Directions (1-7) Read the given passage carefully and answer the following questions. Certain parts have been highlighted to help answer the questions.
Every year, around one million people die of mosquito-borne diseases according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This is why mosquitoes are considered one of the deadliest living creatures on the planet — not because they are lethal themselves, but because many of the viruses and parasites they transmit are.
In the absence of an effective vaccine for dengue fever, Zika fever, chikungunya and other mosquito-borne diseases, researchers have developed genetic strategies to reduce mosquito populations. One such strategy involves the release into the wild of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes that express a lethal gene — a strategy believed to have little impact on the overall DNA of wild populations of mosquitoes.
The transfer of new genes from GM organisms to wild or domesticated non-GM populations is a key criticism of GM crops like soybean and corn. There are concerns that the introduction of GM genes into non-target species could have negative consequences for both human and environmental health.
Oxitec, a company that spun out of research at Oxford University in the early 2000s, developed and trademarked GM Friendly™ mosquitoes (also known as strain OX513A of Aedes aegypti). These male GM mosquitoes have what the company describes as a “self-limiting” gene, which means that when these so-called friendly mosquitoes’ mate, their offspring inherit the self-limiting gene which is supposed to prevent them surviving into adulthood.
In theory, when these mosquitoes are released in high numbers, a dramatic reduction in the mosquito population should follow. According to research published by Oxitec researchers in 2015, field trials involving recurring releases of Friendly™ mosquitoes demonstrated a reduction of nearly 95 per cent of target populations in Brazil. In these field trials, experiments were not performed to assess whether GM mosquitoes might persist in the wild.
A recent study from the Powell lab at Yale University has since confirmed that some of the offspring of the GM mosquitoes didn’t succumb to the self-limiting lethal gene and survived to adulthood. They were able to breed with native mosquitoes and thereby introduce some of their genes into the wild population.
Meanwhile, the impact of mosquitoes carrying these new genes remains largely unknown. One significant worry is that a new breed of mosquito might emerge that is more difficult to control. These new genes could also potentially alter evolutionary pressures on viruses carried by mosquitoes, like dengue fever, in unpredictable ways. This includes potentially increasing their virulence or changing their host-insect interactions. These are hypothetical risks that have been raised by scientists, and reflect the need for further study.
1. Why are mosquitoes considered as one of the deadliest living creatures on earth?
(a) Capability to transmit life threatening diseases.
(b) Mosquito bites cause fatal reactions in human beings
(c) Mosquitoes cannot be killed easily
(d) Both (a) and (c)
(e) None of the above
2. What is one of the methods being developed to control population of mosquitoes?
(a) Spraying of pesticides using established procedures.
(b) Introduction of a lethal gene into wild populations of mosquitoes using genetically modified ones.
(c) Not letting any stagnant water build-up near homes
(d) Both (a) and (b)
(e) None of the above
3. What can be the potential side effect(s) of genetically modified mosquito offspring?
(a) Evolution of a breed of mosquitoes which are more difficult to control
(b) Increase in the severity of diseases being currently transmitted by mosquitoes.
(c) Change in host-insect interactions.
(d) Loss of natural populations of mosquitoes
(e) (a), (b) and (c)
4. Which of the statements can be considered as true with respect to the passage given?
(a) Field trials on Genetically modified mosquitoes showed reduction of 96% target populations.
(b) Oxitec trademarked the GM Friendly mosquitoes in 2015.
(c) The female GM mosquito has a self-limiting gene
(d) Both (a) and (b)
(e) None of the above 2
5. What is the desired effect of releasing GM mosquitoes containing the ‘Self-limiting Gene’?
(a) A substantial reduction in the population of mosquitoes.
(b) Birth of mosquitoes without a biting mechanism
(c) Decrease in the number of diseases caused due to mosquitoes
(d) Increase in the number of male mosquitoes.
(e) Both (b) and (c)
6. Which of the following word is similar to deadliest as mentioned in the passage given?
(a) fatal (b) demeaning (c) fulfil
(d) harmless (e) None of the above
7. Which of the statements can be considered as true with respect to the passage given??
(a) GM mosquitoes are able to introduce some of their genes into the wild population.
