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Cloze Test The Hindu The Economist Feb To Aug PDF
Cloze Test The Hindu The Economist Feb To Aug PDF
Cloze Test The Hindu The Economist Feb To Aug PDF
in
Cloze Test
The Hindu Editorial
The Economist Magazine
Feb - August
Test 2
There are a number of ways of looking at the International Cricket Councils newly
acquired __(1)__. By rolling __(2)__ the Big Three formula that gave India a little over 22%
of the revenue (it was 3% before that) from 2014, it struck when the iron was hot. The
BCCI is in a shambles, the Committee of Administrators is only a few days old, and this is
as good a time as any to cut Indias income by 34%.
You could argue about the actual percentages, but the attempt to __(3)__ India in is
understandable. Those who have been screaming about the unfair treatment need only
to __(4)__ that the self-designed jump in Indias share three years __(5)__ was equally
unfair. As the Indian representative at the ICC meeting in Dubai said last week, Two
wrongs do not make a right.
Test 3
Under Indias constitutional structure, both the Central and State governments can make
laws on animal __(1)__, but if the latters statute is contrary to the formers, such an act
must secure the Presidents __(2)__. And this is precisely the approach adopted by Tamil
Nadu in __(3)__ its law last month. This Statute, which secured the Presidents assent on
January 31, amends the PCA Act and creates a specific __(4)__ for jallikattu. This means
that the petitioners in the Supreme Court have to do more than just show that the PCA
Act stands __(5)__ by jallikattu; they would have to prove that its practice infracts at least
one of the fundamental rights guraranteed by the Constitution.
Test 4
President Donald Trumps stated commitment to __(1)__ the One China policy signals a
softening of his administrations approach towards Beijing. Earlier, Mr. Trump had given
enough indications that he would pursue a radically different policy towards Beijing by
__(2)__ the One China policy, a cornerstone of Sino-U.S. relations. First, he __(3)__ a
congratulatory call from the Taiwanese President, breaking 37 years of American practice
and thereby __(4)__ Beijing. Later, in an interview, he declined to endorse the One China
policy unless he saw progress from Beijing in its trade and currency policies, triggering
__(5)__ that he would improve ties with Taiwan and use the policy as a bargaining chip.
Test 5
Several commentators have remarked that Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys budget for
2017-18 lacks much __(1)__. But everything has to be viewed in __(2)__. This years
Budget was presented at a time when there are several __(3)__ clouds hanging over the
economy. We are still reeling __(4)__ the effects of demonetisation, which must have
earned a prominent place in the record books as one of the biggest policy ____(5)___
disasters of all time.
Test 6
In 1996, Subramanian Swamy filed a criminal complaint under the Act, __(1)__
accumulation of vast wealth __(2)__ corrupt acts by the __(3)__ Chief Minister abetted by
her close __(4)__. What is required under Section 13(1)(e) is for the prosecution to prove
that the assets of the public servant are disproportionate to his or her known __(5)__ of
income.
1. (a) creating (b) alleging (c) demanding (d) alleged
2. (a) with (b) of (c) through (d) to
3. (a) erstwhile (b) young (c) new (d) current
4. (a) aid (b) add (c) nemesis (d) aide
5. (a) reason (b) sources (c) places (d) ways
Test 7
The Indian Space Research Organisation boosted its reputation __(1)__ when it
successfully launched a record 104 satellites in one mission from Sriharikota on
Wednesday by __(2)__ on its workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket. An earth
observation Cartosat-2 series satellite and two __(3)__ nano satellites were the only Indian
satellites launched: the __(4)__ were from the United States, Israel, the UAE, the
Netherlands, Kazakhstan and Switzerland. __(5)__ the 101 foreign satellites launched, 96
were from the U.S. and one each from the other five countries.
1. (a) further (b) farther (c) ahead (d) more
2. (a) relaying (b) relying (c) depended (d) staying
3. (a) others (b) other (c) more (d) another
4. (a) back (b) last (c) remain (d) remaining
5. (a) from (b) to (c) of (d) by
Test 8
For an economy that relies on public __(a)__ and private consumption to __(b)__ private
investment and growth, the last round of official statistics on prices and industrial activity
signal testing times ahead. First, industrial output __(c)__ by 0.4% in December 2016, led
by a 2% decline in manufacturing (just five of 22 industries registered positive growth)
and a 6.8% decline in consumer goods. Now, wholesale prices have risen at the fastest
pace in two and a half years this January, at 5.25%. This is particularly __(4)__ since the
pace of price rise at the consumer level slowed to 3.2% in the __(5)__ month.
Test 9
The extraordinary sight of a lake in Bengaluru on fire, with a massive __(1)__ of smoke
that could be seen from afar, is a __(2)__ sign that urban environments are crashing
__(3)__ the weight of official __(4)__. If wetlands are the kidneys of the cities, as scientists
like to describe them, Karnatakas capital city has entered a phase of __(5)__ failure.
Test 10
The Trump administrations aggressive __(a)__ towards China, hesitations over extended
security guarantees in East Asia and the withdrawal from the TPP could __(2)__ a series of
geopolitical developments in the __(3)__. First, Chinese influence will increase __(4)__ its
smaller neighbours would have no option but to acquiesce. Second, the rise of Russian
and Chinese geopolitical influence and their bilateral partnership will __(5)__ the entire
region, including India. Third, with China and North Korea in their neighbourhood, both
South Korea and Japan will be forced to increase their own military build-up.
