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English Usage Test 50

Description: English Usage Test - Free english verbal ability test for entrance examinations like mba entrance, gre, sat, gmat, toefl preparation and practice tests
Number of Questions: 25
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Tags: English Usage Test English Skills GRE Preparation GMAT TOEFL SAT English Verbal Ability English Speaking IELTS LAW Bank PO English Verbs Verbal Ability Verbal Verbal Analogies Critical Reasoning Sentence Arrangement (Para Jumbles) Sentence Rearrangement Sentence Completion (Gap Fills) Sentence Completion Letter S Synonyms
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Directions: In the following question, a related pair of words is followed by four pairs of words. Choose the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.

RENEGADE : RELIGION

  1. Transgressor : Crime

  2. Theist : God

  3. Refugee : Country

  4. Flout : Society


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

(Definition) A renegade is a person who abandons one's religion for another and a refugee is a person who flees from his home country to another to seek refuge. Hence, option (3) is the answer.

Directions: In the following question, a related pair of words is followed by four pairs of words. Choose the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.

SOLDIER : SAILOR

  1. Cannon : Post master

  2. General : Admiral

  3. Caravan : Regiment

  4. Director : Magistrate


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

A soldier is based mainly on land, while a sailor is based mainly on the sea, a general is a military leader of soldiers who operate mainly on land and an admiral is a military leader whose troops operate mainly on the sea. Hence, option (2) is the answer.

Directions: In the following question, a related pair of words is followed by four pairs of words. Choose the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.

GRIDIRON : BROILING

  1. Emery : Polishing

  2. Brayer : Drying

  3. Muller : Painting

  4. Fiery: Torrid


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

(Thing and Purpose) A gridiron (meaning a grill) is used for broiling meat and an emery (meaning an impure and coarse variety of corundum) is used for polishing. Hence, option (1) is the answer.

Directions: In the following question, a related pair of words is followed by four pairs of words. Choose the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.

SPIKE : TRACK

  1. Galosh: Plash

  2. Sock : Mat

  3. Heel : Stairs

  4. Cleat: Rock


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

A spike is a special kind of footwear designed especially for use on track or for baseball, to avoid slipping and a galosh (meaning a heavy shoe) is used for walking through a plash (meaning a puddle). Hence, option (1) is the answer.

Directions: In the following question, five statements are provided. These statements form a coherent paragraph when properly arranged. Select the alternative representing the proper and logical sequencing of these statements.

A. The further the separate spheres, which act on one another, extend in the course of this development and the more the original isolation of the separate nationalities is destroyed by the advanced mode of production, by intercourse and by the natural division of labour between various nations arising as a result, the more history becomes world history.

B. History is nothing but the succession of the separate generations, each of which uses the materials, the capital funds, the productive forces handed down to it by all preceding generations, and thus, on the one hand, continues the traditional activity in completely changed circumstances and, on the other, modifies the old circumstances with a completely changed activity.

C. This can be speculatively distorted so that later history is made the goal of earlier history, e.g., the goal ascribed to the discovery of America is to further the eruption of the French Revolution.

D. Thus, for instance, if in England a machine is invented which deprives countless workers of bread in India and China, and overturns the whole form of existence of these empires, this invention becomes a world-historical fact.

E. Thereby, history receives its own special goals and becomes 'a person reanking with other persons', while what is designated with the words 'destiny', 'goal', 'germ', or 'idea' of earlier history is nothing more than an abstraction from later history, from the active influence which earlier history exercises on later history.

  1. BCEAD

  2. EBADC

  3. BACDE

  4. EDACB


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

B begins the sequence as it introduces the subject of discussion 'History'. C is an elaboration of B, thus, we have BC link. E seeks to draw the conclusion in reference to earlier statements, hence, E follows C. D explains A by providing an example, therefore, D follows A. Hence, (1) is the answer.

Directions: In the following question, five statements are provided. These statements form a coherent paragraph when properly arranged. Select the alternative representing the proper and logical sequencing of these statements.

A. The life of Aristotle coincides then with that confused and cheerless period when the proud Greek cities, that had once so valiantly defended their freedom against the countless hosts of Persia, now, through their inability to submerge their differences and co-operate with one another, were losing that freedom and sinking into the state of inglorious subjection that, but for a few short intervals, was to last until the nineteenth century.

B. For all the information we get from him, we might suppose the state of Greece in his time to be as usual, with the customary petty wrangling going on between the cities, and the imperial powers of Egypt, Persia, and Carthage lying off on the horizon, and no new cyclonic force crashing through the world, creating such havoc with the old order that nothing could ever bring it back.

