Directions (1-7): In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five options are given. Find the word which fits the blank most appropriately.
Last Saturday, as _________(1) _________ explosions went off at Aramco’s Khurais oilfield and Abqaiq processing facility in Saudi Arabia, an all-too-familiar sense of dread swept over Indian markets and consumers. At the pump the spectre of rising oil prices came back to ________(2) __________ people while RBI governor Shaktikanta Das told CNBC-TV18 that India’s current account and fiscal _________(3) _________ could take a hit if oil prices continued to rise.
Just how long will India allow itself to be held _________(4) _________ by the global oil mafia?
That 10 automated drones could disrupt 5% of the global oil supply is a cautionary note on their _________(5) _________ powers but is also about how oil continues to be the lynchpin around which global business revolves. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, US oil futures spiked 14.7%, the biggest spike in the last 10 years. It forced US President Donald Trump to authorize release of oil from the country’s 645 million barrels of Strategic Petroleum Reserves. With analysts now saying that even a disruption of a few weeks could increase the risk premium in oil prices, the _________(6) _________ is/are grim for India whose dependence on oil imports for meeting its energy needs is at an alarmingly high 84% and whose strategic reserves are the lowest among the countries most ________(7) __________.
(d) exorcist (e) None of these
(d) invective (e) None of these
(d) dispel (e) None of these
(d) hostage (e) None of these
(d) destructive (e) None of these
(d) enigma (e) None of these
(d) garbled (e) None of these
Directions (8-12): In the following questions, a paragraph is given. There are several words which are highlighted following numbers. These words may or may not be used in their correct sense in the given paragraph. The numbers provided with these words are then followed by five options. These options contain words that can replace the words in the paragraph. You need to find the words that can replace the highlighted words and mark them as your answers. If the word highlighted is used correctly then mark option (e) i.e. “No replacement required” as your answer.
The major news story of 23 September 2019 was the (8) stiffen of the 178 year old Thomas Cook UK. While newspaper headlines were (9) authored by the story of this unexpected collapse, there were smaller articles tucked in on the side highlighting that Thomas Cook India Ltd (TCIL) is not part of Thomas Cook UK and is not affected by the collapse.
Now TCIL is at pains to highlight through public notices and press articles that it is (10) owned by Fairfax of Canada since 2012. The brand name, for which they were reportedly paying a fee of ₹2 crore per year, overnight turned into a (11) department for TCIL. Even while TCIL has issued press releases sharing its healthy financials, its stocks fell by 2.68% at the end of the day’s trading in the (12) transitive aftermath of the news.
(b) virtualization
(c) collapse
(d) affiliation
(e) No replacement required
(b) dominated
(c) demonstrated
(d) departed
(e) No replacement required
(d) shuffled (e) No replacement required
(d) liability (e) No replacement required
(d) dearth (e) No replacement required
Directions (13-22): In each of the questions given below four words are given in bold. These four words may or may not be in their correct position. The sentence is then followed by options with the correct combination of words that should replace each other in order to make the sentence grammatically and contextually correct. Find the correct combination of the words that replace each other. If the sentence is correct as it is then select option (e) as your choice.
(a) A-B (b) B-C (c) C-D
(d) A-C (e) None of these
(a) A-B (b) B-C (c) C-D
(d) A-C (e) None of these
(a) A-B (b) B-C (c) C-D
(d) A-C (e) None of these
(a) A-B (b) B-C (c) C-D
(d) A-C (e) None of these
(a) A-B (b) B-D (c) C-D
(d) A-C (e) None of these
(a) Only D-A
(b) Only C-B
(c) Both A-B and A-C
(d) Only B-D
(e) All are correct
(a) Only D-A
(b) Only B-D
(c) Both C-B and C-D
(d) Only C-D
(e) All are correct
(a) Only B-D
(b) Only A-C
(c) Both A-B and A-D
(d) Both (a) and (b)
(e) All are correct
Fetter: restrain with chains or manacles, typically around the ankles.
Simultaneous: occurring, operating, or done at the same time.
Exorcist: a person who expels or attempts to expel a supposed evil spirit from a person or place.
Hence, option (c) is correct answer choice.
Excerpt: take (a short extract) from a text.
Diatribe: a forceful and bitter verbal attack against someone or something.
Invective: insulting, abusive, or highly critical language.
Hence, option (a) is correct answer choice.
Deficit: the amount by which something, especially a sum of money, is too small.
Defiant: showing defiance.
Dispel: make (a doubt, feeling, or belief) disappear.
Hence, option (b) is correct answer choice.
Exhort: strongly encourage or urge (someone) to do something.
Docile: ready to accept control or instruction; submissive.
Hostage: If you say you are hostage to something, you mean that your freedom to take action is restricted by things that you cannot control.
Thus, option (d) is correct answer choice.
Bristle: a short, stiff hair on an animal’s skin or a man’s face.
Assiduous: showing great care and perseverance.
Thus, option (d) is correct answer choice.
Portents: a sign or warning that a momentous or calamitous event is likely to happen.
Fiasco: a complete failure, especially a ludicrous or humiliating one.
Enigma: a person or thing that is mysterious or difficult to understand.
Hence, option (b) is correct answer choice.
Impacted: strongly affected by something.
Frisked: skip or leap playfully; frolic.
Garbled: (of a message, sound, or transmission) confused and distorted; unclear.
Hence, option (b) is correct answer choice.
The correct statement thus formed will be:
Senator Van Hollen was rebuffed when requested permission to visit Srinagar in an effort to assess the situation on the ground.
The correct statement thus formed will be:
After the Wuhan Summit, many things have changed, altering the circumstances surrounding India-China relations.
The correct statement thus formed will be:
China and India continue to compete and have a contradictory outlook on many strategic and civilisational issues.
The correct statement thus formed will be:
It has to be acknowledged that since the Wuhan Summit, little has changed as far as India-China relations are concerned.
The correct statement thus formed will be:
Hopes raised at the Wuhan Summit that the two countries would jointly work together on an economic project in Afghanistan have proved to be evanescent.