Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: After 'It is essential/necessary/vital that…', the verb stays in its base form for every subject.

1. Subject 'she' tempts us to write 'prepares', but this pattern ignores the usual -s.
2. Correct part B: prepare for the upcoming interview.
3. Part C 'that she makes' should likewise be 'make'; the error marked in the key is part B.

Trick: See 'essential / important / imperative / suggest / insist + that' → write V1 with no -s, no 'should' needed.

Answer: (B) prepares for the upcoming interview

Concept: Never use 'more' together with an -er comparative.

1. 'Strong' is a one-syllable adjective → comparative is 'stronger'.
2. 'More stronger' marks the comparison twice, which is wrong.
3. Correct part D: and stronger than the rest.

Trick: Short adjectives: -er; long adjectives: more ___. Pick one, never both (more better, more taller = wrong).

Answer: (D) and more stronger than the rest

Concept: To oppose or resist something, English uses 'fight against'.

1. 'Holding his ground firm' shows resistance → opposition is needed.
2. He fought against the changes and trends.
3. 'Despite' already means 'in spite of' and cannot follow 'fought'; 'across/through' show movement.

Trick: Opposition words — fight, struggle, protest, campaign, rebel — all pair with 'against'.

Answer: (A) against

Concept: 'Put up with' = tolerate something unpleasant.

1. The noise was 'endured for years' → idea of tolerating.
2. They refused to put up with it any longer.
3. Put down to = blame on; put across = explain clearly; put aside = save/ignore.

Trick: Replace the blank with 'tolerate' — only 'put up with' gives the same meaning.

Answer: (C) put up with

Concept: Accomplice = a partner in a crime.

1. Break it: ac + com + plice.
2. Double 'c' at the start, single 'm', ending '-ice'.
3. Only option D follows all three.

Trick: Think 'ACCOunt + COMPLICated' — double c first, then 'complic-'.

Answer: (D) Accomplice

Concept: Same spelling, different meanings: decide the sense from context.

1. Given sentence: a fine 'paid in court' = money penalty (noun).
2. B: the driver's fine cost him his wage → penalty again.
3. A = pleasant (day), C = very small grains, D = healthy.

Trick: Ask 'can I put penalty in its place?' Only B passes.

Answer: (B) The driver's fine cost him his wage.

Concept: Perspicuous = clearly expressed, easy to understand.

1. Starts with 'per' (as in perspective), not 'pre'.
2. Middle '-spic-' uses c; ending '-uous'.
3. So the word is Per-spic-u-ous.

Trick: Link it to 'perspective' — same 'persp-' opening; reject 'Pre-' at once.

Answer: (A) Perspicuous

Concept: Look for the line the passage itself labels 'most compelling'.

1. Paragraph 2 names the strongest argument: moving from therapy (curing) to enhancement (improving healthy people).
2. This could split society permanently — option C.
3. Off-target effects are a safety issue; costs and speed are not raised.

Trick: When a question repeats a superlative from the passage ('most compelling'), the answer sits in that very sentence.

Answer: (C) The shift from medical therapy to genetic enhancement

Concept: Locate where 'future generations' appear in the passage.

1. The passage asks whether we may permanently alter the genome when unborn people cannot agree to it.
2. So the worry is lack of consent — option B.
3. Healthcare access, total immunity or forced CRISPR use are never mentioned.

Trick: Key word match: 'rights' ↔ 'consent'. Pick the option that carries the passage's own key word.

Answer: (B) They cannot provide consent for permanent genetic alterations

Concept: A coined word is decoded from its parts and its sentence.

1. Gene + nobility → a 'genetic aristocracy'.
2. The passage links it to the wealthy buying superior physical and mental traits.
3. So it means a social class marked by better genes — option B.

Trick: Split a new word into known words: 'nobility' = upper class, so think 'class', not 'defect' or 'scientists'.