C. Why, we wonder, this deliberate averting of the eyes, this refusal to speak of the earth-shaking revolution going on around him?

D. His discourse on politics has all to do with the management of the small, independent city-state, as if the day of that state were not already gone.

E. He lived in the thick of these events, knew personally some of the chief actors, left behind a mass of profoundly thoughtful writings on many topics, yet no word of comment on the fateful thing that was happening or on the men responsible for it.

  1. BEADC

  2. AEBDC

  3. CADBE

  4. AEDBC


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

'In thick of these events' in E is a reference to statement A, thus we have AE link. 'Information' in B refers to 'thoughtful writings' in E, hence, B follows E. D is not an answer to the question in C. Therefore, C would conclude the sequence. Hence, (2) is the answer.

Directions: In the following question, four statements are provided between an opening statement 1 and a closing statement 6. The four statements are jumbled up and form a coherent paragraph when properly arranged. Select the alternative representing the proper and logical sequencing of these six taken together.
1. Preventive war, or the making of war in order to keep the peace, has served in its turn both nations and tyrants as reason or pretext.
A. They always speak in terms of 'our peace, that is, the peace that we want, our security, our national honor, demand…...'
B. More recently we have heard the cry: ''To have peace, we must be resolved to pay, and declare our intention of paying, whatever price is necessary - even the price of starting a war in order to force the co-operation of everyone in maintaining peace. We have adopted a new role for a democracy in becoming the initiators of war of aggression, the role of the first aggressors in behalf of peace.''
C. But there is nothing new about that, except perhaps the intentions.
D. Whether it is the Pax Romana, or the thousand - year peace of Hitler, or that suppression of the bourgeoisie which forms the pretext for Communism, the aim in each case is not freedom in peace, but domination.
6. Tyrants or demagogues, empires, republics, or democracies have always claimed that they were making war in order to make peace - that is their peace.

  1. DABC

  2. ADBC

  3. ABCD

  4. BACD


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

This para jumble is on preventive war as clear in statement 1. D is the obvious statement to follow 1 as it elaborates on preventive war further and both the statements are also connected by the word 'peace'. 'They' in A refers to ' Pax Romana, Hitler and bourgeoisie' in D, thus, D is the answer.

Directions: For the following question, choose the option that fills up the blank most correctly.

Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, have become a manifesto for psychopaths and potential miscreants, is viewed by many high-school administrators as too __________ to be suitable for teenage students.

  1. austere

  2. insipid

  3. provocative

  4. aberrant


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

A miscreant is a villain, scoundrel, or criminal. The sentence infers that Catcher In the Rye might provoke (incite) potential miscreants to engage in violent antisocial behavior. Hence, (3) is the answer.

Directions: In the following question, four statements are provided between an opening statement 1 and a closing statement 6. The four statements are jumbled up and form a coherent paragraph when properly arranged. Select the alternative representing the proper and logical sequencing of these six taken together.

  1. We have seen that the truth of an analytic proposition, or statement, can, in principle be established without the need to make even the simplest of empirical observations, it follows that whatever we may observe can make no difference to the truth of such a proposition.

A. One can see at once that this is an analytic proportion, because its truth follows immediately from the meanings in this context of the words 'nought' and 'duck' and so can be established by reference to the language of cricket, without any need to wait for somebody actually to score nought and see what happens then.

B. Take, for example, the proposition 'Anyone who makes nought at cricket, makes a duck'.

C. No matter how many cricket matches one attended, one would and could never come across a case of a man making nought without making a duck.

D. But it is not just that there is no need to go and watch cricket matches to establish this truth, there could be no point in doing so.

  1. There is no score whatsoever that a batsman might make that could make any difference to this sad and simple truth. And one knows this in advance, precisely because it is analytic.
  1. CDAB

  2. ACDB

  3. BADC

  4. CBAD


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

This para jumble is about philosophy on analytic statements as could be seen in statement 1. Statement B provides support to statement 1 in the form of example which is explained in A. Out of D and C, D provides link to A as it begins with 'but' and C is to follow D as it supports statement D. Hence, correct answer is (3), the only option that satisfies this condition.

Directions: In the following question, four statements are provided between an opening statement 1 and a closing statement 6. The four statements are jumbled up and form a coherent paragraph when properly arranged. Select the alternative representing the proper and logical sequencing of these six taken together.

  1. The Hindu as a national newspaper of high standing, with its chequered history that has unfolded the ups and downs of the great freedom struggle and after 1947, it took pains to portray a nation in transition with an unbiased view.

A. The assault on this prestigious newspaper was indeed a blatant assault on the Fourth Estate and the entire nation condemned it.

