SBI PO (Main) Exam Paper - 2019 "English Language"
SBI PO (Main) Exam Paper - 2019 "English Language"
Direction (121 – 123) : 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.
Meritocracy has become a leading social ideal. Politicians across the ideological spectrum continually return to the theme that the rewards of life – money, power, jobs, university admission – should be distributed according to skill and effort. The most common metaphor is the “even playing field” upon which players can rise to the position that fits their merit. Conceptually and morally, meritocracy is presented as the opposite of systems such as hereditary aristocracy, in which one’s social position is determined by the lottery of birth. Under meritocracy, wealth and advantage are merit’s rightful compensation, not the fortuitous windfall of external events.
Most people don’t just think the world should be run meritocratically, they think it is meritocratic. In the United Kingdom, 84% of respondents to the 2009 British Social Attitudes survey stated that hard work is either “essential” or “very important” when it comes to getting ahead, and in 2016 the Brookings Institute found that 69% of Americans believe that people are rewarded for intelligence and skill. Respondents in both countries believe that external factors, such as luck and coming from a wealthy family, are much less important. While these ideas are most pronounced in these two countries, they are popular across the globe.
Although widely held, the belief that merit rather than luck determines success or failure in the world is demonstrably false. This is not least because merit itself is, in large part, the result of luck. Talent and the capacity for determined effort, sometimes called “grit”, depend a great deal on one’s genetic endowments and upbringing.
This is to say nothing of the fortuitous circumstances that figure into every success story. In his 2016 book Success and Luck, the US economist Robert Frank recounts the long-shots and coincidences that led to Bill Gates’s stellar rise as Microsoft’s founder, as well as to Frank’s own success as an academic. Luck intervenes by granting people merit, and again by furnishing circumstances in which merit can translate into success.
121. What ideas does the author refer to when he/she says, “While these ideas are most pronounced in these two countries, they are popular across the globe.”?
A. Skills and efforts alone can lead to success.
B. Luck and inheritance grant merit and favourable conditions leading to success.
C. Merit can lead to success only if you are a resident of UK or America.
D. External efforts like inheritance and luck do not affect the chance of being rich.
E. Both A & D
122. Which of the following statements can be correctly inferred from the passage?
A. The idea behind 'even playing field' is to bring everyone to their lowest possible level.
B. Even though meritocracy is popular all over the world, only UK and America have successfully implemented it.
C. It is a common fallacy that hard work and skill alone can bring success.
D. In hereditary aristocracy, a lottery is drawn at the birth to determine his/her career.
E. None of the above
123. Which of the following correctly describes the tone of the last paragraph?
A. Fictitious
B. Factual
C. Fallacious
D. Flippant
E. Forceful
Direction )124 – 127) : Which of the following phrases (i), (ii), and (iii) given below each sentence should replace the phrase printed in bold letters to make the sentence grammatically correct? Choose the best option among the five given alternatives that reflect the correct use of phrase in the context of the grammatically correct sentence. If the sentence is correct as it is, mark (E) i.e., "No correction required" as the answer.
124. The strategy of human lockdown is being unprecedented in human history and the World Health Organisation has called it the most “aggressive disease containment effort in history”.
i. Was unprecedented in human history
ii. Was unprecedented during human history
iii. Was unprecedented in the history of human beings
A. Only i
B. Only ii
C. Only iii
D. Both i and iii
E. No correction required
125. The Netherlands became a world power in the 17th century, thanks to enormous wealth generates by its East and West India Companies which propelled it to the forefront of scientific discovery and artistic endeavor.
i. enormous wealth generated by its East and West India Companies
ii. enormous wealth being generated by its East and West Companies
iii. enormous wealth had generated by its East and West Companies
A. Only i
B. Only ii
C. Only iii
D. Both i and ii
E. No correction required
126. The announcement by the king of England was met with scorn, anger and ridicule on social media.
i. Had met on scorn, anger and ridicule in
ii. Was meeting of scorn, anger and ridicule on
iii. Had been meet with scorn, anger and ridicule on
A. Only i
B. Only ii
C. Only iii
D. Both ii and iii
E. No correction required
127. Dutch author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld has become one of the youngest writers because shortlisted for a Booker prize, after their debut novel made the final line-up for the International Booker.
i. Was to be shortlisted for a Booker Prize
ii. To be shortlisted for a Booker Prize
iii. To be shortlisted within a Booker Prize
A. Only i
B. Only ii
C. Only iii
D. Both ii and iii
E. No correction needed.
Direction (128 – 130) : 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.
