(Paper) SBI STENOGRAPHER Clerk 1st SITTING EXAM Paper - 2012 "Held On 27-05-2012"

::GENERAL ENGLISH::

Directioins (1-15) : Read the following passage carefully and answer the question ,given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

The kingdom of Vijaynagar had not been enjoying good relations with its neighbouring state, Mahanagar, for a very long time. Jealous opponents of Rama, the king’s favourite minister, found the perfect opportunity to damage his reputation. So they went about poison-‘mg the king’s mind against him. One day. when the king was in his chamber pondering over the affairs of the state, one of his courtiers came in and said, “Your Majesty, have you heard the latest ? The king was surprised and exclaimed, “No, I have not! What’s going on ?” In his gravest voice, the courtier answered, “Your majesty, I will tell you only after you promise not to harm me.” “Don’t be silly,” laughed the king, “Say whatever you want to; you need not be afraid of me.” “Your Majesty, Rama is on the payroll of the king of Mahanagar. He has been spying on us for them.” “What are you talking about ?” asked the king angrily.”This has been going on for a long time. But you would not believe a word against Rama. He has cast such a spell on you that you refuse to even think that he might betray you.” “Rama is faithful to the kingdom. He cannot do this. You have been misinformed,” the king replied with confidence. But the courtier convinced the king to regard the statement with some gravity and not dismiss it outright. “Your majesty, I am fully confident about the truth of my information. Do you think I would have spoken to you without verifying the information ?” said the courtier. The king promised to get the matter investigated and said that if Rama was found guilty, he would be punished. The king sent for Rama the following day and without wasting time on preliminaries, he asked him whether he was in league with Mahatiagar. The question shocked Rama so much that he could not say anything. Rama’s silence angered the king and he thundered, “Your silence says that you accept the charge!” Deeply hurt that the king could doubt his loyalty, Rama refused to answer to such a preposterous charge. This angered the king even more. He ordered Rama to leave his kingdom. Rama did not say a single word in his defence and went away with his head bowed. When his enemies heard that Rama had been expelled from the kingdom their joy knew no bounds. Meanwhile Rama went to Mahanagar and met the king there. He pleased the king with his wit. The king asked Rama who he was and when he revealed his name, the king welcomed him warmly. He had heard much about Rama’s sagacity. But the king was surprised to see Rama in his court. “Your king considers me his enemy. So what are you doing here ?” Rama replied, “Your majesty, you are a learned man. You have great strength. You are a good administrator and wish your people well. Our king also possesses all these virtues. He regards you as a friend and he has sent me to resolve the existing misunderstanding between us.” The king was surprised, “Your king considers me a friend ? But our spies warned us that your king was thinking of attacking us,” said the king. Rama said, “Our spies have fed our king the same pack of lies. That is why he has sent me to you. Has war ever benefitted anybody T The king was impressed by this statement. He said, “I do not want war, either. But how can I believe that your kingreally wants peace ?” Rama suggested that the king send a messenger with gifts and a message of peace to Vijaynagar. And if the king accepts the gifts, it would mean that he,
too, wants to be friends. But if he returns the gifts, then obviously, he wants war. The king had one doubt. “Won’t it be an insult to me if I sent the message first ?” Rama had a ready answer. “I have come with the message of peace and so it is us who have made the first move.” The king liked the sound of that and sent his special messenger to Vijaynagar the next day. Meanwhile, the king of Vijaynagar had come to know that Rama was innocent and that the courtiers had conspired against him. As soon as the messenger from Mahanagar reached him with the gifts, he was delighted. He was full of praise for Rama’s wisdom and sent his own minister with gifts to Mahanagar, with a request that the king’ send Rama back. When Rama returned to Vijaynagar, the King warmly welcomed him. Ile also promised to punish the clique of courtiers who had poisoned his mind against his favourite minister.