B. The people all over the country saw the attack on 'The Hindu' as a virtual attack on the freedom of speech and expression of total media in the country.

C. It had the boldness to expose where the policies have gone wrong, where people at the top were found to be corrupt, it had the equipoise to commend the achievements in different regions.

D. There was a mass upsurge in almost every part of the country that showed that freedom of Press has to be defended at all costs.

  1. The supreme court of India issued a verdict in favour of the newspaper and stayed the arrests of the senior journalists.
  1. CADB

  2. BADC

  3. DABC

  4. CBDA


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

This para jumble is an attack on 'The Hindu' during freedom struggle, as an attack on freedom of press. 'C' is in continuation with statement 1. This leaves us with 2 choices (A) and (D). D is to follow A.

Directions: For the following question, choose the option that fills up the blank most correctly.
Like Truman, who was never considered a major national figure until Roosevelt's death made him president, Ford attained national prominence only after __________ thrust him into the presidency.
  1. personal ambition

  2. outside circumstance

  3. popular acclaim

  4. political intrigue


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

Choose a phrase to fit in the blank that will match the description of how both Truman and Ford attained prominence. You don't need to know history, just realize that Ford's case must have resembled Truman's, in which pure accident (or “outside circumstances”) made him president. Hence, (2) is the answer.

Directions: A question word is followed by four possible illustrations. Choose the option that is suitable illustration of the question word.

CHUTZPAH

  1. Shameless brazenness exhibited with a defying attitude.

  2. Extreme peevishness of character seen in a few people.

  3. A man yelling at a gas station (petrol pump) because of the delay.

  4. Facing somebody face to face.


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

'Chutzpah' is shameless audacity, impudence, brass. Therefore, option (1) best illustrates the meaning of this word.

Directions: Among the four choices given, select the word that does not belong to the same group as the other three words.

  1. Shark

  2. Eel

  3. Trout

  4. Whale


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Shark, eel and trout are different species of fishes whereas whale is a mammal. Hence, option (4) is the answer.

Directions: In the following question, four statements are provided between an opening statement 1 and a closing statement 6. The four statements are jumbled up and form a coherent paragraph when properly arranged. Select the alternative representing the proper and logical sequencing of these six taken together.

  1. The relations of different nations among themselves depend upon the extent to which each has developed its productive forces, the division of labour and internal intercourse.

A. But not only the relation of one nation to others, but also the whole internal structure of the nation itself depends on the stage of development reached by its production and its internal and external intercourse.

B. The division of labour inside a nation leads at first to the separation of industrial and commercial from agricultural labour, and hence, to the separation of town and country and to the conflict of their interests.

C. Each new productive force, insofar as it is not merely a quantitative extension of productive forces already known (For instance, the bringing into cultivation of fresh land), causes a further development of the division of labour.

D. How far the productive forces of a nation are developed is shown most manifestly by the degree to which the division of labour has been carried.

  1. Its further development leads to the separation of commercial from industrial labour.
  1. DBCA

  2. DABC

  3. ADCB

  4. BCAD


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

A narrows the approach of 'relation of different nations' in statement 1 to 'the internal structure of the nation', thus, A follows statement 1. D follows A as it provides an explanation to statement A. As statement 6 is in continuation to B, thus B precedes 6. The only option that satisfies this sequence is (3), hence, it is the answer.

Directions: Among the four choices given, select the word that does not belong to the same group as the other three words.

  1. Sapphire

  2. Emerald

  3. Jade

  4. Oyster


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Sapphire is a clear, deep-blue variety of corundum, valued as a precious stone. Emerald is a bright-green, transparent precious stone,green variety of beryl. Jade is any of various hard greenish gemstones used in jewelry and artistic carvings. Therefore, these three can be grouped together. Oyster is any of various bivalve mollusks with an irregularly shaped, unequal shell, living attached to rocks, other shells, etc., and widely used as food, hence it is the answer.

Directions: A question word is followed by four possible illustrations choose the option that is suitable illustration of the question word.

SANGUINE

  1. Fear that one would fail the test that one is about to take.

  2. Jubilation at a victory.

  3. Illegitimate use of calculators in a test.

  4. Optimistic about one's future.


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Sanguine means somebody who is cheerful, confident, optimistic and hopeful. Hence, option (4) is the answer.

Directions: Choose the word or phrase that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the given word.

RESTIVE:

  1. Unflappable

  2. Skittish

  3. Froward

  4. Pragmatic


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Restive means unsettled, impatient, fidgety. Its opposite is unflappable, meaning not easily excited or disconcerted, imperturbable, calm. Hence, (1) is the answer.

