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Solved English Question Paper of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) Bank Clerk Online CWE-IV exam held on 20.12.2014.

Directions (1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given. Certain words/phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions:

"How soon 'not now' becomes never", A quote by Martin Luther which actually explains the reason behind all those unaccomplished dreams. Actually here's the thing, you are able to be incredibly self-motivated! For instance if I park my car on your toe your motivation for me to get my car off my foot would manifest immediately. Motivation in this context is easy to produce. But when people say they want more motivation what they really mean is that they want to purposefully direct their motivational force towards something positive, constructive and valuable to them.
But how do you ramp up your self-motivation? It's a mistake to assume that motivation must always be linked to feeling motivated. We assume self motivation is fuelled by emotion and initially it often is inspirational speakers with strong jaw lines, tailored suits and overpowering white smiles whip up your emotions. You leave the seminar feeling motivated-ready to take on the world. And this is great-in the short term. But like getting a sugar hit when running a marathon, pretty soon the effect fades. You can't be forever motivated by others-eventually you have to be self motivated as self motivation can be sustained.
The question is - how do we feel motivated? First, be fuel efficient. If we see emotion as a type of Fuel for self motivation, and then we need to be able to save it. We need to be able to save it. We need to be able to run the machine using up very little emotion sometimes. Secondly, learn to act when you don't feel like acting it and give you a massive advantage over 99% of people who have been trained by society to 'only do stuff they feel motivated to do'. However the feeling of motivation gradually develops only after you've started and made sustained efforts. They don't wait until everything is just right. There is never a 'right time' to do a difficult thing. Make enough preparation, but be man or woman enough to know when you're just hiding behind excuses. Sometimes the more we put off doing something.
The more 'reasons' we find for putting it off. Further, shot for the moon and you'll land amongst the stars. It's worth being ambitious because even if you fail short of your ultimate goal, you'll achieve a lot 'by default'. Also, hang out with motivated people, because attitudes rub off, it had been observed that really motivated people are motivating. Find people who are positive and goal-focused. Lastly, it's important to remember that a step in and of itself is not much of a thing but enough steps together can take you indeed.
There will be times when you need to re-evoke some fire in your belly. In such times take time to sit down and relax. Close your eyes and remind yourself of all the reasons to be motivated. Consider how you would feel if you really didn't go for your dreams. The greatest failure is the failure to try because people, when motivated achieve amazing things. The couch potato does change ways, the college dropout does go on to create a global empire. Just take a look at Guiness Book of World Records and you will never doubt what people, who set their minds towards something, are capable of.

1. Which of the following is/are true in the context of the passage?
(A) All motivation is not directed towards a valuable goal for the future.
(B) We must not waste time in preparing adequately for a project.
(C) Motivational speakers permanently motivate others with their lectures.

  • 1) Only (A) and (B)
  • 2) Only (B) and (C)
  • 3) Only (A)
  • 4) Only (A) and (C)
  • 5) All (A), (B) and (C)


2. What does the author mean when he says, "strong jaw lines, tailored suits and empowering white smiles"?

  • 1) very impressive reality
  • 2) having a taste for designer clothing
  • 3) very ambitious
  • 4) authoritative and aggressive
  • 5) submissive in nature


3. Which of the following can be an appropriate title for the passage?

  • 1) Why Do We Need Motivation in Our Life?
  • 2) Developing Patience for Failures of Self and Others
  • 3) Self Motivation - An Achievable Goal!
  • 4) Self Awareness and Self Actualisation
  • 5) How to do Things you Don't Like


4. Which of the following is/are NOT TRUE in the context of the passage?
(A) Just taking one step does not make you self motivated; rather you have to sustain your efforts.
(B) According to the author, if you try and fail it would be your greatest failure in life. (C) People can perform great tasks if they are truly motivated to do so.

  • 1) Only (B) and (C)
  • 2) Only (C)
  • 3) Only (A)
  • 4) Only (A) and (C)
  • 5) Only (B)


5. According to the passage, in order to be motivated we must
(A) Aim high
(B) Get on with the job rather than wait for the perfect time.
(C) Completely rely on your feelings and emotions.

  • 1) Only (A) and (B)
  • 2) Only (C)
  • 3) Only (A)
  • 4) Only (A) and (C)
  • 5) Only (B)


6. What does the author want to say when he says, "But like getting a sugar kit when running a marathon, pretty soon the effect fades"?

