Bank of Baroda Probationary Officer Exam., 2011
(Held on 13-3-2011)
English Language : Solved Paper
Directions—(Q. 1–5) Rearrange the following seven sentences (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph; then answer the questions given below them.
(1) But seriously, how much would you pay to know what thoughts are swimming around in someone else’s head ?
(2) In most fictional movies thus, the idea of reading minds – of seeing the private intentions of another, and the possibility of intervening in those plans – has always been highly attractive.
(3) Such fantastical questions have long been the bread and butter of fiction.
(4) Today, more than four centuries since the phrase, ‘A penny for your thoughts?’ was first recorded, inflationary accounting makes that ancient penny worth more than $ 40.
(5) The going rate for a ‘thought’ – a probe into the thinking of another – was once quite a bargain.
(6) And if you could really know their truthfulness how much more would you pay ?
(7) Even with the sliding value of the dollar, this still seems quite a bargain.
1. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 6 (B) 4
(C) 3 (D) 7
(E) 1
Ans : (B)
2. Which of the following should be the FOURTH sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1 (B) 2
(C) 7 (D) 4
(E) 6
Ans : (B)
3. Which of the following should be the SIXTH sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 5 (B) 7
(C) 3 (D) 2
(E) 1
Ans : (C)
4. Which of the following should be the SEVENTH (Last) sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1 (B) 2
(C) 6 (D) 4
(E) 5
Ans : (C)
5. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1 (B) 2
(C) 3 (D) 4
(E) 5
Ans : (E)
Directions— (Q. 6–16) In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words/phrases are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word/phrase in each case.
The economics of owning and running a Ration Shop, the familiar name for the outlets in our Public Distribution System (PDS), are such that under normal business terms, the shop-owner could never make a profit. Yet, …(6)… the government announces that new permits for ration shops will be given out, there is frenzy in the market to grab one of these …(7)… ? The answer is bovious : the business is not for the honest and if one knows the …(8)…, there is a fortune to be made.
What are these tricks of the trade ?
l Getting fake names into the user list is the most obvious option; the State seems to be …(9)… a losing battle against this practice, judging by the endless efforts to weed out bogus ration cards.
l The next is to get the ‘right customers’ on the list, not just more customers. These are people who are registered but who do not have any interest in …(10)… on their entitlements. In a system where caste and income certificates are for sale, it is not …(11)… to ‘produce’ these documents for mutual benefit. Receipts are duly made in their names, and the rations thus ‘drawn’ are …(12)… off into the open market. The sale price of an item like rice makes clear the …(13)… economics – it costs Rs. 8 is a ration shop while in the latter it is Rs. 30 or above. There are also customers who would rather exchange their entitlements for hard cash at the beginning of the month.
l As the degradation progresses, the shop keeper, in …(14)… with the official machinery, manages to withhold effectively the entitlements from even the genuine beneficiaries, and diverts them to the open market. The targeted group is usually not in a position to …(15)… itself to get its due.
And thus one has all the …(16)… of a good PDS business.
6. (A) whenever (B) quickly
(C) just (D) as soon
(E) time
Ans : (A)
7. (A) what (B) when
(C) where (D) why
(E) how
Ans : (D)
8. (A) lying (B) people
(C) sprouting (D) hard work
(E) ropes
Ans : (A)
9. (A) attempt (B) waging
(C) winning (D) expecting
(E) trying
Ans : (B)
10. (A) harping (B) discussing
(C) realizing (D) drawing
(E) giving
Ans : (D)
11. (A) easy (B) must
(C) difficult (D) simple
(E) enough
Ans : (C)
12. (A) sell (B) borrowed
(C) donated (D) bought
(E) siphoned
Ans : (E)
13. (A) understood (B) poor
(C) underlying (D) mechanical
(E) unclear
Ans : (C)
14. (A) meeting (B) collusion
(C) flow (D) show
(E) line
Ans : (B)
15. (A) ask (B) voiced
(C) assert (D) deliver
(E) willful
Ans : (C)
16. (A) things (B) ingredients
(C) dictate (D) component
(E) facet
Ans : (E)
Directions—(Q. 17–20) Which of the words/phrases (A), (B), (C) and (D) given below each sentence should replace the word/phrase printed in bold in the sentence to make it grammatically correct ? If the sentence is correct as it is given and no correction is required, mark (E) as the answer.