Test 11
Sometimes, it seems that to understand our __(1)__ society, all that we need to do is to
understand our __(2)__ at traffic lights. Every day, I see countless people on bikes and
cars driving through red lights. Earlier, I used to get __(3)__ that these people were
blatantly flouting a rule that many others were __(4)__, more so when they did it right in
front of indifferent traffic police. Now I realise that while this might be just another __(5)__
of rule-breaking that seems to be an essential definition of being Indian, at a deeper level
it is also reflective of a far greater problem confronting our society.
Test 12
Just before he was __(1)__ as the U.S. President, Donald Trump __(2)__ out some
principles of what appeared to be his non-interventionist foreign policy. We will stop
racing to __(3)__ foreign regimes that we know nothing __(3)__, that we shouldnt be
involved with, he said in North Carolina. Instead our focus must be on defeating
terrorism and destroying ISIS, and we will. What Mr. Trump implied is that his
administration would not conduct regime-change operations such as against Iraq in
2003 during the George W. Bush administration and certainly not indulge in nation-
building outside the United States.
Test 13
The __(1)__ to find life outside the solar system got a big __(2)__ with the discovery of seven
Earth-size extra-solar planets, or exoplanets, orbiting a dwarf star about 40 light __(3)__
away. Unlike __(4)__ discoveries of exoplanets, all seven planets could possibly have liquid
water a key to life as we know it on Earth with three planets having the greatest
__(5).
1. (a) request (b) plan (c) quest (d) jest
2. (a) boost (b) bang (c) best (d) boast
3. (a) year (b) years (c) lifes (d) time
4. (a) former (b) erstwhile (c) earlier (d) expunge
5. (a) earth (b) sand (c) water (d) chance
Test 14
Indians do not have the patience to focus on a problem for an __(a)__ period of time. We do
not think of institutions in the long __(b)__. We __(3)__ when there is a crisis but when a
crisis __(4)__, we lose our focus. As a result, we are __(5)__ at institution-building.
Test 15
There are many stories about the __(1)__ of Bengalurus name. One popular __(2)__
version recounts the tale of a king from the Hoysala dynasty coming to the city in the 12th
century on a hunting __(3)__ and losing his way. The hungry king, the story goes, was
given a traditional welcome __(4)__ an old woman, who offered him water and boiled
beansbenda kaalu in Kannada. The grateful king was supposed to __(5)__ the settlement
Bendakaaluru: The town of boiled beans. This evidently metamorphosed to Bengaluru in
due course of time.
Test 16
Indias decision to __(1)__ its __(2)__ roads in Mizoram and Tripura to be used by
Bangladeshi forces __(3) they construct border outposts in the __(4)__ terrain of the
Chittagong Hill Tracts shows __(5)__ how far the two countries have come to bridging their
trust deficit.
1. (a) permitting (b) allow (c) give (d) access
2. (a) broader (b) border (c) own (d) bumpy
3. (a) for (b) as (c) while (d) whereas
4. (a) volition (b) inhospitable (c) quaint (d) laconic
5. (a) that (b) just (c) which (d) what
Test 17
Development in any field is closely __(1)__ with the growth of technology. Cricket is __(2)__
exception. Technological advancement is an __(3)__ part of the game now. Analytics and
numbers determine the __(4)__ of a player and every move is closely monitored __(5)__ his
strengths and weaknesses. A small fault can be easily exploited with the assistance of
sophisticated software.
1. (a) associated (b) relating (c) combined (d) connect
2. (a) not (b) any (c) some (d) no
3. (a) sacred (b) foment (c) indispensable (d) garrulous
4. (a) cost (b) price (c) value (d) rate
5. (a) to determine (b) in determining (c) to have determined (d) to determining
Test 18
The Economic Survey 2016-17 tabled in Parliament last month has proposed __(1)__ a
universal basic income in India, and has devoted an entire chapter to __(2)__ new idea. A
universal and unconditional income transfer to all citizens __(3)__ address the twin
problems of poverty and __(4)__ is undoubtedly a proposal that __(5)__ serious
consideration.
1. (a) inaugurating (b) introducing (c) enacting (d) talking
2. (a) bright (b) invent (c) this (d) brand
3. (a) for (b) to find the (c) in order to (d) catering
4. (a) Starvation (b) corruption (c) population (d) unemployment
5. (a) ask (b) merits (c) talks (d) issues
Test 19
In the early seventies, following the boom in the Arabian Gulf region, the State saw a new
form of __(1)__. While Kerala had long witnessed the migration of the educated ___(2)___
opportunities domestically, for the first time there was a significant outflow of ___(3)__
labour, some of it from agriculture. While it was only the men who migrated, the higher
incomes ___(4)___ the households socially, and the women too ___(5)___ from the labour
market. This hit paddy cultivation most as, in an age-old sexual division of labour, women
were disproportionately represented in the planting and harvesting of paddy. The sector
began to face severe labour shortage. Naturally, the wage rose and the cultivation of
paddy was no longer viable as cheaper rice came in from the rest of India.