(b) Mosquitoes having GM genes have been thoroughly researched upon.
(c) Oxitec released its friendly mosquitoes in Brazil
(d) (a) and (c)
(e) All of the above
Directions (8-10): A word has been given in each question and has been used in the sentences given below. Identify the statements where the word has been used in a contextually and grammatically correct manner. If the word has been used correctly in all the statements, mark (e), “All of these”, as your answer.
8. HOSTILE
(i) He made hostile efficiency a key part of his budget plan.
(ii) There has been a hostile reaction to the government’s proposed tax increase.
(iii) The security forces exercised great restraint by not responding to hostile attacks and threats.
(a) Only (i)
(b) Both (i) and (ii)
(c) Both (ii) and (iii)
(d) Only (iii)
(e) All of these
9. VAGUE
(i) The judges determined that the law was too vague to be fairly enforced.
(ii) The merger of these two companies would vague the world’s biggest accounting firm
(iii) The president had a vague reception in Ohio this morning.
(a) Only (i)
(b) Both (i) and (ii)
(c) Both (ii) and (iii)
(d) Only (iii)
(e) All of these
10. ESCALATE
(i) The pedestrian was jaywalking when he escalate the busy street, walking straight into the path of an oncoming vehicle.
(ii) We’ve tried to escalate the most likely problems, but it’s impossible to be prepared for every eventuality.
(iii) The decision to escalate UN involvement has been made in the hopes of a swift end to the hostilities.
(a) Only (i)
(b) Both (i) and (ii)
(c) Both (ii) and (iii)
(d) Only (iii)
(e) All of these
Directions (11-15): In the following question, four sentences are given which may be grammatically and contextually incorrect. You need to find the one which has no error and mark that as your answer. If all the given sentences are incorrect then mark option (e) i.e. ‘all are incorrect’ as your answer.
11. (a) India’s chocolate market is pegged at Rs.11,000 crore, of which premium chocolates can be sized anywhere among 10% and 15%.
(b) South Korea reported 52 new case of coronavirus.
(c) ITC has plans to work with cocoa farmers directly in future.
(d) The company initially invested Rs. 100 crore to set up a greenfield chocolate manufacture facility in Haridwar.
(e) All are incorrect
12. (a) Ratnakar Bank was rename as RBL Bank by the government.
(b) The government expects all the mergers of public sector banks, which were announced in 2019, to become effective from April 1.
(c) Analysts believe that lower gas prices would be bad with exploration
(d) The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation will be regulate the medical devices now.
(e) All are incorrect
13. (a) Mahindra Renewables will sell its entire stake in 3 subsidiaries to CLP India, a part of Hong Kong-based CLP Group, as nearly ₹340 crore.
(b) The agreement will be signed to Doha city between Taliban representatives and U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad.
(c) The U.S. intelligence community publicly concluded that Russia intervened in there security matters.
(d) The injured animal was nursed back to health by the zookeeper and then released back into the wild
(e) All are incorrect 3
14. (a) English language have the potential to connect the world without any barriers
(b) P.K. Sinha was appointed in the PMO when Nripendra Misra, the then Principal Secretary, resigns.
(c) She drink the caramel liquid too fast and was soon too dizzy to stand.
(d) You’re coming to the party, isn’t you?
(e) All are incorrect
15. (a) Tamil Nadu is likely to get three textile parks and a technology research centre under schemes that the Union Ministry of Textiles is formulating.
(b) What is the uses of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?
(c) You have brushed your teeth today?
(d) Rahul had barely nothing to help the poor children.
(e) All are incorrect
Directions (16-20): In the following questions, a sentence is divided into four parts consisting of a highlighted word in each part. Choose the option reflecting the word which is either misspelt or grammatically incorrect. If all the highlighted words are correct, choose option (e) i.e. “all are correct” as your answer choice.