When it comes to English books, it is authors like Kavita Kané, Utkarsh Patel, and, more recently, Saiswaroopa Iyer, who seem to have passionately taken up the cause of feminist revisionist mythology.
Kané has written a string of books over the years that are determinedly feminist in nature. She picks the most unusual characters (sometimes even creates them!) to tell her readers what-may- have-been. Her first was titled Karna’s Wife: The Outcast’s Queen (2014), which told the story of Karna through his (fictional) wife, Uruvi.
It is interesting that Kané chose to introduce an entirely new character to tell Karna’s story in the space of mythological fiction. The Mahabharata speaks of no one called Uruvi. Karna is married to Vrushali, Duryodhana’s charioteer’s sister, and to another woman named Supriya. Both are blink-and-miss characters, with little to say or do in the epic. But in Kané’s re-imagined world, Karna’s second wife is Uruvi. She is a woman passionately in love with her husband and plays an active role in his unfolding narrative.
Here, we deal with not one but two subaltern voices – of the woman and of the low caste. Kane’s inspiration for this name seems to have come from some references in later Tamil literature, where Karna’s wife is named Ponnaruvi. However, it is conjectured that Ponnaruvi was an epithet for either Vrushali or Supriya or both.
Kané’s next was Sita’s Sister (2014), where she constructed the life and character of the little-known wife of Lakshmana, Urmila. The Ramayana takes scant notice of her, and when it does, consigns her to what is essentially a 14- year long coma. But Kané imagined her as a living, breathing heroine who holds the fort when everything is crumbling and everyone important has left.
128. Given below is a possible inference that can be drawn from the facts stated in the last paragraph. You have to examine the inference in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity. 'The Ramayana hardly takes any notice of Lakshmana's wife Urmila who held the fort during an attack and was heavily injured by the falling rubble.'
A. Definitely false
B. Probably false
C. The data are inadequate
D. Probably true
E. Definitely true
129. Which of the following is true about 'Uruvi' with reference to the passage?
A. The author, through Uruvi, shows casteism in the Mahabharata, which was not present in the original version.
B. The author created Uruvi all by herself without any historical reference.
C. The author feels that the Mahabharata had done injustice to Uruvi by telling her story from Karna's point of view.
D. In the original version of the Mahabharata, Uruvi is completely ignored in Karna's story.
E. None of the above.
130. Which of the following statements is NOT true with respect to the passage?
A) Kavita Kané, Utkarsh Patel, and Saiswaroopa Iyer are writing the mythology from a female perspective.
B) Uruvi is not completely fictional.
C) According to Kavita Kané only people belonging to the low caste were second class citizens.
A. Only A
B. Both A & B
C. Both B & C
D. Only C
E. None are correct
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Direction (131 – 135) : The following question carries four statements, each of which have been jumbled. You have to unjumble these parts and answer the questions that follow.
1) A force within a field (A)/ moulds a young, naive person into (B) / the word mentor is usually (C)/ applied to the one who (D)
2) Careers and not just at the start as (A)/ it is important throughout our (B)/ a good mentor can help one to (C)/ navigate one’s career successfully (D)
3) May not be when we meet them the most (A)/ a common perception when seeking (B)/ a mentor in that area is that we should (C)/ do it when we are new to a profession but that (D)
4) In reality, that’s not always the (A)/ dynamic or the demographic, of the mentor-mentee relationship, (B)/ guidance too, especially at the workplace (C)/ as capable grownups need (D)
131. What should be the correct sequence of statement 1?
A. CDBA
B. ABCD
C. BDCA
D. CADB
E. DBCA
132. What should be the correct sequence of statement 2?
A. CDAB
B. ACDB
C. BACD
D. BDAC
E. CBAD
133. What should be the correct sequence of statement 3?
A. DBAC
B. ACDB
C. BCAD
D. BCDA
E. ABCD
134. What should be the correct sequence of statement 4?
A. ABCD
B. ABDC
C. DCAB
D. CDBA
E. CABD
135. Which one of the four sentences does not fit into the major theme of the paragraph?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
E. None of these
Direction: In each of the questions given below, a passage has been given which are either situational based or describes a scenario. Below each passage, a question has been given which is framed to make you to infer something out of it. Mark out the correct inference as your answer.
136. A gang of professional kidnappers in Bihar abducts men who demand dowry and gets them to marry the women without taking money. The gang, led by Hukam Singh (Jaaved Jaaferi), presumably does well for itself, since Hukam lives in what appears to be a palace. The men dragooned into marriage are miserable. The women should be too, but aren’t. According to the sentence, what is expected from the women?
