Q1. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'She is one of those / novelists / who has won / international acclaim.'
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Answer: C. who has won
In 'one of those + plural noun + who', the relative pronoun refers to the plural noun ('novelists'), so the verb must be plural: 'who have won'.
Error Spotting · hard
Q2. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'Scarcely had the chief guest arrived / than the audience rose / to give him / a standing ovation.'
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Answer: B. than the audience rose
'Scarcely' and 'hardly' are followed by 'when' (or 'before'), not 'than'. Only 'no sooner' takes 'than'. Correct: 'Scarcely had the chief guest arrived when...'.
Error Spotting · hard
Q3. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'The delegates said / that they were eagerly / looking forward / to meet the minister.'
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Answer: D. to meet the minister.
'Look forward to' is followed by a gerund because 'to' is a preposition here: 'looking forward to meeting the minister'.
Error Spotting · medium
Q4. Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word: Years of ________ leadership had left the institution bankrupt, demoralised and riddled with corruption.
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Answer: A. venal
'Venal' means open to bribery and corruption, which explains the institution's state. 'Sagacious', 'exemplary' and 'scrupulous' are all positive.
Cloze Test · hard
Q5. Choose the antonym of 'EVANESCENT'.
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Answer: B. Perpetual
'Evanescent' means soon passing out of existence; 'perpetual' means lasting forever. 'Fleeting', 'transient' and 'fugitive' (in its literary sense) are synonyms.
Antonyms · hard
Q6. A person who remains indifferent to pleasure and pain and endures hardship without complaint is called:
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Answer: B. Stoic
A 'stoic' bears pain or hardship without showing feelings. A 'hedonist' pursues pleasure, an 'epicure' delights in fine food, and a 'cynic' distrusts others' motives.
One-word Substitution · hard
Q7. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: 'The reason / why he failed / was because / he had not prepared.'
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Answer: C. was because
'The reason ... was because' is redundant. After 'the reason ... was', use 'that': 'The reason why he failed was that he had not prepared'.
Error Spotting · hard
Q8. Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word: The treaty was meant to ________ the long-standing hostility between the two nations, but fresh border clashes broke out within a month.
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Answer: C. defuse
To 'defuse' is to reduce tension. The contrast signalled by 'but' shows the treaty was meant to calm hostility; the other options would mean increasing or prolonging it.
Cloze Test · hard
Q9. What is meant by 'a Pyrrhic victory'?
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Answer: A. A victory won at so great a cost that it is almost a defeat
A 'Pyrrhic victory' is one achieved with such heavy losses that it is hardly worth winning.
Idioms and Phrases · medium
Q10. Choose the best replacement for the bracketed part of the sentence. Choose 'No improvement' if it is already correct. Hardly [he had left the house] when it began to rain.
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Answer: B. had he left the house
When 'Hardly' begins a sentence, subject and auxiliary are inverted, and the past perfect is used with 'when': 'Hardly had he left the house when it began to rain'.
Sentence Improvement · hard
Q11. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: In an age that prizes constant connectivity, solitude is often mistaken for loneliness. Yet the two are fundamentally different. Loneliness is a painful sense of disconnection imposed upon us; solitude is a state we choose, in which the mind, freed from the clamour of notifications and opinions, can turn inward. Many of history's most original thinkers deliberately sought such retreats, not to escape the world but to understand it better. Today, however, the smartphone ensures that we are never truly alone, and the capacity for sustained reflection is quietly eroding. To reclaim it, we need not abandon technology altogether; we need only relearn the lost art of being undisturbed.
Question: As used in the passage, the word 'clamour' most nearly means:
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Answer: B. a loud and insistent din
'Clamour' means loud, persistent noise or demands; here it describes the constant intrusion of notifications and opinions.
Reading Comprehension · medium
Q12. Rearrange the sentences P, Q, R and S to form a coherent paragraph.
P: He was turned away by several publishers, one of whom told him he had no talent.
Q: Undeterred, he continued to write late into the night.
R: As a young man, the author worked as a clerk but spent his evenings writing stories.
S: Years later, his first novel became a bestseller, and the same publisher begged for his next book.
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Answer: A. RPQS
R introduces the author; P describes the rejection; Q ('Undeterred') shows his persistence despite it; S ('Years later') gives the outcome.
Para Jumbles · medium
Q13. Choose the antonym of 'OBDURATE'.