17. A lot of time we hear from actors that they regret the kind of roles they have been doing all this while, but this actor says he has never any regrets.
(A) never has have (B) has never had
(C) has no (D) has had
(E) No correction required
Ans : (B)
18. The actress participated in the event whole-hearted, cheered the participants, danced with them and emphasised on the importance of creating awareness for oral care across the country.
(A) whole-heartedly (B) whole-heart
(C) with whole-heart (D) wholly-hearted
(E) No correction required
Ans : (A)
19. Although complete treatment of cancer is beyond the reach of the underprivileged but no child should lose his life for want of funds.
(A) Though (B) As
(C) The (D) Since
(E) No correction required
Ans : (E)
20. Slated to begin this year, the league could provide a soneeded boost to hockey in India.
(A) so-needful (B) much-needy
(C) much-need (D) much-needed
(E) No correction required
Ans : (D)
Directions—(Q. 21–25) Each question below has two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words for each blank which best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
21. Much of the ……… that cricket has is due to the fact it is a ……… sport.
(A) Allure, lucrative (B) Criticism, controversial
(C) Attraction, unpopular (D) Flak, great
(E) Comments, unusual
Ans : (A)
22. Since foggy weather ……… visibility by several metres, the railways has either partially ……… or diverted some of the trains.
(A) improves, started (B) impairs, called off
(C) hampers, withdrawn (D) decrease, stopped
(E) reduces, cancelled
Ans : (B)
23. The once …… district is gradually being ……… of its green cover.
(A) remote, eroded (B) arid, replenished
(C) beautiful, devoid (D) picturesque, depleted
(E) lush, rob
Ans : (C)
24. The pilot knew she would be able to see the ……… lights of the city from her cockpit window, but she would not see the fireworks explode to welcome the new year as she would have ……… to cruising altitude.
(A) few, soared (B) divine, escalate
(C) glistening, jumped (D) shining, reached
(E) glittering, climbed
Ans : (D)
25. The New Year has ……… in good news for city hotels as most properties are ……… for the whole month.
(A) brought, deserted (B) ushered, packed
(C) pushed, full (D) steered, renovating
(E) escorted, vacant
Ans : (B)
Directions—(Q. 26–35) Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The letter of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (E). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any)
26. The bane of Indian hockey today is (A) / lack of interest by the part of the public (B) / which in turn is fuelled by the perception that (C) / it doesn’t pay to take up the sport as a career. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (E)
27. Illegal sand mining has become (A) / a boom business fuelled (B) / by the ever-increasing demand (C) / of the construction industry. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)
28. Much is the inflow of travelers that (A) / it is tough to book an air ticket (B) / to Ahmedabad and the international flights (C) / too are almost over-booked. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (A)
29. Experts believe that a (A) / gradually decreasing infant mortality rate (B) / is lead to a proportionate (C) / decrease in the size of our brains. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)
30. In just two months after having (A) / planted these, most of the plants have (B) / either dried up and are suffering (C) / due to lack of maintenance. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)
31. In cities people don’t (A) / always have the time to (B)/ catch up with old friends or (C) / spend times with their family. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)
32. The band have been (A) / performing at many cause-oriented concerts (B) / to encourage people to come forward and (C) / lend their support to the noble cause. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (A)
33. As market leaders, (A) / we have always been at (B) / the forefront of creating awareness (C) / between the public. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)
34. If the IPL has succeeded in drawing (A) / an audience across the country, it is because (B) / cricket has always had a strong foundation (C) / and a dedicated audience. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)
35. In view of the intense cold wave conditions (A) / prevailing in the state, the government declared (B) / holidays in all the schools (C) / for a period of ten days. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (E)
Directions—(Q. 36–50) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the question.
It was in the offing. With shortages mounting across the board for water as they are for energy, it was only inevitable that the Central government would be stirred into starting a Bureau of Water Efficiency (BWE), much like the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) that was launched some years ago.
Early reports suggest that the draft norms for various sectors consuming water will be created by the BWE soon. The alarm bells have been ringing for some years now. Water availability per capita in India has fallen about 5 million litres in the 1950s to 1•3 million litres in 2010— that’s a staggering 75 per cent drop in 50 years. Nearly 60 per cent of India’s aquifers have slumped to critical levels in just the last 15 years. The rate at which borewells are being plunged in every city with no law to ban such extraction, ground water tables have depleted alarmingly.