A. Wretched
B. Troubled
C. Injured
D. Downtrodden
E. Elated
Direction (137 – 139) : 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.
The 150-kilometre road trip from Narnaul to Delhi took all of three hours. For young Ashok Khemka, it was well worth the effort. The newly minted IAS officer, posted in Narnaul, had a date with a charming young woman in Delhi and was keen to see her. The young lady in question was his fiancée and Ashok, on his maiden posting as an IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, was naturally eager to meet her as often as possible. As a member of the 1991 batch of LBSNAA in Mussoorie, he had found himself in the crosshairs of groom hunters. Ambitious parents of marriageable daughters descended (and possibly still do) on the academy on an annual basis to stalk young trainees in the hope of finding an “IAS match”. Khemka had managed to evade them all. It was in Delhi that he had met Jyoti, the woman destined to illuminate his home.
She had graduated from the University of Delhi and was contemplating a course in journalism. But Jyoti’s father had taken a shine to Khemka and was keen on the match. Jyoti had a deep respect for her father’s opinion, so she had decided to go with the flow. Jyoti and Ashok were engaged in a quiet ceremony at her home on the auspicious occasion of Dussehra in 1993. Every alternate weekend, he would head to Shakti Nagar in Delhi to meet her, before hightailing it back to Narnaul. He had no idea that someone was keeping tabs on his movements.
As a sub-divisional officer (SDO), Khemka reported to the deputy commissioner of the district. He had not exactly hit it off with his boss, who fancied himself a man of culture and a connoisseur of music and dance.
137. Which of the these presents a contrast to the following sentence as mentioned in paragraph 2: Ambitious parents of marriageable daughters descended (and possibly still do) on the academy on an annual basis to stalk young trainees in the hope of finding an “IAS match”.
A. Parents prefer educational qualifications of the groom rather than their personality traits.
B. Very little is known about the daughters' opinion on their marriages with the 'IAS match'.
C. Parents have resorted to desperate measures to find the ideal groom.
D. Parents with to fulfil their daughters' ambition of getting an IAS husband.
E. None of the above.
138. Which of the following statements is NOT true with respect to the passage?
A. Jyoti's father met Ashoke at LBSNAA in Mussoorie where he was groom hunting.
B. Jyoti did not like Ashoke but still met him only because her father wanted her to do so.
C. Jyoti and Ashok lived together after their engagement.
A. Only A
B. Both A & B
C. Both B & C
D. Only B
E. None are correct
139. Which of the following statements can be correctly inferred from the passage?
I. Ashoke did not get along with his boss with reasons unknown.
II. Ashok's boss had him followed because Ashok had shown dislike towards his choice of music.
III. Jyoti did not complete the journalism course because she was married.
A. Only I
B. Both I & II
C. Both II & III
D. Only II
E. All are incorrect
Direction (140 – 144) : In the following question, a sentence with two blanks is given, indicating that something has been omitted. The sentence is followed by two columns, I and II, each carrying three words. One or more than one of the three words mentioned in column I will the first blank. Similarly, one or more than one of the three words mentioned in column II will the second blank. You have to identify the correct pair(s) of words that would fill the blanks to make the sentence grammatically correct and meaningful. Them mark the relevant option as your answer.
140. The recent ___ I____ regarding language use and learning _____II_____ on the primacy of communicative activities in the classroom.
A. a-e
B. a-d & c-d
C. c-d
D. None of the given options
E. b-e & a-f
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141. The new restaurant has already become a huge ______I______ with people _____II______ up for hours for a seat each night.
A. c-d
B. a-e & b-e
C. None of the given options
D. c-f & c-e
E. b-d
142. French revolutionaries _____I______ death by guillotine to be a more ______II______ method of execution.
I II
a. disregarded d. humane
b. considered e. cruel
c. neglected f. merciful
A. a-d, c-f, a-e
B. b-d & b-e & b-f
C. a-e & a-f
D. c-f & c-d
E. None of the given options
143. When we ______I_______ a repayment of a loan instalment, we _____II______ the amount of the loan.
I II
a. withhold d. reduce
b. executing e. increase
c. make f. calculating
A. b-f, a-e & c-f
B. None of the given options
C. c-d
D. b-e
E. a-d & a-e
144. The petrol market is _____I_______ so fast that some major petroleum companies have ______II________ refining petrol.