16. The manager balanced (A) the strength (B) of his team against that of their opponent (C) and sighed. (D)
(a) balanced
(b) strength
(c) opponent
(d) sighed
(e) All are correct
17. One evening Rohan pripared (A) a nice supper (B) and put it on low heat in the oven to keep it tepid (C) while his wife dressed. (D)
(a) prepared
(b) supper
(c) tepid
(d) dressed
(e) All are correct
18. She was able to breathe (A) easier when she stood outside the massive(B) fortress (C) that sat on a clearing the size of two footbal (D) fields.
(a) breathe
(b) massive
(c) fortress
(d) football
(e) All are correct
19. From time to time Jack would looking over(A) Mungo’s shoulder, suggesting(B) tactics (C) which invariably proved disastrous.(D)
(a) looking over
(b) suggesting
(c) tactics
(d) disastrous
(e) All are correct
20. Horrified (A) passengers saw Olive stumble (B) and fall of (C) a platform as an express roared (D) in.
(a) Horrified
(b) stumble
(c) fall of
(d) roared
(e) All are correct
Directions (21-25): In the following questions, a grammatically correct and meaningful sentence is given which is divided into five parts, where the first part is fixed and highlighted , in the remaining parts of the sentence namely (A),(B),(C) and (D) You have to arrange the four parts to make a contextually and grammatically meaningful sentence. If no such rearrangement is possible mark (e) as your answer i.e. ‘No rearrangement required’.
21. (A) the merger of Bharti Infratel
(B) the world’s second largest
(C) and Indus Towers will create
(D) tower company
(a) BCDA
(b) CBDA
(c) ACBD
(d) DCAB
(e) No rearrangement is required
22. (A) upcoming visit to India
(B) the long-awaited trade agreement
(C) during US President Donald Trump’s
(D) appears to be off the table
(a) DABC
(b) BDCA
(C) CDAB
(d) ADCB
(e) No rearrangement required
23. (A) Leaders of the Railway Employees Organization
(B) alleged that the government wants to
(C) hand over the rail infrastructure
(D) to the private operators for financial benefit
(a) ADCB
(b) BACD
(c) CDBA
(d) DABC
(e) No rearrangement required
24. (A) China has not yet given
(B) India the go-ahead to send an
(C) to coronavirus hit Wuhan
(D) aircraft with medical supplies
(a) DACB
(b) ABDC
(c) CBDA
(d) BCDA
(e) No rearrangement is required
25. (A) mammals and birds move from
(B) with a change in season, many
(C) one country to another in search of food
(D) and shelter, and for breeding
(a) ACBD
(b) CADB
(c) DABC
(d) BACD
(e) No rearrangement is required
Directions (26-30): 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 out the appropriate word which fits the blank appropriately.
Bumblebees, among the most important pollinators, are in (26) ________________. Fuzzy and buzzy, they excel at spreading pollen and fertilizing many types of wild flora, as well as crucial agricultural crops like tomatoes, blueberries, and squash. But their numbers are (27) ________________. New research using a massive dataset found that the insects are far less common than they used to be; in North America, you are nearly 50 percent less likely to see a bumblebee in any given area than you were prior to 1974. Moreover, several once-common species have (28) __________________ from many areas they were once found, becoming locally extinct in those places. For example, the rusty patched bumblebee, which used to flourish in Ontario, is no longer found in all of Canada—in the U.S., it’s endangered. In a new paper published this week in the journal Science, researchers used a complex modeling process to (29) ________________ that their (30)___________________ is driven in large part by climate change. Specifically, the scientists found that in areas that have become hotter in the last generation, or have experienced more extreme temperature swings, bumblebees are less abundant. In Europe, they are 17 percent less plentiful than they were in the early 20th century. The scientists examined the abundance of 66 species across the two continents.
