English Questions: Fill in the Blanks 134

Directions (1-5): In following questions, a sentence is given with two blanks. From the given alternatives, choose the most appropriate set of words that fills the blank forming a grammatically correct and contextually meaningful sentence.

1. U.S. President Donald Trump’s __________ tour of Europe has justly generated extensive coverage for his disregard for diplomatic ___________ and attacks on his allies, especially on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May, both of whom are facing stiff domestic opposition.
   rigorous, nuance
   impetus, alliance
   radical, congruence
   incendiary, niceties
   seditious, imprecision
   Option D
   Rigorous means extremely thorough and careful.
   Nuance means a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound.
   Congruence means agreement or harmony; compatibility.
   Incendiary means tending to stir up conflict.
   Niceties means a fine or subtle detail or distinction.
   Seditious means inciting or causing people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch.

    

2. At the famous Rivonia trial, Mandela insisted on the ANC’s heritage of non-violence and racial ____________ and delivered his historical speech which was received with _________ around the world.
   perseverance, fervor
   estrangement, perturbation
   conformity, disdain
   harmony, empathy
   discord, affinity
   Option D
   Fervor means intense and passionate feeling.
   Perturbation means anxiety; mental uneasiness.
   Disdain means the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one’s consideration or respect.
   Estrangement means the fact of no longer being on friendly terms or part of a social group.
   Discord means disagreement between people.
   Perseverance means persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

    

3. A ________ trend of high WPI inflation will not only add pressure on the RBI to raise interest rates but could also potentially __________ the pace of GDP growth.
   prolonged, amplify
   sustained, undermine
   verbose, blunted
   mitigated, obtund
   inbred, confute
   Option B
   Verbose means using or expressed in more words than are needed.
   Obtund means dull the sensitivity of; blunt; deaden.
   Inbred means existing from birth.
   Confute means prove (a person or an assertion or accusation) to be wrong.
   Blunted means weaken or reduce the force of (something).

    

4. An ____________ hunt for banking scalps will scare off even honest lending at a time when the Indian economy is ______________.
   indiscriminate, recovering
   assort, reclaiming
   indignant, ambulating
   omnifarious, generatring
   untamed, emancipating
   Option A
   Assort means place in a group; classify.
   Indignant means feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment.
   Omnifarious means comprising or relating to all sorts or varieties.
   Incongruous means not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something.
   Indignant means feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment.
   Ambulating means walk; move about.

    

5. Germany ________ out in the opening phase for the first time since 1938, Spain and Argentina _________ in the round-of-16, and Brazil in the quarterfinals.
   stuffed, traversed
   collapsed, endured
   crippled, notched
   squashed, nudged
   crashed, faltered
   Option E
   Stuffed means force or cram (something) tightly into a receptacle or space.
   Traversed means extend across or through.
   Nudged means coax or gently encourage (someone) to do something.
   Faltered means lose strength or momentum.
   Notched means score or achieve (something).

    

Directions (6-10)Choose ONE word to be fitted in both the sentences I and II and another word that suits for sentence III.

6. I. What seems to be lacking right now is a national _______ about what it means to battle terrorism.
   II. For the moment, there is ________ that space and celestial bodies are commons that everyone can use, but no one can own.
   III. The United States intends to _______ human landings on the moon ahead of setting up a permanent base.
   concord,proceed
   unanimous,reinstitute
   concurrency,exhume
   consensus,resume
   solidarity,recapitulate
   Option D
   Concord – agreement or harmony between people or groups.
   Consensus – a general agreement.
   Unanimous – (of two or more people) fully in agreement.
   Reinstitute – institute or introduce again.
   Solidarity – unity or agreement of feeling or action

    

7. I. He was without question a reactionary, morose and _______, and spent nearly all his time shut up in his palace.
   II. I tried to make polite small talk with him although he seemed distinctly _______, if not downright moody.
   III. At times I went almost mad, talking _______, pulling faces, and singing in mock Latin.
   antisocial,blather
   reticent,malakery
   taciturn,gibberish
   reserved,tumult
   moron,codswallop
   Option C
   Taciturn – (of a person) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little.
   Gibberish – unintelligible or meaningless speech or writing; nonsense.
   Codswallop – nonsense
   Tumult – a state of confusion or disorder.
   Reticent – not revealing one’s thoughts or feelings readily
   Blather – long-winded talk with no real substance.

    

8. I. The company is caught in a double bind. If it doesn’t modernize it won’t make money, but if it does modernize they’ll have to make people _______ because they won’t need them any more.
   II. Changes in technology may mean that once-valued skills are now _______.
   III. Her speech was a _______ indictment of the government’s record on crime.
   defunct,abrasive
   reiterate,mordacious
   Inordinate,bickering
   expendable,savage
   redundant,scathing
   Option E
   Redundant – not or no longer needed or useful; superfluous.
   Scathing – witheringly scornful; severely critical
   Reiterate – say something again or a number of times, typically for emphasis or clarity.
   Inordinate – unusually or disproportionately large; excessive.
   Mordacious – denoting or using biting sarcasm or invective.

    

9. I. The city is home to one and a half million people, and there’s a ______ energy in the air.
   II. Going by their indifferent attitude towards each other,tension between the man and his wife was ________.
   III. It is time both parents and ambitious students thought of giving a snub to all those _______ private medical and engineering colleges.
   plausible,impotent
   palpable,avaricious
   blatant,treacherous
   conspicuous,mercenary
   tangible,greed
   Option B
   Palpable – (of a feeling or atmosphere) so intense as to seem almost tangible.
   Avaricious – having or showing an extreme greed for wealth or material gain.

    

10. I. The government cannot afford to be _________ to public opinion.
    II. The steel workers were relatively ________ to the issue of nationalization.
    III. The investigation has been ________ by witnesses who refuse to cooperate.
    unresponsive,succumbed
    callous,thwart
    pragmatic,obstructed
    indifferent,stymied
    unaroused,hindered
    Option D
    indifferent – having no particular interest or sympathy; unconcerned.
    stymie – prevent or hinder the progress of