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Answer: D. Pliant
'Obdurate' means stubbornly refusing to change; 'pliant' means easily influenced or flexible. The other options are synonyms.
Antonyms · hard
Q14. Rearrange the sentences P, Q, R and S to form a coherent paragraph.
P: Surprised, the king asked why he was planting a tree whose fruit he would never taste.
Q: One morning, a king saw an old man planting a mango sapling.
R: Pleased with the answer, the king rewarded him with a bag of gold.
S: The old man replied that he was merely repaying the debt he owed to those who had planted trees for him.
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Answer: B. QPSR
Q sets the scene; P is the king's question; S is the old man's reply; R ('Pleased with the answer') is the king's response.
Para Jumbles · medium
Q15. A person who is too fond of going to law and filing lawsuits is described as:
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Answer: D. Litigious
'Litigious' means excessively ready to go to law. 'Loquacious' means talkative, 'licentious' morally unrestrained, and 'lugubrious' mournful.
One-word Substitution · hard
Q16. Choose the best replacement for the bracketed part of the sentence. Choose 'No improvement' if it is already correct. [Though he is poor, but] he is honest.
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Answer: B. Though he is poor,
'Though' and 'but' should not be used together in the same sentence to join two clauses. 'Despite' needs a noun or gerund, not a clause.
Sentence Improvement · medium
Q17. Read the passage and answer the question.
Passage: In an age that prizes constant connectivity, solitude is often mistaken for loneliness. Yet the two are fundamentally different. Loneliness is a painful sense of disconnection imposed upon us; solitude is a state we choose, in which the mind, freed from the clamour of notifications and opinions, can turn inward. Many of history's most original thinkers deliberately sought such retreats, not to escape the world but to understand it better. Today, however, the smartphone ensures that we are never truly alone, and the capacity for sustained reflection is quietly eroding. To reclaim it, we need not abandon technology altogether; we need only relearn the lost art of being undisturbed.
Question: The passage primarily argues that:
Show answer
Answer: D. solitude is a valuable, chosen state that constant connectivity is threatening
The author distinguishes chosen solitude from imposed loneliness, praises solitude's value, and warns that smartphones are eroding it. The passage explicitly says we need not abandon technology.
Reading Comprehension · hard
Q18. What does the phrase 'to be on the horns of a dilemma' mean?
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Answer: B. To face a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives
Being 'on the horns of a dilemma' means having to choose between two options that are both undesirable.
Idioms and Phrases · medium
Q19. What does the idiom 'to steal someone's thunder' mean?
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Answer: A. To win the attention or praise meant for someone by doing or saying what they planned first
'To steal someone's thunder' means to pre-empt someone and take the credit or attention that should have been theirs.
Idioms and Phrases · hard
Q20. Choose the best replacement for the bracketed part of the sentence. Choose 'No improvement' if it is already correct. [Being that] the roads were flooded, the match was called off.
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Answer: D. As
'Being that' and 'being as' are non-standard substitutes for a conjunction of reason. Use 'As' (or 'Since'): 'As the roads were flooded, the match was called off'.
Sentence Improvement · hard
Q21. Choose the synonym of 'LACONIC'.
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Answer: A. Terse
'Laconic' means using very few words; 'terse' means brief and to the point. 'Loquacious' and 'effusive' are the opposite.
Synonyms · medium
Q22. Choose the correctly spelt word meaning 'communication or cooperation between groups'.
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Answer: B. Liaison
The correct spelling is 'liaison' (l-i-a-i-s-o-n).
Spelling · medium
Q23. Choose the synonym of 'PERSPICACIOUS'.
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Answer: C. Astute
'Perspicacious' means having sharp insight; 'astute' means shrewd and perceptive. 'Obtuse' (slow to understand) is its antonym.
Synonyms · hard
Q24. Choose the synonym of 'PERNICIOUS'.
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Answer: A. Deleterious
'Pernicious' means causing great harm, often in an insidious way; 'deleterious' means harmful. 'Salutary', 'innocuous' and 'benign' all suggest the opposite.
Synonyms · hard
Q25. The study of the origin and history of words is called:
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Answer: D. Etymology
'Etymology' is the study of word origins. 'Entomology' studies insects, 'epistemology' the theory of knowledge, and 'eschatology' the doctrine of last things (end of the world).
