Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: 'Advice' (noun) is what is given; 'advise' (verb) is the act of giving it.

1. 'The legal ___' needs a noun after the adjective 'legal'.
2. 'Advise' is a verb, so part A is wrong; it should be 'advice'.
3. Fix: replace 'advise' with advice – the rest of the sentence is fine.

Trick: Same pairs: practice (n)/practise (v), licence (n)/license (v) – the 'c' form is the noun.

Answer: (A) The legal advise

Concept: Some adjectives take a fixed preposition; 'conducive' always takes 'to'.

1. Conducive = helpful in bringing about something.
2. Fixed usage: conducive to study / health / peace.
3. So: …was conducive to deep concentration…

Trick: Remember the family of 'to' adjectives: conducive to, prone to, averse to, akin to.

Answer: (C) to

Concept: Synonym = word with the same meaning.

1. Timeless = not affected by time; valid in every age.
2. Transhistorical = holding true across all periods of history → same idea.
3. Temporary, contemporary, momentary all link to a limited time – opposite sense.

Trick: Spot 'trans-' (across/beyond): beyond history = beyond time = timeless.

Answer: (A) Transhistorical

Concept: Break the word into its parts to spell it correctly.

1. intro (inward) + version (turning) = Introversion.
2. Ending is '-sion', exactly like 'version'.
3. Other options jumble the vowels: -seon, -ison, -soin.

Trick: If you can spell 'version', just add 'intro-' in front.

Answer: (D) Introversion

Concept: 'Minute' (MIN-it) = 60 seconds; 'minute' (my-NYOOT) = very small.

1. In 'wait just one minute', it is a noun of time.
2. Option B: 'start in exactly one minute' – same time sense.
3. A, C, D use it as an adjective meaning tiny (minute crack, details, traces).

Trick: Preceded by 'one/a' and a number → time; describing a noun → tiny.

Answer: (B) The meeting will start in exactly one minute from now.

Concept: Check each option against standard spelling.

1. Blatant, Blister, Baffled – all correct.
2. 'Busynis' is wrong; correct spelling is Business.
3. It comes from 'busy' (y → i) + '-ness'.

Trick: Busy + ness: change y to i → busi-ness.

Answer: (D) Busynis

Concept: Find the line where the passage itself names the 'contradiction'.

1. The first paragraph says cities offer unmatched opportunities and amenities…
2. …but also strain community bonds and weaken our connection with nature.
3. Option C states both halves – benefit plus cost.

Trick: Look for the word 'contradiction' in the passage; the answer follows the colon.

Answer: (C) Urbanization offers opportunities and amenities but strains community bonds and nature

Concept: Pick the benefit actually mentioned in the passage.

1. The passage praises mass transit and modern healthcare centres.
2. It says they can elevate lifestyles once thought unattainable.
3. A and C go against the text; D denies cultural integration, which the passage praises.

Trick: Extreme or reversed statements (no impact, reduced need) are almost never right in RC.

Answer: (B) Infrastructure improvements and healthcare centers have elevated lifestyles

Concept: Locate the 'repercussions' part of the passage.

1. After 'heavy repercussions', the passage mentions gentrification and marginalisation.
2. It then adds 'a feeling of alienation, anxiety about the environment'.
3. A is the reverse (housing is lost); C and D are not stated.

Trick: Keyword match: 'repercussion' in the question → 'repercussions' in the passage.

Answer: (B) It leads to a feeling of alienation and anxiety about the environment

Concept: Find the direct question the author asks about city planning.

1. The author asks whether cities are designed for people, or people merely fuel the cities.
2. This questions whom planning truly serves.
3. Skyscrapers, falling property prices and abandoning cities are never asked.

Trick: In 'what question does the passage raise', look for a '?' in the passage.

Answer: (C) Are we designing cities for people, or are people merely fueling the cities?

Concept: Read the closing line, where the author gives the solution.

1. The ending says the city brings ecological challenges that society must address.
2. Doing so ensures a more livable and balanced future.
3. A is the opposite; C (stop all construction) and D (solely economic) are extreme.

Trick: 'Solely', 'all', 'immediately' – extreme words usually mark wrong options.

Answer: (B) Addressing the ecological challenges and new issues

Concept: Part and parcel = an essential, inseparable part of something.

1. Here, learning a language is impossible without practice and patience.
2. So the idiom means 'an essential part or feature'.
3. C ('expected') is weaker – expected is not the same as essential.

Trick: 'Part' + 'parcel' both mean piece of the whole → can't remove it.

Answer: (B) An essential part or feature

Concept: Antonym = opposite meaning.

1. Skeptical = doubting, not easily convinced.
2. Credulous = believing too easily → opposite.
3. Dubious and cynical are near-synonyms; reserved = not showing feelings.

Trick: Credulous comes from Latin 'credere' (to believe) – like credit, creed.

Answer: (B) Credulous

Concept: -cide = killing; the Latin root tells whose killing.

1. Soror = sister → Sororicide.
2. Frater = brother → Fratricide; Mater = mother → Matricide.
3. Sui = oneself → Suicide.

Trick: Soror ≈ 'sorority' (sisterhood); frater ≈ 'fraternity' (brotherhood).

Answer: (A) Sororicide

Concept: The definition describes a travelling group, mainly traders.

1. Caravan = a group of travellers (often merchants) journeying together.
2. Exodus = mass departure; Outflow = movement out.
3. Sojourn = a temporary stay – not a group.

Trick: Picture camels with traders on the Silk Route – that is a caravan.

Answer: (C) Caravan

Concept: Passive 'is being + V3' becomes active 'is + V-ing'.

1. Agent after 'by' (the architect) becomes the subject.
2. 'is being drawn' → 'is drawing'.
3. Active: The architect is drawing a detailed map.

Trick: Keep the tense same: continuous stays continuous – C and D change tense.

Answer: (A) The architect is drawing a detailed map.

Concept: Antonym = opposite meaning.

1. Expressible = can be put into words.
2. Ineffable = too great to be expressed in words → opposite.
3. Relentless, unsparing, inflexible relate to harshness/rigidity, not expression.

Trick: 'Ineffable joy' = joy beyond words – a common phrase to remember.

Answer: (A) Ineffable

Concept: Past reporting verb → tense moves back; pronouns change from the reporter's view.

1. 'said' is past, so 'will' → 'would'.
2. 'We' (captain's team) → 'they' when reported by someone else.
3. Both changes together point to option A.

Trick: Check two changes together: will→would AND we→they; only A has both.

Answer: (A) The captain said that they would reach the summit by noon.

Concept: A plural amount of distance/time/money taken as one whole takes a singular verb.

1. 'Thirty miles' = one total distance → singular verb.
2. The sentence states a fact, so simple present 'is' fits, not 'have been'.
3. Correct: Thirty miles is the distance we drove…

Trick: Ten years is a long time; Five kilos is heavy – amounts = singular.

Answer: (B) Thirty miles is the distance

Concept: Thing acted upon → passive; singular 'it' → 'has been + V3'.

1. The jacket was stitched by someone → passive needed.
2. 'it' singular → 'has been stitched'.
3. 'events' plural, so contrast is 'casual ones'.
4. Correct: it has originally been stitched for casual ones.

Trick: Reject any option with two helping verbs clashing (has…have, has…was, has…has).

Answer: (B) it has originally been stitched for casual ones