1. The opponents of Rama used which of the following as an opportunity to poison the king’s mind against him ?

(1) The fact that Rama had visited Mahanagar
(2) The fact that Vijaynagar was not on good terms with Mahanagar
(3) The fact that the king of Mahanagar had sent a messenger to Vijaynagar
(4) The fact that Rama was the king’s favourite minister
(5) The fact that Rama did not defend himself when he was accused of spying

2. Why were Rama’s opponents happy ?

(1) The king had appointed someone else in place of Rama as the minister
(2) The king had forgiven them for poisoning his mind
(3)The king had banished Rama from Vijaynagar as a punishment
(4) Rama had taken a job in Mahanagar
(5) The messenger had brought costly gifts from the king of Mahanagar

3. What did the king do when he heard that his favourite minister, Rama, was a spy ?

(1) He ordered his soldiers to behead Rama
(2) He banished Rama from Vijaynagar without asking for an explanation
(3) He punished the minister who came to him with the information
(4) He declared a war on Mahanagar
(5) He sent for Rama and asked him to tell the truth

4. How did the king of Vijaynagar find out that Rama was innocent ?

(1) The king of Mahanagar told him
(2) The opponents of Rama confessed
(3) The messenger from Mahanagar told him
(4) The spies informed him
(5) Not mentioned in the passage

5. What was Rama’s reaction when he was accused of spying ?

(1) He was so shocked and hurt that he remained silent and refused to defend himself
(2) He accepted the charge against him and left Vijaynagar
(3) He simply resigned from his post and approached the king of Mahanagar for a job
(4) He made sure that his opponents were punished before he left Vijaynagar
(5) He was so embarrassed that he refused to meet anyone

6. Arrange the following incidents in a chronological order as they occurred in the passage.

(A) The king of Vijaynagar welcomed Rama.
(B) The king was pondering over the affairs of his state.
(C) The king of Vijaynagar shouted at Rama.
(D) The king of Mahanagar was doubtful about sending his messenger to Vijaynagar.

(1) BDCA
(2) BCAD
(3) BCDA
(4) CBDA
(5) BADC

7. Which of the following qualities can be attributed to Rama as inferred from the passage ?

(1) Punctual
(2) Disloyal
(3) Rude
(4) Intelligent
(5) Arrogant

8. Why was the king of Mahanagar skeptical about Rama’s presence in his court ?

(1) He had heard that Rama was a spy from Vijaynagar
(2) He believed that the king of Vijaynagar considered him as an enemy
(3) He did not like the way Rama went on praising him
(4) He knew that Rama had been banished from Vijaynagar for spying
(5) His spies had already poisoned his mind against Rama

9. Why did Rama ask the king of Mahanagar to send a messenger with gifts to Vijaynagar ?

(1) In order to ensure that the king of Vijaynagar did not want war
(2) Because the king of Vijaynagar liked gifts
(3) It was his way of apologising for being disloyal to Vijaynagar
(4) In order to show the king of Vijaynagar that Mahan-agar was a wealthy state
(5) In order to please Rama’s opponents

10. Which of the following is true according to the passage ?

(1) Rama’s opponents were jealous of him
(2) The king of Mahanagar sent a messenger to Vijaynagar
(3) The king of Vijaynagar welcomed Rama back to his kingdom
(4) Rama succeeded in improving the relations between Vijaynagar and Mahanagar
(5) All are true

Directions (11-13) : Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in the meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

11. Preposterous

(1) Believable
(2) Cunning
(3) Understandable
(4) Absurd
(5) Accurate

12. Fed

(1) Told
(2) Ate
(3) Sentenced
(4) Covered
(5) Taught

13. Cast a spell on

(1) Hypnotised
(2) Impressed
(3) Arrested
(4) Caught
(5) Cheated

Directions (14-15) : 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.

14. Innocent

(1) Suspicious
(2) Clear
(3) Intelligent
(4) Loyal
(5) Guilty

15. Dismiss

(1) Ignore
(2) Overlook
(3) Forget
(4) Remember
(5) Accept

Directions (16-20) : Each sentence 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.

16. The artist had to………. a lot before…………….. recognised for his talent.

(1) struggle, being
(2) toil, he
(3) practice, performing
(4) effort, he was
(5) strive, the

17. Most of the committee members……….. in favour of the…………….. of a new darn in that village.

(1) was, building
(2) are, proposing
(3) were, construction
(4) not, assembly
(5) still, breaking

18. She………… to learn basic German as she will be……………….. for Germany next month.

(1) likes, reaching
(2) wants, leaving
(3) intends, visiting
(4) tries, touring
(5) knows, going

19. They…………….. a sound infrastructure in order to…………….. with the new challenges.

(1) want, handle
(2) got, meets
(3) have, give
(4) need, cope
(5) had, reach

20. As soon as she……………. the branch office, she was asked to……………. to the headoffice immediately.

(1) came, go
(2) went, attend
(3) reached, report
(4) found, look
(5) saw, remind

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Directions (21-25) : 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 number of that part is the answer. If there is ‘No Error’ the answer is (5). (Ignore errors of punctuation if any.)

