PROTOCOL ASSISTANT IN RAJYASABHA SECRETARIAT

PARLIAENT OF INDIA
(JOINT RECRUITMENT CELL)

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION FOR THE POST OF EXECUTIVE/LEGISLATIVE/COMMITTEE/PROTOCOL ASSISTANT IN RAJYASABHA SECRETARIAT
13TH SEPTEMBER; 2008

PAPER-I : GENERAL KNOWLEDGE & CURRENT AFFAIRS GENERAL ENGLISH

INSTRUCTIONS : (i) Write your Roll No(s) at the appropriate column(s) on the answer sheet. (ii) Put X mark only to mark your response (iii) In case you want to change your responses to any question fully blacken the first response like this and {X} mark in the correct Box

Time : 50 Minutes Marks : 100

PART - A : General knowledge and Current Affairs

1. ______is the capital of Mizoram
(A) Dispur
(B) Aizwal
(C) Kohima
(D) Itanagar
2. The only Indian State that shares its border with Sikkim is_______
(A) Assam
(B)Meghalaya
(C) West Bengal
(D) Arunachal pradesh
3. _______is the capital of Zimbabwe.
(A) Lusaka
(B) Harare
(C) kampala
(D) Brazzaville
4. The Speaker of Lok Sabha is ______
(A) elected by its members
(B) nominated by the president of india
(C) nominated by the leader of the majority party/alliance
(D) the Vice President of India
5. The Mavalankar Hall in Delhi is named after the ______Speaker of Lok Sabha.
(A) Second
(B) First
(C) Third
(D) Fourth
6. Mr. P.A Sangma was the speaker of lok sabha during _____
(A) 1989-91
(B) 1991-96
(C) 1996-98
(D) 1998-2002
7. The Nobel Peace prize was won by ___in 2007.
(A) P.Sainath
(B) Kofi Annan
(C) Muhammed Yunus
(D) Albert AI Gore and Rjendra K.pichauri
8. Saiman Rushdie received_____in 2008.
(A) Man Booker Prize
(B) Nobel Pize for Literature
(C) The Booker of Man Booker Prize
(D) Gyanpeeth Award
9. In july 2008; the Group of Eight (GB) sumit was held in____
(A) Japan
(B) Germany
(C) Russia
(D) The USA
10. International Monetary Fund (IMF) is______
(A) A specialised Agency of the United Nations
(B) A branch of the World Bank
(C) An economic organisation of the European Union
(D) an Independent international organisation
11. The headquarters of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is located in___
(A) New York
(B) Rome
(C) Geneva
(D) Manila
12. Mr.Hugo Chavez is the president of_____
(A) Japan
(B) Germany
(C) Russia
(D) The USA
13. Mr.Pushpa Kamal Dahal `prachand` is the Prime Minister of____
(A) People of Republic of Nepal
(B) Democratic Republic of Nepal
(C) Republic of Nepal
(D) Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
14. The Legislative Branch of Bangladesh is called_____
(A) National Council
(B) Jatiya Sangsad
(C) National Assembly
(D) Majlis-e-Shoora
15. The Indian Parliament enacted the Right to information Act in
(A) 2003
(B) 2004
(C) 2006
(D) 2005
16. India was put under the direct rule of Queen Victoria for the first time in_____
(A) 1757
(B) 1858
(C) 1877
(D) 1876
17. The ____ holds the post of the Chairman of the Planning Commission in India.
(A) Minister of Planning
(B) Finance Minister
(C) Minister of Human Resource Development
(D) Prime Minister
18. The Legislative branch of the USA has a bicameral system; one is called the senate and the other; the ____
(A) Congress
(B) House of Representative
(C) House of Commons
(D) National Assembly
19. The number of nominated members in Rajya Sabha is
(A) 10
(B) 2
(C) 12
(D) 7
20. Bobby Jindal is the first-ever Indian American who was elected the Governor of_____
(A) Arizona
(B) Lousiana
(C) Oklahoma
(D) Nebraska
21. In the ``Warrant of precedence`` the Speaker of Lok Sabha is placed_____
(A) immediately before the Chairman of Rajya Sabha
(B) immediately before the former President of India
(C) with the Chief Justice of India
(D) after the Union Cabinet Ministers
22. The target for the growth performance in the Tenth Five Year Plan was eight per cent but the actual growth was___per cent.
(A) 7
(B) 7.8
(C) 7.2
(D) 6.7
23. In 2008 the Chief Guest in the Republic Day parade in New Delhi was____
(A) Nicholas Sarkozy; President of France
(B) Gordon Brown; Prime Minister of the UK
(C) Hu Jintoo; President of the Republic of China
(D) Hamid Karzal; President of Afghanistan
