English Quiz – Passage Completion – 12

Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here is a set of English Quiz based on Passage Completion for Bank and Insurance Mains exams.

 

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. (______________________________)..and the proponents of market reforms have no plans for those who do not have the resources and income to buy even two meals a day. The signals are clear that those who cannot pay for their food have no right to survive. These poorer sections of society are reduced to mere victims, beneficiaries, clients and recipients. In this dichotomous relationship, the state is seen as the ‘dole giver’ and the people the ‘dole receiver’. It must be recognized that irrespective of market-governed politics, people remain bound to survival, livelihood and identity issues.

(a) The governments have ceased to govern.

(b) When the market is allowed to govern, the government becomes powerless to effect any radical social changes.

(c) Elections have failed to make democracy distributive and justice oriented.

(d) It is about market reforms and absence of plans for the poorest of the poor.

(e) A patron-client relationship defines modern governments and the masses.

 

2. To succeed in today’s crowded marketplace where most of the products and advertising look exactly the same, a small business owner must stand out, shouting above the din with a message so clear and compelling that prospects stop and take notice. It’s a matter of business survival. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs quickly retreat to the supposed security of sameness, soon to be lost in a sea of anonymity and a tidal wave of frustration. In effect, albeit at a subconscious level, they are saying, “I don’t want to be different”. In back room offices and store fronts everywhere, salespeople are telling business owners they should do this or that kind of ad because it worked so great for their competitor. The owners nod and sign on. It’s already proven to be a winner, right? WRONG (______________________________)

(a) To make your advertising work, follow the principle if your competition is doing it, don’t.

(b) Following your competitor is a sure recipe for disaster.

(c) Win the battle without a fight.

(d) It will fill people with a sense of déjà vu.

(e) You will do it at your own peril.

 

3. Google, the internet powerhouse, seeks to organize the entire world’s information. The company has told publishers it will delay until November its work on copyrighted texts and will not scan any items that the copyright owner does not want included. The Assn. of American Publishers was outraged by this offer, saying Google is trying to turn copyright law inside out. Google should have to ask permission to copy a book for its database, they say, it shouldn’t be up to publishers to object. Google argues that it is making a fair use of the books. The dispute could easily wind up in the courts. Building a guide to the contents of books is hardly the same as making bootlegged copies or plagiarizing. It’s a monumental and costly task, and publishers have given no reason to believe they can do it for themselves. Unless their works are as well integrated with the Net as other forms of information and entertainment, they may be left waiting on the shelves for an audience that no longer bothers to walk through the stacks…(______________________________)

(a) This has put both the internet search engine and the publishers on an unwarranted collision course

(b) Since the case might drag on for years to the detriment of both the parties, an out of court settlement is well advised

(c) Isn’t it rather difficult, or even in fructuous to protect copyright on published text in this internet age?

(d) Perhaps both the parties ought to try and appreciate the other ’s viewpoint, as well as legitimate apprehensions, but with the overall goal of the public good in mind.

(e) Meanwhile, Google should show more respect for publishers’ rights – and publishers should not make the mistake of using the strictures of copyright law to tie their own hands.

 

 

4. Relations between the factory and the dealer are distant and usually strained as the factory tries to force cars on the dealers to smooth out production. Relations between the dealer and the customer are equally strained because dealers continuously adjust prices – make deals – to adjust demand with supply while maximizing profits. This becomes a system marked by a lack of long-term commitment on either side, which maximize feelings of mistrust. In order to maximize their bargaining positions, everyone holds back information – the dealer about the product and the consumer about his true desires (______________________________)

(a) As a result, ‘deal making’ becomes rampant, without concern for customer satisfaction.

(b) As a result, inefficiencies creep into the supply chain.

(c) As a result, everyone treats the other as an adversary, rather than as an ally.

(d) As a result, fundamental innovations are becoming scarce in the automobile industry.

(e) As a result, everyone loses in the long run.

 

 

5. The tax system of India encourages borrowing by granting its taxpayers tax relief for interest paid on loans. The system also discourages saving by taxing any interest earned on savings. Nevertheless, it is clear that India’s tax system does not consistently favour borrowing over saving, for if it did, there would be no (______________________________)

(a) tax relief in India for those portions of a taxpayer’s income, if any, that are set aside to increase that taxpayer’s total savings.

(b) tax relief in India for the processing fees that taxpayers pay to lending institutions when obtaining certain kinds of loans.

