English Sectional Test 3 for LIC AAO 2019 Prelim Exam

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We have come up with Sectional Tests for upcoming LIC AAO 2019 Prelim Exam. Practice the questions to ace the exam.

Directions(1-10): Read the following passage and answer the questions that follows.

On earth, most of the methane in the atmosphere has been belched by living organisms, so finding the gas on Mars would be happy news for seekers after extraterrestrial life. Sadly, news announced on December 12th, at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (agu), in Washington, dc, was anything but happy. Preliminary results from ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, a European craft that has been circling Mars for the past two years, give a thumbs-down to the idea that there is methane in its atmosphere. Previous observations, from orbit and by telescopes on Earth, suggested Mars might sport traces of the gas. These were backed up by data from Curiosity, an American Mars rover. In its six years crawling around a crater called Gale Curiosity has both detected methane and recorded seasonal ups and downs of the stuff that cycle from a modest 0.25 parts per billion during the winter to 0.65ppbn in the summer, with spikes up to 7.0ppbn. That cyclical pattern has intrigued researchers back on Earth. Broadly speaking, there are two possible sources for Martian methane. One is outer space, whence carbon-rich molecules, some of which are likely to break down into methane, arrive constantly on meteors of various sizes. The other is from under the planet’s surface.
Methane from both sources will mix eventually into the atmosphere. But if the gas is coming from underground, it will be more concentrated near its source, and might well appear on a seasonal basis. The process could be a geological or geochemical one that is encouraged by the relative warmth of summer. That would be interesting. Or it could be biological, with methane-generating bugs waking up during the summer months. That would be headline-grabbing. For either to be the explanation of the seasonality observed by Curiosity, the rover would have to have had the luck to land in an area of such methane seeps. But such lucky breaks do happen.
Regardless of their source, any methane molecules in Mars’s atmosphere would, on the basis of experiments on Earth, be expected to hang around for centuries. It was to find signs of this more widespread material that a spectroscopic instrument called nomad (Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery), which is on board ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, was designed. And, as Ann Carine Vandaele of the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy told the agu, nomad has failed to find the slightest hint of methane in the Martian atmosphere. Since nomad is 20 times more sensitive than the methane detector on board Curiosity, this is bad news.
The findings are still under review, pending publication in a journal, and are therefore preliminary. But they do not surprise Kevin Zahnle of the Ames Research Centre, in California, a laboratory belonging to nasa, America’s space agency. Dr Zahnle has long argued that Curiosity’s reports of Martian methane are artefacts. They are only marginally higher than control readings, and those readings indicate the rover itself may be a source of methane (though nobody knows how), which further complicates taking accurate readings.

1. What is NOMAD?
   It is a spectroscopic instrument
   It orbits mars
   It found the details of Methane on Mars
   It was on Board with ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
   All except C
   Option E
   

    

2. What is the most suitable antonym for “accurate”?
   veracious
   meticulous
   rigorous
   blemished
   None of these
   Option D
   

    

3. What does the phrase “extraterrestrial life” means?
   Life on another habitat
   Life on another country
   Life outside earth
   Life on land
   None of these
   Option C
   

    

4. Who is Kevin Zahnle ?
   A researcher at Ames Research Centre
   He works for NASA
   He publishes report about Methane on Mars
   Both a & b
   None of these
   Option D
   

    

5. What is the most appropriate synonym of “belched”?
   osmosed
   burped
   disgorged
   riveted
   bored
   Option B
   

    

6. Which of the following is true about “Curiosity”?
   It is an American Mars rover
   It has been orbiting Mars for six years
   Both a & b
   None of these
   Not mentioned
   Option C
   

    

7. Which kind of cyclical pattern do researchers are worried about ?
   the gas is coming from underground
   methane-generating bugs waking up during the summer months
   seasonal ups and downs of the constituent of methane on Mars
   Both a & b
   None of these
   Option C
   

    

8. Which of the following is true about “ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter”?
   It is a European craft
   It has been circling Mars for the past two years
   There is no methane in its atmosphere
   All are true
   None of these
   Option D
   

    

9. What is the theme of the passage?
   acerbic
   informative
   critical
   diplomatic
   None of these
   Option B
   

    

10. What should be the most appropriate title of the passage ?
    Methane on Mars
    The search for life on Mars
    Rovers orbiting Mars
    Both a & c
    None of these
    Option B
    

     

Directions(11-15): Which of the phrases (A), (B), (C), (D) given below each sentence should replace the phrase printed in bold to make the sentence grammatically correct? If the sentence is correct as it is, mark (E) ie ‘No correction required’ as the answer.