Test 20
A childhood at a home surrounded with lavish greenery, birds feeling welcome in open
spaces, lotuses ___(1)___ in little ponds; artiste Aasha Radhikas latest series Chalte
Chalte Udte Udte at Minaaz Art Gallery, Jubilee Hills ___(2)___ nostalgia for these and
more ___(3)___ the eyes of a girl. The fact that the exhibition is enveloped in similar
environs makes it more ___(4)___. The series mirrors an identity of a woman at several
___(5)___ of her life, as much as it glorifies nature. The soul of it lies in the intimate
conversations with a mother, both as a child and as a grown up woman. While one frame
is a witness to a pigeon coming out of its shell, another has a girl readying for a swim,
warming up to a peacock. One of the works shows her love for nose pins.
Test 21
On 29 March, Samsung Electronics Co. will ___(1)___ its new Galaxy S8 phone. When you
release a new product, you want to show off its cool new features. But Samsungs launch
stands to be ___(2)___ by not one but two reputational fires the company is fighting
___(3)___.
And fire isnt just a ___(4)___: One of the companys problems is that its last smartphone
kept causing them. There were nearly 100 incidents in the US between August and
September 2016. When Samsung issued ___(5)___ phones, they started doing the same
thing.
Test 22
The Indian economy continues to outperform the ___(1)___ of its critics. This is clearly true
of the GDP growth estimates in the third quarter; ___(2)___ at variance with what the
critics of the demonetisation exercise had assumed. No doubt there could be correction in
the fourth quarter, primarily to factor the impact of the informal sector. It has never been
easy to ___(3)___ real time data on economic activity in the informal sector. It is recognised
that apart from leads and lags, the conclusions are derivative using ___(4)___ which
detract both from their timeliness and accuracy. This is not a new problem and past
estimates of GDP numbers have also suffered from multiple ex-post corrections as and
when data becomes ___(5)___.
1. (a) diagnosis (b) suggestions (c) prognosis (d) onerous
2. (a) quit (b) quiet (c) quieter (d) quite
3. (a) capture (b) capturing (c) collect (d) collecting
4. (a) abrogates (b) surrogates (c) premonition (d) subversion
5. (a) available (b) unavailable (c) dormant (d) redundant
Test 23
More than six months after the Constitution was ___(1)___ to enable the Goods and
Services Tax (GST), the Centre and States have managed to find considerable ___(2)___
ground on the long-debated indirect tax system, ___(3)___ seemingly irreconcilable
differences that cropped ___(4)___ along the way.
Test 24
North Koreas ___(1)___ action of launching four missiles into the Sea of Japan a few
hundred kilometres ___(2)___ the Japanese coastline has triggered fears of ___(3)___
tension between nuclear-armed powers. The launch seems timed to test the strategic
___(4)___ and tactical capabilities of new relationships in the broader power balance that
reins in Pyongyangs ___(5)___ ambitions.
1. (a) provocative (b) platitude (c) Wreck (d) fetter
2. (a) of (b) from (c) to (d) over
3. (a) provincial (b) manifold (c) renewed (d) reaction
4. (a) dialogue (b) mutual (c) rapport (d) fortitude
5. (a) war (b) nuclear (c) higher (d) quaint
Test 25
India has launched the second phase of the programme to ___(1)___ the use of
hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) as part of its commitment under the Montreal Protocol,
which ___(b)___ the complete removal of chemicals that result in ozone ___(3)___ and aid
global warming. These are used mainly ___(4)___ the air-conditioning, refrigeration,
polyurethane foam manufacturing and cold chain sectors, and must be replaced with
better ___(5)___.
Test 26
The ruling of the European Unions top court giving member-states the right to grant or
deny ___(1)___ has come as welcome news for populist hardliners ___(2)___ to the surge of
refugees desperate to escape the humanitarian ___(3)___ in West Asia. In a ____(4)___
verdict this week on the immigration crisis, of a magnitude not seen since World War II,
the final judgment of the European Court of Justice of the 28-nation bloc overturned the
opinion of its prosecutor, which is rather ___(5)___ for the institution.
Test 27
Providing benefits for women and children is a ___(1)___ responsibility which can be
___(2)___ in a large country ___(3)___ a combination of general taxation and contributory
payments from those who have the ___(4)___. Health care should be treated as a right and
deliveries handled without cost to women; the income guarantees during the 26-week
period can be ensured through a universal social insurance system.
Test 28
Cloze Test Business Line, March 13 Economy Section
The near-normal monsoon in 2016 may have helped most parts of the country come out
of two successive ___(1)___ and perhaps propel foodgrain output to a new high, but not in
the South. The drought has ___(2)___ its grip in the South, with the South-West monsoon
falling significantly short and the North-East monsoon ___(3)___ a total failure. Reeling
under the impact of failed ___(4)___, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have
declared themselves as drought affected. Kerala and Karnataka, which are the worst
affected, are already contemplating actions such as cloud seeding to tide ___(5)___ the
situation.
Test 29
When ___(a)___ came on to the scene, Ponting and Kohli were a breath of fresh air to
countries that already ___(1)___ batting stars and legends. Ponting ___(3)___ his way into
the Australia line-up at a time when ___(4)___ the Australian second XI would have been
one of the strongest sides in world cricket. When he batted against Australia for Australia
A, he looked like a kid with serious weapons.
Test 30
Apartheid is a powerful word, with ____(1)____ of the South African experience and with
implications of crimes against humanity. The United Nations does not use this word
___(2)___. It rarely enters UN reports, and is not heard from the lips of UN officials. But
now, in a report released on March 15 in Beirut, Lebanon, the UN has _____(3)____ that
Israel is guilty of the crime of apartheid. This is a very significant judgment, one with
important ____(4)___ for the UN, for the International Court of Justice and for the
international community.