The BEE’s efforts in the last seven years have only been cosmetic. The bureau has looked at efficiency rating systems for white goods in the domestic sector, and has not paid attention to the massive consumption of energy in metals manufacture, paper, and textiles. These sectors are very intense in both energy and water consumption. But very little attention has been paid to the water and energy used per tonne of steel or cement or aluminium that we buy, and without significant changes in these areas, the overall situtation is unlikely to change.
Use of water is inextricably interlinked with energy. One does not exist without the other. The BWE should steer clear of the early mistakes of BEE – of focusing on the ‘softer targets’ in the domestic sector. Nearly 80 per cent of fresh water is used by agriculture, with industry coming a close second. The domestic sector’s consumption of fresh water is in single digits. So the BWE’s priority should be to look at measures that will get farmers and industrialists to follow good practices in water use. Water resources have to be made, by law, an indivisible national asset. The protection and withdrawal of this resource, as well as its sustainable development are of general importance and therefore in the public interest. This will mean that individuals and organisations may own land but not water or the other resources that lie below the first 20 metres of the surface of those lands. Drilling of borewells into such ‘national assets’ will have to be banned, or at the very least they must be regulated. What would be more sensible for the new water bureau to do would be to look at some of the low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly, with laws that can emanate from the Centre, without the risk of either dilution or inaction from state adminis trations. The other tactical approach that the BWE can adopt is to devise a policy that addresses the serious water challenge in industry segments across a swathe of companies : this will be easier than taking on the more disparate domestic sector which hurts the water crisis less than industry. Implementing a law is more feasible when the concentration is dense and identifiable. Industry offers this advantage more than the domestic or the commercial sector of hotels and offices.
As for agriculture, though the country’s water requirement is as high as 80 per cent, the growing of water within the loop in agriculture de-risks the challenge of any perceived deficit. Rice, wheat, sugarcane are crops that need water-logging, which ensures ground water restoration. Surface water evaporation doesn’t amount to any more than 7–8 per cent and only strengthens precipitation and rainfall. Agriculture and water need is not quite as much a threat as industry and domestic sectors that account for the rest of the 20 per cent.
The primary challenge in industry and the building sector is that no conscious legal measures have been enacted that stipulate ‘growing your own water’ with measures that will ‘put all water in a a loop’ in any residential or commercial building. This involves treating all used water to a grade that it can be ‘upcycled’ for use in flush tanks and for gardens across all our cities with the polluter owning the responsibility for treating and for reuse. The drop in fresh water demand can be dramatic with such upcycle, reuse, and recycle of treated water. Water by itself in industry and the domestic sector, is not as much a challenge as pollution of water. Not enough measures exist yet to ensure that such polluters shift the water back for reuse. If legislation can ensure that water is treated and reused for specific purposes within industry as well as in the domestic sector, this will make all the difference to the crisis on fresh water.
So is the case in industry, especially in sectors like textiles, aluminium and steel. Agriculture offers us the amusing irony of the educated urbanites dependent on cereals like rice and wheat that consume 4000 litres of water for every kg, while the farmer lives on the more nutritious millets that consume less than half the quantity. Sugarcane consumes as much as 12,000 litres of water for a kilo of cane that you buy !
A listing of such correlations of water used by every product that we use in our daily lives with make much better sense that any elaborate rating system from the newly formed BWE. Such sensitizing with concerted awareness campaigns that the new Bureau drives will impact the urban consumer more than all the research findings that experts can present. What is important for us is to understand the life-cycle impact in a way that we see the connect between a product that we use and the resources it utilizes up to the point where we bring the visible connect to destruction of natural resources of our ecosystems.
36. How, according to the author, can the bureau sensitize the urban consumer about careful utilization of water ?
(A) By encouraging them to consume more rice instead of millets daily and thereby reduce the amount of water consumption.
(B) By providing them more insight into the water consumption cycle of the textile, aluminium and steel industries.
(C) By making them aware of the linkages between water consumption for daily activities and
the resource utilization and subsequent ecological destruction associated with it.
(D) By publishing research findings of experts in popular media whereby people gain awareness on the impact of water misuse.
(E) By conducting elaborate drives which notify the urban population about the penalties levied on misuse of water resources.