11. The Centre’s move to supersede the Board of Directors of the troubled Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) have come a day not very soon.
    has come not a day too
    have not come a day very
    have come not a day too
    having come not a day very
    No Correction Required
    Option A
    

     

12. The victory was no surprise and it took nerve-racking final against Bangladesh in Dubai for Rohit Sharma’s men to win the Asia Cup and and fulfil their pre-tournament billing.
    but it is taking a nerve-racking
    yet it takes a nerve-racking
    but it took a nerve-racking
    although it had taken a nerve-racking
    No Correction Required
    Option C
    

     

13. Federal Reserve now firmly set on its policy normalisation path and having, just last week, raised interest rates by 25 basis points, the RBI would normally likely to increase benchmark borrowing costs in India in a bid to prevent heightened outflows of rate arbitrage seeking foreign portfolio capital.
    expected to increasing
    assumed to increase
    be expected to increase
    likely to be increased
    No Correction Required
    Option C
    

     

14. While road dust and pollution from heavy vehicles are primarily responsible for the noxious pall that sets on Delhi and other urban centres, the burning of paddy stubble by farmers to clear their fields for the next crop is considered to be responsible for 20% of the smog.
    stubble by farmers for
    stubble by farmers to
    stubbling by farmers so
    stubbled by farmers towards
    No Correction Required
    Option B
    

     

15. The cleansing of the statute books of provisions that criminalise consensual relations among adults continues, with the Supreme Court finally striking down a colonial-era law that made adultery punishable with a jail term and a fine.
    punished with a jail term
    punishable for a jail term
    terming for a jail punishment
    punishable and termed a jail
    No Correction Required
    Option E
    

     

Directions(16-20): In each of the following questions there are sentences. There is an error in one of the parts. Mark the option which contains error parts as your answer. If no part contains error mark option E as your answer.

16. (A) It is only in a progressive legal landscape that individual rights flourish — and with the decriminalisation of adultery India /(B) has taken another step towards rights-based social relations, /(C) instead of a state-imposed moral order. That the decriminalisation of adultery comes soon after the Supreme Court judgment /(D) that read down Section 377 of the IPC to decriminalise homosexuality, thereby enabling diverse gender identities to be unafraid of the law, is hearty.
    A
    B
    C
    D
    NE
    Option D
    hearty = heartening

     

17. (A) The company is listed as “systemically important” by the Reserve Bank of India, /(B) and with over ₹1,15,000 crore of assets and ₹91,000 crore of debt, it is too big to fail. /(C) The interlinkages between IL&FS and other financial sector entities such as banks, mutual funds and infrastructure players /(D) are too strong and the company would have taken them all down with it if it were allowed to fail.
    A
    B
    C
    D
    NE
    Option E
    

     

18. (A) Many have told officials that they are worried there could be damage to the soil. /(B) Therefore, just making technological tools available may not be enough; there needs to be proactive engagement to both persuade and reassure farmers. /(C) Ironically, it was technology that contributed to the problem in the first place. The rising cost of labour nudged /(D) farmers to adopt mechanised equipment that, while efficient, left behind much longer stalks of paddy than what the traditional practice of removing them by hand has done.
    A
    B
    C
    D
    NE
    Option D
    has done = did

     

19. (A) India won its seventh Asia Cup but the honours for winning hearts firmly belonged to Afghanistan. /(B) A decade ago, Afghanistan was playing in Division Five of the ICC World Cricket League, competing against the likes of Norway, /(C) Vanuatu and Japan. The cricketing baby-steps first practised in the refugee camps near Peshawar in Pakistan /(D) were seen both as a distraction from the strife back home, and equally as a shot at forging a new life.
    A
    B
    C
    D
    NE
    Option E
    

     

20. (A) Recent developments in the domestic financial system that have triggered concerns over the health of the credit market are likely /(B) to roil the MPC’s rate-setting calculus. First, on September 23, the RBI issued a one-sentence press release that along with the capital markets regulator /(C) it was “closely monitoring” developments in the financial markets /(D) and they were ready to take “appropriate action”.
    A
    B
    C
    D
    NE
    Option A
    over = about

     

Direction (21-25): 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.

