State Bank of India
Clerical Cadre (Clerk) Recruitment Exam., 2009
[ Held on 22-11-2009 (IInd Shift) ]
General English : Solved Paper
Directions—(Q. 1–15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
Once a king saw some young boys pelting stones on a snake. He prevented the boys from killing the snake. Thus, he saved its life. The snake, which was the king of the Snake-World, thanked him and favoured him with a supernatural gift by which he could understand the language of any animal. But he warned him that the divulgence of the secret would cost him his life.
One day, when the king was sitting in his garden and enjoying breakfast, a small portion of the sweet fell on the ground. Soon he heard an ant shouting, “My God, what a big wagon-ful of sweet has fallen; and there is none to consume it. Ah ! I can enjoy all, now.” Hearing this, the king smiled and chuckled. The queen, who was sitting next to him, was curious to note the changing countenance of the king. She asked him to tell her the reason for the smile. But the king kept silent; as the divulgence of the secret would cost him his life. The queen felt offended and thought that there was something which the king did not want to tell in public.
At night, when the king was relaxing in the verandah, the queen repeated the same question and demanded the answer. The king then told her that the divulgence of that secret would cost him his life. Nonetheless, the queen persisted by throwing tantrums. Still when the king kept his silence, she attacked his self-respect by calling him a ‘liar’ and muttered that all his expressions of endearment like – ‘‘You are dearer to me than my very life’’—were nothing but a pack of lies. The king, however, could not bear the attacks on his self-respect and eventually conceded to divulge the secret on the following day in the royal garden; and made up his mind to sacrifice his life.
A donkey overheard the king’s resolve and decided to save him, because the king was righteous. So, he picked up one of his friends – the goat and they both decided to save the king.
Next day, when the king and his retinues were on the way to the royal park, the donkey and the goat stood conversing on one side of the path. The king overhead the goat saying to the donkey, “You are a fool but not as big a fool as is the king.’’ Having heard so, the king was curious to know as to why was he being called a ‘bigger fool’. So, he asked the goat “Why do you think that I am a bigger fool than a donkey ?” The goat replied, “Look O king ! Today you are going to die to please your wife; but tomorrow when your wife inherits all your wealth to enjoy it with a new mate would she ever think of you ?” This statement of the goat opened the eyes of the king and he realised his folly. He then reconsidered his decision to die to please his queen and resolved not to sacrifice his precious life. So, he said to the goat “Pray, then tell me what to do as I am now committed to tell her the secret”.
The goat said, “If you want to come out of the mess then go and tell her that you are ready to reveal to her the secret on the condition that she agrees to receive one hundred lashes on her back”.
When the king reached the garden, he said to the queen, “I am now ready to tell you the secret on the condition that you are willing t o receive one hundred lashes in return”. The queen considered the condition a joke and nodded in agreement. The king then waved at one of his guards to lash her with all his power. And no sooner did she receive two lashes then she wailed and shouted “No ! No ! Stop, do not lash me ! I don’t want to know the secret, now”.
The king then said scornfully, “You wanted to know the secret at the cost of my life; but now you don’t want to know because you have to save your skin. You deserve a few more lashes.” But before he could order his man to give her a few more lashes, the king’s trust worthy minister intervened and requested him to forgive her. Thus, the queen was not lashed further, yet she never received the same honour and dignity.
1. Why did the snake give a gift to the king ?
(A) As the king did not kill the snake
(B) As the snake liked the king a lot
(C) As the king was an honourable man and wanted the gift
(D) As the king had saved the snake from a few boys who were trying to kill it with stones
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)
2. What was the condition on which the king agreed to tell the secret to the queen ?
(A) That the king would tell her the secret only if she left him for another man
(B) That once she was told the secret she would have to be killed
(C) That the queen would have to talk to animals once she knew the secret
(D) That the queen could never tell anyone else about the secret
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)
3. What explanation did the goat give to the king for calling him a bigger fool than a donkey ?
(A) That the king had been wrong to tell the secret to the queen
(B) That the king was not ruling his kingdom very well
(C) That once the king had sacrificed his life for his queen, she would find someone else and enjoy the king’s wealth
(D) That the king was being taken advantage of by his subjects and that he was unaware of it
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)
