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Monday, October 6, 2008

MODEL QUESTION PAPER FOR SBI PO EXAM -Section 2:ENGLISH

ENGLISH
Directions (Qs. 51-65): Read the following passage and
answer the questions below it. A few words are given in the bold
form to help easy location while answering some questions.
To some extent, it is the nature of the intellect to narrow our vision
and give it focus. Tragedy comes in when we forget this limitation and
think the intellect can comprehend things as a whole. The intellect
views the world through a slit. When a cat walks by, it observes the eye,
then fur, and then the tail, and then it infers that the eye is the cause of
the tail, unless of course, the cat was walking backward. If this sounds
absurd, some of the theories about biochemistry and behaviour use
very similar reasoning. Nachiketa would object, “Man, why don’t you
open the door? That’s just your black cat Frodo, pacing back and forth.”
But instead we usually get caught up in clarifying slit-information, even
though without a larger view our conclusions may be entirely wrong. To
make matters worse, we specialize. I am not against specialization per
se but what often happens is that we do not even look through whole
slit; we subdivide. My field is the upper part of the tail; yours is the lower.
I might even forget about the eye and the fur. My main concern will be
my debate with a colleague in Tokyo over whether hair on the tail grows
up or down. If anybody asks how the eye fits in, I refer him to another
researcher. After all, what have eyes got to do with geotropic hair
growth?

Debates like this cannot be resolved on the slit level. What is
required is to open the door; then argument becomes unnecessary.
Once the door is opened, even a little, we will not quarrel over whose slit
is correct or whether we should confine ourselves to the top of it or the
bottom. As long as we see only part of the picture, logic and
argumentation can never settle an issue. When the intellect becomes
calm and clear, theory gives way to demonstration. It is not beyond our
reach to see life whole. We have simply become so attached to this
precious slit that we think there is no higher mode of knowing. After a
while, we become so used to slits that we put on a special mask with
just a hairline crack in front of the eyes. Try walking around wearing a
mask like this and see what happens. Every little thing will fill your field
of vision.
The intellect that sees only a small corner of life makes a very poor
guide. We follow it like the blind led by the blind. I see this illustrated
every day in the newspapers. To take just one urgent example, I have
read that perhaps half a million scientists and engineers around the
world are engaged in weapons research. I have no doubt that the vast
majority of these people have no desire for war. They feel they are only
doing a job, playing a small role in an inevitable activity. Nevertheless,
this is not a defence industry, this is a half a million highly skilled men
and women preparing for war. Producing and selling instruments of war
is one of the biggest business in the world today. Even before the First
World War, George Bernard Shaw caught the spirit of the industry in the
character of undershaft in Major Barbara. Undershaft is no sinister
“merchant of death”. He is just a businessman, whose credo is to give
arms to all who offer an honest price for them, without respect of
persons or principles, to capitalist and socialist, to protestant and
catholic, to burglar and policeman, to black man, white man and yellow
man, to all sorts and conditions, all nationalities and faiths, all follies, all
causes and all crimes.
The defence-minded intellect might object, “That’s unfortunate, but
defence is necessary. Everybody has to have weapons, and somebody
is going to sell them. Here is a business that is thriving”. These sales”,
the merchant argue, “help supply allies who cannot produce needed
equipment.” Needed for what? Any school boy knows that weapons are
needed by people in order to kill each other. From the evidence, we
would have to conclude that death is a much more desirable goal than
health, education, or welfare.
Or, look at cancer. Many researchers today maintain that perhaps
seventy to ninety per cent of all human cancers are caused by
environmental agents involved in manufacturing and processing new
products. Most of these substances are relatively recent additions to our
environment. We made them, and we can cease to make them if we
choose.Yet one way or another such substances appeal to us so much
that life without them seems untenable. As a result, instead of trying to
eliminate the causes of cancer, we pour millions of dollars into what one
writer calls “the Vietnam of modern medicine”: The Search for a Cancer
Cure.
This kind of myopia is not a necessary fault of the intellect. Given
a larger picture, the intellect can rise to the occasion. Then even if the
Nobel Prize is dangled before its eyes, it will refuse to work at any
project that is at the expense of life, but will give all its attention to
matters of real urgency.

