IBPS Clerk Prelims Online Question Paper - 2019 (English Language)

Subject : English Language

Direction (1 – 5) : In the following question, a sentence with four words printed in bold is given. These words are numbered as (1), (2), (3) and (4). One of these four words may either be misspelt or inappropriate in the context of the sentence. Find out the word(s) that is wrongly spelt or inappropriate and mark the relevant option as your answer. If all the words printed in bold are correct, mark option (E), i.e. ‘All are correct’, as the answer.

1. When we reach home after travelling(1) for weaks, (2) the home is the same but something (3) in our mind has changed and that changes everything.(4)
A. 4
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3

2. Many people believe (1) that it is better to lead a slow life with limited (2) pleasures (3) than the mindless (4) rat race of the city.
A. 4
B. 3
C. 2
D. All are correct

3. With rice (A) in online consumer base, many online retailers (B) are finding it difficult to fulfil (C) all the consumer demands in a short (D) time.
A. C
B. D
C. A
D. B

4. Given the pace (A) at which technology is developing (B) today, it is clever (C) that our world (D) will work completely different in just a few days.
A. D
B. C
C. A
D. B

5. Participating (A) in various competitions (B) since childhood, helps students develop (C) a spirrit (D) of sportsmanship.
A. B
B. A
C. D
D. C

Direction (6 – 8) : A sentence with one blank is given, indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the word that best fits in the blank making the sentence
grammatically correct and meaningful.

6. The infrastructure projects of the city are falling behind schedule thus increasing the ______ of the residents.
A. Inconvenience
B. Safety
C. Working
D. Stressful

7. There has been a significant rise in the price of certain goods and commodities recently, making them ______for the common man.
A. Price
B. Progressing
C. Increasing
D. Unaffordable

8. It is vital that children, young people and all of us have access to stories which give us the knowledge, empathy and understanding we need to __________
life.
A. Engage
B. Negotiate
C. Overlook
D. Developing

Direction: A sentence with one blank is given, indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the word that best fits in the blank making the sentence
grammatically correct and meaningful.

9. Tigers are large, solitary predators who owe their entire existence to being able to ___________ detection by prey and sneak close before attacking.
A. Practice
B. Indulge
C. Avoid
D. Advance

Direction (10 – 11) : Read the sentence to find out whether there is an error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number corresponding to
that part will be your answer. If the given sentence is correct as it is, mark the answer as ‘No error’. Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any.

10. Having supportive parents (1)/ help massive in (2)/ the positive development and (3)/growth of a child. (4)
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

11. The reports suggested that (1)/ some animals is (2)/ likely to be extinct (3)/ in the near future. (4)
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

Direction: Read the sentence to find out whether there is an error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number corresponding to that part
will be your answer. If the given sentence is correct as it is, mark the answer as ‘No error’. Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any.

12. As per the new design (1)/ all appliances inside (2)/ the building will (3)/ be power by solar energy. (4)
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

Direction: Read the sentence to find out whether there is an error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number corresponding to that part
will be your answer. If the given sentence is correct as it is, mark the answer as ‘No error’. Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any.

13. A person driven by (1)/ greed and envious, loses (2)/ the ability to see (3)/ things as they are. (4)
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

Direction (14 – 20) : Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

Why do we travel? It's not the flying I mind – I will always be awed by the physics that gets a fat metal bird into the upper troposphere. The rest of the journey, however, can feel like a tedious lesson in the ills of modernity, from the pre-dawn X-ray screening to the sad airport malls peddling crappy souvenirs. It's globalisation in a nutshell, and it sucks. And yet here we are, herded in ever greater numbers on to planes that stay the same size. Sometimes we travel because we have to. Sometimes we travel because we want to, because the annoyances of the airport are outweighed by the visceral thrill of being someplace new. Because work is stressful and our blood pressure is too high and we need a vacation. Because home is boring. Because the flights were on sale. Travel, in other words, is a basic human desire. We're a migratory species, even if our migrations are powered by jet fuel and Chicken McNuggets. But here's my question: is this collective urge to travel – to put some distance between ourselves and everything we know – still a worthwhile compulsion? Or is it like the taste for saturated fat: one of those instincts we should have left behind in the Pleistocene epoch? Because if travel is just about fun, then I think the new security measures at airports have killed it. The good news, at least for those of you reading this while stuck on a tarmac, is that pleasure is not the only consolation of travel. In fact, several new science papers suggest that getting away – and it doesn't even matter where you're going – is an essential habit of effective thinking. It's not about a holiday, or relaxation: it's about the taxing act itself, putting some miles between home and wherever you happen to spend the night. The reason such travels are mentally useful involves a quirk of cognition, in which problems that feel "close" – and the closeness can be physical, temporal or even emotional – get contemplated in a more concrete manner. As a result, when we think about things that are nearby, our thoughts are _____(A)_____, bound by a more limited set of associations. While this habit can be helpful – it allows us to focus on the facts at hand – it also inhibits our imagination. When we escape from the place we spend most of our time, the mind is suddenly made aware of all those errant ideas we'd suppressed. We start thinking about obscure possibilities that never would have occurred to us if we'd stayed back on the farm. Furthermore, this more relaxed sort of cognition comes with practical advantages, especially when we're trying to solve difficult problems.

