New Pattern English Questions

Directions (1-10): In each question, there are five sentences or parts of sentences that form a paragraph. Identify the sentence(s) or part(s) of sentence(s) that is/are correct in terms of grammar and usage (including spelling, punctuation and logical consistency). Then, choose the most appropriate option.

Q1. A. Charges and countercharges mean nothing.

B. to the few million who have lost their home.

C. The nightmare is far from over, for the government

D. is still unable to reach hundreds who are marooned.

E. The death count have just begun.

(a) A only

(b) C only

(c) A and C

(d) A, C and D

(e) D only

Q2. A. In response to the allegations and condemnation pouring in,

B. Nike implemented comprehensive policy changes in their labour policy.

C. Perhaps sensing the rising tide of labour concerns,

D. from the public would become a prominent media issue,

E. Nike sought to be a industry leader in employee relations.

(a) D and E

(b) D only

(c) A and E

(d) A and D

(e) B, C and E

Q3. A. In 1849, a poor Bavarian imigrant named Levi Strauss

B. Landed in San Francisco, California,

C. at the invitation of his brother-in-law David Stem

D. owner of dry goods business.

E. This dry goods business would later became known as Levi Strauss & Company.

(a) B only

(b) B and C

(c) A and B

(d) A only

(e) A, B and D

Q4. A. I did not know what to make of you.

B. Because you’d lived in India, I associate you more with my parents than with me.

C. And yet you were unlike my cousins in Calcutta, who seem so innocent and obedient when I visited them.

D. You were not curious about me in the least.

E. Although you did make effort to meet me.

(a) A only

(b) A and B

(c) A and E

(d) D only

(e) A and D

Q5. A. Relations are improving between the United States and Libya.

B. President Bush telephoned the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi,

C. on Monday, after Libya has paid about $1.5 billion

D. to State Department to clear up terrorism-related claims

E. from bombings and hijackings during the 1980’s.

(a) A only

(b) A and B

(c) A and E

(d) C only

(e) C and D

Q6. A. I’ve had a intense year.

B. Due to the book launch and movie release, I’ve been out there on display,

C. focusing too much on the external world.

D. Its time to look within, get in touch with myself again and create something new.

E. As part of that, I have to stop the blog, interacting with media and other events.

(a) A only

(b) A and B

(c) A and E

(d) C only

(e) B and C

Q7. A. Now setting up Microsoft Project Manager to work with your company’s existing

B. IT infrastructure can be a complicated task.

C. Systems will have to replace to make them compatible, space has to be allocated

D. for new hardware and there are considerable cost in implementing a desirable system.

E. A data center has to be setup and your IT department has to complete all this in addition to their normal duties.

(a) A only

(b) B only

(c) B and E

(d) C only

(e) B and D

Q8. A. We are heading into an age in which jobs are

B. likely to be invented and made obsolete faster and faster.

C. The chances of today’s college kids working in the same jobs for the same companies for their whole careers is about zero.

D. In such a age, the greatest survival skill you can have is the ability to learn how to learn.

E. The best way to learn how to learn is to love to learn, and the best way to love to learn is to have teachers who inspire.

(a) A only

(b) A and B

(c) A, B and E

(d) B and C only

(e) C and D

Q9. A. A New Zealand company called HortResearch is a world renowned fruit science company,

B. and they develop a unique and innovative fruit and food products for sustainability.

C. One of their previous innovative technologies were in developing a bio sensor to measure the hormone levels in saliva.

D. This can be monitored in real time and also adopted to sports.

E. Right now, it is investigating technologies for measuring biochemical indicators of stress and performance in real time.

(a) A only

(b) A and B

(c) A and E

(d) E only

(e) A, C and E

Q10. A. Maragadavalli was running her father’s household ever since her mother had died when she was 13.