  • 1) Most people like the state of motivation just like they like a sugar rush.
  • 2) The effects of motivation increase with time and age due to experience and headwork.
  • 3) It is difficult for us to be motivated for long because being motivated is like running a marathon.
  • 4) The effects of such motivation vanish easily as it is only short terms in nature.
  • 5) Motivation continues for years together as we enjoy it, just like we enjoy eating sugar.


7. According to the passage, it is important to stay with positive people because
(A) They will accept you regardless of your failures.
(B) Self motivated people motivate others as well. (C) We tend to grasp the attitude of those around us.

  • 1) Only (A) and (B)
  • 2) Only (B) and (C)
  • 3) Only (C)
  • 4) Only (A) and (C)
  • 5) Only (B)


8. Which of the following is most nearly the same in meaning to the word 'MASSIVE' as used in the passage?

  • 1) popular
  • 2) minor
  • 3) suppressed
  • 4) great
  • 5) common


9. Which of the following is most nearly the same in meaning to the word 'BELLY' as used in the passage?

  • 1) ground
  • 2) gut
  • 3) bounce
  • 4) intestine
  • 5) field


10. According to the passage, which of the following can be said about motivation?
(A) It is possible to motivate yourself.
(B) Self motivation is an instant process.
(C) For motivation to be sustainable it must come from within.

  • 1) Only (A) and (B)
  • 2) Only (B)
  • 3) Only (A)
  • 4) Only (A) and (C)
  • 5) All (A), (B) and (C)


Directions (11-15): Rearrange the following five sentences (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph, then answer the given questions:

(A) Also every professional should take advantage of online publishing channels to prove that they are, indeed, experts in a particular market niche.
(B) According to me, actually, it has come to life-online.
(C) If writing about this market niche does not come easily to you, find ways to employ or work with colleagues or professional writers who can get your content to 97% completion, then polish the final 3% before publishing.
(D) For years now, people have been saying that publishing has been dying.
(E) This is why I say that every subject matter expert should be writing online, by publishing blogs and by offering content to online publishers.

11. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement?

  • 1) A
  • 2) B
  • 3) C
  • 4) D
  • 5) E


12. Which of the following should be the FIFTH (LAST) sentence after rearrangement?

  • 1) A
  • 2) B
  • 3) C
  • 4) D
  • 5) E


13. Which of the following should be the FOURTH sentence after rearrangement?

  • 1) A
  • 2) B
  • 3) C
  • 4) D
  • 5) E


14. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement?

  • 1) A
  • 2) B
  • 3) C
  • 4) D
  • 5) E


15. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement?

  • 1) A
  • 2) B
  • 3) C
  • 4) D
  • 5) E


Directions (16-20): In the following questions two sentences (I) and (II) are given. Each sentence (I) and (II) has a blank in it. Against each, five options are suggested. Out of these, only one fits at both places in the context of each sentence. Choose that option as your answer.

16.
(I) The country's economy has been growing so ........................ that even though there is inequality, extreme poverty is disappearing readily.
(II) Since the growth of digital downloads, the music industry has suffered and has seen revenue drop ...................... leading to many recording labels going bankrupt.

  • 1) horrible
  • 2) speedy
  • 3) fast
  • 4) swift
  • 5) steady


17.
(I) The company has a current account deficit of more than 6 percent of GDP and ....................... on foreign capital to bridge the gap between what it spends and what it earns.
(II) The company mainly ............................ on its corporate banking business but has now decided to expand its operations to retail banking and credit card business.

  • 1) bank
  • 2) relies
  • 3) count
  • 4) trusts
  • 5) confidence


18.
(I) Mosquito larvae usually flourish down in puddles but municipal workers who are over-worked can sometimes ................... to spray such water bodies during the monsoon.
(II) Before the financial crisis, regulators hoped that Banks would be sensible about risks that they took but banks knew that because they were so large the government would not allow them to ......................

  • 1) attempt
  • 2) tail
  • 3) forget
  • 4) neglect
  • 5) close


19.
(I) Having traditional vocational training only can be a ........................ since research has shown that the skills learnt in vocational training do become outdated and employees should keep themselves updated.
(II) To its ...................... the city is earthquake prone and despite the shortage of electricity, building a nuclear power plant there is dangerous.