Test 31
The U.S. Federal Reserve has resumed normal ___(1)___ service by raising interest rates
for the second time in three months. The Feds decision on Wednesday ___(2)___ its
confidence in the continuing expansion and signals that its efforts to reflate the worlds
largest economy are largely on track with overall inflation seen to be stabilising around
its longer-run target of 2% over the next couple of years. Significantly, Chair Janet Yellen
stressed that policymakers ___(3)___ the strengthening economy would warrant gradual
increases in the benchmark federal funds rate to ensure that the monetary policy stance
remains accommodative of ___(4)____, even as price stability is ensured.
Test 32
The National Health Policy 2017, which the Centre announced this week after a ___(1)___
from the Supreme Court last year, ___(2)___ the challenging task of ensuring affordable,
quality medical care ___(3)___ every citizen. With a fifth of the worlds disease burden, a
growing incidence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, and poor financial
arrangements to pay for care, India brings up the ___(4)___ among the BRICS countries in
health sector performance.
Exams to practise for SBIPO, IBPS, SSC CGL Mains, Bank Clerk Mains level
8. CDBBC 9. BABDD 10. CADAB 11. CBCBA 12. BBADD 13. CABCD
14. CABAC 15. DABBB 16. BBBBB 17. ADCCA 18. BCCDB 19. BBBBB
20. BADCD 21. ADDBB 22. CCABA 23. CCCD 24. ABCDB 25. BCCAB
26. BCABC 27. BBDD 28. CBACC 29. CACB 30. AAAA 31. CBC
32. CAACB
Test 6 Test 8
The ___(1)____ in Londons Westminster that Ever since it was announced in 2005, the Indo-
left five persons dead, including the U.S. civil nuclear agreement has faced one
____(2)____, was the type of terror strike that ____(1)____ after another. So this weeks news
British security officials have been ____(3)____. that its operationalisation may be further
For almost three years, the threat level ____(2)____ owing to Westinghouses financial
____(4)____ international terrorism in Britain difficulties and Japans procedural issues in
has been severe, meaning an attack is ratifying the deal ____(3)____ India should come
deemed highly likely. This incident was as no surprise. This sets back work toward
different from a ____(5)____ terror strike, but finalising the contractual arrangements by June
bore similarity to attacks on European cities in 2017 for six reactors to be built in Andhra
recent years claimed by the Islamic State. Pradesh by Toshiba-owned Westinghouse and the
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL).
1. (a) chaos (b) problem But India has little control over both _____(4)____,
(c) attack (d) show and rather than seeing them as a _____(5)_____,
the government and officials should use this as
an opportunity to re-examine the countrys
2. (a) assault (b) assailant
engagement with nuclear energy for future needs.
(c) terror (d) police
1. (a) impede (b) hamper (c) obstacle (d) issues
3. (a) dealing (b) expecting 2. (a) agreed (b) asked (c) stated (d) delayed
(c) worrying (d) resting 3. (a) with (b) for (c) to (d) in
4. (a) situation (b) circumstances
4. (a) to (b) on (c) items (d) countries
(c) from (d) for 5. (a) opportunity (b) challenge
(c) setback (d) solution
5. (a) regular (b) conventional
(c) ISIS (d) threatening
Of all the arts of bowling, the most difficult In India, there is a relative ____(1)____ when it
and therefore the rarest and by extension, the comes to public acceptance of cyber breaches by
most exciting has to be left-arm wrist spin, individual companies though there is relentless
also known ___(1)____ the chinaman. ____(2)____ ambient noise about everything from the big
India, a country ____(3)____ for spin bowlers had Indian debit card hack to the ____(2)____ at
to wait over eight decades and more than 500 Yahoo. Dont be fooled by the silence. This is a
Tests before their first chinaman bowler made country that ranked fourth among countries
his ____(4)_____ tells its own story. Watching most ____(3)____ for Web application attacks, in a
Kuldeep Yadav bamboozle the batsmen in report by content delivery network services
Dharamshala ____(5)_____ one of the highlights of provider Akamai Technologies. _____(4)_____ this
the season. with the fact that India has been adding millions
of Internet users every year, who have been more
1. (a) like (b) for than nudged into the world of digital money in
(c) as (d) such recent months, and you know why Indians have
______(5)_____ to worry.
2. (a) In (b) this
(c) that (d) for 1) (a) worry (b) silence
(c) relation (d) cause
3. (a) reckoned (b) renowned
(c) acknowledge (d) marked 2) (a) theft (b) part
(c) breach (d) office
4. (a) starting (b) debut
(c) career (d) appear 3) (a) called (b) asked
(c) followed (d) targeted
5. (a) has (b) had
(c) has been (d) have
4) (a) jettison (b) juxtapose
(c) juncture (d) jaunt
Test 10
5) (a) faces (b) chosen
The recent ___-(1)___ of strikes by drivers of app- (c) reasons (d) places
based cab aggregator platforms, specifically Ola
and Uber, has unveiled some ____(2)____ of the
ugly underbelly of the ______(3)______ market for
Test 12
Six months from now, 43 cities will be ____(1)___
these platforms. While most of us have been
on Indias flight connectivity grid, an outcome of
happily indulging in the low cost and convenient
the Udan scheme launched to ____(2)_____
booking such platforms _____(4)_____, we as
regional flights covering distances up to 800 km.
consumers do not often think about some of the
These include a dozen airports _____(3)____
____(5)_____ implications of these models.
limited but irregular flights operate, and as many
as 31 destinations that are not connected at all
1. (a) part (b) spate
despite the _____(4)_____ of airport facilities. The
(c) group (d) fights
scale of Indias untapped civil aviation
opportunities can be gauged by the fact that
2. (a) fact (b) facets
these _____(5)_______ less than 10% of Indias
(c) talks (d) scene
inactive airports/airstrips 394 out of 450 are
dormant currently.
