Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Correct spelling: E-N-O-R-M-O-U-S.

1. Pattern: e + norm + ous ('beyond the norm' = very large).
2. Errors: 'Enourmous' (extra u), 'Enormuos' (u and o swapped), 'Enarmous' (a for o).

Trick: Spot 'norm' inside: e-NORM-ous. Huge = out of the normal size.

Answer: (A) Enormous

Concept: Scavenger = an animal that feeds on dead animals (carrion) or waste.

1. Examples: vulture, hyena, jackal.
2. Predator hunts and kills live prey; omnivore eats plants and animals; herbivore eats only plants.

Yaad rakhein: Related: carnivore (meat-eater), insectivore (insect-eater), frugivore (fruit-eater).

Answer: (B) Scavenger

Concept: Correct spelling: A-N-T-E-D-I-L-U-V-I-A-N.

1. ante (before) + diluvium (flood) + -ian → 'before the Great Flood', i.e. extremely old / out of date.
2. Other options change '-ian' to '-ien'/'-yan' or swap 'u' and 'v'.

Trick: Break it: ANTE + DILUV + IAN; 'deluge' (flood) shares the same root.

Answer: (A) Antediluvian

Concept: Words for an exaggerated sense of one's own importance.

1. Arrogance – behaving as if superior to others.
2. Hubris – extreme pride/self-confidence (often before a fall).
3. Vanity – too much pride in oneself, esp. looks/achievements. All three fit.

Trick: If every option matches the definition and 'All are correct' is offered, choose it.

Answer: (D) All are correct

Concept: 'By + future time' signals an action finished before that time → will have + V3.

1. Structure: Subject + will have + past participle.
2. They will have launched the new product by next week.

Trick: 'By next week / by tomorrow / by 2030' → will have + V3 almost always.

Answer: (A) will have

Concept: A plural subject takes a plural verb.

1. 'guidelines' is plural ⇒ 'If the guidelines are enforced strictly'.
2. Part (3) 'its' is right because 'every participating institution' is singular.

Trick: Find the subject first, check its number, then check the verb right after it.

Answer: (A) (1)

Concept: Past perfect active (had + V3) → passive: had been + V3.

1. Object 'many essays' becomes the subject.
2. Many essays had been written by the students.

Trick: Keep the tense: 'had' in active ⇒ 'had been' in passive. Options with have/are/were change the tense.

Answer: (C) Many essays had been written by the students.

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

1. Given sentence: bore = carried (a load).
2. (B), (C), (D): bore = endured/carried/had — still the 'bear/carry' sense.
3. (A) 'The tree bore fruit' = produced — a different meaning.

Trick: Replace 'bore' with 'carried' in each option; the one where it no longer makes sense is the homonym.

Answer: (A) The tree bore fruit in spring.

Concept: 'X was believed to have been done by Y' → active: 'It was believed that Y had done X'.

1. Doer 'unknown persons' becomes the subject of the 'that' clause.
2. 'to have been tampered with' (earlier action) → past perfect 'had tampered with'.
3. It was believed that unknown persons had tampered with the evidence.

Trick: Perfect infinitive (to have + V3) always shows an earlier action → use 'had + V3' after a past main verb.

Answer: (B) It was believed that unknown persons had tampered with the evidence.

Concept: We consult a person (or a book); we discuss a matter with a person.

1. 'consulted the matter with' is wrong usage.
2. Right form: 'discussed the matter with' her mentor.
3. (C) and (D) misuse 'tell' and 'say' — one tells a person, not a matter.

Trick: Also: 'discuss' takes no 'about' — say 'discuss the matter', not 'discuss about the matter'.

Answer: (A) discussed the matter with

Concept: 'Work' meaning effort/labour is uncountable — no plural 's'.

1. 'hard works' ✗ → 'hard work' ✓.
2. (B) 'hardworking' is an adjective and cannot pair with the noun 'dedication'; (D) mixes an adjective with a noun too.
3. Correct: because of her hard work and dedication.