(c) tax relief in India for interest that taxpayers are charged on the unpaid balance in credit card accounts.

(d) taxes due in India on the cash value of gifts received by taxpayers from banks trying to encourage people to open savings accounts.

(e) taxes due in India on the amount that a taxpayer has invested in interest-bearing savings accounts.

 

 

6. (______________________________). Unemployment typically continues to rise even after GDP starts to increase, so pain for workers is far from over. Already 9.5% of the workforce is unemployed, and all of country’s metropolitan areas reported unemployment rates of at least 10% in June. More jobless will probably mean less shopping and a slower recovery. The latest consumer-confidence numbers show that people are jittery. The quarterly GDP report also makes it clear that consumer spending, which rose slightly in the first quarter, dropped again in the second, by 1.2%. The good news, therefore, was more a result of government stimulus than evidence of a real, sustainable recovery in private demand.

(a) A greater worry is the bleeding in country’s labour market.

(b) The Finance Department has revised its estimates of just how bad 2008 really was.

(c) Figures released by Commerce Department confirmed what most had been expected

(d) New GDP figures suggest some hope for country’s economy. But the pain is far from over.

(e) House prices still have a long way to go before they return to the level of a year ago

 

 

7. Everything in New Delhi is extreme. It is a city of the incredibly rich and the miserably poor. For the rich, there are expensive private schools and hospitals, concert halls and theatres – although fewer of those than formerly – and restaurants. The poor are on a hiding to nowhere: all public facilities, schools and hospitals and housing, are deteriorating. But then there are some world known social workers in it. There are thousands of heroin addicts, and an equal number of carriers of the Aids virus. (______________________________)This is Delhi for you.

(a) But then there are thousands of people who are social workers

(b) But then some of rarest examples of humanity come from this city

(c) But then there is a faith in the City

(d) But then there are people addict to charity and altruism also.

(e) But then there are people who are totally against the drugs and faithful to their partners

 

 

 

8. Computers are used in banks for a variety of reasons. They help bank personnel operate more efficiently and effectively. Computers are used to track certain transactions and they help process other customer information as well. Without computers, it would be very hard for a bank to offer good customer service day in and day out. Computers help a bank save time and money, and can be used as an aid to generate profits. In nutshell they have become indispensible part of the banks. Bank personnel become so helpless in absence of their machine that nervousness is evident on their faces while technical glitch renders the computer systems dysfunctional for a small period of time. (______________________________) once again queues starts to move and crowd starts to thin with fingers starting to work on keyboards; nervousness has made way for confidence of knowing everything at just a click of mouse.

(a) Crowd starts to swell and nervousness starts to turn in fear of failure.

(b) A sense of relief spreads as the problem gets rectified.

(c) There is a condition of traffic jam in banks and everything comes to a halt.

(d) It is not their fault and they are excused for it.

(e) Technology comes with its own disadvantages

 

 

 

9. Some of the world’s most expensive land can be found in central Mumbai (______________________________) However, housing costs are distinctly lower in Mumbai’s suburbs, surrounding prefectures and in other regions and cities of India. Additional commuting costs are often more than compensated by the savings on the rent, especially as many companies pay part or all of their employees’ commuting expenses. If you prefer to live close to city centers, rented houses are an inexpensive option to consider. Utilities such as gas, water and especially electricity are expensive, and phone rates are high. For international calls, consider internet phones, callback services and other offers for the expat community.

(a) Consequently; even tiny apartments in the city center are very expensive

(b) This land is unauthorized land usurped by Land Mafia in the city

(c) A new bubble – Reality bubble similar to housing bubble of West is waiting to burst

(d) City is breathing on its seams

(e) The prices will continue to rise till Government comes out with an effective policy for reality prices in coming months

 

10. Now digest the main historical event of this week: China has officially become the world’s second-biggest economy, overtaking Japan. In the West this has prompted concerns about China overtaking the United States sooner than previously thought. But stand back a little farther, apply a more Asian perspective (______________________________)These two Asian giants, which until 1800 used to make up half the world economy, are not, like Japan and Germany, mere nation states. In terms of size and population, each is a continent-and for all the glittering growth rates, a poor one.

(a) China’s longer-term contest is with that other recovering economic behemoth: India

(b) China’s longer term contest with USA is going to end in near future

(c) China is now focusing on Asian Market space more than other markets

(d) China is going in tandem with other Asian economy – India

(e) China’s long term border dispute with India affects Asian economy’s growth rate

Regards

Team EP