3. (a) growth (b) big
(c) burgeoning (d) proliferate
1. (a) delivered (b) mainstreamed
(c) chose (d) select
4. (a) deal (b) look
(c) offer (d) need
2. (a) steering (b) stare
(c) spur (d) star
5. (a) recent (b) right
(c) easy (d) adverse
3. (a) when (b) who
(c) which (d) where
Torrid summers, when the mercury soars 4C to A week after India clinched the Test series
6C above the average and produces heatwaves against Australia at Dharamsala, the memory of
in several States between April and June, may both the fine victory and the bad blood that
become ____(1)___ frequent in coming years. Not marred those matches can be pushed to the
only will there be more hot days, the spells of sidelines. Such is the ____(1)____ of frenetic
heat stress sweeping across much of India are cricket calendars that the Indian Premier League
likely to grow longer. The scientific consensus is has already rolled ____(2)____, its tenth
that heatwaves will grow stronger and ____(2)____ ______(3)_____ commencing with the match
their geographical spread in the south, between the defending champion, Sunrisers
influenced by the sea surface temperature in the Hyderabad, and last years runner-up, Royal
Indian and Pacific Oceans. With rising Challengers Bangalore, on April 5. Spread over
greenhouse gases, their impact can only 47 days and _____(4)_____ 60 matches, the IPL
___(3)___. Though the number of people dying has over the years blended the instant
due to heat stress last year was half of the gratification of the Twenty20 format with a sense
previous years toll of 2,040, the need to of ______(5)_____, having prospered since its
____(4)____ detailed action plans at the level of inception in 2008.
States, districts and cities is now critical. It is
encouraging that the National Disaster 1. (a) habit (b) scope
Management Authority is ____(5)___ States, in (c) scene (d) nature
partnership with the India Meteorological
Department, to evolve heat action plan protocols. 2. (a) in (b) out
(c) back (d) for
1. (a) much (b) more (c) many (d) big
2. (a) sell (b) expand (c) deal (d) effect 3. (a) expedition (b) edition
3. (a) intensify (b) worse (c) deter (d) defy (c) year (d) program
4. (a) understand (b) created
(c) evolve (d) thought 4. (a) initiate (b) include
5. (a) told (b) asking (c) sharing (d) guiding (c) featuring (d) deriving
Test 18
Test 18
The Prime Ministers recent announcement on
making it ____(a)____ for doctors to ____(2)____
only the generic name, and not brand name of
a drug, has led to a flutter. If ____(3)____, the
move will make it illegal for Indian doctors to
write out a prescription for the trademark of
the drug, ____(4)____ them to mention the
chemical name instead. If implemented
properly, the hope is that pharmacists will fill
the prescription with the cheapest generic drug
in the market ____(5)_____ than being forced to
dispense a more expensive brand as
prescribed.
1. (a) mandatory (b) compulsory
(c) necessary (d) urgent
2. (a) describe (b) prescribe
(c) ascribe (d) subscribe
3. (a) affected (b) enacted
(c) imposed (d) directed
4. (a) forcing (b) guiding
(c) guided (d) forced
5. (a) better (b) other
(c) another (d) rather
Cloze Test
(c) ideas (d) atrocities
2. (a) delayed (b) destroyed
(c) dethroned (d) dismissed
May 17
3. (a) hut (b) venture
(c) adventure (d) way
4. (a) taboo (b) discussion
(c) prohibition (d) inhibition
5. (a) attributed (b) contributed
Test 1 (c) galvanised (d) statute
After 20 years in India, wearing a refugee tag
that ___(1)____ her from one camp to another, Test 3
it was only in December 2016 that Edward
Selyn, 55, returned home. _____(2)_____ a few
Two years after the World Health Organisation
days ago, she was among a group of people
(WHO) recommended that antiretroviral
seated under a tent in Mullikulam village in
therapy (ART) be ____(1)____ in people living
Mannar, in Sri Lankas Northern Province,
with HIV irrespective of the CD4 (a type of
_____(3)_____ in the scorching heat for a
white-blood cell) counts, India has
month, demanding that the Sri Lankan Navy
_____(2)_____ its policy with the guideline. In a
release her land.
major _____(3)______, Union Health Minister
She was displaced in 1996 with her entire J.P. Nadda had recently said that any person
family, after the civil war _____(4)_____. Now, who tests positive for HIV will be provided ART
eight years after the war ended and months as soon as possible and irrespective of the CD
after her return, Ms. Selyn has not stopped count or clinical stage. Nearly 4.5 lakh deaths
feeling ______(5)______. can be _____(4)_____ through this move. It was
in 2002 that the WHO first issued its ART
1. (a) held (b) fed guidelines. In the absence of AIDS-defining
(c) led (d) asked illnesses, the WHO set CD4 count less than
2. (a) for (b) until 200 cells per cubic millimetre _____(5)_____ the
(c) unless (d) because threshold to begin ART treatment. Over time, it
3. (a) enjoying (b) agitated changed its guidelines and, in 2013, increased
(c) reclining (d) protesting the threshold to CD4 count less than 500 cells
4. (a) broke in (b) broke out per cu. mm.