  • 1) reward
  • 2) fault
  • 3) necessity
  • 4) inconvenient
  • 5) disadvantage


20.
(I) Concrete is not as weather-proof as stone and teams of workmen need to be constantly ..................... to fill in cracks which develop, making maintenance of concrete both tedious and expensive.
(II) What is needed is more open way of choosing the host of the World Cup and the responsibility of hosting the tournament may be ................... to different countries on a rotation basis.

  • 1) proceeded
  • 2) appointed
  • 3) decided
  • 4) assigned
  • 5) allocate


Directions (21-25): 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. Choose the part with the error as your answer. If there is no error, 'no error' is your answer. (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any)

21.

  • 1) The foundation about
  • 2) a strong relatinoship is
  • 3) based on mutual respect
  • 4) and shared experiences.
  • 5) No error


22.

  • 1) The campaign is an
  • 2) ongoing initiative to
  • 3) engage with teenagers and create
  • 4) awareness in skin care.
  • 5) No error


23.

  • 1) The percentage of girls
  • 2) enrol in government schools
  • 3) in urban centres has
  • 4) touched rock bottom.
  • 5) No error


24.

  • 1) I forced my way
  • 2) into the house
  • 3) and saw that
  • 4) the brothers were fighting.
  • 5) No error


25.

  • 1) A new studies has
  • 2) revealed that
  • 3) commercial diets can help
  • 4) weight loss in the short term.
  • 5) No error


Directions (26-30): Which of the phrase given against each sentence should replace the word/phrase, given in bold in a sentence to make it grammatically correct? If no correction is required, choose 'No correction' required as the answer.

26. I need not offer any explanation regarding this incident. My behaviour is speaking itself.

  • 1) will speak to itself
  • 2) speaks for itself
  • 3) has been speaking
  • 4) speak about itself
  • 5) No correction required


27. Of them who went shopping on Saturday, three-quarters said they did so specifically to support local sellers.

  • 1) From them
  • 2) Those
  • 3) Of those
  • 4) Them
  • 5) No correction required


28. The moment people know you are getting married, advice starts pouring on.

  • 1) poured into
  • 2) poured inside
  • 3) pouring in
  • 4) poured
  • 5) No correction required


29. In addition to enhanced their reputation through strategic use of philanthropy, companies are sponsoring social initiatives to open new markets.

  • 1) of enhancing their reputation
  • 2) to having enhance their reputation
  • 3) to enhancing their reputation
  • 4) to have their reputation enhancing
  • 5) No correction required


30. The horror began with the animal killing two goats and then attacking two farmers.

  • 1) begun on
  • 2) begins for
  • 3) began to
  • 4) beginning with
  • 5) No correction required


Directions (31-40): In the given passage, there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. Amongst each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.

Calculations that previously took more than 20 hours to complete using the banks' own systems are now done in 20 minutes. Big banks are also renting resources in the cloud ...........(31)........... they need safe test environments in which they ...........(32)........... mirror their won computer systems and then make changes ...........(33)........... updates without the risk of crashing the ...........(34)........... bank. Many banks are reconfiguring their ...........(35)........... computer systems into private clouds - a hybrid ...........(36)........... in which they have sole use of a data centre. But they ...........(37)........... some benefits from using software and systems that run public clouds. ...........(38)........... are however concerns about cloud computing. One is the ...........(39)........... over security and data protection. For small banks with ...........(40)........... resources, the large data centres provided by firms such as Microsoft are probably safer and more reliable than any they could build themselves. But large banks which have already but secure data centres remain reluctant to hand over client data to outsiders.

31.

  • 1) that
  • 2) when
  • 3) though
  • 4) later
  • 5) perhaps


32.

  • 1) able
  • 2) try
  • 3) want
  • 4) can
  • 5) capable


33.

  • 1) not
  • 2) other
  • 3) only
  • 4) to
  • 5) or


34.

  • 1) disagree
  • 2) collapse
  • 3) entire
  • 4) default
  • 5) best


35.

  • 1) some
  • 2) specially
  • 3) fully
  • 4) own
  • 5) bulk


36.

  • 1) crop
  • 2) power
  • 3) circuits
  • 4) step
  • 5) degree


37.

  • 1) basic
  • 2) arise
  • 3) originate
  • 4) derive
  • 5) advantage


38.

  • 1) Then
  • 2) There
  • 3) What
  • 4) Where
  • 5) This


39.

  • 1) concern
  • 2) thought
  • 3) take
  • 4) wrong
  • 5) anxious


40.

  • 1) limited
  • 2) inadequately
  • 3) reduce
  • 4) restrict
  • 5) failed