also comes at a time when, even though an increasing number of people hunger for literary recognition, fewer and fewer people read poetry or even attend poetry readings. (10)The gulf between “known” poets and “unknown” poets widens daily.
(11) Even those known are known by only a few.

The primary effect of the final paragraph is to

Direction for questions 7 to 12: The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

Passage – II
(1)  I would always find myself behind the old oak tree in our back yard. (2) This was my favorite spot. (3) The thick trunk, like a bodyguard, protected me from the imaginary bullets that flew towards my body. (4) I would lean against the hard bark and for some reason it was comforting to have something sturdy to lean on. (5) It was dark brown, and every now and then a spider would nestle between the pieces of bark. (6)  Sometimes I would touch the tree to peek around the corner and my fingers would be sticky. (7)  I could never quite figure out why that was, and it was giving me the hardest time getting it off, a constant reminder of my tree.
(8)  When my brother and I weren't at "battle," I would lie beneath my oak tree and daydream. (9) As I looked up I could see millions of branches protecting me from everything above. (10)  At the end of each branch were hundreds of more leaves that would gently catch the morning dew, and carefully allowed it to make its way to the grass. (11)  In the sky, sun allowed the drops to sparkle so brightly, as it caught them, like thousands of stars. (12)  This was my heaven, and as I lay there, I could feel the plush grass, like a snuggly old blanket, holding my body gently against the ground.
(13) The grasshoppers would appear from around a blade of grass as if they were asking for approval to hop on my blanket. (14)  A leaf would jump off its branch to greet me as I sat. (15)  It would float through the air as light as feather and land softly on the grass. (16)  As the autumn drew near, it was like a rainstorm of brown, yellow and red leaves, all falling to make way for the beautiful spring leaves.
(17)  When winter came the tree stood bare, unprotected and sad. (18) Suddenly my favorite spot was stripped of its innocence and baring the naked truth. (19) But it never failed, as spring rolled around, the old oak tree lit up with vibrant green leaves and reassured me that it was ready for my companionship once again.