B. It took a long time for her family to settle down after that, and she was 26 by the time she had got married.

C. With 13 years of running a household under her belt, she married into a family meticulously run by mother-in-law.

D. She liked the fact that there were servant maids to help with the housework.

E. She had very less to do around the house except cut vegetable and wait for her husband to come back from work.

(a) A only

(b) A and D

(c) A and E

(d) D only

(e) A, C and E

Directions (11-15): In each question below, the word at the top of the question is used in four different ways. Choose the option in which the usage of the word is INCORRECT or INAPPROPRIATE.

Q11. INDICT

(a) They were indicted for conspiracy and spent a year in jail.

(b) In Bosnia, US troops have usually declined to take part in the arrest of indicted war criminals.

(c) Last week, he was indicted by a grand jury.

(d) The critics have the right to praise or indict a literary work.

(e) All sentences are correct.

Q12. RAMBLE

(a) Where would American cinema be without the car ramble or the road movie?

(b) Avoid long rambling sentences, jargon or unexplained acronyms.

(c) We have tours to suit all levels of ability from a gentle ramble to a Himalayan expedition.

(d) The internet forum gives you an opportunity to ramble on a bit.

(e) All sentences are correct.

Q13. TRANSIT

(a) Electric cars are a nice idea, but they won’t work for mass transit or cargo.

(b) Passengers holding a direct airside transit visa will not be able to pass through immigration control.

(c) The transit of the property into the parties’ joint names was irrelevant.

(d) Mumbai and Delhi are building the infrastructure for rapid transit systems.

(e) All sentences are correct.

Q14. PLACATE

(a) The regulations imposed in the West to placate environmental opposition to GM foods effectively prevent the Third World from developing GM foods.

(b) The facts are incorrect and they have placated members of all political parties across the country.

(c) However, his statement did little to placate the unions who say that even negotiations cannot help in this matter.

(d) The government has a greater imperative to placate the farming lobby than protecting wildlife because of its political leverage.

(e) All sentences are correct.

Q15. ABDICATE

(a) People have decided to ask the King to abdicate in favour of his son.

(b) We cannot abdicate the responsibility to deal with these acts in the correct manner.

(c) Our people have opted for democracy as a way of life from which we will not abdicate.

(d) People wonder whether computer programmes will abdicate the role of the human brain.

(e) All sentences are correct.

Solutions

S1. Ans.(d)

Sol. A, C and D are correct. B is incorrect in the singular use of ‘million’ with few – it should be few millions. E needs to link the singular subject the death count(use singular verb -has). Countercharge 

as one word is correct like counterchallenge.

S2. Ans.(d)

Sol. A and D. B is incorrect because the plural pronoun ‘their’ is used for Nike (company) C is incorrect because of the comma at the end separating it from the remaining part of the phrase ‘labour concerns from the public’. E has the incorrect article a before industry – an industry is correct.

S3. Ans.(a)

Sol. B only. The word immigrant is spelt incorrectly in A. B has no errors. C is incorrect because David Stern is parenthetical hence should be surrounded by commas. D is incorrect because dry goods business needs a determiner – ‘owner of a dry goods business’. E is incorrect in tense ‘would later become’ and not ‘would later became’.

S4. Ans.(e)

Sol. A and D are correct. B has a tense error, it should be I associated… C also has a tense error, it should be who seemed so innocent… E is incorrect, although is a conjunction; it is here as an 

adverb – it is better replaced with however.

S5. Ans.(b)

Sol. A and B. Fragment C has a tense error ‘has paid ‘should be ‘had paid’ because of ‘telephoned’ in the earlier fragment. D should have ‘the’ before State Department. E has an inappropriate apostrophe in the plural of 1980s. A and B are correct. Hence option B.

S6. Ans.(e)

Sol. B and C. A is incorrect – it should be an intense year. In D it’s is needed instead of its. E has a parallelism error. “to stop the blog, media interactions and other events” would be correct with all the items in the series as nouns.

S7. Ans.(b)

Sol. B only. A is incorrect because there should be a comma after introductory adverbs like now. (Now the trouble began is correct – now is not an introductory word.) B is correct. C is incorrect – systems will have to replace should read as to be replaced. D is incorrect. It should be there are considerable costs. E is incorrect IT department is singular (the verb has is correct) but the pronoun ‘their’ is incorrect. The pronoun should be its.