24. The first coalition government of the Republic of India was formed in
(A) 1977
(B) 1989
(C) 1990
(D) 2004
25. The major languages of Malaysia are Bahasa Malay; English; Chinese and ______
(A) Tamil
(B) Telugu
(C) Thai
(D) Punjabi
26. India became a republic in_____
(A) 1947
(B) 1948
(C) 1949
(D) 1950
27. Dadra and Nagar Haveli are a______
(A) Separate union territory
(B) part of Goa
(C) part of Daman and Diu
(D) part of Gujrat
28. The Adjournment Motion in Indian Parliaent is the procedure for the adjournment of the___
(A) House
(B) Normal Business of the House
(C) Question Hour
(D) Zero Hour
29. The first huse of legislation in India was called_____
(A) Imperial Legislative Congress
(B) Central Legislative Congress
(C) Central Legislative Council
(D) Constituent Assembly
30. The first modern Olympic games were held in 1896 in_____
(A) Paris
(B) London
(C) St.Louis
(D) Athens
31. _____won the largest number of gold medals in one Olympic Games.
(A) Mark Spitz
(B) Michael Phelps
(C) Carl Lewis
(D) Usain Bolt
32. The only individual gold medal was won for India by Abhinav Bindra in the ____olymics
(A) 28th
(B) 24th
(C) 27th
(D) 29th
33. The first Asian country to host the prestigious Olympic Games was____
(A) China
(B) Japan
(C) S.Korea
(D) Singapore
34. India won the 2007 IIC World Twenty 20 Championship by defeating___in the final
(A) Australia
(B) Srilanka
(C) Pakistan
(D) South Africa
35. Out of the previously known planets;____has been demoted as a`dwarf planet`.
(A) Uranus
(B) Pluto
(C) Neptune
(D) Jupiter
36. ____is the main constituent of both brass and bronze.
(A) Nickel
(B) Iron
(C) Zinc
(D) Copper
37. The BPO provides______
(A) 24x7 call centre services
(B) non core business services through an outside provider
(C) uninterrupted telephone services
(D) communication to customers at a personal level
38. Nanctechnology is that branch of technology which deals with____
(A) speculative science
(B) the structure and behaviour of materials
(C) biotechnology
(D) manipulation of individual atoms and molecules
39. The virtual reality technology gives us the experience of real life situation in___
(A) a real world
(B) virtual cyberspace
(C) films
(D) multiedia projections
40. Mozquitoes that cause dengue hemorrhagic fever bite people primarily____
(A) during the day time
(B) at night
(C) early in the morning
(D) In the evening
41. The Chikungunya fever is caused by____
(A) protozoan
(B) bacteria
(C) virus
(D) fungi
42. jelly fish is called so because it____
(A) is shaped like jelly
(B) is made up of jelly like substance
(C) can control and expand its body
(D) is also called`sea jelly`
43. APC is a____
(A) palmtop computer
(B) laptop computer
(C) desktop computer
(D) mobile computer
44. Among the genetically modified (GM) food; india produces only______
(A) papaya
(B) rice
(C) mangoes
(D) soyabeans
45. The two astronauts of Indian origin who participatd in the space flights by NASA are Kalpana Chawla and____
(A) R.K Murali
(B) Sunita Williams
(C) Supriya Chakrabarti
(D) G.Madhav Nair
46. The abbreviation BPL stands for___
(A) Business Processing Laws
(B) Below poverty line
(C) Blood pressure level
(D) Bharat petroleum limited
47. RAM stands for____
(A) Rapid Army Manoeuvre
(B) Random Amplified Accessories
(C) Remote Area`s modernisation
(D) Random Access Memory
48. PNR stands for_____
(A) Passenger name recorder
(B) Permanent number record
(C) Public network review
(D) Press network research
49. SMS stands for____
(A) Subscriber`s message server
(B) Satellite message service
(C) Short messaging service
(D) Simple message server
50. LNG stands for______
(A) Light Natural Gas
(B) Liquefied Natural Gas
(C) Liquid Natural Gas
(D) Low-Intensity natural Gas
I. Choose the word/pharse closest in meaning to the following words:51. Timorous
(A) weak
(B) sly
(C) tardy
(D) timid
52. Chiropodist
(A) one who treats spinal coloumn
(B) one who treats feet
(C) one who signs in choir
(D) one who has chapped hands
53. Irate
(A) testy
(B) irriated
(C) enraged
(D) sharp
54. Motely
(A) court jester
(B) confusing
(C) multicultural
(D) offensive joke
55. Imbricate