Trick: 'Works' is plural only for creations (works of Shakespeare) or a factory (steel works).

Answer: (A) because of her hard work and dedication

Concept: Locate the 'Philosophically…' line of the passage.

1. The passage says stewardship questions human-centred (anthropocentric) thinking and builds 'ecological empathy'.
2. (A), (B), (D) – growth at all costs, human dominance, no social duty – contradict the passage.

Trick: Keyword match: the question says 'philosophical' → go straight to the sentence starting 'Philosophically'.

Answer: (C) It challenges anthropocentric assumptions and fosters ecological empathy.

Concept: 'Performative' here = done for show, not for real change.

1. The passage calls symbolic tree-planting and eco-labels without systemic reform 'token gestures'.
2. Such acts hide continuing inequities — i.e. superficial acts that obscure deeper problems.

Trick: 'Token', 'symbolic', 'masking' in the same sentence all point to 'superficial'.

Answer: (B) Superficial acts that obscure deeper environmental problems.

Concept: Find the paragraph beginning 'Economically…'.

1. It links stewardship to innovation (renewable energy, sustainable farming, circular economy).
2. It says involving varied stakeholders improves adaptation and problem-solving — matches (C).
3. (B) and (D) describe what the passage criticises.

Trick: Pick the option that paraphrases the passage; options praising exploitation or deregulation are traps.

Answer: (C) By promoting innovation and adaptive problem-solving through diverse engagement.

Concept: 'Intertwined' = twisted together, closely linked.

1. 'Humanity's intertwined fate with the natural world' = what happens to nature happens to us.
2. So human well-being cannot be separated from ecological health.

Trick: Opposites eliminate: (A) 'independent' is the reverse of 'intertwined'; (C), (D) add ideas of control/fate not in the passage.

Answer: (B) Human well-being is inseparable from ecological health.

Concept: Look for the 'Historically…' sentence of the first paragraph.

1. Past societies matched their activities to nature's rhythms (farming practices, sacred groves, community water systems).
2. The passage says these showed resilience and sustainability — option (B).

Trick: Options about industry, exploitation or pure technology describe the 'extractive' contrast, not stewardship.

Answer: (B) Maintained resilience by aligning human activity with ecological balance.

Concept: Converting to direct speech: put the speaker's words in quotes; a past-time conditional stays the same.

1. 'could have prevented … had the firewall been configured' is a third conditional — it does not change form.
2. Direct: He claimed, "Had the firewall been configured correctly, the software could have prevented the breach."
3. Other options lose articles, change tenses or alter meaning.

Trick: Third conditional (had + V3 … could/would have + V3) remains unchanged in both direct and indirect speech.

Answer: (A) He claimed, "Had the firewall been configured correctly, the software could have prevented the breach."

Concept: Yes/no question → 'asked if/whether' + statement order + tense shifted back.

1. 'you' → 'I' (as per the listener); 'have submitted' → 'had submitted'.
2. He asked if I had submitted the report.

Trick: Three checks: connector if/whether, no question order, tense one step back — only (A) passes all three.

Answer: (A) He asked if I had submitted the report.

Concept: Arrange the steps of a product cycle in logical time order.

1. 2: survey first, to learn customer preferences.
2. 3: survey feedback is used to design the products.
3. 1: the product line is announced; 4: it is launched with promotion. Order 2-3-1-4.

Trick: 'Feedback from the survey' (3) must come right after the survey (2) — only option B has 2-3 together at the start.

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

Concept: A selection process follows: invite → review → interview → result.

1. 3: applications invited.
2. 1: committee reviews them; 4: shortlisted candidates interviewed.
3. 2: selected candidates announced. Order 3-1-4-2.

Trick: The announcement of results (2) must be last and invitation (3) first — only A and C qualify; review comes before interviews → A.

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