English Language Quiz For IBPS & SBI Exam | 22-06-2021

 

Dear Readers,

Mahendras has started special quizzes for IBPS & SBI Exam so that you can practice more and more to crack the examination. This IBPS & SBI Exam special quiz series will mold your preparations in the right direction and the regular practice of these quizzes will be really very helpful in scoring good marks in the Examination. Here we are providing you the important question of reasoning ability for the IBPS & SBI Exam.

1-7. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some questions.

Most economists in the United States seem captivated by the spell of the free market. Consequently, nothing seems good or normal that does not accord with the requirements of the free market. A price that is determined by the seller or, for that matter, established by anyone other than the aggregate of consumers seems pernicious. Accordingly, it requires a major act of will to think of price-fixing (the determination of prices by the seller) as both “normal” and having a valuable economic function. In fact, price-fixing is normal in all industrialized societies because the industrial system itself provides, as an effortless consequence of its own development, the price-fixing that it requires. Modern industrial planning requires and rewards great size. Hence, a comparatively small number of large firms will be competing for the same group of consumers. That each large firm will act with consideration of its own needs and thus avoid selling its products for more than its competitors charge is commonly recognized by advocates of free-market economic theories. But each large firm will also act with full consideration of the needs that it has in common with the other large firms competing for the same customers. Each large firm will thus avoid significant price-cutting, because price-cutting would be prejudicial to the common interest in a stable demand for products. Most economists do not see price-fixing when it occurs because they expect it to be brought about by a number of explicit agreements among large firms; it is not.

Moreover, those economists who argue that allowing the free market to operate without interference is the most efficient method of establishing prices have not considered the economies of non-socialist countries other than the United States. These economies employ intentional price-fixing, usually in an overt fashion. Formal price-fixing by the cartel and informal price-fixing by agreements covering the members of an industry are common-place. Were there something peculiarly efficient about the free market and inefficient about price-fixing, the countries that have avoided the first and used the second would have suffered drastically in their economic development. There is no indication that they have.

Socialist industry also works within a framework of controlled prices. In the early 1970s,the Soviet Union began to give firms and industries some of the flexibility in adjusting prices that a more informal evolution has accorded the capitalist system. Economists in the United States have hailed the change as a return to the free market. But Soviet firms are no more subject to prices established by a free market over which they exercise little influence than are capitalist firms; rather, Soviet firms have been given the power to fix prices.

1. The suggestion in the passage that price-fixing in industrialized societies is normal arises from the author’s statement that price-fixing is -

01. a profitable result of economic development

02. an inevitable result of the industrial system

03. the result of a number of carefully organized decisions

04. a phenomenon common to industrialized and non-industrialized societies

05. a phenomenon best achieved cooperatively by government and industry

2.In the passage, the author is primarily concerned with-

01. predicting the consequences of a practice

02. criticizing a point of view

03. calling attention to recent discoveries

04. proposing a topic for research

05. summarizing conflicting opinions

3.Choose the word which is most nearly the OPPOSITE in meaning as the word given in bold as used in the passage.

Overt

01. unconcealed

02. insignificant

03. unclear

04. crude

05. banal

4.Choose the word most similar in meaning to the word given in bold, as used in the passage.

Captivated

01. attracted

02. inured

03. displease

04. astounded

05. repelled

5.The author’s attitude towards “Most economists in the United States” can be best described as-

01. spiteful and envious

02. scornful and denunciatory

03. critical and condescending

04. ambivalent but deferential

05. uncertain but interested

6.It can be inferred from the author’s argument that a price fixed by the seller “seems pernicious” because

01. people do not have confidence in large firms

02. people do not expect the government to regulate prices

03. most economists believe that consumers as a group should determine prices

04. most economists associate fixed prices with communist and socialist economies

05. most economists believe that no one group should determine prices

7-Finding the clue words and explanatory phrases mentioned in the questions to find out the answers.

 According to the author, price-fixing in nonsocialist countries is often -

01. accidental but productive

02. illegal but useful

03. legal and innovative

04. traditional and rigid

05. intentional and widespread

8-10. In the following question a short passage is given with one of the lines in the passage missing and represented by a blank. Select the best out of the five answer choices given to make the passage complete and coherent.

8.Though the state boasts of high health standards, statistics revealed by the health department indicates severe threat from several communicable diseases. ———————————, with 2013 being the worst year. Diarrhoea, dengue, hepatitis A, typhoid and leptospirosis are the diseases that pose a major threat to the state, says the health department report.

01. Cite scarcity of pure drinking water and unhygienic conditions in households as the main reason.

02. Contaminated water is the main cause of hepatitis A

03. From 2006 to 2013, if chikungunya and leptospirosis cases did not show a very steep increase, dengue and diarrhoea were a cause for concern

04. Cases of fever were reported in different hospitals across the state.

05. The data from 2006 to 2013 show that the state has been witnessing a rapid increase in the prevalence of communicable diseases

9.  —————————————reveals a lot about our personalities, preferences and interests has long been known. After all, exploiting that fact is Google’s bread and butter. But now companies are looking even deeper into our online activity to provide increasingly targeted and specific ads. Pandora, the online music streaming website, has started using the music users’ choice to gauge their personalities, interests and, most importantly, what they are likely to buy.

01. In fact, the ads shown to the same user can also be changed depending on their mood.

02. This online ad customization can become incredibly accurate since Pandora has already collected song preferences and other details

03. This kind of data collection really lends itself to pinpoint ads—a blessing for advertisers and a trend that will be much less annoying for users.

04. Pandora deduces that this user is more likely to click on a link to a holiday in an exotic location than a person sitting in the office and listening to familiar songs.

05. The fact that our online behavior, what we search for, which links we click on, etc.

10.  In the next decade or so, India has the potential to be a global economic power, growing at a robust pace —————————————————————As for the near term, I believe that the economy has bottomed out, as evidenced by the second quarter GDP numbers. The CAD has been brought under control, and that together with the measures to bring in capital flows has made us better prepared for the tightening of extraordinary global liquidity. We see growth improving in the coming quarters. Agricultural growth has been reasonably good this year and export-driven sectors are expected to benefit from the currency depreciation and better global growth. Some progress is also being made on delayed project approvals.

01. A clear mandate to any coalition or party in the elections may lead to a revival of investment by companies on their projects

02. India’s future cannot only be viewed from the perspective of just the coming months.

03. We have faced and will continue to face several challenges.

04. Driven by its demographic profile and its strong infrastructure and industrial investment potential.

05. In 2013, markets faced several challenges such as sharp outflow of funds from the Indian debt market

Answers:-

Q.1 (2)

Q.2 (2)

Q.3 (3)

Q.4 (1)

Q.5 (3)

Q.6 (3)

Q.7 (5)

Q.8 (5)

Q.9 (5)

Q.10 (4)