(c) broke off (d) broke with
5. (a) replaced (b) discard 1. (a) distributed (b) conducted
(c) displaced (d) tortured (c) initiated (d) formulated
2. (a) ascribed (b) negated
Test 2 (c) catapulted (d) aligned
3. (a) hiatus (b) subvert
A controversial proposal by Bibek Debroy, a (c) shift (d) breach
member of the government think tank NITI 4. (a) revelled (b) constrained
Aayog, to tax agricultural income above a (c) boosted (d) averted
particular threshold has led to a public 5. (a) as (b) because
exchange of ____(1)____. Finance Minister Arun (c) to (d) for
Jaitley quickly ____(2)_____ any plans to tax
farm income, but more policymakers have
begun to voice their opinion, the latest being
Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian
who made it clear that taxing farm income is a
State subject. The public image of farming
being a poor mans _____(3)______ and the
sizeable vote share that farmers enjoy have
made the idea of farm taxes a political
______(4)________. The frequent distress faced
by poor or marginal farmers, which could be
________(5)_________ to structural issues other
than taxation, hasnt helped matters either.
But India has a presence of rich farmers as
well and there exists as a strong justification
for taxing them in order to widen the countrys
embarrassingly narrow tax base.
1. (a) rules (b) views
Answers:
1. CBDBC 2. BDBAA 3. CDCDA 4. CCAAD
5. CCDDD 6. DBDAB 7. ABBDB 8. BBBAC
9. BAACC 10. ACDAA 11. BAACC 12. BCCAB
13. DDDCC 14.CACBB 15. BAABD 16. BBBDA
17. DDBDD 18. CCBDA 19. AABBA
Cloze Test
what Mr. Modi called a loosening of the world
order, while the U.S. has targeted Indian
professionals and businesses to _____(4)_____
June 17
American jobs. Another blow came from Mr.
Trumps comments on the Paris Accord when
he blamed India and China _____(5)____ he
called an unfair deal. Mr. Modis meetings with
Ms. Merkel and subsequently Spanish Prime
Test 1 Minister Mariano Rajoy and French President
There was a time in our country when Emmanuel Macron saw those issues raised
prejudice was not allowed to blatantly declare one way or another, as they tried to explore
_____(1)_____. There was a time when there was new ways to cooperate on multilateral issues,
something that was shameful about publicly including terror, trade and climate change.
stating ______(2)_____ prejudices. But in this 1. (a) dichotomy (b) oxymoron
increasingly angry age, prejudice has become a (c) dilemma (d) deal
matter of public entertainment. Repeatedly, we 2. (a) flux (b) alienate
hear _____(3)_____ about caste, religion, the (c) platitude (d) caveat
poor and the marginalised, in public domains
3. (a) forced (b) forged
and in public conversations as if they are
matters of fact and not _____(4)_____ of (c) deprived (d) afflicted
prejudice. 4. (a) create (b) save
(c) protect (d) foster
We hear far more strident voices against
5. (a) for what (b) to what
reservation, against allowing communities to
eat what they want, against norms of (c) at what (d) which
behaviour of women. Such voices are getting
normalised and have become part of our public Test 3
_____(5)______.
A strike by farmers in Maharashtra continues
1. (a) themself (b) themselves to _____(1)_____ normal life, despite the State
(c) itself (d) oneself governments announcement of an end to the
2. (a) ones (b) his strike last week. The farmers, whose demands
(c) their (d) our include full _____(2)______ of farm loans, hikes
3. (a) statements (b) arguments in the minimum support price for agricultural
(c) documents (d) ornaments produce and writing ____(3)____ of pending
electricity bills, have been on an indefinite
4. (a) fractions (b) fractures
strike since June 1. As the strike nears the end
(c) fissures (d) fictions of its first week, prices of essential goods such
5. (a) domain (b) gossip as milk, fruits and vegetables have
(c) jesting (d) mockery _____(4)_____ steeply, causing distress to
consumers. Some farmer groups agreed to call
off their strike after Chief Minister Devendra
Test 2 Fadnavis promised that his government would
Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to waive farm loans of small and marginal
Germany, Spain, Russia and France brings farmers worth about Rs. 30,000 crore, increase
into sharp focus the shared ____(1)_____ India power subsidies, hike the price for milk
and Europe face with Americas shifting procurement, and also set up a State
policies, and the resultant ____(2)_____ on the commission to _____(5)_____ the matter of
world stage. Mr. Modis first stop in raising the MSP for crops.
