Mixed English Questions for Mains Exam— Set 148

Direction: In each questions below, a Theme has been given followed by three passage. You have to determine which passage is based on the given theme and mark it as your option. More than one passage can be based or not based on the given theme that is highlighted in bold.

1. Cell phones are safe.
   a. There is a “consistent pattern” connecting cell phone use and an increased risk of developing glioma, a type of brain tumor.
   b. Due to the relatively recent adoption of cell phones, the long-term safety of the technology cannot be determined conclusively and caution is warranted. Research on glioma brain tumors shows the average latency period is 20-30 years.
   c. Like cell phones, other devices including radios, televisions, cordless phones, and pagers all safely transmit signals using RF radiation.
   Only a & b
   Only b & c
   Only c
   Only a
   None of these
   Option A
   

    

2. Churches and Tax Exemption.
   a. Tax exemptions to secular nonprofits like hospitals and homeless shelters are justified because such organizations do work that would otherwise fall to government.
   b. New York’s nonpartisan Independent Budget Office determined in July 2011 that New York City alone loses $627 million in property tax revenue. Lakewood Church, a “megachurch” in Houston, TX, earns $75 million in annual untaxed revenue, and the Church of Scientology’s annual income exceeds $500 million.
   c. The tax break given to churches restricts their freedom of speech because it deters pastors from speaking out for or against political candidates. As argued by Rev. Carl Gregg, pastor of Maryland’s Broadview Church, “when Christians speak, we shouldn’t have to worry about whether we are biting the hand that feeds us because we shouldn’t be fed from Caesar/Uncle Sam in the first place.”
   Only a & b
   Only b & c
   Only c
   Only a
   None of these
   Option C
   

    

3. Corporate Tax Rate & Jobs.
   a. Prior to President Trump’s corporate tax reduction, the United States had one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. Those high tax rates force American companies to relocate their employees overseas.
   b. Following implementation of President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2018, which lowered the federal corporate tax rate and included a one-time repatriation “tax holiday” of between 8% and 15.5%, American companies announced over $171 billion of benefits for shareholders and $5.6 billion for workers.
   c. According to a blog post from billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, “you hire people because you need them. You don’t hire them because your taxes are lower.”
   Only a & b
   Both b & c
   Only c
   Only a
   None of these
   Option B
   

    

4. Drug Use in Sports.
   a. Coercion is the use or threat of force that’s never occurred in this country to the best of my knowledge. There is no entitlement to play professional sports; it’s a privilege requiring an enormous sacrifice and taking on enormous risks, with or without steroids. Many walk away from it and choose not to do it, and no one is forced to take it on.
   b. Although some would argue that a person has a right to choose whether to risk harm to one’s own body, the use of drugs in sports can place athletes in a situation in which they feel coerced into taking drugs in order to compete.
   c. The pressure to use exists when people believe that something confers a competitive advantage, whether or not this is objectively true. There is, then, an inherent coerciveness present in these situations: when some choose to do what gives them a competitive edge, others will be pressed to do likewise, or resign themselves to either accepting a competitive disadvantage or leaving the endeavor entirely.
   Only a & b
   Only b
   Only c
   Only a
   None of these
   Option B
   

    

5. Marijuana: A Medical Option
   a. It is illogical and potentially heartless to deny patients with serious health problems a drug that could help mediate pain and discomfort with few, if any, side effects.
   b. There are significant gaps in information necessary to treat marijuana like other forms of medicine: Dosage standardization and overall quality control may not be in place.
   c. The brain is not fully developed until we’re about 25. That’s just the way it is, and using any kind of mind-altering substance impacts that development. It needs to go through the FDA process. There is no drug that can or should be smoked.
   Only a & b
   Only b & c
   Only c
   Only a
   None of these
   Option E
   

    

Directions (6-10): In each of the following questions one sentence is given with a word in bold, choose the most similar meaning of that word and mark it as your answer.

6. FARCE : The debate turned into a drunken farce.
   solemnity
   travesty
   authentic
   praise
   All are Correct
   Option B
   FARCE (NOUN): (प्रहसन): absurdity Synonyms: mockery, travesty Antonyms: respect, praise

    

7. INVEIGLING : The picture was quite inveigling.
   inviting
   alluring
   attracting
   captivating
   All are Correct
   Option E
   INVEIGLING (ADJECTIVE): Alluring Synonyms: attracting, captivating Antonyms: repulsive, repellent

    

8. SINISTER : It was a pretty sinister comment that you made so far.
   propitious
   heartening
   auspicious
   ominous
   All are Correct
   Option D
   SINISTER (ADJECTIVE): Nasty Synonyms: ominous, perverse Antonyms: auspicious, benevolent

    

9. MULISHNESS : He is buying everything by showing his heights of mulishness.
   pliancy
   obedience
   obstinacy
   resilience
   All are Correct
   Option C
   MULISHNESS (NOUN): Doggedness Synonyms: obstinacy, bullheadedness Antonyms: irresolution, dubiety

    

10. PULSATE : The meek bird was pulsating in the refractory wind.
    quiver
    boil
    fume
    seethe
    All are Correct
    Option A
    PULSATE (VERB): Quaver Synonyms: tremble, quiver Antonyms: steady, be still