I II
a. shrinking d. rejects
b. deminshed e. dicountinued
c. declining f. terminate
A. c-e & a-d
B. a-e
C. b-f & c- d
D. a-d & c-f
E. None of the given options
Direction (145 – 147) : 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. Defence expenditure is an important component of national security and every country allocates a significant portion of its resources for this purpose. However, given the scarcity of resources and the competing demands from other sectors, a nation’s ability to meet all its Defence requirements is not unlimited. Even the United States, the only military superpower, is unable to afford many of its major programmes, forcing it to scale down the number of items to be procured. The sheer size of the Defence budget and its impact on other sectors of the economy thus, more often raises the question as to how much a country can afford for its Defence.
In the absence of any clear framework of evaluating affordability of Defence spending, many analysts tend to view the same from the perspective of a country’s share of Defence in gross domestic product (GDP) over a period of time, or by comparing these shares with those of other countries. This method of relative measurement, however, suffers from ambiguities as it does not take into account a country’s specific security concerns and the economic compulsions in its totality. In the global context, the affordability of military spending of some of the world’s major military spenders varies not only in degree but also from time to time. While the variation in the degree of affordability indicates the changing security threats that are perceived differently by countries, the fluctuation in affordability over time points to the fact that what may be affordable at one point in time, may not be so at another time. Among the major powers, except for Japan, no other country has been able to sustain consistently high level of Defence spending (in percentage of GDP) over a length of time. The macro economy, which guides major spending heads of the government, could be a factor in controlling Defence spending over a period of time. In the US, the present level of military spending has contributed to fiscal distress, raising doubts whether such large-scale military spending is affordable or sustainable in the future.
145. What does the author mean by “...a nation’s ability to meet all its Defence requirements is not unlimited.”?
A. National expenditure is defined by the allotment made for the defence sector and all other sectors receive their funding beyond that.
B. The defence expenditure has remained within the government’s desired objectives of budgetary balance, economic stability and equitable growth.
C. National expenditure cannot focus only on defence sector as there are other sectors that also require funding and resources are limited.
D. A nation cannot meet all its defence requirements as resources are often limited which has to be equally distributed among all sectors in a nation.
E. A nation can only meets its defence requirements once all other sectors have been properly funded which makes its options limited in the defence sector.
146. Which of the following is either a synonym or an antonym of the highlighted word used in the passage? AMBIGUITIES
I. Equivocations
II. Luminosities
III. Transparencies
A. Only III
B. Both I and III
C. Both II and III
D. Both I and II
E. All of these
147. Which of the following statements is true about affordability of military spending based on the given passage?
I. Military spending is a constant entity in a country’s budget and is only affected by the demands of other sectors on national expenditure.
II. One can analyse what a country considers as a security threat by observing the variation in the degree of affordability of military spending.
III. Critics often question the affordability or sustainability of large-scale military spending.
A. Only III
B. Both I and III
C. Both I and II
D. Both II and III
E. All of these
Direction: In the following question, a passage is given which describes a situation or a scenario. A question is asked with reference to the passage. Mark the option that correctly answers that question.
“In the midst of a hot dreary summer, there now sits a lonely drummer. All the beats and music have now drowned in the humdrum life going out of bound, leaving behind this lonely dreamer.”
148. What is the author’s approach towards the above passage?
A. Derisive
B. Gloomy
C. Aggressive
D. Apologetic
E. Motivating
Direction (149 – 151) : 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. Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich _________(A)____________ of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating it gives us pleasure.
In 2013, we had published the first edition of First Food series. I had written then that food is about culture and biodiversity. We often do not think that food diversity, indeed cultural diversity, is linked to the diversity in the biological world. We argued then that we must celebrate the knowledge of plants and their properties and how best to cook them to bring out the flavours and smells. We said then — and we are saying again now — that only when we value the biodiversity on our plates, will we be able to protect the biodiversity in the wild. In 2017 came the second edition First Food: Culture of Taste. In this book, as in the first, we offered recipes of foods along with the knowledge of plant diversity. We did this because it was becoming clear the world was (and is) facing an obesity pandemic — much of the food we eat today is bad for health, with no nutrition or goodness. More importantly, it is now clear that this change in our diet — moving away from home-cooked, nutritious foods borne out of culinary traditions and age-old knowledge — is not incidental or accidental. We are children of the age of processed and factory- grown foods, who have been trans- mutated through a deliberate and subliminal marketing that has changed our habits and our culture of food. We need a re-discovery of this knowledge of food and culture. All is not lost yet — we still eat home-cooked, bio-diverse and nutritious food. But this scenario is changing rapidly. Already, there is evidence that the incidence of diabetes — a disease with strong links to bad food — is increasing, not just among the affluent but also the poor of urban India.
