Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: A collective noun seen as one unit takes a singular verb.

1. Real subject = A herd; 'of cattle' is only a describing phrase.
2. 'A herd' is one group, so the verb must be singular: was grazing.
3. So part (B) is faulty – read it as '…cattle was grazing…'.

Trick: Cover the 'of + noun' phrase with your finger and read 'A herd ___ grazing' – 'was' sounds right at once.

Answer: (B) were grazing in

Concept: 'Pass something with support/majority/approval' is the fixed usage.

1. The support and confidence went along with the passing of the resolution → accompaniment → with.
2. 'by' would need an agent/method (by a vote, by the House); 'over' and 'under' give no sense here.
3. Correct: The resolution was passed with unanimous support.

Trick: Common pairs: passed with a majority, carried with applause, accepted with thanks.

Answer: (D) with

Concept: Argumentation = reasoning by putting arguments and counter-arguments.

1. Dialectic = the art of finding truth through argument and counter-argument → same idea.
2. Conversation = ordinary talk; Logic = the science of correct reasoning (broader); Imagination = fancy.
3. So the closest word is Dialectic.

Trick: Dialectic and debate both involve two sides arguing – link 'di' with 'two sides'.

Answer: (A) Dialectic

Concept: Check each word for the standard spelling.

1. Introvert, Amicable, Recluse – all correct.
2. 'Gregarios' misses the 'u': correct is Gregarious (sociable, liking company).
3. The adjective suffix is -ious, as in various, curious.

Trick: Gregarious is the opposite of Recluse/Introvert – the odd-meaning word here is also the misspelt one.

Answer: (D) Gregarios

Concept: Decide the part of speech and sense of the word in the given sentence first.

1. Given: 'park the truck' → verb = stop and leave a vehicle somewhere.
2. (B) 'park your car' → same verb sense. ✔
3. (A), (D) – noun (public garden / ground); (C) 'park this project' = postpone (informal verb, different sense).

Trick: Look for the same object type – a vehicle (truck ↔ car).

Answer: (B) Please park your car in the designated driveway.

Concept: Spelling rule: we usually write 'ie', but with the letter c just in front we switch to 'ei'.

1. With c in front, write e first, then i.
2. 'Recieve' breaks the rule; correct is Receive.
3. Procure, Achieve (no 'c' before -ie-), Obtain are correct.

Trick: Same pattern: ceiling, deceive, conceive, receipt.

Answer: (B) Recieve

Concept: Find the line in the passage that answers the question and match it to the option; reject options that say the opposite.

1. Line 1: AEBs guide technology by working as 'vital forums for oversight, regulation, and ethical alignment'.
2. Option (B) repeats this role exactly.
3. (A), (C), (D) are the reverse of what the boards do.

Trick: In fact-based RC, the option that matches a passage phrase word for word is usually the answer.

Answer: (B) To operate as vital forums for oversight, regulation, and ethical alignment

Concept: Find the line in the passage that answers the question and match it to the option; reject options that say the opposite.

1. Key line begins 'To secure public trust…'.
2. It says AEBs conduct impact assessments to monitor biases and protect privacy.
3. That is option (B); (A), (C), (D) mean hiding bias, unregulated data or less transparency – all opposite.

Trick: Search the keyword of the question ('public trust') in the passage and read only that sentence.

Answer: (B) By conducting impact assessments to monitor biases and protect privacy

Concept: Find the line in the passage that answers the question and match it to the option; reject options that say the opposite.

1. The word 'Although' introduces the limitation.
2. Limits named: commercial interests, lack of enforcement power, rapid technological shifts.
3. Option (B) lists exactly these three; (A), (C), (D) are not stated or are opposite.

Trick: Words like although, however, but usually carry the 'problem/limitation' part of a passage.

Answer: (B) Commercial interests, lack of enforcement power, and rapid technological shifts

Concept: Find the line in the passage that answers the question and match it to the option; reject options that say the opposite.

1. The passage links 'making corporations answerable for their software's impact' with 'fostering a culture of responsible innovation'.
2. So responsibility comes from accountability → option (B).
3. Ignoring data rights, blocking information or only profit go against the passage.

