Allahabad Bank Clerk English Practice Paper 6

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

 

Keshav and Yash lived in neighbouring villages. Once, a fair was held nearby and they set off from their homes hoping to do some business there. Keshav filled his sack with cheap cotton, overlaid it with a layer of fine wool, and set off for the fair. Meanwhile Yash, collected some old clothes, put a layer of sheer cotton on top and made his way to the fair. Each stopped to rest under a tree and got to talking. “I have the finest wool in my sack,” boasted Keshav Not to be outdone, Yash said, “I have cotton of the most superior quality.”
The two struck a deal. They would exchange their goods and since wool was more expensive, Yash would pay Keshav an extra rupee. But Yash had no money on him. So after agreeing to pay Keshav later, they went home, laughing at each other’s folly. It did not take them long to discover that they had been duped. The next day, Keshav landed at Yash’s house. “You cheat! Give me my rupee at least.” Yash was untroubled by Keshav’s words, “Of course. But first help me find the treasure at the bottom of this well. We can divide it.” So Keshav went into the well. But each time Yash, hauled up the bucket Keshav had filled, he said, “Oh ! No treasure here. Try again.” Keshav soon realized he was being used as free labour to clean the
well. So he gave a loud shout, “Here is the treasure! Watch out it’s heavy !” Yash was amazed that there actually was treasure in the well. As soon as he pulled up the bucket he threw away the rope so that Keshav could not come up. But, what did he find in the bucket ? Keshav covered in mud ! They began fighting again. Soon it got too dark to continue and they left for their homes.
But Keshav did not give up easily. He arrived at Yash’s house a few days later. Yash spotted him and told his wife, “I will pretend to be dead. Keshav will have to give up.” But when Keshav heard Yash’s wife wailing, he rushed out to gather the villagers. “My friend has died. Let’s take his body for cremation.” Yash’s wife got scared, “Go away. I shall arrange for cremation myself !” But the villagers thought she was too grief stricken. Once they reached the cremation ground, Keshav told the villagers, “It is getting dark. I shall watch over him during the night.” When the villagers had left, Keshav said to Yash, “Stop pretending. Give me my money !” Now, a gang of thieves came upon them and seeing one figure seated on the funeral pyre and another standing next to him talking, they assumed them to be ghosts and dropped their bag of stolen goods and left at top speed. The two, saw the bag full of gold and silver ornaments and divided it between themselves. Keshav made sure he got an extra gold coin and the account was settled at last!


1. What made the two young men decide to visit the fair ?
(A) They thought they could get jobs and support themselves
(B) They wanted to trade their goods at the fair and earn some money
(C) To sell the produce they had grown for a handsome profit
(D) Being unemployed they thought they could entertain people at the fair
(E) Not clearly mentioned in the passage
Ans : (B)


2. What were Keshav and Yash quarrelling about ?
(A) The cost of wool                    (B) The interest on the loan Yash had taken
(C) Dividing the thieves’ treasure equally             (D) The money Yash owed Keshav
(E) The wages for digging the well
Ans : (D)


3. Why were the two men happy despite not going to the fair ?
(A) They had managed to buy whatever they needed on the way
(B) They had got a good deal in exchange for a rupee
(C) They had become fast friends and had made a lot of money in the bargain
(D) Each thought he had got the better deal and had swindled the other
(E) None of the above
Ans : (D)


4. Why did the villagers gather at Yash’s house ?
(A) Yash’s wife was very upset seeing Keshav and her husband arguing
(B) To help Yash’s wife carry Yash’s body home as night had fallen
(C) To give Yash’s wife the news of her husband’s death
(D) They wanted to keep watch over Yash’s wife during the night
(E) None of the above
Ans : (E)


5. Why did Yash request Keshav to go down into the well ?
(A) He knew Keshav was smart and would clean it thoroughly
(B) He was in search of treasure that he had buried
(C) To trick Keshav into cleaning it                    (D) His wife had refused to help him
(E) To make Keshav earn the extra gold coin
Ans : (C)