4. What can possibly be the moral of the story ?
(A) A stitch in time saves nine
(B) Honesty is the best policy
(C) Promises are meant to be broken
(D) Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder
(E) Do onto others as you would want others to do to you
Ans : (E)
5. Which of the following can be said about the king ?
1. He was noble
2. He was impatient
3. He was selfless
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 3
(C) Only 1 and 2
(D) Only 1 and 3
(E) All the three 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (D)
6. Why did the queen agree to the condition laid down by the king in order to know the secret ?
(A) As she was very strong physically and would endure the condition laid down
(B) As she thought that the king was only joking and would not actually do what he had said
(C) As the condition laid down by the king was not too difficult
(D) As she desperately wanted to know the secret and would do anything in return
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)
7. Why did the king chuckle ?
(A) As he had heard an ant talking about the sweet fallen on the ground
(B) As he was enjoying his breakfast a lot
(C) As he knew that the queen could not hear the animals talk
(D) As he was very proud of his newly acquired power
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)
8. Why did the queen not receive the same honour and dignity as she had before ?
(A) As the king had left her and she was no longer the queen
(B) As she had cared for her own life but not for the life of the king
(C) As she had told the secret to everyone in the kingdom
(D) As she wanted to punish the king
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)
9. Why did the king agree to tell the secret to the queen in the first place ?
(A) As the queen had been really persistent and had said that the king was dishonest
(B) As he had wanted to share the secret with someone for a very long time
(C) As he did not value his life much
(D) As he knew that by telling the queen his secret she too would get the same powers as him
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)
10. Which of the following words can be used to describe the queen ?
1. Loyal
2. Selfish
3. Prying
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 2 and 3
(D) Only 1 and 3
(E) All the three 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (C)
Directions—(Q. 11–13) Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
11. CONDITION
(A) Form
(B) Clause
(C) State
(D) Situation
(E) Circumstance
Ans : (D)
12. PELTING
(A) Throwing
(B) Practicing
(C) Dropping
(D) Wasting
(E) Sticking
Ans : (A)
13. FAVOURED
(A) Biased
(B) Witnessed
(C) Liked
(D) Demanded
(E) Presented
Ans : (E)
Directions—(Q. 14-15) Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.
14. RIGHTEOUS
(A) Scared
(B) Wrong
(C) Honourable
(D) Immoral
(E) Weird
Ans : (B)
15. CONCEDED
(A) Realized
(B) Gave up
(C) Resisted
(D) Relaxed
(E) Surrendered
Ans : (C)
Directions—(Q. 16–20) Rearrange the following six sentences (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph; then answer the questions given below them.
(1) So, the next day when the birds had flown off to look for food, the bird catcher spread his net under the tree.
(2) One day a bird catcher wandering through the forest came upon a banyan tree where a flock of pigeons rested.
(3) But as they were very clever, they flapped their wings together, lifted the net off the ground and flew away with it.
(4) He knew that if he managed to catch even half the pigeons, he would be able to sell them in the market for a very good price.
(5) To their shock, they all realized that they had landed right into the net that the bird catcher had set for them.
(6) That evening when the pigeons came back, they flew down together to the foot of the banyan tree.
16. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 6
Ans : (D)
17. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 5
Ans : (B)
18. Which of the following should be the FOURTH sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 2
(B) 3
(C) 4
(D) 5
(E) 6
Ans : (E)
19. Which of the following should be the LAST (SIXTH) sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 5
Ans : (C)
20. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 5
Ans : (A)
Directions—(Q. 21–25) Which of the phrases (A), (B), (C) and (D) given below each sentence should replace the phrase printed in bold in the sentence to make it grammatically correct ? If the sentence is correct as it is given and ‘No correction is required’, mark (E) as the answer.