Directions: Choose the word or phrase that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the given word.

DEBAUCH:

  1. Conscientious

  2. Sanction

  3. Relieve

  4. Detain


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Debauch means to lead astray morally, corrupt and deprave. Conscientious means scrupulous, honest, and upright. Hence, (1) is the answer.

Directions: Choose the word or phrase that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the given word.

LANGUID:

  1. Earnest

  2. Melange

  3. Laconic

  4. Exuberant


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Languid means drooping, weak, listless or lethargic. Exuberant means characterized by good health and high spirits, full of life, uninhibited. Hence, (4) is the answer.

Directions: In the following question, four statements are provided between an opening statement 1 and a closing statement 6. The four statements are jumbled up and form a coherent paragraph when properly arranged. Select the alternative representing the proper and logical sequencing of these six taken together.

  1. The Government of India has mounted a major technology demonstration project for fly ash utilization.

A. The construction of four dwelling units at the abandoned fly ash pond of the National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL) at Panipat has been successful, and they have been tested through a monsoon season.

B. In many parts of India, there are successful examples of the use of fly ash, first being Okhla Flyover bridge which is operating successfully.

C. The results indicate that a structure up to four storey high can be safely and economically erected at abandoned ash ponds.

D. This mission mode project was the result of earlier work by TIFAC and is now being implemented by it along with many national and sate government agencies as well as industries and institutions.

  1. However, initial testing of the site is required as it is usually done for regular soils as well.
  1. ACBD

  2. DBAC

  3. BDAC

  4. BACD


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

Looking at the para jumbles carefully, we come to know that it is about fly ash project. As statement A clearly shows the link, we are left with B or D. Statement D connects to statement 1 as TIFAC undertook the project. D is to be followed by B as it gives an e.g. that statement C shows the results, it follows A. The only choice that answers this is (2).

Directions: A question word is followed by four possible illustrations choose the option that is suitable illustration of the question word.

ELUCIDATION

  1. Presentation of abstruse data with regard to a simple situation.

  2. Making matter worse by gumming up the works.

  3. Detailed explanation presented to a problem in steps.

  4. To aggravate a situation by committing a blunder.


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

'Elucidation' is illustration or clarification. Option (3) explicates this meaning, hence, it is the answer.

Directions: Choose the word or phrase that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the given word.

OCCLUDE

  1. Pristine

  2. Cease

  3. Interc

  4. Detonate


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Occlude means to block, curb or impede. Its opposite is detonate, meaning to cause (a bomb, dynamite, etc.) to explode, discharge. Hence, (4) is the answer.

Directions: Choose the word that fills the blanks, the maximum number of times.

(A) He was quarantined because his disease was __. (B) The ___ response he received filled his heart with joy. (C) His enthusiasm was ____; the others soon caught it. (D) The ____ victory of Sri Lanka over Australia once again emphasised its potential.

  1. infectious

  2. contagious

  3. overwhelming

  4. resounding


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

Statement A suggests that he was quarantined (isolated) because his disease was 'contagious'(2). 'Overwhelming' on replacing blanks in B and C would give a cogent meaning to these sentences. In statement D, Sri Lanka's victory over Australia is resounding (thoroughgoing, complete) and not 'overwhelming'.  Hence, option (3) is the answer as 'overwhelming is used maximum number of times.

Directions: Choose the word that fills the blanks, the maximum number of times.

(A) He refused to ____ himself to his admiring visitors. (B) He brought tickets for the first _____ of the day. (C) Sri Lanka's impressive ________ in the recent World cup stunned many. (D) Though he tried his best, ______ eluded him.

  1. victory

  2. show

  3. run

  4. train


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

Statements A and B would be replaced by 'show' in option (2). Statement C can be replaced either by 'victory' or by 'show' and 'victory' will replace statement D. Therefore, 'show' in option (2) is the answer.

Directions: Choose the word that fills the blanks, the maximum number of times.

(A) In a clock the ________ hand travel faster than the hours hand. (B) The ________ of the meeting gave interesting insights into the problems faced by the company. (C) The _________ of inaction proved costly for the company because during that time, their main competitor managed to sweep the market with their attractive schemes. (D) The ________ are hot and long in summer.

  1. minutes

  2. hours

  3. days

  4. weeks


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

In sentence A, 'minutes' in option (1) replaces the blank. Statement B can be replaced either by 'minutes' or 'days'. When statements C and D are replaced by 'days', it gives a cogent meaning to both the statements. As days has been used maximum number of times, therefore, option (3) is the answer.

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