6. Which of the following cannot be said about the two young men ?
(a) They were lazy and made their wives work.    (b) They were a match for each other in shrewdness.
(c) They were dishonest and tried to swindle each other.
(A) Only (a), (B) Only (a) and (c), (C) Only (b) and (c), (D) All (a), (b) and (c), (E) None of the above
Ans : (A)


7. Why did Keshav get an extra gold coin from the thieves’ treasure ?
(A) As payment for digging the well
(B) It was the amount Yash owed Keshav for protecting him from the thieves
(C) As repayment of the rupee that Yash owed him
(D) It was his idea to spend the night at the cremation ground
(E) He had proved to be cleverer than Yash
Ans : (C)


8. What was Keshav’s reaction to Yash’s presumed ‘death’ ?
(A) He immediately sent for the villagers to comfort Yash’s wife
(B) He was very upset because he realized that he would never recover his money
(C) He paid for all Yash’s funeral arrangements
(D) He could not be consoled and kept a watch over Yash’s body all night
(E) He knew Yash was pretending and decided to trick him too
Ans : (E)


9. What frightened the thieves ?
(A) The sight of what they thought were the spirits of the dead
(B) The realization that the villagers would soon return
(C) Someone had discovered their hiding place
(D) Their loot had been stolen by other thieves
(E) The villagers had lit a funeral pyre for them
Ans : (A)


10. Which of the following is not true in the context of the passage ?
(A) Keshav was persevering by nature
(B) There was no treasure buried in Yash’s well
(C) Keshav guarded Yash’s body because he knew thieves lived there
(D) Yash’s wife supported her husband in his crooked dealings
(E) Neither Keshav nor Yash could be trusted to keep his word
Ans : (C)


Directions—(Q. 11–13) Which of the following is most similar in meaning to the word given in bold as used in the passage ?

11. Discover: (A) Invent , (B) Explore, (C) Locate, (D) Realize, (E) Research            Ans : (D)
12. Struck;   (A) Reached, (B) Impacted, (C) Slapped, (D) Attacked, (E) Occurred    Ans : (A)
13. Top:  (A) Height, (B) Lid, (C) Finest, (D) Upper, (E) Maximum                             Ans : (B)


Directions—(Q. 14–15) Which of the following is most opposite in meaning to the word given in bold as used in the passage ?
14. Dark: (A) Bright , (B) Cheerful, (C) Shadow, (D) Fair, (E) Shining,              Ans : (A)
15. Free: (A) Occupied, (B) Paid, (C) Captured, (D) Busy, (E) Dependent         Ans : (B)


Directions—(Q. 16–25) Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical mistake/error in it. The error if any, will be in one part of the sentence. Mark the letter of the part with error as your answer. If there is no error, mark (E).
16. In order to (A) / attract tourists many (B) / hotels have been offered (C) / attractive deals and discounts. (D)
Ans : (C)
17. The Board is likely (A) / to take its time (B) / to examine the facts (C) / before giving their decision. (D)
Ans : (D)
18. How can we open (A) / these branches on time (B) / if we have not (C) / yet obtained the licences ? (D)
Ans : (C)
19. One of the disadvantage (A) / of fixed deposit schemes (B) / is that banks offer (C) / low rates of interest. (D)
Ans : (A)
20. According to experts, it is (A) / necessarily for you to save (B) / and invest at least twenty-five (C) / percent of your monthly income. (D)
Ans : (B)
21. The manager has not (A) / yet replied to the (B) / customer letter asking (C) / about her loan application. (D)
Ans : (C)
22. While the formation of RBI (A) / was approved in March, 1934 (B) / it was inaugurated (C) / only in April 1, 1935. (D)
Ans : (D)
23. The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority has (A) / asked all insurance (B) / companies submitting their (C) / balance sheets by June. (D)
Ans : (C)
24. Arun’s father has been ill (A) / since last year and Arun (B) / has spend his entire (C) / savings on his treatment. (D)
Ans : (C)
25. There are a large number (A) / of Chinese workers which (B) / are employed by (C) / software companies in India. (D)
Ans : (B)


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. There are few (A) differents (B) between (C) these two marketing proposals. (D)
Ans : (B)
27. Most (A) banks have been hiring (B) staff for their corporate (C) banking divisions. (D)
Ans : (B)
28. The interest rate for postal deposits is fixed (A) by the government and usually (B) remains (C) stable. (D)
Ans : (D)
29. Companies (A) will benefit (B) if the Finance Ministry decides to lesser (C) taxes in this budget. (D)
Ans : (C)
30. Compare (A) to private (B) banks, we have a larger (C) network (D) of branches in North India. 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.