26. (a) extinct
(b) trouble
(c) dropped
(d) growth
(e) difficult
27. (a) increasing
(b) dripped
(c) removing
(d) dropping
(e) generating
28. (a) multiplied
(b) concerning
(c) disappeared
(d) certain
(e) vanish
29. (a) proposed
(b) recommending
(c) implying
(d) expresses
(e) suggest
30. (a) decline
(b) deteriorate
(c) rejection
(d) lessen
(e) reduced
1. (a); Reading the first paragraph of the passage it can be deduced that the correct answer is option(a).
The relevant sentences of the mentioned sentences have been quoted below:
“This is why mosquitoes are considered one of the deadliest living creatures on the planet — not because they are lethal themselves, but because many of the viruses and parasites they transmit are.”
2. (b); Reading the second paragraph of the passage it can be deduced that the correct answer is
option(b). The sentences of the passage which substantiate this are given below:
“One such strategy involves the release into the wild of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes that express a lethal gene — a strategy believed to have little impact on the overall DNA of wild populations of mosquitoes.”
3. (e); Reading the last paragraph of the passage it can be deduced that the correct answer is
option(e). The relevant sentences of the mentioned sentences have been quoted below:
“One significant worry is that a new breed of mosquito might emerge that is more difficult to control. These new genes could also potentially alter evolutionary pressures on viruses carried by mosquitoes, like dengue fever, in unpredictable ways. This includes potentially increasing their virulence or changing their host-insect interactions.”
4. (e); Reading the passage carefully we can see that none of the sentences given above are factually
correct hence the correct answer will be option (e).
5. (a); Reading the fourth and fifth paras of the passage it can be deduced that the correct answer is
option(a). The relevant sentences of the mentioned sentences have been quoted below: “These male GM mosquitoes have what the company describes as a “self-limiting” gene, which means that when these so-called friendly mosquitoes’ mate, their offspring inherit the self-limiting gene which is supposed to prevent them surviving into adulthood In theory, when these mosquitoes are released in high numbers, a dramatic reduction in the mosquito population should follow.”
6. (a); Among the given words, ‘fatal’ is the synonym of ‘deadliest’. Hence, option (a) is the
most suitable answer choice.
Fatal: causing death.
Demeaning: causing someone to lose their dignity and the respect of others.
7. (d); Reading the above passage it can be seen that the correct statements are (a) and (c). The sentences have been quoted below for your reference- “According to research published by Oxitec researchers in 2015, field trials involving recurring releases of Friendly™ mosquitoes demonstrated a reduction of nearly 95 per cent of target populations in Brazil. A recent study from the Powell lab at Yale University has since confirmed that some of the offspring of the GM mosquitoes didn’t succumb to the self-limiting lethal gene and survived to adulthood. They were able to breed with native mosquitoes and thereby introduce some of their genes into the wild population.”
8. (c); Hostile means showing or feeling opposition or dislike; unfriendly. Therefore, sentence (ii) and (iii) depict the correct usage of the given word. Hence, option (c) is the most suitable answer choice.
9. (a); Vague means thinking or communicating in an unfocused or imprecise way. Therefore, only sentence (i) depicts the correct usage of the given word. Hence, option (a) is the most suitable answer choice.
10. (d); Escalate means increase rapidly. Therefore, only sentence (iii) depicts the correct usage of the given word. Hence, option (d) is the most suitable answer choice.
11. (c); As we go through the analysis of the sentence, we find that the sentence of option (c) is correct.
(a) replace ‘among’ with ‘between’. Among is used for a greater number.
(b) replace ‘case’ with ‘cases’.
(d) replace’ manufacture’ with ‘manufacturing’.
12. (b); As we go through the analysis of the sentence, we find that the sentence of option (b) is correct.
(a) replace ‘rename’ with ‘renamed’.
(c) replace ‘with’ with ‘for’.
(d) replace ‘regulate’ with ‘regulating’.
13. (d); As we go through the analysis of the sentence, we find that the sentence of option (d) is correct.
(a) replace ‘as’ with ‘for’.
(b) replace ‘to’ with ‘in’.
(c) replace ‘there’ with ‘their’.
14. (e); As we go through the sentences, we find that all sentences are incorrect.
(a) replace ‘have’ with ‘has’.
