Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: To overwhelm = to have a strong emotional effect on someone (e.g. 'She was overwhelmed by their kindness').

1. To forfeit = lose something as a penalty; To smother = suffocate or suppress; To yield = give way or produce.
2. Only 'overwhelm' expresses a powerful emotional impact.

Trick: Overwhelmed with joy / grief — strong emotion.

Answer: (B) To overwhelm

Concept: Compare each word with its standard spelling.

1. Agreeable, Formulae (plural of formula) and Waitress are correct.
2. Ocassion is wrong; the correct spelling is Occasion — double 'c', single 's'.

Trick: Occasion: 2 c's, 1 s (o-cc-a-s-ion).

Answer: (A) Ocassion

Concept: Inside a room, a person sits in the corner; 'on the corner' is used for a street corner (outside).

1. Harry is sitting within the space of the room → 'in the corner'.
2. 'Upon' and 'onto' suggest position on a surface or movement onto it — wrong here.

Trick: In the corner (of a room) vs on/at the corner (of a street).

Answer: (D) in

Concept: Check each underlined word for correct spelling.

1. appropriate, diversifying and livelihoods are correct.
2. resileince is wrong; the correct spelling is resilience (r-e-s-i-l-i-e-n-c-e).

Trick: Resilient → resili-ence: 'i' before 'e' here.

Answer: (D) resileince

Concept: Present perfect = has/have + V3; 'has + V-ing' is never correct.

1. 'The university has putting off' is wrong.
2. Correct: 'The university has put off the semester examination for the second time now due to technical issues.'
3. 'For the second time now' supports the present perfect.

Trick: has + V3 (has put) or has been + V-ing (has been putting) — never 'has putting'.

Answer: (D) The university has putting off

Concept: In a comparison, like things must be compared: her smile with her mother's smile.

1. 'Her smile is similar to her mother' compares a smile with a person — illogical.
2. Use the possessive: 'Her smile is similar to her mother's (smile).'
3. 'Mother' and 'the mother' still compare with a person.

Trick: Compare like with like — use the possessive ('s) or 'that of'.

Answer: (B) her mother’s

Concept: Inquisitive means curious, eager to know or learn things.

1. Its opposite is Uninterested (showing no curiosity).
2. Careful = cautious; Dull = boring or not bright; Indolent = lazy — none is the direct opposite of 'curious'.

Trick: Inquisitive = curious = inquiring ↔ uninterested / indifferent.

Answer: (C) Uninterested

Concept: When a past continuous action is interrupted by another action, the interrupting action takes the simple past.

1. 'Anant was telling a story' (past continuous) … 'when a tree branch broke the window' (simple past).
2. 'break' (present) is wrong in this past-time sentence.

Trick: Was/were + V-ing … when + V2 (interrupted action).

Answer: (B) when a tree branch break the living room window

Concept: An animal or person that eats all types of food — both plants and meat — is an omnivore.

1. Omni = all; vore = eating.
2. Herbivore eats only plants; Carnivore eats only meat; Vegetarian avoids meat.

Trick: Omni- = all (omnipresent, omniscient) → omnivore = eats all.

Answer: (C) Omnivore

Concept: Bombastic means using high-sounding, showy language with little meaning.

1. Its opposite is Plain (simple, straightforward).
2. Essential = necessary; Sarcastic = mocking; Rhythmic = having rhythm — none is opposite.

Trick: Bombastic = pompous / grandiloquent ↔ plain / simple.

Answer: (C) Plain

Concept: Tigers are described as powerful hunters, so the teeth must suit hunting.

1. Powerful hunters with sharp teeth, strong jaws and agile bodies — all positive hunting features.
2. Blunt and small contradict 'powerful hunters'; 'long' is not the natural collocation with killing ability.

Trick: Read the adjectives around the blank — 'strong jaws', 'agile bodies' → 'sharp teeth'.

Answer: (D) Sharp

Concept: The verb learn takes about when the topic of knowledge follows.

1. 'Researchers still have much to learn about these beautiful … cats.'
2. 'Learn with/into/along' do not express the subject of study.

Trick: Learn about / know about / talk about + topic.

Answer: (C) About

Concept: The passage opens: 'Among the largest species of cats in the world, tigers…'.

1. So 'these beautiful, endangered cats' refers back to tigers.
2. Rabbits, elephants and dogs are different animals and break the reference.

Trick: In cloze tests, look for a word already used in the passage to refer back.

Answer: (B) Cats

Concept: Dividing a species into subspecies is scientific classification.

1. 'Scientists have further classified the tiger into nine subspecies.'
2. Declared, restricted and generalized do not take 'into + groups' in this sense.

Trick: Classify X into groups/categories.

Answer: (D) Classified

Concept: Species are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

1. 'Sumatran tigers are listed as Critically Endangered on the … Red List' — 'list' collocates with 'Red List'.
2. Numerated, detailed and recorded do not form this standard expression.

Trick: IUCN Red List → species are 'listed as' Endangered / Vulnerable.

Answer: (D) Listed

Concept: A title must cover the central idea of the whole passage.

1. The passage is about how globally shared digital resources (designs, software, knowledge) can change production and consumption worldwide.
2. 'Customised Hand' is only an example; 'Shared Information' and 'Knowledge Explosion' miss the digital-global theme.
3. Hence 'Digital Globalisation' fits best.

Trick: Avoid titles based on one example; pick the one that covers the main theme.

Answer: (D) Digital Globalisation

Concept: Look for the term the passage uses for things shared globally in digital form.

1. 'All knowledge and software related to the hand is shared globally as a digital commons.'
2. A 'commons' is a resource owned and used by everyone, so this is the passage's term.

Trick: Search the passage for the exact phrase 'shared globally as …'.

Answer: (A) Digital commons

Concept: The tone is the author's attitude shown through word choice.

1. The passage opens with 'What if…?' and asks us to 'Imagine…' — it explores possibilities and future scenarios.
2. That is a speculative tone.
3. Caustic and acerbic (bitterly critical) or belligerent (aggressive) do not match the hopeful, exploratory language.

Trick: 'What if', 'imagine', 'could' → speculative tone.

Answer: (A) Speculative

Concept: The passage lists the shared digital resources: 'such as design, knowledge and software'.

1. Knowledge, design and software are named directly.
2. An automobile is a physical product, not a digital resource, and is never mentioned.

Trick: For NOT questions, tick off the items mentioned; the leftover is the answer.

Answer: (C) Automobile

Concept: Scattered means spread over a wide area.

1. The passage says 'geographically dispersed communities of scientists' — i.e. spread across places.
2. Collaborative = working together; Shared = used jointly; Customised = made to order.

Trick: Dispersed = scattered = spread out.

Answer: (D) Dispersed