Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Future continuous passive = will be being + V3.

1. Active: will be installing (future continuous).
2. Object 'the new fibre-optic cables' becomes subject.
3. Passive: will be being installed by the technicians.

Trick: Continuous in active → 'being' must appear in passive; only (c) has it.

Answer: (C) The new fibre-optic cables will be being installed by the technicians all morning.

Concept: A sentence beginning with Seldom/Never/Rarely uses question order.

1. Pattern: Seldom + auxiliary + subject + verb.
2. 'Seldom we realize' → 'Seldom do we realize'.
3. So the error is in part (1).

Yaad rakhein: Other inversion starters: Hardly, Scarcely, No sooner, Not only, Little.

Answer: (A) (1)

Concept: A homonym has the same form but a different meaning.

1. In the given line, sconce = a bracket fixed to a wall that holds a candle/light.
2. (a), (c), (d) use the same 'light holder' sense.
3. (b) 'sconced' = fined/penalised (old university use) → a different meaning.

Trick: Look for the option where the word is used as a verb — a change of word class often signals a different meaning.

Answer: (B) The student was sconced by the elders for breaking tradition.

Concept: Charlatan = a fraud who claims skill or knowledge he lacks.

1. 'Exposed' and 'pretends' signal a fake person.
2. Savant/adept = genuinely skilled; connoisseur = expert judge of taste.

Yaad rakhein: Similar words: quack (fake doctor), impostor, mountebank.

Answer: (B) Charlatan

Concept: Past reporting verb → simple past becomes past perfect.

1. I → he (subject of reporting verb).
2. finished → had finished.
3. yesterday → the previous day.

Trick: Look for both changes together: 'had + V3' and 'the previous day' — only (b).

Answer: (B) The manager said that he had finished the report the previous day.

Concept: Clean out = empty a place or container by removing what is unwanted.

1. Old documents are removed to make room for new ones → 'clean out'.
2. Wipe off = remove from a surface; go on = continue.

Yaad rakhein: 'Clean out' stresses emptying and tidying a space (a drawer, a file, a room) so it can be used again.

Answer: (A) clean out

Concept: was/were + V3 (passive) ↔ V2 (active).

1. 'was discovered' → simple past passive.
2. Active: Archaeologists discovered the ancient city.
3. 'last century' is a finished past time — present perfect or continuous cannot be used.

Trick: Keep the tense the same while changing voice — only V2 'discovered' matches.

Answer: (A) Archaeologists discovered the ancient city last century.

Concept: Skeptic = a person who doubts and demands proof before believing.

1. Credulous = believes too easily (opposite).
2. Agnostic = holds that God's existence cannot be known.
3. Cynic = believes people act only out of self-interest.

Yaad rakhein: Skeptic (doubts claims) vs Cynic (doubts motives) — a common exam trap.

Answer: (C) Skeptic

Concept: In this sense 'aim' takes a to-infinitive: aim to do something.

1. 'aims at reducing' → 'aims to reduce carbon emissions'.
2. 'aim in/for/with + -ing' are not standard.

Yaad rakhein: Similar verbs with to-infinitive: plan to, hope to, intend to, decide to.

Answer: (C) to reduce carbon emissions

Concept: Use only one connector before a noun clause, with statement word order.

1. 'that what' doubles the connector — remove 'that'.
2. Inside an embedded clause use subject + verb: 'what the user must do'.
3. (c) uses question order — wrong in an indirect clause.

Trick: Embedded question = no inversion: '…what he must do', not '…what must he do'.

Answer: (B) what the user must do

Concept: Undo the backshift: past in reported speech → present in direct speech.

1. 'was compelling' → 'is compelling'.
2. 'was inadequate' → 'is inadequate'.
3. Reporting verb: 'commented' → said, with quotation marks.

Trick: Reverse the rule you use for direct → indirect: one step forward in tense.

Answer: (D) The director said, "The script is compelling, but the budget allocated for its production is inadequate."

Concept: Start with the definition, then expansion, then linkers.

1. 2 defines ethics → opener.
2. 3 begins with 'It' (= ethics) → follows 2.
3. 4 says 'This exploration' (refers to 3); 1 starts with 'Furthermore' → last.

Trick: 'Furthermore' adds a point, so it cannot open the paragraph — eliminate options starting 1 or 4 quickly.

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

Concept: Random = without plan, order or pattern.

1. Haphazard = lacking order or planning → same sense.
2. Organized, intentional, methodical = planned → all opposites.

Trick: Three options mean 'planned' — the only 'unplanned' word is the synonym.

Answer: (C) Haphazard

Concept: Contempt = scorn; looking down on someone.

1. Reverence = deep respect and admiration → opposite.
2. Disrespect, hatred, disgust carry the same negative feeling.

Trick: Odd-man-out again: three negative words, one positive — the positive one is the antonym.

Answer: (C) Reverence

Concept: General idea → name → cause → effect.

1. 1 introduces the smell after rain → opener.
2. 2 'This pleasant smell' names it (petrichor).
3. 3 'This scent' explains the source (plant oils, geosmin); 4 'It evokes' gives the feeling → end.

Yaad rakhein: Petrichor's earthy smell is largely due to geosmin, made by soil bacteria (actinomycetes).

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

Concept: The main idea covers the whole passage, not one paragraph.

1. The passage criticises unplanned growth, weak infrastructure and environmental damage.
2. It also points to the gap between metros and small towns.
3. Both together = unsustainable and unequal urban growth.

Trick: Choose the option that combines two themes (sustainability + inequality); single-point options are too narrow.

Answer: (B) Unsustainable and unequal urban growth

Concept: Find the line on 'smart city' and read its condition.

1. The passage says smartness is shallow unless basics are tackled.
2. Basics named: waste management, water scarcity, fair housing.
3. So ignoring core issues makes it superficial.

Trick: Search the keyword 'superficial' in the passage — the answer lies in the same sentence.

Answer: (C) Ignoring core issues like waste and housing

Concept: Trace the chain: unequal resources → migration → imbalance.

1. Metros draw investment; small towns lack health, education, transport.
2. Talent and workers move away from small towns.
3. Result: crowded big cities and emptying hinterlands.

Trick: Options (b), (c), (d) are positive outcomes — the passage only lists problems.

Answer: (A) Overcrowded big cities and declining small towns

Concept: Look for the author's 'must' statement near the end.

1. The author wants cities planned for people rather than vehicles.
2. He also wants them open to all, not to a privileged few.
3. That is human-centred inclusivity.

Trick: The author rejects skyscrapers and dashboards as the test — so tech/wealth options are out.

Answer: (C) Human-centred inclusivity

Concept: The last sentence states the required change.

1. The author complains that projects chase visibility, not viability.
2. He says policy must move 'from optics to outcomes'.
3. Optics = appearance; outcomes = real results → option (d).

Yaad rakhein: 'Optics' in policy language means how something looks to the public, not what it achieves.

Answer: (D) Shifting focus from appearance to genuine outcomes