Trick: Negative-sounding options (ignore, restrict, only profit) are easy eliminations in an ethics passage.

Answer: (B) By making corporations answerable for their software's impact

Concept: Fundamental = forming the base; basic and necessary.

1. Passage: AEBs 'are fundamental for organizing ethical responses' even though their influence is limited.
2. The writer stresses that they are still essential.
3. 'Easily replaceable', 'optional', 'unlikely to succeed' all reduce their importance – wrong.

Trick: fundament = base/foundation, so fundamental = basic, essential.

Answer: (B) Essential or absolutely necessary

Concept: Idioms carry a fixed figurative meaning.

1. 'Have a bun in the oven' (informal) = to be pregnant.
2. Something 'baking inside' = a baby developing.
3. The listeners' surprise fits the news of a pregnancy.

Trick: Picture the oven as the womb and the bun as the baby.

Answer: (C) A pregnancy

Concept: Match all parts: medical + surgical treatment + nursing care.

1. Only a hospital gives surgery and nursing care.
2. Dispensary/Pharmacy – mainly give or sell medicines.
3. Pantry – a store room for food.

Trick: Key word 'surgical' rules out every option except Hospital.

Answer: (B) Hospital

Concept: Disturbing = causing worry or unease.

1. Opposite = giving comfort or joy → Pleasant.
2. Tedious (boring), Bothersome, Vexatious (annoying) – all negative, like 'disturbing'.
3. So they are near-synonyms, not antonyms.

Trick: In antonym questions, three options of the same 'mood' as the word are traps – pick the odd positive one.

Answer: (A) Pleasant

Concept: A literary device that builds rhythm by repeating words/sounds.

1. Repeating a word or phrase again and again creates rhythm → Repetition.
2. Plot = chain of events; Personification = human qualities to non-living things; Humour = comic quality.
3. None of these produces rhythm.

Trick: Rhythm = a pattern that comes back – 'back again' = re-petition.

Answer: (B) Repetition

Concept: Passive 'was + V3' → active simple past (V2).

1. Doer 'my brother' becomes the subject.
2. 'was eaten' → ate; 'the last piece of cake' becomes the object.
3. Result: My brother ate the last piece of cake.

Trick: Keep the tense: was/were + V3 always returns to V2. (C) changes tense, (D) is still passive.

Answer: (A) My brother ate the last piece of cake.

Concept: If the reporting verb is present or future, the tense inside does not change.

1. Reporting verb 'will tell' → future → no backshift.
2. Only the pronoun changes: I → she.
3. 'I have already booked' → that she has already booked the tickets.

Trick: Backshift only after a PAST reporting verb (said/told).

Answer: (B) She will tell him that she has already booked the tickets.

Concept: One 'the' before two nouns = one person; an appositive does not change the verb.

1. 'the artist and sculptor' = Radhika herself (single article).
2. Subject 'Radhika' is singular → is displaying.
3. 'her art' also confirms one person; (D) changes the continuous sense.

Trick: Remove the part between commas: 'Radhika ___ displaying' → 'is'.

Answer: (C) is displaying her art at the gallery

Concept: Compare like with like: patterns with patterns, not with a tree.

1. 'its grain patterns' (plural) → verb are; (C), (D) use 'is' – wrong.
2. Patterns must be compared with the patterns of an oak tree → 'those of'.
3. (A) 'all trees' changes the meaning.

Trick: 'those of / that of' replaces the repeated noun in comparisons.

Answer: (B) are similar to those of any oak tree

Concept: Present perfect 'has + V3' → passive 'has been + V3'.

1. Object 'a delicious and healthy meal' → new subject.
2. 'has prepared' → has been prepared + 'by the experienced chef'.
3. Infinitive 'to satisfy the hungry guests' stays unchanged.

Trick: Tense check: (A) past, (D) present simple, (C) adds an extra 'being' – only (B) keeps 'has'.

Answer: (B) A delicious and healthy meal has been prepared by the experienced chef to satisfy the hungry guests.