(A) involve wrongly
(B) copy
(C) arrange in overlapping manner
(D) moisten
56. Shackle
(A) slow down
(B) metal loop
(C) loud laughter
(D) bit
57. Prolix
(A) overweight
(B) relating to population
(C) tedious
(D) constellation
58. Gaffe
(A) rude remark
(B) loud statement
(C) joke
(D) blunder
II Choose the antonym of the following words:
59. Fusty
(A) sweet smelling
(B) chatty
(C) pompous
(D) angry
60. Polyglot
(A) knowing many languages
(B) knowing only one languages
(C) greedy
(D) having one wife
61. Jejune
(A) old
(B) childish
(C) abundant
(D) summer
62. Lithe
(A) tanned
(B) fat
(C) glib
(D) clumsy
III Choose the incorrect part of the sentence.
63. (A) One Who
(B) knows his mind
(C) is usually
(D) treated with respect
64. (A) She is
(B) a sweet child
(C) and an obedient one
(D) isn`t it?
65. (A) Making mistakes
(B) in spelling
(C) and punctuation
(D) are common
66. (A) A fool
(B) and his money
(C) is soon
(D) parted
67. (A) Neither Sita
(B) nor Gita
(C) were
(D) very shy
68. (A) The man
(B) which caught the thief
(C) was given
(D) a medal
69. (A) The treees
(B) and the grass
(C) look green
(D) after the shower
70. (A) The child
(B) wept
(C) at the thought
(D) of she going
71. (A) None of them
(B) are to blame
(C) for the accident
(D) that happened today
IV. Choose the correct preposition to fill in the blank:
72. She never lets a day go___without remembering her friend.
(A) by
(B) past
(C) over
(D) away
73. Will her friend stand___her in her hour of need?
(A) with
(B) on
(C) by
(D) for
74. Have you not got___the cold?
(A) of
(B) by
(C) in
(D) over
75. How can you given___so easily?
(A) up
(B) with
(C) over
(D) on
76. Is the class___yet ?
(A) up
(B) off
(C) over
(D) in
77. She is the best mother___the world.
(A) of
(B) on
(C) in
(D) to78. Have you switched the lights___?
(A) off
(B) up
(C) down
(D) under
79. Have you searched___the bed for the missing toy?
(A) of
(B) under
(C) off
(D) above
v. Choose the answer closest in meaning to the following idoms:
80. Cock and bull story
(A) story about animals
(B) bedtie story
(C) improbable tale
(D) fairy tale
81. A stor in a teacup
(A) a fuss about something trivial
(B) a war treaty
(C) a noisy tea party
(D) mental turmoil
82. To go the extra mile
(A) swift runner
(B) good fortune
(C) extra effort
(D) lose way
83. At sixes and sevens
(A) mathematical ability
(B) cheaper in bulk
(C) disordered
(D) quarrelsome
84. Two left feet
(A) good dancer
(B) clumsy
(C) disabled
(D) communist
85. Finding your feet
(A) feeling lost
(B) being shy
(C) making friends easily
(D) gaining confidence
86. Flash in pan
(A) flait
(B) unsustainable action
(C) sudden occurrence
(D) brainwave
87. Get down to brass tacks
(A) military exercise
(B) down to the basics
(C) demotion at work
(D) down on one`s luck
88. Get out of the wrong side of the bed
(A) bad mood
(B) unlucky day
(C) marital infidelity
(D) sudden accident
V I Choose the answer closest in meaning to the foreign phrases commonly used in English :
89. Primus inter pares
(A) one who wins race
(B) enemy of the people
(C) first among equals
(D) friend to all
90. Non de plume
(A) pet name
(B) pen name
(C) endearment
(D) pseudonym
91. inter alia
(A) between ourselves
(B) confidential matter
(C) among other things
(D) pact between two allies
92. Most juste
(A) inappropiate language
(B) fitting vocabulary
(C) instant justice
(D) legal advice
V II. Choose the correct verb form to fill the blank:
93. I___if I were you
(A) would
(B) could
(C) should
(D) will
94. They___a great deal of trouble over this issue.
(A) have
(B) have had
(C) should have
(D) has
95. You___in the examination.
(A) has failed
(B) have failed
(C) fails
(D) fail

96. The weather report says it___rain tomorrow (A) shall
(B) is
(C) should
(D) will
97. When she woke up it___after three.
(A) was
(B) had been
(C) were
(D) was not
98. If I___the accused I should plead quilty.
(A) was
(B) had been
(C) were
(D) was not
99. We___this road before.
(A) have walked
(B) has walked
(C) walked
(D) will walk
100. The patient___to the doctor regularly.
(A) has been
(B) has been going
(C) been
(D) to be