English Quiz for Upcoming IBPS Bank Exams – Set 55 | Passage Completion

Directions (Qs. 1-10): In each of the following questions a short
passage is given with one of the lines in the passage missing and represented
by a blank. Select the best out of the five answer choices given, to make the
passage complete and coherent.

1. There are many industries
where India has an advantage because of relatively lower Costs of all forms of
manpowerwhether it is professional or factory labour. However, while this can
give initial advantage, it should not be taken for an enduring advantage due to
the following reasons. One as products become more sophisticated, labour as
cost factor becomes less and less important. Two, the differences in costs are
narrowed down through higher level of automation. There, in processes that
require large number of cheap labour, the industry is bound to shift its
operation along; the line of the ever-declining scale of poorer countries. So a
poorer country than India can eventually overtake us with yet cheaper labour.
Therefore, when one has established an export market on the basis of cheaper
manpower …………..

(a) One has to be vigilant to
make sure that one builds up other advantages to compensate for the inevitable
loss of this temporary advantage.

(b) One has to be vigilant to
make sure that this advantage should not be given away

(c) One need not be vigilant as
there is no competition in near future

(d) There is need of caution to
see the variations in labour charges of other countries

(e) There is need to build this
cheap labour on regular basis

2. Standards and standardization,
quality systems, certification and inspections, measurement systems, testing
laboratories, their accreditation and calibration service, production and
supply of standard reference materials etc, are all important building blocks.
Quality control through the agency of the Export Inspection Agency leaves much
to be desired. It is often alleged that EIA is actually playing a retrograde
role, although inadvertently. ……………….. (I) The list of items subject to
compulsory export inspection need to be reviewed and shortened. A trimmer EIA
list essential for a modicum of efficiency. (II) EIA should use international
agencies to train people and update the equipment available for those limited
items. (III) The quality development process need to be professionalized by
making use of quality development skills and managerial methods available
around the world. Overall, per-export inspection needs to be greatly
simplified, both in the interests of speedier clearance and less harassment for
the exporters as well as better administration.

(a) EIA is to be scrapped and new
council should be made with following improvements.

(b) This is happening in absence
from a guiding international agency which can suggest a number of measures.

(c) This needs to be corrected.

(d) EIA is short of experience
and therefore such a negative effect.

(e) Why was EIA formed in the
first place …?

3. The International Monetary
Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the International Trade Organization were
conceived at the Breton woods Conference in July,1944 as institutions to
strengthen international economic cooperation and to help create a more stable
and prosperous global economy. While the IMF and the World Bank come into
existence and started functioning from 1946, the International Trade
Organization could not be set up. Instead, the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT) was set up in 1947. Through successive round of negotiations, the
GATT got transformed into what has come to be known as the World Trade
Organization (WTO) that started functioning from January1, 1995. The various
institutions have set up to govern international economic relations. While all
the institutions work in close coordination with each other……………..

(a) Each of the institutions is
independent

(b) Each of the these
institutions works with different focus in different direction

(c) Each of these institutions
has its own specific area of responsibilities

(d) Each of these institutions
has major role to play in each other’s work

(e) Each of these institutions
has imprint of its work on other’s performance

4. ADB finances principally
specific projects in the region. It may make loans to or invest in the projects
concerned. It may also guarantee loans granted to the projects. Most of the
loans granted are hard loans or tired loans. However, loans form special funds
set aside by the ADB up to 10 per cent of its paid-up capital are granted under
soft loan term for which purpose it has set up a separate window known as the
Asian Development Fund (ADF). Soft loans are normally granted to projects of
high development priority requiring longer periods of repayment with lower
rates of interest. ADB normally finances foreign exchange cost of the project
and the loan in repayable in the currency in which it is made. India has been
eligible for assistance both under the ADB and its soft loan window,
ADF……………… However, it has been getting large assistance under the ADB.

(a) But India does not need any
assistance from ADB.

(b) But India is not a member of
ADB

(c) But India is not interested
in ADB aids.

(d) But India has stayed away
from the ADB

(e) But India is against ADB.

5. In the planned economy of
India, foreign capital has been assigned a significant role, although it has
been changing over time. In the earlier phase of planning, foreign capital was
looked upon as a means to supplement domestic investment. Many concession and
incentives were given to foreign investors. Later on, however, the emphasis
shifted to encouraging technological collaboration between India entrepreneurs
and foreign entrepreneurs. In more recent times, efforts are on to invite free
flow of foreign capital …………………..

