Direction (1-10): In each question below a sentence is given with two blanks in each. Each question is followed by four options with two words in each. You have to select that option as your answer which can fill both the blanks of the sentence.
- Messaging app WhatsApp has responded to the horrific _____________ in Maharastra’s Dhule district with a media blitz and a new feature that marks forwarded messages clearly. The former was inevitable given that the Centre has put it under the _____________ for the spate of recent lynchings fuelled by rumours spread via the app.
dispatching, pressurelynching, pumpassassinating, hammerslaying, hammerAll are CorrectOption B
- In 2015, the Greeks staged a rebellion, which Europe’s establishment ruthlessly _____________ . Neither Brexit nor the EU’s steady delegitimation in the eyes of European voters managed to _____________ the establishment to change its ways.
battered, alluredejected, arguebruised, promotecrushed, convinceAll are CorrectOption D
- The disconnect between productivity growth and the technology revolution has triggered a sharp debate in economics. A _____________ new paper by Adair Turner of the Institute for New Economic Thinking suggests that rather than presenting a _____________ , the combination of technological innovation and low measured productivity growth is exactly what we should expect.
glittering, puzzlesparkling, obscurityscintillating, puzzlegleaming, descriptionAll are CorrectOption C
- The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, during her visit to New Delhi, called on India to “rethink its relationship with Iran”. Haley’s statement is a _____________ consequence of US President Donald Trump’s declaration, in early May, that the US would no longer be part of the Iran nuclear deal. In addition to reimposing economic sanctions, Trump has _____________ that anyone doing business with Iran risks severe consequences.
trippy, warnedlogical, warnedparanoid, warnedintuitive, warnedAll are CorrectOption B
- Europe’s establishment is _____________ in two recent announcements that would have been momentous even if they were only partly accurate: the end of Greece’s debt crisis, and a Franco-German accord to redesign the eurozone. Unfortunately, both reports offer fresh proof of the European Union (EU) establishment’s _____________ talent for never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
thriving, exceptionalindulging, queerwallowing, momentousluxuriating, remarkableAll are CorrectOption D
- WhatsApp was not even a _____________ in eventual founders Jan Koum’s and Brian Acton’s eyes back in 2007. Nor was it a factor in the spate of honour killings that came to light during the United Progressive Alliance’s second term. It has played a role in the cow _____________ lynchings, but mob patrolling and police apathy have done as much.
glint, vigilanteflicker, rookieflare, draughtydawn, rookieAll are CorrectOption A
- In a decent universe, these two announcements would _____________ the end of a lost decade for Europe and the beginning of an era of rebuilding so that Europeans may face, together, the challenges posed _____________ US President Donald Trump and the next economic downturn. Alas, that is not the universe we inhabit.
comply, atattend, toherald, byinheritor, toAll are CorrectOption C
- The core of Turner’s argument is that the impact of new technology on total productivity growth depends on who _____________ the income from the new inventions; what additional consumption they choose to enjoy with that income; and the nature of productivity advances in the sectors that workers are shifted _____________ as a result.
apportions, inallocates, todistributes, inaccrues, intoAll are CorrectOption D
- India needs to factor in the China angle. There is a concern that owing to the current economic sanctions, Iran is moving increasingly towards China. Even in the absence of _____________ sanctions, Iran would seek to strengthen its relations with other powers because of the _____________ that defines its relationship with the US.
punitive, hostilityacquitting, affinityrehabilitative, empathycompensatory, concordAll are CorrectOption A
- In 2015, the Greeks staged a rebellion, which Europe’s establishment ruthlessly crushed. Neither Brexit nor the EU’s steady delegitimation in the eyes of European voters managed to _____________ the establishment to change its ways. French President Emmanuel Macron’s election seemed the last hope for the new Berlin-Paris _____________ needed to prevent a suffocating Italy from triggering the next—this time lethal—domino effect.
dissuade, dissensionconvince, accordcompel, opposedeject, chaosAll are CorrectOption B