S8. Ans.(c)

Sol. A, B and E are correct. ‘head into’ is idiomatically correct. (Motorola is heading into an abyss) C is incorrect because ‘chances’ needs a plural verb – the sentence has is. In such a age is incorrect – 

it should be “an age”.

S9. Ans.(c)

Sol. A and E only. B is incorrect – the pronoun “they” is inconsistent with HortResearch which is singular, also, “a unique and innovative fruit and food products” should be corrected to “unique and innovative fruit and food products”. C is incorrect “one of their” is inconsistent with HortResearch, and one of previous innovative technologies is singular, hence the verb should be was and not were. D is incorrect because adopt is confused with adapt. A and E are correct.

S10. Ans.(d)

Sol. D only. A has a tense error – when since is used as conjunction to show the time the perfect tense is a must. The sentence should read “Maragadavalli had been running her father’s household ever since …”. Also there is ambiguity in “ … mother had died when she was 13.” B also has a tense error. “By the time she got married” rather than “she had got married” – the unnecessary shift in tense makes the sentence meaningless. E is incorrect. The intensifier ‘very’ is used incorrectly with the comparative less, it should read very little rather than very less.

S11. Ans.(d)

Sol. INDICT-formally accuse of or charge with a crime. The word ‘indict’ is incorrectly used in option D.

S12. Ans.(a)

Sol. RAMBLE-talk or write at length in a confused or inconsequential way. a walk taken for pleasure in the countryside. The word ‘ramble’ is incorrect in option A.

S13. Ans.(c)

Sol. TRANSIT-the action of passing through or across a place.the carrying of people or things from one place to another. The word ‘transit’ is incorrect in sentence C.

S14. Ans.(b)

Sol. PLACATE-make (someone) less angry or hostile. The word ‘placate’ is incorrect in sentence B.

S15. Ans.(d)

Sol. ABDICATE-(of a monarch) renounce one's throne.

fail to fulfil or undertake (a responsibility or duty). ‘abdicate’ is incorrectly used in option D.

New Pattern English Questions

Directions (1-15): A number of sentences are given below which, when properly sequenced, form a COHERENT PARAGRAPH. Four sentences are LOGICAL connected, one sentence is out of the context. Find the ODD SENTENCE.

Q1. A. Economists love incentives.

B. They love to dream them up and enact them, study them and tinker with them.

C. The typical economist believes the world has not yet invented a problem that he cannot fix if given a free hand to design the proper incentive scheme.

D. His solution may not always be pretty – it may involve coercion or exorbitant penalties or the violation of civil liberties – but the original problem, rest assured, will be fixed.

E. An incentive is given to all the employees who perform exceptionally well.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q2. A. Like the proverbial butterfly that flaps its wings on one continent and eventually causes a hurricane on another, Norma McCorvey dramatically altered the course of events without intending to.

B. She was a lady who possessed exceptional skills and she was a wine connoisseur, travelled the world and lived her life luxuriously. 

C. It had taken shape more than twenty years earlier and concerned a young woman in Dallas named Norma McCorvey.

D. All she had wanted was an abortion.

E. There was another factor, meanwhile which had greatly contributed to the massive crime drop of the 1990s.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q3. A. Fear is a dreadful thing.

B. It darkens our lives, from fear we act neurotically.

C. We are asking whether man can ever be free of this terrible burden.

D. Courageous people are very contented with their lives.

E. fear may be lurking in the deep unconsciousness, in the deep recesses of one’s own brain.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q4. A. Kohal says she has always had best travel experience in all the leading airlines.  

B. And there are stories in the media and social media of notes being left on flights, or complaints being made, by passengers upset that they’ve flown with a female pilot.

C. Kohal’s doctor mother and engineer father taught her and her sister that they weren’t any different from men and could do anything they wanted as long as they had fun doing it.

D. GoAir, a budget airline in India, said in 2013 that it only wanted to hire small, young females to be flight attendants in order to save money on fuel by keeping the weight of the plane down.