21. BJP’s nomination of Malegaon blast-accused Pragya Singh Thakur from the Bhopal parliamentary seat may not exactly be the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Hindu rightwing extremism and the party hard-selling ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas’ this election. But it certainly sends out the worst possible message for a party that has, purportedly, ____________ its pony firmly to good governance and ____________ growth.
    attached, limited
    hitched, inclusive
    connected, privileged
    related, elite
    All are Correct
    Option B
    

     

22. Shed a tear for Jet Airways, but there is no case for a ____________ of sympathy for the airline grounded by protracted mismanagement. The only reason for anyone to make a pretence of taking over the airline would be to avoid the ____________ of an enterprise employing some 20,000 people sinking during an election in which failure to create jobs is a high-decibel campaign theme.
    cascade, advantage
    inundation, assurance
    torrent, embarrassment
    deluge, confidence
    All are Correct
    Option C
    

     

23. As firefighters worked to douse the flames and save the 850-year old Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, people ____________ around the engulfed iconic French monument, keeping vigil, praying and hoping that it would be saved. Saving the Notre-Dame became somewhat synonymous with saving a piece of French national ____________ .
    harvested, aberration
    compiled, discrepancy
    congregated, distinction
    gathered, identity
    All are Correct
    Option D
    

     

24. Private equity (PE) enters the realty space, investing $1.8 billion in 20 deals, according to an ET report. This, of course, is a drop in the world’s PE ocean: buyouts by PEs ____________ to $582 billion in 2018, according to Bain’s Global Private Equity Report. What is ____________ for one party is an opportunity for another. Given the serious problem in India’s real estate sector, it would appear to open up a growing opportunity for PEs.
    amounted, distress
    totalled, soothe
    grift, flabbergast
    summed, elevate
    All are Correct
    Option A
    

     

25. The airline now functions with just six or seven planes, has ____________ international flights and needs to pay money to its employees and lessors. Resolution plans that appear half-hearted, a revived buying interest by Etihad that had been prepared to sell its stake at a steep discount to the market price, talk of companies fronting for Naresh Goyal making a fresh bid, all these have the elements of a charade, meant to postpone the ____________.
    ceased, preventable
    halted, inevitable
    terminated, doubtful
    culminated, avertable
    All are Correct
    Option B
    

     

Directions(26-30): In the passage given below there are 5 blanks. Every blank has four alternative words given in options (A),(B),(C), and (D). You have to tell which word is APPROPRIATE according to the context. If all are appropriate then mark your answer as “E”.

Despite this long history, attempts at establishing international law have met with only ___26___ success. Creating a system that is sensitive to the well-being of all individuals quickly runs into the problem of nation-state sovereignty. As the sole ___27___ of the law and guarantor of citizens’ rights within its jurisdiction, the nation-state has the ___28___ to ignore or overrule laws or rights recognized by third parties. Still, we cannot simply wait around for academic debates on such matters to reach a ___29___. The world is mired in disputes that cut across jurisdictions, not least the United Kingdom’s Brexit ___30___. How will the flow of goods and people between the European Union and Britain, and between Northern

26. absolute
    limited
    extensive
    general
    All are Correct
    Option B
    

     

27. contradictor
    crippler
    enforcer
    surrenderer
    All are Correct
    Option C
    

     

28. subsequence
    entreat
    obligation
    prerogative
    All are Correct
    Option D
    

     

29. conclusion
    prelude
    commencement
    prologue
    All are Correct
    Option A
    

     

30. triumph
    debacle
    achiever
    coup
    All are Correct
    Option B