Germany came a day after Chancellor Angela
Merkels strong comments aimed at President 1. (a) affect (b) effect
Donald Trump, that Europe could no longer (c) impact (d) perfect
depend on traditional partners. Europes 2. (a) weaver (b) waver
disappointment with Mr. Trump at the G-7 and (c) waiver (d) weaving
NATO summits was three-fold: his refusal to 3. (a) off (b) on
reaffirm NATOs Article 5 on collective defence; (c) with (d) to
his warning on the trade deficit with Europe; 4. (a) risen (b) raised
and his expected decision to pull America (c) arose (d) increase
5. (a) look up (b) look into
out of commitments in the Paris Agreement on (c) look down (d) look for
climate change. For the past few months India
has faced a similar disappointment as the U.S.
has ____(3)___ closer ties with China, indicating
Test 9
Agricultural distress is often viewed as a short-
term phenomenon in which farmers look
____(1)____ support from various quarters on
account of being unable to get a gainful return
due to price _____(2)_____, poor marketing
facilities, rising credit burden, increasing cost
Test 14 Test 16
Quantum mechanics (QM) is the dark arts of The question of whether India should allow
physics. Though physics in the Newtonian commercial production of GM crops has been
mould tells us how every object will one of the more enduring public policy debates
precisely ____(1)____ when pushed and hurled, over the last decade-and-a-half. After the
QM deals with the invisible world of subatomic _____(1)_____ of Bt cotton in 2002, the attempt
particles, _____(2)______ counter-intuitive rules to bring Bt Brinjal into commercial production
apply. faced serious _____(2)____ in 2010. After the
QM inhabitants such as electrons and photons GEAC approved Bt brinjal for commercial
live in zombie-like undead states. The very act production, the then Environment Minister,
of observing them makes them _____(3)_____ Jairam Ramesh, placed a _____(3)______ after
tricksters. Though not always understandable, undertaking extensive public consultation.
science knows, in bits and pieces, how they ____(4)____ of GM crops, including Noble
can be manipulated for _____(4)_____ that laureates, insist that opposition to GM crops is
benefit the visible world such as making driven by irrational fears of harm to human
integrated circuit chips and fibre-optic lines for health and having an environmental impact
global, instantaneous ______(5)______. and accuse opposing environmental groups of
misrepresenting facts. Such arguments,
1. (a) unleash (b) behave however, are unlikely to ____(5)____ the
(c) insist (d) emphasize opponents of GM crops.
2. (a) when (b) where
(c) that (d) which 1. (a) preservation (b) persuasion
3. (a) interesting (b) ordinary (c) approval (d) denial
(c) beguiling (d) intriguing 2. (a) resemblance (b) damage
4. (a) purposes (b) proposal (c) demand (d) resistance
(c) leader (d) understanding 3. (a) auditorium (b) moratorium
5. (a) safety (b) security (c) uphold (d) bet
(c) privacy (d) communication 4. (a) components (b) ingredients
(c) proponents (d) representatives
Test 15 5. (a) consider
(c) concourse
(b)
(d)
conceal
convince
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on the
most hazardous journey of his political-
diplomatic life towards the end of June for his
Test 17
A ghastly fissure ripped through Indian cricket
_____(1)____ _____(2)_____ with U.S. President
Donald Trump. Not only is Mr. Modis greatest as Anil Kumble quit as the national teams
head coach on Tuesday. Kumbles exit had
achievement, the new heights India-U.S.
seemed ______(1)______ _____(2)______ the
relations had _____(3)_____ in 2016, in jeopardy
Board of Control for Cricket in India called for
but also the White House itself is in
fresh applications for the post of head coach
____(4)_____ with former FBI director James
just as the Men in Blue flew to England for the
Comeys testimony ______(5)_____ the Senate
now-concluded ICC Champions Trophy. Until
Intelligence Committee and the Senates
invitation to Mr. Trump to testify. The results that moment on May 25, skipper Kohli and
coach Kumble had seemed to be a perfect
of Mr. Modis visit could be as unpredictable as
match. The duo oversaw five Test series
the personality of Mr. Trump, regardless of the
victories against opponents as diverse as the
charm offensive that the Prime Minister is
West Indies and Australia, besides winning
capable of.
one-day internationals and Twenty20s. The
1. (a) initial (b) maiden lone _____(3)______ was the loss to Pakistan in
(c) mere (d) debut the Champions Trophy final this Sunday.
Cloze Test
3. (a) no (b) from
(c) so (d) to
4. (a) address (b) amount
July 17
(c) assess (d) assimilate
5. (a) ready (b) poised
(c) continue (d) start
Test 1 Test 3
In a ____(1)____ reform, India today switches to Since Independence, between 25 and 60
a new indirect tax system, the Goods and million people have been displaced from their
Services Tax. The GST _____(2)____ the multiple homes and uprooted for Indias development
Central, State and local taxes and cesses levied projects. Most end up living in _____(1)_____
on goods and services, _____(3)_____ the poverty and ______(2)_______. That we do not
country into a single market, thereby making it even know the exact numbers of those affected
easier to do business and ensure tax in a country that prizes bureaucratic record
compliance. This will attract investors and keeping is a clear indication of the callous
more efficiently ____(4)_____ up revenues for ______(3)_____ we have for these lives.
the exchequer. The reform has been years in Disregarding years of sustained non-violent
the making, and _____(5)____ shown the protest and an iconic mass movement that
political will to finally pull it off, the Central drew national and global attention, the
government must work with the States to chart Narmada Control Authority decided on June
a road map to simplify the tax regime. 17, 2017 _______(4)______ the height of the
1. (a) landmark (b) milestone Sardar Sarovar dam to its full height, by
(c) giant (d) enormous ordering the closure of 30 gates. It was
2. (a) subsumes (b) presumes announced in time with the arrival of the
(c) assumes (d) consumes monsoon. Once the dam is at its full height, it
3. (a) certifying (b) indentifying will _____(5)_____ one town and at least 176
(c) pacifying (d) unifying villages, displace close to 20,000 families, flood
productive agricultural land, and destroy
4. (a) clean (b) wrap hundreds of acres of biodiverse forest.