149. Which of the following word can fill the blank (A) in the first paragraph of the passage?
A. Mainstream
B. Biodiversity
C. Ability
D. Propaganda
E. Additional
150. Which of the following is/ are False with reference to the given passage?
I. Obesity pandemic is occurring in the world today, not only because people do not have access to nutritious food, but also because of stress and lifestyle related issues.
II. Advertisements have a negative tendency on our food habits.
III. There is an epidemic of diabetes among the urban poor in India.
A. Only I
B. Only III
C. Both I and II
D. Both II and III
E. None of these
151. Rephrase the following segment from the passage to convey a similar idea: “We said then — and we are saying again now — that only when we value the biodiversity on our plates, will we be able to protect the biodiversity in the wild. “
A. Food variety allows us to appreciate nature better.
B. Food variety is essential for the protection of wildlife.
C. A vegan lifestyle is more effective in giving us a good health.
D. Food variety allows us better understanding and thereby higher impetus to protect the natural variety of the country.
E. None of these.
Direction: In the following question, a passage is given which describes a situation or a scenario. A question is asked with reference to the passage. Mark the option that correctly answers that question.
“When another old cave is discovered in the south of France, it is not usually news. Rather, it is an ordinary event. Such discoveries are so frequent these days that hardly anybody pays heed to them. However, when the Lascaux cave complex was discovered in 1940, the world was amazed. Painted directly on its walls were hundreds of scenes showing how people lived thousands of years ago.”
152. What is the author’s approach towards the above passage?
A. Dogmatic
B. Ethical
C. Cynical
D. Factual
E. Humorous
Direction (153 – 155) : 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. Financial exclusion is the main cause of poverty. Lack of opportunities and access to finance besides financial illiteracy are the main causes of financial exclusion. Financial inclusion is proving to be a major thorn in the path of Indian economic growth. Access to finance by the poor, disadvantaged and unprivileged group is a prerequisite for poverty reduction and social upliftment. One of the main reasons why the large section of the rural population still remains under below poverty line is lack of opportunities and access to finance besides financial illiteracy. Large sections of the rural population have no access to financial services and their only recourse is to borrow from money lenders, who charge exorbitant rates. Also, ignorance is rife, with concepts like insurance virtually unheard of. One of the main reasons why mass poverty is persisting in India is that the problem of financing the poor still remains unresolved (RBI, 2011a), with almost all states show more than 60% of populations below the poverty line. Projections based on NSSO data present a disturbing picture as population cut offs for average consumption for almost all states fall between the sixth and seventh deciles, statistics for which are available in its report “Key indicators of household expenditure in India.” Further fine-tuned, they deliver a precise percentage of population below the average spends (Sunday Times, 2012). The large section of population below the expenditure curve also points to a worrying inequity in incomes, something that should concern planners as the government looks to target benefits for those who need them through initiatives like food security and employment guarantees (Sunday Times, 2012).
153. As per the passage, which of the followings are a prerequisite for poverty reduction and social upliftment?
I. Financial inclusion of the poor and the under privileged section of the society is a necessary prerequisite for poverty reduction and social upliftment.
II. Financial exclusion of the poor and the under privileged section of the society is a necessary prerequisite for poverty reduction and social upliftment.
III. The poor and the under privileged section of the society need to be financially educated in order to reduce poverty and gain social upliftment.
A. Only III
B. Both I and III
C. Both I and II
D. Both II and III
E. All of these
154. Given below are five statements from the passage. Choose the statement/statements which is grammatically or contextually incorrect.
A. One of the main reasons why the large section of the rural population still remains under below poverty line is lack of opportunities and access to finance besides financial illiteracy.
B. Also, ignorance is rife, with concepts like insurance virtually unheard of.
C. Financial exclusion is the main cause of poverty.
D. Further fine-tuned, they deliver a precise percentage of population below the average spends (Sunday Times, 2012).
E. Financial inclusion is proving to be a major thorn in the path of Indian economic growth.
155. Which of the following options is a correct inference regarding mass poverty from the given passage?
A. Mass poverty persists in India because the marginal population does not have access to social security.
B. Mass poverty persists in India because Indians are lazy and don’t like to work.
C. Mass poverty persists in India because the marginal population are uneducated and have no access to mainstream finance providers.
D. Mass poverty persists in India because there are no mainstream financiers providing financial solutions to the poor.
E. Mass poverty persists in India as it is a government conspiracy.