(a) It would be instructive in
this background to examine the Government’s policy towards foreign capital.

(b) It would be instructive in
this background to examine the World Bank’s policy towards foreign capital in
India

(c) Let us keep our fingers
crossed and look for the next parliamentary session for debate on the issue

(d) Issue of Foreign capital is
fragile and can be discussed only with relevant statistical figures in hand

(e) New changes are waiting in
the line.

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6. FDI may actually be harmful to
the recipient country if the economy is highly protected and foreign investment
takes place behind high tariff walls. This type of investment is generally
referred to as the tariff-jumping’ variety of foreign investment, whose primary
objective is to take advantage of the protected markets in the host country.
The longer the Government shields its home market with tariffs…………… and more
acute will be the conflict between it and the domestic entrepreneur. In view of
this, an appropriate policy framework must respond to two conflicting
objectives: the need to liberalize rules governing such investment in view of
the growing integration of the world economy, and the need to ensure that such
investment has positive effects on the country’s economy and does not lead to
negative welfare effects.

(a) The more the foreign
countries to apply pressure on India

(b) The more the foreign money to
come in India

(c) The more the foreigner will
come to exploit that protected market

(d) The more the foreigner to
protest against that government

(e) The more the foreigner will
raise the issue on international platform

7. The Indian constitution
provides for demarcation of functional responsibilities and finances between
the Centre and the States. The provision of public services has been largely
entrusted to the States. These mainly relate to law and order, public health,
sanitation, water supply and agriculture. The States have to concurrently take
certain functions in areas such as education, infrastructure. Their share in
combined expenditure (Centre and States) on social services is about 85 per
cent, while in the case of economic services; it is about 60 per cent. Thus,
the States have the primary responsibility to undertake tasks pertaining to
developing social and economic infrastructure. However, their ability to
undertake such development functions is critically determined by their financial
position. The growing importance of state finances in the macro-economy is
evident from the fact……………… The size of overall development expenditures of
the states has always been higher than that of the Centre and the difference
has got widened rather significantly in the 1990s.

(a) That the States have overrun
their planned expenditures and lacking freedom of further development

(b) That the States have reached
at the peak of their finances and overtaken Centres in revenues

(c) That Centre borrows money
from the states for its expenditures on educational and social welfare
programmes

(d) That the total expenditures
of State governments has even undertaken those of the Centre

(e) That the total expenditures
of State and Center has widened unprecedentedly in 1990s.

8. A budget is a statement
containing a forecast of revenues and expenditures for a period of time,
usually a year. It is a comprehensive plan of action designed to achieve the
policy objectives set by the Government for the coming year. A budget is plan
and a budget document is reflection or what Government expects to do in future.
While any plan need not be a budget, a budget has to be necessarily a pan. It
shows detailed allocation to resources and proposed taxation or other measures
for their realization. A budget is, however, not a balanced sheet (exhibiting
total assets and liabilities) of the Government on a particular date- is a
financial blueprint for action and is, therefore, of great advantage to
Government departments, legislatures and citizens. The budget of government
expresses its total activity in figures…………………………..

(a) A budget reflects what the
Government is doing or intends to do.

(b) A budget is a legal document

(c) A budget is a promise of
Government to its people

(d) A budget is a guideline for
State Governments

(e) A budget is only a plan on
papers that have never been achieved

9. For a federal country like
India, the budget of the Government of India is the most important instrument
for implementing various economic and social objectives. The budgets of state
government affect local activities. The Government of India budget influences
the whole economy. The latter tries to bring about growth with social justice
through its budget; it influences regional, functional and overall distribution
of income and wealth through its expenditure (transfer) payments, investments
and tax policies. The provisions of grants and loans to State governments and
Union Territories and to the private sector and various subsidies (such as for
export promotion, food grains distribution, etc.) are some of the elements of
Central government budget policy for promoting growth and income distribution.
…………………. Its significance lies in its ability to promote the various objectives
of a modern state which has assumed the role of a welfare state and of a
catalytic agent for promoting growth with social justice.

