Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Spot the word missing a letter.

1. "Believ" lacks the final silent e → correct: Believe.
2. Combination, Refer, Sculptor are correct as printed.

Trick: "Never believe a lie" – the word hides "lie" and ends in e.

Answer: (D) Believ

Concept: Pick the right noun (relationship) and keep the past tense.

1. "Our ___" refers to the relationship → noun friendship.
2. "Friendship develops" is a natural pairing.
3. "Were… after we left" → past tense developed.

Trick: Two filters: noun form (friendship) + past tense → only (a) passes both.

Answer: (A) friendship developed

Concept: Purpose is shown by "in order to + base verb"; "in case of" needs a noun.

1. He saved money for a reason → purpose.
2. "In case of afford" is ungrammatical.
3. Correct: …each month in order to afford a new car.

Trick: Ask "why?" – if the answer is a goal, use "to / in order to".

Answer: (B) in order to afford a new car

Concept: Idiom about a very high price.

1. "Cost an arm and a leg" = be extremely costly.
2. e.g. Concert tickets in the front row cost an arm and a leg.
3. Inexpensive, free, affordable all mean the opposite.

Trick: Three options say "cheap" – the odd one (very expensive) is the answer.

Answer: (B) Very expensive

Concept: Feeble = weak, lacking strength.

1. Opposite of weak = Strong.
2. Sickly, Delicate are near-synonyms; Rare = uncommon (unrelated).

Yaad rakhein: Common use: a feeble excuse = a weak, unconvincing excuse. Other antonyms: robust, sturdy.

Answer: (C) Strong

Concept: Frequency adverbs (always, never, usually) go before a single main verb.

1. (C) "arrives always" puts the adverb after the verb – wrong.
2. Correct order: Nila always arrives on time.
3. (A), (B), (D) are correctly placed.

Yaad rakhein: Rule: before main verb, after "be" (She is always late).

Answer: (C) Nila arrives always on time for meetings.

Concept: Monotonous = one tone, unvarying, boring.

1. A voice that sent people to sleep was boring → Dull.
2. Varied is the opposite; exciting/interesting clash with the context.

Trick: Mono = one → one tone all the time = dull.

Answer: (B) Dull

Concept: Spurious = false, not genuine.

1. Bogus, Fake, Counterfeit all mean "not genuine" (synonyms).
2. Opposite = Authentic (genuine).

Trick: When three options mean the same thing, the fourth is the antonym.

Answer: (C) Authentic

Concept: Spot the doubled letter that should be single.

1. "Expllorer" has an extra l → correct: Explorer (explore + r).
2. Acoustic, Curious, Selection are correct.

Trick: Base word explore has one l; -er adds no extra consonant.

Answer: (A) Expllorer

Concept: Homework is uncountable; few/many go only with plural countables.

1. few, many → ruled out.
2. "the little" needs a following clause (the little money I had).
3. a lot of works with uncountables → a lot of homework.

Yaad rakhein: Uncountable list to remember: homework, advice, information, luggage, furniture.

Answer: (D) a lot of

Concept: Haughty = proud, looking down on others.

1. Same sense = Arrogant.
2. Sheepish, Modest, Bashful describe shy/humble people – opposites.

Trick: Haughty sounds like "high-ty" – nose held high.

Answer: (D) Arrogant

Concept: A setback that later proves good.

1. Losing the job (bad) → own successful business (good).
2. So the idiom = an apparent misfortune with a hidden benefit.

Trick: Disguise = hidden → the blessing is hidden inside a bad event.

Answer: (D) something unfortunate that results in an unforeseen positive outcome

Concept: You "reach" a place.

1. Destination = place one is travelling to.
2. Designation = post/title; destiny = fate; rabble = noisy crowd.

Trick: Destination ↔ journey; destiny ↔ life; designation ↔ job.

Answer: (D) destination

Concept: With a helping verb, adverbs like "hardly" come between helper and main verb.

1. (D) "hardly could believe" is wrong.
2. Correct: Andrew could hardly believe the news.
3. Others: surprisingly quick, spoke softly, highly pleased – fine.

Trick: Pattern: helper + adverb + main verb (can never, will always, could hardly).

Answer: (D) Andrew hardly could believe the news when he heard it.

Concept: Movement to the inside of something → "into".

1. Particles rise from the ground and enter the atmosphere.
2. So: waft high into the atmosphere.
3. over/above = outside it; onto = on a surface; across = sideways.

Trick: into = motion + inside; in = position inside.

Answer: (D) high into the atmosphere

Concept: "However" in the next line signals contrast: stress can't be avoided, but it can be handled.

1. Need a word meaning "unavoidable".
2. Inevitable = certain to happen.
3. Crucial, unrealistic don't fit; recurring suits blank 79.

Trick: Read the sentence after the blank – connectors like "however" reveal the meaning.

Answer: (B) inevitable

Concept: Fixed phrase for ways of handling stress.

1. "Coping mechanisms" = strategies to deal with stress.
2. Obsolete = outdated; remedial, creative don't collocate here.

Trick: Cope with = manage a difficulty – "coping mechanism" is a standard pair.

Answer: (A) coping

Concept: After a modal (can), use the base verb.

1. adds, helps removed (have -s).
2. "help + verb" is natural: can help manage stress.
3. "add manage" makes no sense.

Trick: Modal + V1, always – no -s, no -ed.

Answer: (A) help

Concept: "While some stress is natural, ___ stress harms" → a contrast with harmless stress.

1. Harmful kind = stress that keeps returning → recurring.
2. Occasional breaks the contrast; malignant/cancerous are for tumours.

Trick: "While" sets up opposites – pick the word opposite to "some/natural".

Answer: (D) recurring

Concept: Adjective paired with "healthy" to describe a lifestyle.

1. "A balanced and healthy lifestyle" – standard collocation.
2. Nutritious = food; sober = not drunk/serious; calming = for an activity.

Trick: Balanced diet, balanced life – "balanced" pairs naturally with lifestyle.

Answer: (C) balanced