A poor man was once travelling through the desert. Feeling thirsty and tired, he began to …(31)… for water. At last finding a stream, he …(32)… to his knees and drank the water which …(33)… very sweet. He filled up his bottle …(34)… continued on. After several days journey, he …(35)… the palace and got an opportunity to …(36)… the King. As a mark of …(37)… he
presented the King with the bottle …(38)… water. The King tasted the water, and …(39)… rewarded the man. All the courtiers …(40)… to taste the water but the King refused. When the man had left overjoyed, the king explained why he had acted so strangely. “After such a long journey, the water was foul tasting. I could not risk anyone showing, his disgust for a gift which was so sincerely given! For this reason alone I reserved the tasting of the water for myself.”
31. (A) desire, (B) pursue, , C) need, (D) obtain, (E) search
Ans : (E)
32. (A) fell, (B) drop, (C) jumped, (D) leaped, (E) sat
Ans : (D)
33. (A) looked, (B) tasted, (C) flavour, (D) became, (E) sample
Ans : (B)
34. (A) before, (B) soon, (C) and, (D) that, (E) however
Ans : (C)
35. (A) came, (B) reached, (C) built, (D) seen, (E) arrived
Ans : (B)
36. (A) meet, (B) receive, (C) homage, (D) acquaint, (E) welcome
Ans : (A)
37. (A) rebuke, (B) regards, (C) regret, (D) respect, (E) reverend,
Ans : (D)
38. (A) had, (B) of, (C) filled, (D) contained, (E) full,
Ans : (B)
39. (A) foolishly, (B) hasty, (C) similarly, (D) selfishly, (E) generously
Ans : (E)
40. (A) began, (B) hoping, (C) begged, (D) anxious, (E) wish
Ans : (C)

Allahabad Bank Clerk English Practice Paper 12

Allahabad Bank Clerk Exam., 2010 English Language : Solved Paper
( Pls visit to the VIGYAAPANS also)

[Held on 14-3-2010(First Shift)Based on Memory]

Directions—(Q. 1 to 15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

In a village in the East, there lived an old couple. They did not have any children and never spent an extra paisa on themselves. They never repaired their house or cooked good food. One day, a family moved into the village, it was their son’s second birthday and they sent two delicious laddoos to the old couple. The couple ate the laddoos with great relish. For days after they could talk of nothing else. Finally the old man could take it no more. He said to his wife, “Let’s buy the ingredients to make just two laddoos.” His wilfe agreed but said, “If I make the laddoos at home, the neighbours will know and will want a share. Let’s cook in the woods behind our hut. That way no one will ever know.”

The next day the old man purchased the ingredients from the market and they set off to the woods. Having never prepared food like this before, they ended up with three laddoos instead of two. The old couple returned home with the sweets, dying to eat them. But there was a problem. “It was my idea and I went to the market, so I ought to get two,” said the old man. But his wife refused to give in so easily and said, “Since I prepared the sweets. I ought to have two.” The day wore on and the argument continued.

At last, the old man suggested, “Let us not talk to each other. Whoever breaks the silence first will get one laddoo and the other person two.” His wife agreed. Hours passed, but neither of them spoke and finally they fell asleep with the bowl of sweets between them. That evening one of the neighbours knocked on the door but the couple did not answer for fear of losing the bet. Peering through the window, the man saw the couple lying on the floor with an untouched bowl of food. “They are dead !” he shouted and alerted the other villagers. Soon the door was broken down and the house was swarming with villagers. They discussed everything from the funeral to where the couple had hidden their wealth. But the couple lay still.