E. This family support has helped her excel, but many women entering traditionally male-dominated professions in India encounter more obstacles.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q5. A. But anyone who has worked as a professional in the country knows otherwise.

B. So what about the infamous terror attacks in Asian countries which is the cause of fear in much of the rest of the world?

C. In the collective imagination, there are two Europes: the industrious north, with relatively low unemployment and dynamic economies, and the sluggish south, where people would just as soon kick back, sip an espresso and watch the world go by.

D. Olivier, a senior counsel in a large French multinational in the construction industry in Paris works about 45 to 50 hours a week, from roughly 09:00 till 19:30.

E. Many people would lump France, the land of the 35-hour workweek, long lunches and even longer vacations, with the south.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q6. A. Everyone knows the story of the traveler who has never been on a foreign trip before and the unfortunate events drove him crazy.

B. I think that there is far too much work done in the world, and that immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous, and that what needs to be preached in modern industrial countries is quite different from what always has been preached.

C. But although my conscience has controlled my actions, my opinions have undergone a revolution.

D. Being a highly virtuous child, I believed all that I was told and acquired a conscience which has kept me working hard down to the present moment.

E. Like most of my generation, I was brought up on the saying, “Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do.”

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q7. A. A system of coercion is best suitable in a democracy and can be solution to all the world problems.

B. I am quite aware that it is necessary for the success of any complex undertaking that one man should do the thinking and directing and in general bear the responsibility.

C. For force always attract men of low morality, and I believe it to be an invariable rule that tyrants of genius are succeeded by scoundrels.

D. For this reason I have always been passionately opposed to systems such as we see in Italy and Russia today.

E. But the led must not be compelled; they must be able to choose their leader.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q8. A. They have a responsible president who is elected for a sufficiently long period and has sufficient powers to be really responsible.

B. I believe that in this respect the United States of America have found the right way.

C. The really valuable thing in the pageant of human life seems to me to live a luxurious life, be ruthless and insensitive toward other fellow citizens.

D. The thing that has brought discredit upon the prevailing form of democracy in Europe today is not to be laid to the door of the democratic idea as such, but to lack of stability on the part of the heads of governments and to the impersonal character of the electoral system.

E. On the other hand, what I value in our political system is the more extensive provision that it makes for the individual in case of illness or need.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q9. A. He has only been given his big brain by mistake.

B. A backbone was all he needed.

C. This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of the herd nature, the military system, which I abhor.

D. This system of military is bringing the humankind to the danger of extinct.

E. That a man can take pleasure in marching in formation to the strains of a band is enough to make me despise him.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q10. A. I must launch out my boat.

B. The languid hours pass by on the shore – Alas for me!

C. The spring has done its flowering and taken leave.

D. And now with the burden of faded futile flowers I wait and linger.

E. The waves have become clamorous, and upon the bank in the shady lane the yellow leaves flutter and fall.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q11. A. Only now and again sadness fell upon me, and I started up from my dream and felt a sweet trace of a strange fragrance in the south wind.

B. My basket was empty and the flower remained unheeded.

C. On the day when the lotus bloomed, Alas, my mind was straying, and I knew it not!

D. That vague sweetness made my heart ache with longing and it seemed to me that is was the eager breath of the summer seeking for its completion.

E. The 21st century children are immune to such virus.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q12. A. The people of India are giving in nature , sometime they steal because of poverty.

B. Take the fresco at Mahabalipuram called ‘Arjuna’s Penance’.

C. The magnificent figures in the main frieze and narrative, carved out of the rock, are themselves a mix of the divine and the humorous.

D. But, most tellingly, not far from the main frieze, are the figures of two monkeys, one picking lice from the other’s hair.

E. It’s an astonishing example of how this country’s traditions of miniaturist converge with its epic stories.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q13. A. Gandhi was jailed many times for his protest again the British.

B. This is precisely the greatness of any classical work; that is can lend itself for any interpretation at any given era, far removed from its own time, because of its eternal appeal.