21. He was so tired that he could barely keeping his eyes open while driving.
(A) Can barely keep
(B) Could barely keep
(C) Can bare keep
(D) Could bear to keep
(E) No correction required
Ans : (B)
22. He was a men of few words but was very intelligent and respected by one and all.
(A) Man of few words
(B) Man of few wordings
(C) Men of few word
(D) Man to few words
(E) No correction required
Ans : (A)
23. She was feeling very asleepy today as she had not slept very well the previous night.
(A) Very asleep
(B) Very sleeping
(C) Very sleepy
(D) Very sleep
(E) No correction required
Ans : (C)
24. She waited with bated breath as the names of the top rankers were announced.
(A) As bated breathe
(B) For beating breath
(C) With beated breath
(D) To beat breath
(E) No correction required
Ans : (E)
25. As Veena got ready to leave for the exam her mother kissed her and wished her lucky.
(A) Wish her luckily
(B) Wishes her luck
(C) Wishing her luckily
(D) Wished her luck
(E) No correction required
Ans : (D)
Directions—(Q. 26–30) In each question below, a sentence with four words printed in bold type is given. These are lettered as (A), (B), (C) and (D). One of these four words printed in bold may be either wrongly spelt or inappropriate in the context of the sentence. Find out the word which is wrongly spelt or inappropriate, if any. The letter of that word is your answer. If all the words printed in bold are correctly spelt and also appropriate in the context of the sentence, mark (E) i.e., ‘All correct’ as your answer.
26. In just one year Beena has gained (A) around eight kilograms (B) and doctors fear she might be prune (C) to heart-related ailments. (D) All correct (E)
Ans : (C)
27. The clever disciple (A) had decided to proved (B) his skills by reciting (C) the holy verse (D) from the book. All correct (E)
Ans : (B)
28. Even though the state has been witnessing (A) deaths on a daily basis, (B) it has not hindered (C) the festivity (D) spirit of the people. All correct (E)
Ans : (A)
29. On being threatened (A) by the king’s servants, the poor gardener (B) biurted (C) out that he had stolen the jewels. (D) All correct (E)
Ans : (E)
30. The player was arrestted (A) for kicking (B) and punching (C) a driver outside a fast-food outlet (D) in the city. All correct (E)
Ans : (A)
Directions—(Q. 31–40) In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.
Once, there …(31)… a rich businessman, who was smart and young. He was fond of gambling. One day, on a business tour, he was …(32)… for a game of gambling by a veteran gambler who was reputed as ‘invincible’ in the game. When the game was on, he noticed that his …(33)… had resorted to foul play by stealthily swallowing the dice and pretending it to be lost. This made the young man lose the game. The young man, however, thought of …(34)… a lesson to the other gambler. So, when he returned home he smeared the dice with poison and dried them carefully. Next day, he went to his opponent and …(35)… him for a fresh round of game. The other gambler again stealthily put the dice into his …(36)…. But once again, he was detected by the young gambler, who yelled, “Let me tell you that what have you swallowed is but poison and not the dice.” The cheat writhed in …(37)… as the poison took effect. As the young man did not have any …(38)… to kill the fellow gambler, he took out some antidote from his bag and made him drink, which induced vomiting. This …(39)… the other fellow. He came back to his senses and never …(40)… to deceive others in the game of dice.
31. (A) stayed
(B) danced
(C) lived
(D) placed
(E) is
Ans : (C)
32. (A) invited
(B) made
(C) crying
(D) told
(E) struck
Ans : (A)
33. (A) play
(B) opposite
(C) self
(D) man
(E) opponent
Ans : (E)
34. (A) making
(B) predicting
(C) saying
(D) asking
(E) teaching
Ans : (E)
35. (A) killed
(B) slapped
(C) smelled
(D) challenged
(E) request
Ans : (D)
36. (A) mouth
(B) pocket
(C) throat
(D) sleeve
(E) board
Ans : (A)
37. (A) hurting
(B) happiness
(C) pleasure
(D) pain
(E) room
Ans : (D)
38. (A) body
(B) intention
(C) weapon
(D) where
(E) means
Ans : (B)
39. (A) slept
(B) sliced
(C) cured
(D) better
(E) killed
Ans : (C)
40. (A) decided
(B) dared
(C) worried
(D) feared
(E) crossed
Ans : (B)
No comments:
Post a Comment