51. Which of these is true in context to the passage:
(1) humans are capable of unlimited applications of the mind
(2) whether the slit is small or large, conclusion is the same
(3) all researchers view through slit-like intellects
(4) it is not possible to view life as a whole
(5) the intellect is capable of adjustments

52. The passage is against:
(a) short-sightedness of the scientists
(b) the nature of the intellect
(c) narrowness of the intellect
(1) (a) only
(2) (b) only
(3) (a) and (b)
(4) (a) and (c)
(5) all (a), (b) and (c)

53. What should be the right approach for argumentation:
(1) to specialise in a particular field
(2) to study bio-chemistry
(3) sub-divide topics and research on them
(4) open the doors of the intellect
(5) leave attachment to our slits

54. According to the author, the intellect which sees a small
corner of life, can
:
(1) lead to scientific and engineering outcomes
(2) lead to follies and crimes
(3) race for better defence
(4) cause environmental pollution
(5) lead to harmful and unwanted results

55. What leads to cancer?
(1) pre-existing environmental pollutants
(2) man-made additions to environment
(3) tasty and good-looking things
(4) modern medicines
(5) None of the above

56. The difference between narrow and broad vision is:
(1) narrow vision leads to specialisations, while broad vision does
not
(2) narrow vision leads to debates while broad vision easily
settles them
(3) narrow vision leads to desire for war while broad vision leads
to desire for defence sales
(4) narrow vision leads to greedy business while broad vision
leads to fair salesmanship
(5) narrow vision leads to Nobel prizes and broad vision refuses them

57. In context to the passage, which one of these is false:
(1) weapons are needed by nations for money
(2) weapons are needed for security reasons
(3) a person with a broad intellect would not sell weapons to all
(4) the author is against specialisations
(5) scientists all over the world are preparing for war

58. The title to the passage can be:
(1) Disasters of science
(2) Nature of the intellect
(3) Intellectual misconducts
(4) Human debates
(5) Viewing life as a whole

59. The undershaft is:
(1) a very clever businessman
(2) an intellectual businessman
(3) an immoral character
(4) the major role in Major Barbara
(5) a blindly-led intellect
Directions (Qs. 60-62): In context of the above passage
choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the given
word.

60. CREDO
(1) crime (2) credit (3) business
(4) job (5) management

61. COMPREHEND
(1) absorb (2) digest (3) guide
(4) assimilate (5) understand

62. GEOTROPIC
(1) falling to ground
(2) attracted towards earth
(3) touching the earth
(4) projected toward the earth
(5) None of these
Directions (Qs. 63-65): In context of the above passage
choose the word which is most opposite in meaning to the given
word.

63. INEVITABLE
(1) blasting (2) accidental (3) certain
(4) incidental (5) avoidable

64. MYOPIA
(1) narrowmindedness
(2) broadmindedness
(3) shortsightedness
(4) evilsightedness
(5) hypermetropia

65. UNTENABLE
(1) probable (2) cured (3) unworthy
(4) worthsome (5) pleasant
Directions (Qs. 66-70): In each of the questions below four
sentences are given which are denoted by A, B, C and D. By using
all four sentences, frame a meaningful para. Choose answer from
the five alternatives given and the correct order of the sentences
is your answer.
66. (A) India’s patent authorities are at the centre of global
attention.
(B) India’s patent law is equipped to drive out frivolous
patent seekers and to reward meritorious inventors
(C) If successful, Indian generic drug-makers may have to
pay royalties.
(D) As many MNC drug-makers have applied for patents
under India’s new product patent law
(1) ABCD (2) ADCB (3) BACD
(4) DACB (5) CABD
67. (A) What’s more, if you happen to be inching towards
retirement, your EMIs will be structured accordingly.
(B) Future credit may get customised.
(C) The next time you get a hike in your company, rest
assured your Equated Monthly Instalments (EMIs) will
go up.
(D) EMIs will now be fixed according to your affordability.
(1) DCAB (2) BCAD (3) BCDA
(4) ABCD (5) CBAD
68. (A) The Tax Return Prepares Scheme has been introduced
recently to help individuals file their income tax returns.
(B) According to this scheme, certain tax return prepares
will be specially trained.
(C) The aim is to ease the process of filing returns and
reduce the cost for tax payers.
(D) However, individuals should carefully examine this
service and its likely benefits.
(1) ABCD (2) ADCA (3) DABC
(4) BACD (5) BCAD
69. (A) There is nothing more soothing to the mind, body and
soul than being on the beach front.
(B) That’s what Archil, which buys bad loans, thinks.
(C) A little bit of business can also be thrown in such a
setting.
(D) The ARC thought of the idea of organising a workshop
on junk bonds in an exotic beach resort in Goa and has
roped in the Indian Bank’s Association.
(1) DCAB (2) ABCD (3) DACB
(4) ACBD (5) CBDA
70. (A) The financial markets in the country have provided a
wide array of such instruments.
(B) Doing business is all about managing risk.
(C) The profit and loss account is a reflection of the risk that
is dexterously handled by CFOs.
(D) Which have been seized with alacrity by the industry.
(1) BACD (2) ABCD (3) ACBD
(4) DBCA (5) BCAD
Directions (71-80): In the following passage there are blanks.
Choose the correct answer from the given options to fill the blanks
which are numbered.
71 has marked man’s 72 progress from 73 times. Modern
medicine is built on the innovative 74 of scientists and physicians such
as Louis Pasteur. He 75 in a revolution in medicine by producing a 76
against rabies in 1880. 77 with Robert Koch, Pasteur founded 78. There
has been no 79 back 80 then.
71. (1) Discovery (2) Innovation (3) Reforms
(4) Applications (5) Interests
72. (1) amazing (2) alluring (3) alarming
(4) charming (5) exciting
73. (1) antique (2) mid-historic (3) recent
(4) remote (5) prehistoric
74. (1) fantastic (2) dilemma (3) genius
(4) brain (5) intellect
75. (1) ushered (2) projected (3) prospered
(4) thrushed (5) brushed
76. (1) injection (2) medicine (3) antidote
(4) vaccine (5) antibody
77. (1) Along (2) Also (3) Going
(4) Working (5) Enjoying
78. (1) immunology (2) pathology (3) zoology
(4) botany (5) bacteriology
79. (1) viewing (2) looking (3) seeing
(4) peeping (5) hopping
80. (1) till (2) from (3) until
(4) since (5) by
Directions (Qs. 81-90): In each of the following sentences
there are two blank spaces. Below each sentence, five pairs of
words are given. Find out the correct pair of words and fill in the
blanks.