(a) A budget in modern times
should, therefore not be judged sound or otherwise merely on the basis of its
‘deficit’ or ‘surplus’ or ‘balanced’ position

(b) A budget is therefore not
only instrument of implementing the economic and social objectives but it is
also about growth with social justice

(c) A budget is a reflection of
success or failure of a government

(d) A budget in modern times should,
therefore not be judged on its face value

(e) A budget in this turbulence
time cannot be judged on basis of monetary indices of ‘surplus’ or ‘deficits’

10. After the East Asia crisis,
the World Bank conducted a study on the underlying reasons for the crisis. It
was found that at least a major part of the fundamental responsibility was on
banks, which had understated their non-performing accounts by as much as 47%.
Since this was a study and not an investigation…………….. Nevertheless, the Basel
committee on supervision did take cognizance, and issued circulars and
directives not only on supervision, but also on Internal Functional Management.
It will be remembered by those interested that Basel committee had also acted
expeditiously after the Barring Bank’s failure, to separate treasury and
lending operations from the decision making processes. Bank failures are
nothing new in the world, although we in India have been insulated from such
traumas for more than two decades.

(a) The findings were not taken note
of

(b) The findings were not taken
seriously

(c) The findings were not legally
binding on any one

(d) The fallout from this
revelation was only taken note of

(e) The fallout from this
revelation was seriously taken

1. (a) Passage is about the cheap
labour and its advantage while competition from the other countries with even
cheaper labour is there. Part before the blank space discusses the same thing
like overtaking from these cheaper countries. Next part should have something
(as sentence starts with ‘therefore’) that makes India vigilant about the fact
and option (a) is having that part additionally it contains the information how
India should build on the advantage it had of cheap labour as discussed in
major part of the passage; hence, this is the best sentence to finish the
passage. From the other options, (b) is second best and can be an option in
absence of (a). Option (c) ,(d),(e) are not logical.

2. (c) Option (a) is wrong as
scrapping of the EIA is not discussed in any part of the passage. Rather
improvement is discussed in subsequent part after the blank space. Option (b)
and (e) are totally out of place as these do not go in with theme of passage.
Only option which is brief and accurate for the blank space and connects two
parts of passage is (c). As this is a general statement and can be inserted in
without affecting the sense in which passage is flowing. Option (d) is also not
right for its negative approach.

3. (c) It has been already given
that all the institutes work in coordination; so, option (d) and (e) is
redundant and repeating same thing in different manner. Sentence indicates that
though these institutions work in coordination these are having different
responsibilities to shoulder. But again there are two options which are nearly
saying same thing -option (b) and Option (c). But in option (b) ‘different
direction’ is not right. If they are working in different directions, then what
is the need of coordinating? Option (a) is not correct for the context.

4. (d) Statement after the blank
space contradicts what is said in the option (a). So it is not right.
Membership is not being discussed here so option (b) is also not right. Reason
of option (a) goes with option (c) also. Option (e) is totally wrong. Only
option which comes appropriate with the passage content and position of blank
space is option (d).

5. (a) Option (e) is too general
and can be avoided. Option b) is not right as Issue is related to the India not
the world, so role of World Bank looks irrelevant in this context. Discussion
in parliament is too farfetched in option (c). Option (a) rightly indicates
that Indian Government’s policy for the matter discussed in passage would be
instructive. Option (d) is out of context for its deviation from the topic.

6. (c) Market is being discussed
here not the countries. Option (e) is fit for the context but not for the place
of the blank space where immediately before it shielding the markets is being
described and immediately after conflict between the Indian and foreign entrepreneur
is given. Conflict of countries is not given. So this open is too wide in its
scope for the blank space and hence cannot be appropriate. Other options are
inappropriately distant from the context.

7. (d) Passage is a comparison of
Centre and State Government’s plans, finances and expenditures. In this
particular portion of passage which has the blank part, it is mentioned that
State finances are increasing at rapid rate and now they have more liberty for
spending on expenditures; meanwhile, a comparison is also done with centre’s
expenditures in part following the blank space; so, option (d) which
encompasses this sense of part of passage is correct filler. Option (a) is
opposite of what is being said in the passage. Option (b) and (c) discusses
revenues and borrowing of centre which is not mentioned or intended in the
passage so these are incorrect. Option (e) is repetition of what is given in
statement after the blank space.

8. (a) Option (e) is doubtful as
it seems to be judgment than a closing sentence. Legality of budget cannot be
ascertained through the passage. It is not a promise either. Only option (a)
captures the theme of passage in single sentence. Hence it is the finishing
sentence.

9. (a) Blank part should take
some common perception of budget as the passage wants to indicate that the
budget is not this…. but it is that…… and option (a) in best captures the
essence of this logic.

10. (d) As a study report is not
a legal document it is not binding on anyone. Sentence represents study in a lighter
vein so it must not be taken seriously but as the study is done there must be
some purpose of it and results at least is taken note of. This logic brings to
the option (d) which is correct part to complete the incomplete sentence of
passage.