21. The temple is at located (1)/ such a high altitude that it is (2)/ impossible to go there (3)/ during the winter season.(4)/ No Error (5)

22. On reaching the (1)/ lake, the leader realised (2)/ that two elephant from (3)/ his herd were missing. (4)/ No Error (5)

23. The builders have (1)/ promised a customers (2)/ that the construction will be (3)/ completed as soon as possible.(4)/ No Error (5)

24. Pratik was extremely (1)/ happy when he (2) / saw his favourite (3)/ actor at near the mall.(4)/ No Error (5)

25. Vanita managed to (1)/ answers all the questions (2)/ whereas her friend could (3)/ answer only a few.(4)/ No Error (5)

Directions (26-30) : Which of the phrases (1), (2), (3) and (4) given below should replace the phrase given in bold in the following sentence to make the sentence grammatically meaningful and correct ? If the sentence is correct as it is and `No correction is required’, mark (5) as the answer.

26. My friends tried to play a tricks on me on April Fool’s Day.

(1) tricked
(2) played a trick
(3) playing the trick
(4) play a trick
(5) No correction required

27. His business has been gone downhill ever since his brother left.

(1) went downhill
(2) go downhill
(3) going downhill
(4) going downhills
(5) No correction required

28. The thief finally decide to confess his crime just before the trial started.

(1) decision to confess
(2) decided to confessed
(3) decide to confession
(4) decided to confess
(5) No correction required

29. They had registered a complaint against her as she have violated the contract.

(1) had violence
(2) had violated
(3) has violate
(4) have violate
(5) No correction required

30. Last evening, the actor throw a party at his residence.

(1) threw a party
(2) threw the parties
(3) thrown a party
(4) throw the party
(5) No correction required

Directions (31-40) : In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage, against each,five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.Once there was a lake which was (31) to many golden swans. Every six months, the swans would leave a golden feather as a (32) for using the lake. The soldiers of
the kingdom in which the lake was, 16 would collect the feathers and deposit them in the royal treasury. One day, a homeless bird saw the lake. “The water in this lake (33) so cool and soothing. I will (34) my nest here,” thought the bird. As soon, as the bird settled down near the lake, the golden swans noticed her. They shouted, “This lake belongs to us! We pay a golden feather to the King for using it. You cannot live here.” “I am homeless, brothers. I too will pay the rent. Please give me (35).” the bird pleaded. “How will you pay the rent 7 You do not have golden • feathers,” said the swans, laughing. They further added, “Stop dreaming and leave at once.” The humble bird pleaded many times. But the arrogant swans (36) her away. “I will teach them a lesson!” decided the humiliated bird. She went to the King and said, “0 King! The swans in your lake are impolite and unkind. I begged for shelter but they said that they had rented the lake.” The King was angry with the arrogant swans for (37) insulted the homeless bird. He ordered his soldiers to bring the arrogant swans to his court. In no time, all the golden swans were brought to the
King’s court. “Do you think the royal treasury depends upon your golden feathers? You cannot decide who lives by the lake. Leave the lake at once or you all will be beheaded!” shouted the King. The swans shivered with (38) on hearing the King. They flew away and never (39). The bird built her home near the lake and lived there happily forever. The bird gave shelter to all other birds who (40) to stay near the lake.

31. (1) local
(2) helping
(3) liked
(4) home
(5) water

32. (1) treasure
(2) interest
(3) fee
(4) charging
(5) money

33. (1) sees
(2) acts
(3) look
(4) seems
(5) finds

34. (1) keeps
(2) draw
(3) make
(4) find
(5) shelter

35. (1) rent
(2) feathers
(3) nest
(4) lake
(5) shelter

36. (1) took
(2) send
(3) walked
(4) drove
(5) flew

37. (1) having
(2) showing
(3) giving
(4) saying
(5) doing

38. (1) happiness
(2) delight
(3) nervous
(4) amusement
(5) fear

39. (1) lived
(2) returned
(3) flew
(4) insulted
(5) stayed

40. (1) paid
(2) wished
(3) demand
(4) likes
(5) hope

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