81. The world is ___ the way it is, because it is what we wanted
to experience at some level of .
(1) wonderful, brightness
(2) perfect, consciousness
(3) famous, search
(4) okay, intelligence
(5) brilliant, dreams

82. The church of England has that it can’t allow a multifaith
ceremony for Prince Charles.
(1) decided, functional
(2) projected, wedding
(3) asserted, coronation
(4) ordered, birth
(5) allowed, dancing

83. The ___ are the poorest and most people in our cities.
(1) poor, helpless
(2) rural, hardworking
(3) workers, happy
(4) scheduled castes, strong
(5) homeless, vulnerable

84. Reform will not only help the U.N., but also contribute
to stability in Asia
.
(1) revitalise, geopolitical
(2) regenerate, economic
(3) ascend, social
(4) revolutionise, political
(5) charge, general

85. Feeling the of the higher power is an .
(1) value, dream
(2) emotions, theme
(3) presence, ecstasy
(4) absence, innocence
(5) acknowledgement, accomplishment

86. All the for a robust and sustainable growth are being put
in .

(1) ingredients, place
(2) factors, striding
(3) points, list
(4) component, consideration
(5) plans, favour

87. India is firmly in the of vote bank politics. So, the for job
reservation for SC and ST in private sector will grow.

(1) gloves, greed
(2) grip, clamour
(3) hands, rush
(4) roots, need
(5) net, suicide

88. One of the secrets Gandhi gave us is that strength does
not come from bone and muscle, it comes from an will.

(1) simple, inner
(2) straight, ironical
(3) wonderful, ideal
(4) tactical, iron
(5) magnificent, indomitable

89. If disasters and are the wake up call for a world that it has
gone , then we are now in the position to acknowledge it to manifest
the world we desire to experience.

(1) peace, mad (2) wars, insane (3) famines, out
(4) tragedies, troublesome (5) mishaps, trivial

90. Inner-faith harmony requires that there is both and among
religions.
(1) value, esteem
(2) establishment, survival
(3) trust, respect
(4) harmony, co-operation
(5) co-existence, concord

Directions (Qs. 91-95): Each of the following questions
consists of a sentence. Find out whether there is any error in it.The
error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that
part is answer. If there is no error, mark 5 as your answer. (Ignore
the errors of punctuation).

91. (1) Neither of them (2) are coming here (3) to address this
(4) large gathering. (5) No error.
92. (1) Hardly she finished (2) her duty when (3) the bell
(4) started ringing. (5) No error.
93. (1) More private companies should (2) be permit to enter
(3) into field of communication (4) to strengthen the network. (5) No
error.
94. (1) Government should severely (2) punish the persons
(3) involved in the (4) practice of female foeticide. (5) No error.

95. (1) Parents should ensure (2) and cultivate (3) reading habits
between (4) their children. (5) No error.
Directions (Qs. 96-100):These questions are based on idioms.
From among the options, choose the one that is closest in
meaning to the given idiom/phrase.

96. keep at an arm’s length:
(1) keep a good distance
(2) keep closeness
(3) avoid involvement or friendship
(4) hate
(5) give a warm welcome

97. take the bull by the horns:
(1) invite danger from an enemy
(2) prepare for unwanted situation
(3) be full of vigour
(4) face boldly
(5) None of these

98. a dark horse:
(1) a person who is not good-looking but is very good at heart
(2) a person who is specially called for an event
(3) a person having a poor reputation
(4) a person whose past is mysterious
(5) a person who is quite less known

99. pour oil on troubled waters:
(1) create a nice scenery
(2) settle down a situation
(3) aggravate matters
(4) worsen a situation
(5) create an unfavourable situation

100. to drag one’s feet:
(1) slow down deliberately
(2) lazy behaviour
(3) uninterested behaviour
(4) present opposition to someone
(5) move very quietly
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