C. This total assimilation is reflected in his translation.

D. Although Gandhi was commissioned to do the translation, the Tirukkural was in his genes, inherited from his maternal grandfather who had translated it 1930.

E. He was so ‘smitten’ by this celebrated work, having read and re-read it several times over, that it became a part of his intrinsic cultural psyche.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q14. A. McCorvey’s case came to be adopted by people far more powerful than she.

B. They made her the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit seeking to legalize abortion.

C. The case ultimately made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, by which time Mc Corvey’s name had been disguised as Jane Roe.

D. The defendant was Henry Wade, the Dallas County district attorney.

E. On January 22, 1973, the court advised in the favor of The UNICEF, allowing legalized education for children throughout the country.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Q15. A. Forgetfulness means that you are a genius according some famous people in the field of psychology. 

B. You then forget the essential fact that, underneath the level of physical appearances and separate forms, you are one with all that is.

C. It is this screen of thought that creates the illusion of separateness, the illusion that there is you and a totally separate “other.”

D. It comes between you and yourself, between you and your fellow man and woman, between you and nature, between you and God.

E. Identification with your mind creates an opaque screen of concepts, labels, images, words, judgments, and definitions that blocks all true relationship.

(a) A

(b) B

(c) C

(d) D

(e) E

Solutions

S1. Ans.(e)

Sol. The 1st sentence sets the tone for discussion on the importance of incentives for the economists. The 2nd is the extension of the remark and the 3rd sentence takes it forward with ‘the typical economist’ and their fixation with problem solving. 4th takes the idea further and points out its limitations, and 5th is irrelevant sentence according to the passage. So, ABCD are in logical order. Option E is odd sentence.

S2. Ans.(b)

Sol. The 5th sentence introduces the topic of discussion-crime drop in the 90’s, hence the opener; The 3rd sentence provides historical backdrop of the trend; The 1st statement talks about the impact of Norma McCorvey, The fifth sentence justifies he comparison with the proverbial butterfly, as she ‘just wanted an abortion.’ The 2nd sentence gives irrelevant information about the lady. So, ECAD are in logical order. Option B is odd sentence.

S3. Ans.(d)

Sol. The paragraph opens with a general statement about fear (1st sentence). The 2nd sentence talk about how it’s a ‘dreadful thing’; and 3rd calls it a terrible burden. The 5th sentence explains how ‘one may not be conscious’ of fear. ABCE -all these four sentences talk about ‘fear’ and are logical connected but Option D talks about courage which is totally different from what the passage is all about. Hence D is out of the context sentence. D is the odd sentence.  

S4. Ans.(a)

Sol. The 3rd is an opener, as it lays the background for discussion on ‘sexism’ in the airlines industry. The 5th sentence (this family support) refers to the gender neutral values enjoyed by Kohal. the 4th and 2nd sentences indicate the instances of sexism prevalent in the airline industry. Hence CEDB are in logical order.

The 1st sentence mentions about the luxurious travel experience of customers, which is out of the context. This paragraph talks about the sexism and option A is ODD SENTENCE.

S5. Ans.(b)

Sol. The 3rd sentence is a general observation about the ‘two Europes’, The 5th sentence puts France with the southern part of Europe and talks about a common myth regarding the workload in the region. The 1st and 4th sentences illustrate that it is far from true. The 2nd sentence raises a question which is out of the question about terrorism in Asia. CEAD are in logical order and option B is ODD sentence.

S6. Ans.(a)

Sol. The 5th sentence mentions a ‘saying’ that dictated the author’s upbringing; as the paragraph is about hard work and laziness, it’s a good opener. The 4th completes the description. The 3rd and 2nd sentences talk about the radical change in the author’s point of view. The 1st sentence recalls a story which is to drive crazy any person who has never been to abroad. So, EDCB are in logical order. Option A is out of the context.