Ans : (C)
37. Why, according to the author, is the water consumption for agricultural activities the least risky ?
(A) Proportion of water consumed for agricultrual activities is much less as compared to that consumed for domestic and industrial purposes.
(B) Most farmers are aware of the popular methods of water conservation and hence do not allow wastage of water.
(C) Water is fairly recycled through ground water restoration due to water-logging and surface water evaporation.
(D) Farmers in India mostly cultivate crops that require less amount of water.
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)
38. Which of the following is possibly the most appropriate title for the passage ?
(A) Water Challenges in the New Millennium
(B) The Bureau of Water Efficiency Vs. the Bureau of Energy Efficiency
(C) Unchecked Urban Consumption of Water
(D) Challenges of the Agricultural Sector and Water Resources
(E) The Route to Conservation of Water Resources
Ans : (E)
39. What does ‘low-hanging fruits that can be plucked, and pretty quickly’ mean in the context of the passage ?
(A) The bureau should employ the cheapest methods possible to effectively control the current situation of improper usage of water resources.
(B) The bureau should target the industrial sector as well as the domestic sector to reduce water wastage.
(C) The bureau should target the agricultural sector only for producing quick results in reducing wastage of water.
(D) The bureau should ensure that all the state officials concerned with the measures are actively involved.
(E) The bureau should start with adopting measures which are simple to execute and produce immediate results in reducing water wastage.
Ans : (E)
40. Which of the following, according to the author, is/are the indication/s of a water crisis ?
1. Many agrarian areas in the country are facing a drought– like situation.
2. Almost three-fifth of the naturally available water has been reduced to a very critical level in a relatively short span of time.
3. There has been a significant drop in the availability of water over the past fifty years.
(A) Only 2 (B) Only 1 and 3
(C) Only 3 (D) Only 2 and 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (D)
41. The author suggests that the Bureau of Water Efficiency devise a strategy or make laws to meet water challenges in the industrial segments rather than the domestic segments because—
(A) The industrial sector is the only one that is in a position to reduce its water consumption by a significant margin.
(B) There is comparatively less serious water misuse in the domestic sector.
(C) It would be easy to identify the consumption patterns in the industrial sector because of its density and visibility.
(D) The industrial sector would be capable of paying the fines levied by the Bureau for water misuse whereas the domestic sector would be in no such position.
(E) The industrial sector would be easier to manage in terms of making them understand the importance of water conservation
Ans : (C)
42. Which of the following, according to the author, is/are the step/s that the Bureau of Water Efficiency can take to ensure proper utilization of water resources ?
1. Put in place measures that ensure proper water usage.
2. Concentrate on the water consumption patterns of the domestic sector alone.
3. Monitor carefully the activity of digging borewells.
(A) Only 1 and 3 (B) Only 1 and 2
(C) Only 1 (D) Only 2 and 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (A)
43. Which of the following is true about the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, in the context of the passage ?
1. It failed to pay adequate attention to industries like metal, textiles, etc. in terms of energy consumption.
2. It focused on rating systems for efficient use of goods in the domestic sector.
3. It mostly focused on the energy consumption in the domestic sector.
(A) Only 1 and 3 (B) Only 1 and 2
(C) Only 1 (D) Only 2 and 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (C)
Directions—(Q. 44–47) Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
44. COSMETIC
(A) Enhancive (B) Beauty
(C) Augmentative (D) Superficial
(E) Aesthetic
Ans : (D)
45. STAGGERING
(A) Weaving (B) Astounding
(C) Lurching (D) Stumbling
(E) Unsteady
Ans : (B)
46. CONSCIOUS
(A) Unknown (B) Mindful
(C) Self-aware (D) Awake
(E) Alert
Ans : (D)
47. DRAMATIC
(A) Remarkable (B) Moving
(C) Theatrical (D) Histrionic
(E) Staged
Ans : (A)
Directions—(Q. 48–50) Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
48. INTENSE
(A) Smooth (B) Serious
(C) Low (D) Diluted
(E) Jovial
Ans : (C)
49. TACTICAL
(A) Unplanned (B) Uniform
(C) Devious (D) Premeditated
(E) Deformed
Ans : (A)
50. INEVITABLE
(A) Certain (B) Unforeseeable
(C) Unavoidable (D) Inescapable
(E) Perdictable
Ans : (B)
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