(c) mop (d) make 1. (a) asylum (b) abysmal
5. (a) been (b) have (c) nuance (d) burgeoned
(c) being (d) having 2. (a) entrenched (b) uprooted
(c) protracted (d) subjugated
3. (a) attitude (b) ignore
Test 2 (c) disregard (d) concern
How will future climate change affect the poor 4. (a) to raise (b) to rise
and how does one address both poverty and (c) in raising (d) for rising
climate change? This is a ____(1)_____ faced by 5. (a) help (b) submerge
policymakers in India and other developing (c) reach (d)ruminate
countries. Moreover, climate-proofing
sustainable development efforts is important;
that is to say, current efforts should ____(2)____
relevant in the face of future climate impacts.
Among development practitioners, a paradigm
shift has taken place in the last three decades
or _____(3)____: income alone is no longer
considered as being sufficient to estimate and
_____(4)_____ poverty. One can have assets and
a reasonable income and yet be poor in terms
of education, nutrition, health and other living
conditions. Nevertheless, in India and many
other countries, governments _____(5)____ to
use income or consumption to estimate
poverty, with specified thresholds associated
with the poverty line.
1. (a) fervour (b) candour
(c) peccadillo (d) conundrum
2. (a) be (b) stayed
(c) remain (d) hide
Test 24
The disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif from holding public office, by the
Pakistan Supreme Court in the Panama Papers
case, leaves a huge political
_______(1)______(space) in the country. This is
the third time Mr. Sharifs premiership has
been cut ______(2)_____(up). If his first two
terms were ended by the countrys powerful
military, first forcing him to resign and then
overthrowing his government in a coup, this
time it was through a formal legal process. The
Supreme Court invoked a controversial Article
of the Constitution that requires politicians to
be honest and righteous. The court ruled
that Mr. Sharif was dishonest ______(3)____(in
lacking) to disclose in his 2013 election
nomination papers his association with a UAE-
based company and therefore was unfit to
_____(4)____(staying) in office. The court also
Cloze Test
of these weapons of mass destruction has been
disentangled from the narrow focus on the
maintenance of a deterrent by the nuclear
August 17
weapons states against threats from one
another. Instead, the case for abolition, under
the treaty finalised in July, is
_____(3)____(promised) on the potential danger
Test 1 to the very survival of civilisation from another
holocaust. Such a position seems incontestable,
Practical men, who believe themselves to be as modern weapons are designed to
quite ____(1)____(consistent) from any ____(4)____(conflict) a great scale of destruction,
intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of without regard to national or geographic
some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, boundaries. The imperative, as the
who _____(2)____(call) voices in the air, are _____(5)_____(researchers) of the new treaty see
distilling their frenzy from some academic it, is an immediate legal prohibition leading to
scribbler of a few years back. These lines from the total elimination of nuclear weapons, given
John Maynard Keynes ____(3)____(arrive) to the impossibility of fashioning a humanitarian
mind when observing the recent performance of response to any future offensive.
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with respect to 1. (a) salvage (b) paradigm
the conduct of monetary policy. Strenuous effort (c) quick (d) unknown
has been made ____(4)____(before) the citizen to (e) No Change
believe that one of the many significant actions 2. (a) discourse (b) reiterate
of the government of the day is to have moved (b) rife (d) saga
monetary policy in India onto a modern plane. (e) No change
The centrepiece of this claim is that the central 3. (a) protected (b) pledge
bank will now be judged entirely in terms of its (c) premised (d) progressed
record on inflation. That is, the RBI has been (e) No Change
reconfigured as an inflation-targeting central 4. (a) inflict (b) refurbish
bank. As part of this arrangement, it has been (c) render (d) surmise
set an inflation target of 4%. Then, somewhat (e) No change
counter-intuitively, it has been given 5. (a) innovators (b) founders
_____(5)____(prey) in the form of a band within (c) originators (d) architects
which the inflation outcome may lie. This band (e) No Change
is wide, ranging from 2% to 6%.
Test 3
1. (a) happy (b) unaware
(c) off-guard (d) exempt
A foreign bureaucrat once told American
(e) No Change
economist Milton Friedman that workers in his
2. (a) has (b) have
country were given ____(1)____(shades) instead of
(c) hear (d) fear
tractors to build a canal because more jobs were
(e) No Change
created that way. Hearing this, Friedman is said
3. (a) come (b) came
to have quipped, If its jobs you want, then you
(c) comes (d) has come
should give these workers spoons, not shovels.
(e) No change
Union Minister for Road, Transport and
4. (a) lead (b) to lead
Highways Nitin Gadkaris justification for
(c) to guide (d) faux
____(2)___(highlighting) the entry of driverless
(e) No change
cars into India is based on grounds similar to
5. (a) choice (b) leeway
that of the foreign bureaucrat. The government
(c) way (d) discount
is not going to promote any technology or policy
(e) No Change
that will make people jobless, he said recently.
The Minister further stated that cab aggregators
Test 2 like Ola and Uber will not be allowed to use
driverless cars as it could _____(3)____(toast) the
The adoption of the historic United Nations pact economy as many as five million jobs.
to ban nuclear weapons underscores a The fear of _____(4)____(latest) technology
_____(1)____(pragmatic) shift in the causing massive job losses is nothing new.
_____(2)____(objective) on global disarmament. Economists have used the term lump of labour
Foremost, the universal goal of total elimination fallacy to characterise the common, albeit