14. Which of the following is true about travelling?
A. We travel because we need a break from stressful work.
B. The idea of travelling is enhanced by the security arrangements at the airport.
C. It is on rare occasions that we derive pleasure through travelling.
D. All of these

15. Which of the following is true with respect to the passage?
A. An escape from a regular environment allows us to think about possibilities, which we would otherwise never explore.
B. Apart from deriving pleasure, we can also develop a habit of effective thinking through travelling.
C. The author finds the idea of an aeroplane flying in the troposphere absurd.
A. Only A
B. Both A & B
C. Only C
D. Both A & C

16. With which of the following is the author most likely to agree?
A. Travelling allows us to be aware of the ideas suppressed within us.
B. Globalisation has benefitted us in many ways.
C. Travelling bridges the distance between ourselves and everything we know.
A. Only B
B. Only A
C. Only C
D. Both A & B

17. Which of the following is the MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the given word as used in the passage?
Taxing
A. Strenuous
B. Burdensome
C. All of these
D. Stressful

18. Which of the following is the MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the given word as used in the passage?
Obscure
A. Uncertain
B. Likely
C. Clear
D. Difficult

19. Which of the given statements can be concluded from the following statement given in the passage?
"It's not about a holiday, or relaxation: it's about the taxing act itself, putting some miles between home and wherever you happen to spend the night"
A. A stressful work forces one to travel away for some time.
B. A change from the existing surroundings is a habit ingrained in very nature of human species.
C. Human derives pleasure from continuous travelling.
D. Humans like flying over the skies in confined spaces.

20. Which of the following words can be used to fill the blank labelled (A) in the passage?
A. Liberated
B. Accessible
C. Constricted
D. Reluctant

Direction (21 – 25) : Rearrange the following six sentences (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E) in a proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph, then answer the questions that follow.
(A) These two conclusions by the trust are based on empirical data gathered from surveys carried out in many parts of the country.
(B) The National Literacy Trust has noted that becoming a lifetime reader is based on developing a deep love of reading.
(C) So, the big challenge for teachers is not simply getting students to read – it's getting them to enjoy it too.
(D) In other words, teachers do not need to motivate students to read too much but encourage reading for pleasure.
(E) It further notes that this is especially true for young readers as motivation to read decreases with age and if children do not enjoy reading when they are young,
then they are unlikely to do so when they get older.

21. Which of the following will be the fourth statement after rearrangement?
A. B
B. E
C. D
D. C

22. Which of the following will be the fifth statement after rearrangement?
A. D
B. C
C. A
D. E

23. Which of the following will be the first statement after rearrangement?
A. C
B. E
C. D
D. B

24. Which of the following will be the second statement after rearrangement?
A. A
B. B
C. C
D. E

25. Which of the following will be the third statement after rearrangement?
A. A
B. B
C. D
D. E

Direction (26 – 30) : In the following passage, there are blanks each of which has been numbered. These numbers correspond to the question numbers. Against each question, five words have been suggested, one of which would fill the blank appropriately. Mark the suitable word as the answer.
Amy's school needed to have a fundraiser so they could (###Q1###) money to buy more computers. Amy knew that many of her classmates' families were from (###Q2###) countries around the world. They had many special traditions, spoke many different languages and ate many different types of foods. Amy had a (###Q3###) idea for a fundraiser! She suggested that every student could bring in their favourite dish and hold an ethnic dinner night. She knew parents and members of the community would be (###Q4###) to pay money in order to try foods from all over the world! Amy with the help of her friends organised the event. The fundraiser was a great (###Q5###). Everyone enjoyed seeing, smelling and tasting foods from so many different cultures.

26. Find the appropriate word in each case.
A. Waste
B. Income
C. Earn
D. Occupy

27. Find the appropriate word in each case.
A. Alike
B. Variety
C. Moderate
D. Different

28. Find the appropriate word in each case.
A. Vague
B. Brilliant
C. Elaborate
D. Dumb

29. Find the appropriate word in each case.
A. Agree
B. Outwit
C. Concern
D. Glad

30. Find the appropriate word in each case.
A. Success
B. Celebrity
C. Disaster
D. Variation