Answer: (B) A social class defined by superior genetic traits

Concept: Definitions given inside the passage answer 'what is meant' questions.

1. The passage explains off-target effects: editing one gene accidentally harms another.
2. That unintended damage is the safety worry — option C.
3. Nothing is said here about cost, speed, or stopping cures.

Trick: The word 'inadvertently' in the passage = 'inadvertent' in option C — a direct echo.

Answer: (C) It involves inadvertent damage to other genes

Concept: Separate what supporters say (para 1) from what critics fear (para 2).

1. Proponents: gene editing can end suffering from diseases like cystic fibrosis and Huntington's.
2. That is option C.
3. Designer babies and superior cognition are critics' fears; 'no need for doctors' is never claimed.

Trick: Options with extreme words — 'all doctors', 'for all', 'guarantees' — are usually wrong in RC.

Answer: (C) It eliminates suffering caused by hereditary diseases

Concept: Idioms carry a figurative, not literal, meaning.

1. 'Foul play' = unfair, dishonest or criminal conduct.
2. Common use: police suspect foul play in a mysterious death.
3. Options A, C, D read 'foul' and 'play' literally.

Trick: In sports, a 'foul' is breaking the rules — foul play = playing (acting) against the rules.

Answer: (B) Unfair and dishonest behaviour

Concept: 'Grasp/clutch at straws' = try anything, however unlikely, out of desperation.

1. Image: a drowning person grabbing even a straw to stay afloat.
2. Example: With no evidence left, the defence was grasping at straws.
3. A and B are literal; D (wasting time) changes the sense.

Trick: Hindi parallel: 'डूबते को तिनके का सहारा' — same picture, same meaning.

Answer: (C) To try any possible means in a desperate situation

Concept: Transient = short-lived, passing quickly.

1. Opposite idea: lasting for ever.
2. Permanent fits.
3. Temporary, fleeting, brief are synonyms, not antonyms.

Trick: Three options mean the same thing → the odd one out is the antonym.

Answer: (C) Permanent

Concept: Autopsy = examination of a dead body to find cause of death.

1. Post-mortem examination → Autopsy.
2. Biopsy = tissue test from a living body.
3. Forensic = related to crime science; crematorium = place for burning the dead.

Trick: auto (self) + opsy (seeing) = autopsy; bio (life) + opsy = biopsy on the living.

Answer: (C) Autopsy

Concept: Amicable = friendly, peaceful.

1. Opposite: unfriendly → Uncongenial.
2. Affable and genial are synonyms of amicable.
3. Tolerant = accepting, not the opposite of friendly.

Trick: Look for a negative prefix (un-, in-, dis-) on a friendly word — 'un+congenial' flips the meaning.

Answer: (C) Uncongenial

Concept: Extempore = spoken without any preparation.

1. Key phrase: 'without preparation' → extempore.
2. Monologue = long speech by one person; dialogue = conversation.
3. Oration = formal, usually prepared speech.

Trick: 'Extempore' sounds like 'ex-tempo' = out of time to prepare — think on-the-spot.

Answer: (C) Extempore

Concept: 'X is believed to be…' becomes 'People believe that…' in the active voice.

1. 'Is believed' has no doer → add 'People believe that'.
2. Inner part: agent 'panic selling traders' becomes subject; verb 'caused'; object 'the market's sudden crash'.
3. So the active form opens with 'People believe that' and uses the simple past 'caused'.

Trick: For is said / is believed / is thought — start the active with 'People say/believe/think that'.

Answer: (C) People believe that panic selling traders caused the market's sudden crash.

Concept: Past reporting verb → back-shift tense; change pronouns to the reporter's view.

1. 'will be climbing' → 'would be climbing'.
2. 'we' (the captain's group) → 'they'.
3. Join with 'that' and remove the inverted commas.

Trick: Check two things only: 'would' ✔ and 'they' ✔ — only A has both.

Answer: (A) The captain said that they would be climbing the mountain all day.