Finally, the villagers carried them to the cremation ground. As the flames licked his feet, the old man jumped up screaming “You win !” His wife jumped up too, happy that she had won. The two then rushed home leaving the bewildered villagers present there behind. But when they got home…Alas the door had been left open and they found a stray dog licking the last crumbs of the sweets from the bowl.

1. Why did the old couple cook in the woods ?
(A) It was very convenient to gather firewood
(B) To avoid the risk of their hut burning down
(C) To keep the fact that they were preparing laddoos a secret from their neighbours
(D) To hide the fact that they did not know how to prepare laddoos from their neighbours
(E) They did not have the ingredients to make enough laddoos for their neighbours as well
Ans : (C)

2. What caused the old couple’s sudden longing for laddoos ?
(A) They hadn’t eaten good food for several days
(B) They had attended their neighbour’s party and enjoyed the laddoos served
(C) They saw the mouth watering laddoos being served to guests at the party
(D) They had tasted the laddoos prepared for their neighbour’s son’s birthday
(E) They thought that the laddoos would satisfy their hunger for days to come
Ans : (D)

3. Why did the old couple initially not reveal that they were alive to the villagers ?
(A) To learn the villagers’ true opinion of them
(B) They did not like the villagers and were mocking them
(C) Neither of them wanted to be the first to speak and lose the bet
(D) To test the honesty of the villagers
(E) None of the above
Ans : (C)


4. What did the old couple disagree about ?
(A) Where they would cook their meal, (B) Which of them was entitled to the first laddoo
(C) Whether to share the extra laddoo with their neighbours
(D) The quantity of laddoos that they had made, (E) None of these
Ans : (B)

5. What was the villager’s reaction to the old couple’s presumed ‘death’ ?
(A) They were upset and all came to pay their last respects
(B) They were worried about how to pay for the funeral
(C) They could not decide what to do with the couple’s wealth
(D) They disliked the old couple and demolished their house
(E) They dutifully arranged the couple’s last rites
Ans : (E)

6. Why did the neighbour peep into the old couple’s house ?
(A) To learn what they were being so secretive about
(B) To spy on them and discover where their wealth was hidden
(C) To complain as they had cooked in the forest
(D) To check up on the old couple as he did everyday
(E) Not clearly mentioned in the passage
Ans : (E)

7. Which of the following can be said about the old couple ?
(A) They did not have any relatives to look after them in their old age
(B) They were misers and did not spend even on keeping their house in good condition
(C) They were not allowed to eat sweets as they were old
(D) They were fond of animals and sometimes shared their food with stray animals
(E) They were afraid of the villagers and hid from them
Ans : (B)

8. Which of the following is/are TRUE in the context of the passage ?
(1) The old woman had prepared more laddoos than she had intended
(2) The family who had recently moved into the village were fond of the old couple
(3) The villagers were saddened by the death of the old couple and gave them a grand funeral
(A) Only (1), (B) Only (2) & (3), (C) Only (1) & (2), (D) All (1), (2) & (3), (E) None of the above
Ans : (A)

9. What puzzled the villagers?
(A) The old couple did not die in the fire
(B) The sight of the old couple whom they had presumed dead, alive
(C) The fact that the old couple had wasted good food
(D) The lack of concern the old woman had for her husband
(E) The old couple fed the laddoos to the dog.
Ans : (B)

10. Why did the old man scream when surrounded by the villagers ?
(A) He was afraid that his wife would get burned
(B) To scare away the villagers who wanted to kill him for his money
(C) His wife refused to allow him to eat more than one laddoo
(D) To indicate to the villagers that he was alive
(E) The fear of being hurt in the fire
Ans : (E)

Directions—(Q. 11 to 13) Which of the following is most similar in meaning to the word given in bold as used in the passage.

11. breaks: (A) interrupts, (B) separates, (C) solves, (D) defeats, (E) escapes
Ans : (A)

12. passed: (A) overtook, (B) occupied, (C) unnoticed, (D) proceeded, (E) succeeded
Ans : (E)

13. share: (A) half, (B) part, (C) participate, (D) divide, (E) common
Ans : (B)

Directions–(Q. 14 and 15) Which of the following is most opposite in meaning to the word given in bold as used in the passage.