S7. Ans.(a)

Sol. The 2nd is a general statement talks about the necessity of a leader and the 5th sentence mentions a reservation expressed by the author; the 1st misrepresent the idea of ‘coercion’ (wrongly refers to ‘compelled’ in the 5th sentence). The 3rd sentence explains the drawbacks of using force; D is the concluding statement which correlates with the strong word ‘scoundrel’ mentioned in the previous sentence. So, BECD are in logical order. Option A is irrelevant according to the given passage.

S8. Ans.(c)

Sol. The 3rd sentence can’t be the opener, as it has to gel with the 5th sentence which can only come before it. The 4th sentence tries to justify an apparent failure of the democratic ideal and gives reasons behind it; In the 2nd sentence ‘in this respect’ refers to the stability of government mentioned in the 4th sentence; and the 1st sentence completes the information. The 5th sentence lists another factor behind it appeal, and the 3rd sentence introduces absolutely different and new idea in the paragraph which is irrelevant. So, DBAE are in logical order. Option C states new idea which is absurd. Hence C is ODD sentence.

S9. Ans.(d)

Sol. The 5th sentence can’t be an opener as it can’t be followed by the 3rd sentence. The 3rd sentence lays down the author’s abhorrence for the military system, the topic of discussion; the 5th sentence continues the strong views of the author (despise means strong hatred); ‘He’ in the 1st sentence refers to ‘a man’ in the 5th sentence. 2nd sentence completes the opinion given in the 1st sentence; and 4th is the inappropriate sentence because it suggests a different idea. So, CEAB are in logical order. D is odd sentence in the given paragraph.

S10. Ans.(e)

Sol. The 1st is the opener, a declarative statement followed by the 2nd sentence – ‘languid hours…on the shore’ and the tone marker ‘alas’ relate to ‘must launch my boat’ in the 1st sentence. The 3rd and 4th talk about the waning of the spring; the 5th sentence is irrelevant because of absurd idea. So, ABCD are in logical order. E is odd sentence.

S11. Ans.(e)

Sol. The 3rd is the opening element as it introduces the topic of reflection, which relates to the blooming of lotus. The 3rd and 2nd sentence are sequential as ‘the mind was straying’ leads to ‘the flower was unheeded’. As the basket remains ‘empty’ (2nd sentence), the author feels sad and dreamy (1st sentence); ‘that vague sweetness’ in the 4th refers to ‘feeling a sweet fragrance’ in the 1st sentence; the 5th sentence introduces the irrelevant idea about 21st century school children which is bogus. So, CBAD are in logical order. Option E is odd sentence.

S12. Ans.(a)

Sol. The 5th is the opening general statement that moots the discussion on the ‘quirky…’ in the midst of an epic. The 4th and 3rd illustrate the point with a frieze from a monument; The 2nd sentence gives additional information (most tellingly), 1st is irrelevant sentence according to the passage. Hence, EDCB are in logical order. Option A is odd sentence.

S13. Ans.(a)

Sol. The 2nd sentence serves as the opener as it is a general statement about the timelessness of the interpretation of literary works. The 4th sentence supports the assertion made in the 2nd sentence. The 5th sentence talks about Gandhi using pronoun ‘He’ followed by 3rd which uses the word ‘assimilation’ that refers to ‘read and re-read’ in the previous sentence. The 1st is irrelevant sentence according to the passage. So, BDEC are in logical order. Option A is odd sentence.

 S14. Ans.(e)

Sol. The 1st sentence opens the discussion on McCorvey’s case. The 2nd (‘they’ refers to ‘people’ in the 1st sentence) and 4th sentences talk about the plaintiff and the defendant of the case. The 3rd sentences talk about the progression and culmination of the case. Hence ABDC are in logical order but Option E is clearly out of the context sentence. In Option E, UNICEF is mentioned which is irrelevant according to the context of the passage. 

S15. Ans.(a)

Sol. The 5th sentence moots the problem of identification with the mind; the 4th gives examples of how ‘it blocks the different relationships’. The 3rd extends the idea further; the 2nd sentence talk about the result of identification with the mind and thoughts. EDCB are in logical order but Option A is clearly out of the context sentence. In option A, the idea about forgetfulness is absurd according to the context. Hence Sentence A is ODD sentence.