(b) replace ‘resigns’ with ‘resigned’.
(c) replace ‘drink’ with ‘drank’.
(d) replace ‘isn’t’ with ‘aren’t’.
15. (a); As we go through the analysis of the sentence, we find that the sentence in option (a) is correct.
(b) replace ‘uses’ with ‘use’.
(c) interchange ‘have’ with ‘you’ to maintain the interrogative form of the sentence.
(d) replace ‘nothing’ with ‘anything’ because ‘barely’ will not take ‘nothing’ after it.
16. (a); Except “balenced” which is spelt as “balanced” all other words are correctly spelt so our answer choice will be option (a).
17. (a) ; Except “pripared” which is spelt as “prepared” all other words are correctly spelt so our answer choice will be option (a).
18. (d); Except “footbal” which is spelt as “football” all other words are correctly spelt so our answer choice will be option (d).
19. (a); Except “looking over” which is grammatically wrong all other words are correctly spelt and are grammatically flawless so our answer choice will be option (a). Replace “looking over” with “look over”.
20. (c); Except “fall of” which is spelt as “fall off” all other words are correctly spelt so our answer choice will be option (c).
21. (c); The correct rearrangement of the parts of statement will be “ACBD” which will make a grammatically correct and contextually meaningful statement. Hence, option (c) is the most suitable answer choice. The correct statement thus formed will be:
“The merger of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers will create the world’s second largest tower company.”
22. (b); The correct rearrangement of the parts of statement will be “BDCA” which will make a grammatically correct and contextually meaningful statement. Hence, option (b) is the most suitable answer choice. The correct statement thus formed will be:
“The long-awaited trade agreement appears to be off the table during US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to India.”
23. (e); In the given sentence the sentence elaborates on allegations made against the government by leaders of railway employee organisations with respect to their stand on handing over railway infrastructure to private companies. Hence, option (e) is the most suitable answer choice which means the sentence requires no rearrangement. The statement thus formed will be:
“Leaders of the Railway Employees Organization alleged that the government wants to hand over the rail infrastructure to the private operators for financial benefit.”
24. (b); The correct rearrangement of the parts of statement will be “ABDC” which will make a grammatically correct and contextually meaningful statement. The given statement talks about India not being granted the permission to send an aircraft carrying medical supplies to the coronavirus hit Wuhan region. The correct statement thus formed will be:
“China has not yet given India the go-ahead to send an aircraft with medical supplies to coronavirus hit Wuhan.”
25. (d); The correct rearrangement of the parts of statement will be “BACD” which will make a grammatically correct and contextually meaningful statement. The given sentence talks about migration in animals with changing seasons in search of their basic needs. Hence, option (d) is the most suitable answer choice. The correct statement thus formed will be:
“With a change in season, many mammals and birds move from one country to another in search of food and shelter, and for breeding.”
26. (b); The given paragraph is describing the alarming situation of Bumblebees where their numbers are continuously declining. Thus, the most suitable word for the given blank is “trouble”. Hence, option (b) is the correct answer choice.
27. (d); The given paragraph is describing the alarming situation of Bumblebees where their numbers are continuously declining. Thus, the most suitable word for the given blank is “dropping”. All the other words are contextually incorrect. Hence, option (d) is the correct answer choice.
28. (c); The given paragraph is describing the alarming situation of Bumblebees where their numbers are continuously declining. Thus, the most suitable word for the given blank is “disappeared”. All the other words are either grammatically or contextually incorrect. Hence, option (c) is the correct answer choice.
Disappeared means cease to exist or be in use.
Vanish means disappear suddenly and completely.
Certain means able to be firmly relied on to happen or be the case.
29. (e); The most suitable word for the given blank is “suggest”. All the other words are either grammatically or contextually incorrect. Hence, option (e) is the correct answer choice.
30. (a); The given paragraph is describing the alarming situation of Bumblebees where their numbers are continuously declining. Thus, the most suitable word for the given blank is “decline”. All the other words are either grammatically or contextually incorrect. Hence, option (a) is the correct answer choice.