14. last ; (A) new, (B) begin, (C) constant, (D) discontinue, (E) first
Ans : (E)

15. still: (A) restless, (B) noisily, (C) conscious, (D) calmly, (E) lifeless
Ans : (A)

Directions–(16 to 25) Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical mistake/ error in it. The error if any, will be in one part of the sentence. Mark the letter of the part with error as your answer. If there is ‘No error’, mark (E)

16. If his aim is to (A) / buy a house in the (B) / next three years he (C) / should start immediate saving. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)

17. Can you explain why (A) / you were late this morning (B) / when we had to make (C) / such an important presentation ? (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)

18. Their company is going to incur (A) / heavy losses this year because (B) / of the big discounts they (C) / offers to customers. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)

19. The main advantage of (A) / investing such schemes (B) / is that you will not (C) / have to pay any taxes. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)

20. The final decision can (A) / be taken only after (B) / we consider all (C) / the panel suggestions. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)

21. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board is (A) / the government body who (B) / regulates investment received (C) / by Indian factories from foreign countries. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)

22. Our company was recently (A) / award the contract (B) / to construct two major (C) / bridges in the state. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)

23. That customer has (A) / written a letter (B) / thanks the manager (C) / for her timely help. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)

24. Accordingly the circular (A) / that was issued yesterday RBI (B) / has raised the rate at (C) / which it lends to banks. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)

25. A large number of policy (A) / have lapsed because many (B) / people have not paid (C) / their instalments on time. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (A)

Directions—(Q. 26 to 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. The Chairman has promissed (A) to look (B) into the matter (C) and take necessary (D) action. All correct (E)
Ans : (A)

27. Most (A) projects are delayed (B) because of the absents (C) of proper planning. (D) All correct (E)
Ans : (C)

28. He found (A) the company in 1980 to provide (B) electricity to people living (C) in rural areas. (D) All correct (E)
Ans : (A)

29. Salaries (A) of bank employees (B) are likely (C) to go above (D) by ten percent. All correct (E)
Ans : (D)

30. Since (A) the interest rate on bank deposits is low (B) at present, people prefer (C) to deposit their savings (D) in post office schemes. All correct (E)
Ans : (B)

Directions—(Q. 31 to 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.

A rich merchant owned a beautiful horse. Now, one of his neighbours was keen to (31) this horse. He offered the merchant gold, (32) the merchant refused. This angered the neighbour. He (33) to trick the merchant. He disguised himself (34) a beggar and lay down at the (35) of the road, that the merchant used everyday. (36) at the sad plight of the beggar, he (37) from his horse and gently lifted the beggar (38) his horse. No sooner did the beggar get into the (39) than the galloped away. But hearing the merchant (40) out to him, he stopped when he was a safe distance away. “Please don’t tell anyone how you came to possess this horse. Some day an ill man may be lying by the roadside and people who have heard about your trick, may not want to help,’’ said the merchant. The merchant’s neighbour was deeply ashamed, rode back and returned the horse to the merchant.

31. (A) buy, (B) steal, (C) free, (D) train, (E) sell
Ans : (A)

32. (A) so, (B) unless, (C) otherwise, (D) but, (E) since
Ans : (D)

33. (A) desires, (B) decided, (C) declined, (D) deliberately, (E) deceived
Ans : (B)

34. (A) being, (B) alike, (C) as, (D) identical, (E) similar
Ans : (C)

35. (A) middle, (B) gutter, (C) ending, (D) distance, (E) side
Ans : (E)

36. (A) Carefully, (B) Distressed, (C) Misery, (D) Upsetting, (E) Unhappily
Ans : (B)

37. (A) stepped, (B) jump, (C) fell, (D) dismounted, (E) climbed
Ans : (D)

38. (A) with, (B) above, (C) from, (D) off, (E) onto
Ans : (E)

39. (A) saddle, (B) arms, (C) horse, (D) danger, (E) way
Ans : (A)

40. (A) appeal, (B) shouted, (C) call, (D) cried, (E) beg
Ans : (C)