Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: A bard is a poet, especially one in an old oral or traditional style.

1. Bard = poet composing traditional verse → fits.
2. Dramatist = writer of plays; Essayist = writer of essays; Singer = performer, not composer of poems.

Yaad rakhein: "The Bard of Avon" = William Shakespeare.

Answer: (A) Bard

Concept: "Take up" = to begin dealing with or resume a matter.

1. New evidence → the inquiry was started again → "taken up".
2. Called up = summoned/phoned; picked off = shot one by one; "revived on" is not a phrasal verb.

Yaad rakhein: Other meanings of take up: occupy (space/time), start a hobby, accept an offer.

Answer: (C) taken up

Concept: "Fond" takes "of", followed by an -ing form; "listen" takes "to".

1. Wrong: fond at listening
2. Correct: "fond of listening to classical music"

Yaad rakhein: Fond of, proud of, afraid of, tired of — all take "of".

Answer: (A) fond of listening to

Concept: Present continuous passive = is/am/are + being + V3.

1. Active: "is writing" (present continuous).
2. Passive: "A new novel is being written by the renowned author."
3. (A) past, (B) present perfect, (D) simple present — tense changed.

Trick: Tense must not change in voice conversion: "is …ing" → "is being V3".

Answer: (C) A new novel is being written by the renowned author.

Concept: A homonym is the same word used with a different meaning.

1. In the given sentence, "fief" = land/estate held under the feudal system.
2. (A), (B) and (D) all keep this feudal-land meaning.
3. (C) uses "fief" in a different, technical (hydraulic) sense → the only different usage.

Trick: Find the odd usage: three options share the original meaning, the answer is the one that does not.

Answer: (C) The technician checked the hydraulic fief for proper flow.

Concept: "Vigor" = physical strength and energy.

1. "Lassitude" = tiredness, lack of energy → opposite.
2. Energy, Vitality, Strength are synonyms of vigor.

Trick: When three options mean the same as the given word, the odd one is the antonym.

Answer: (C) Lassitude

Concept: "Come of age" = reach adulthood or become mature.

1. The sentence links it to taking responsibility — a sign of maturity.
2. It has nothing to do with morality, beliefs or inheritance.

Yaad rakhein: "Come of age" is also used for ideas or industries that become fully developed.

Answer: (A) Reached adulthood or maturity

Concept: "has/have been + V3" (passive) becomes "has/have + V3" (active); the tense is kept.

1. "It has been decided by the board" → "The board has decided…"
2. The that-clause stays unchanged: "the new policy will be implemented next quarter".
3. (B) past, (D) continuous, (C) still passive.

Trick: Agent after "by" (the board) becomes the subject; keep the same tense.

Answer: (A) The board has decided that the new policy will be implemented next quarter.

Concept: "Result in" = cause (leads to an effect); "result from" = be caused by.

1. Complaints (cause) → losing friends (effect).
2. So: "Her constant complaints resulted in her losing friends."

Trick: Cause + result IN + effect; Effect + result FROM + cause.

Answer: (D) resulted in

Concept: Going back to direct speech, undo the backshift of tense and pronoun.

1. "was" (reported) ← "am" (actual words).
2. "he" (reporter's view) ← "I" (speaker's own word).
3. Direct: He said, "I am tired after the long journey."

Trick: Reverse the chain: past → present, past perfect → past; 3rd person → 1st person.

Answer: (A) He said, "I am tired after the long journey."

Concept: Start with the definition, then link pronoun references, end with "Thus".

1. 2 defines machine learning → opener.
2. 3 ("This iterative learning process") explains how it learns.
3. 1 ("Such algorithms") gives applications; 4 ("Thus") concludes → 2-3-1-4.

Trick: "Thus/Hence" sentence usually goes last; a sentence with a full definition usually goes first.

Answer: (B) 2, 3, 1, 4

Concept: Past perfect in reported speech often comes from simple past in direct speech.

1. "had been impressive" ← "were impressive"
2. "demanded" (past in the report) is kept as past in the chosen option.
3. Direct: She said, "The results were impressive, yet the process demanded further refinement."

Trick: Undo one step of backshift only: had been → were/was; options that jump to the present overshoot.

Answer: (C) She said, "The results were impressive, yet the process demanded further refinement."

Concept: Introduce the subject, follow "This …" references, end with the contrasting "However".

1. 2 names the topic (amphibians) and calls them an evolutionary bridge → opener.
2. 3 ("This dual nature") refers back to sentence 2.
3. 1 adds their adaptations; 4 ("However…threats") closes → 2-3-1-4.

Trick: "This + noun" must come right after the sentence that names that idea.

Answer: (D) 2-3-1-4

Concept: Sanguine (adj.) = optimistic, hopeful.

1. Correct spelling: S-A-N-G-U-I-N-E.
2. Sancsion and Sanktion are misspellings of "sanction"; Sangvine is wrong for sanguine.

Yaad rakhein: Sanguine comes from Latin sanguis = blood (cheerful temperament); "sanction" is spelt with -tion.

Answer: (D) Sanguine

Concept: Cacophony = a harsh, unpleasant mixture of loud sounds.

1. Matches "unpleasant mixture of loud sounds" exactly.
2. Soliloquy = speaking alone to oneself; Growl = low animal sound; Racket = general noise, not specifically a jarring mix.

Trick: Opposite: euphony (pleasant sound). "Caco-" = bad, "phony" = sound.

Answer: (B) Cacophony

Concept: The overall view is found in the concluding lines of the passage.

1. The passage proposes monitoring, transport reform, industry measures, citizen action and regional cooperation.
2. It ends saying clean air needs an integrated framework, not isolated efforts or temporary bans.
3. So: comprehensive, data-driven, collaborative.

Trick: "Overall perspective" questions → read the last paragraph; reject "alone/only/mainly" options.

Answer: (B) It requires a comprehensive, data-driven, and collaborative approach.

Concept: Locate the line that names a present weakness.

1. The passage notes many cities do not have reliable real-time air data.
2. This makes it hard to find hotspots or enforce emission norms.
3. So the limitation is lack of accurate, continuous monitoring.

Trick: Look for "lack", "difficult", "fail" in the passage — they point to the limitation.

Answer: (B) Lack of accurate and continuous monitoring systems

Concept: Use the transport paragraph of the passage.

1. Suggested: subsidies for electric mobility, more public transport, better last-mile links.
2. Plus strict inspection to remove the oldest, most polluting vehicles.
3. This matches (C); diesel buses, more private cars or more highways are never suggested.

Trick: Pick the option that combines several points from the same paragraph.

Answer: (C) Through electric mobility, efficient public transport, and vehicle phase-outs

Concept: Find what the author says at the community level.

1. Awareness and behaviour change are called indispensable.
2. Citizens can cut household waste burning, save energy and back local green efforts; schools should teach environmental habits.
3. So public participation can bring meaningful change.

Trick: "Indispensable" in the passage rules out "secondary" or "little impact" options.

Answer: (B) It can drive meaningful change through behavioural adjustments.

Concept: Combine the regional-cooperation and community points of the passage.

1. Air pollution crosses boundaries, so neighbours sharing airsheds (India, Bangladesh, Nepal) must cooperate.
2. Community awareness is also called indispensable.
3. So coordinated regional policy plus community engagement → (C).

Trick: Options with "sufficient", "only", "solely" contradict the passage's call for an integrated approach.

Answer: (C) Coordinated regional policies and community engagement are crucial.