Dear Friends, SBI Clerk 2018 Notification has been released we hope you all have started your preparation. Here we have started New Series of Practice Materials especially for SBI Clerk 2018. Aspirants those who are preparing for the exams can use this “20-20” English Questions.
[WpProQuiz 2654]
Click “Start Quiz” to attend these Questions and view Solutions
Directions (1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.
Labour force is the term collectively applied to the total number of individuals within the population who are willing and capable of doing work. Unemployment rate of a country is indicative of its socio-economic health. Unemployment casts some short term ripples throughout the economy by reducing an individual’s contribution in terms of services and taxes. The unemployed also does not possess the power of purchase, thus in effect contributing to bringing down demand of goods in the market and creating more unemployment. India currently (2016) has a population of about 1.3 billion. State wise figures reveal that Tripura has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 19.7% while Gujarat has the lowest at 0.9% in 2015-2016. On the other hand, unemployment rate is higher among women at 8.7 percent versus 4.3% among men. Women unemployment rate is higher in the rural areas than in urban sectors of the country. Experts fear that at present, India is experiencing a jobless growth with not enough jobs being created for its working age population (15-64 years). There is ample skepticism afloat about the country not being able to cash in on its demographic bonus, predicted to be 869 million by year 2020 world’s largest. The most accepted classification of Unemployment recognizes two broad types: Voluntary and Involuntary Unemployment. Voluntary unemployment arises when an individual is not under any employment out of his own desire not to work or it may be that an individual is unable to find. Involuntary unemployment encompasses all those factors that prevent a physically fit individual willing to work from getting an appointment. According to John Maynard Keynes, involuntary unemployment arises due to insufficiency of effective demand which can be solved by stepping up aggregate demand through government intervention. Involuntary Unemployment is further categorized into subheads such as disguised, structural, frictional, cyclical and seasonal unemployment.
Unemployment is a reason for alarming concern in India today. The root of the problem can be traced to a host of reasons that contributes collectively towards causes and one of which is lack of employment opportunities, India’s GDP projections for year 2017 is 7.5% but that growth does not currently translates into creating more employment opportunities for the labour force of the country. In a survey conducted among a sample of 1072 companies across the nation and across various sectors, during the financial year of 2014-2015 only 12,760 jobs were created compared to 188,371 jobs in the year 2013-2014. In the year 2016, India’s rural unemployment rate stands at 7.15% whereas unemployment rate in urban areas stand at 9.62%. Although literacy rates have risen in the last few decades, there still remains a fundamental flaw in the education system in India. Rapid growth of population has often been labeled as the major reason for increasing unemployment in the country. In the last ten years (2006-2016), India’s population has increased by 136.28 million and unemployment is at a 5 year high in the financial year of 2015-2016. Current survey data revealed that at the all-India level, 77% of families do not have a regular salaried person. Another contributing factor is improper Employment planning, the five-year plans implemented by the government have not contributed proportionately towards generation of employment. The assumption was that growth in economy will automatically generate enough employment. But in reality the scenario doesn’t quite match up to the assumption and there have remained gaps between the required number of jobs and the actual numbers generated. According current statistics, agriculture remains the biggest employer in the country contributing to 51% employment. But ironically the sector contributes a meager 12-13% to the country’s GDP. The problem of disguised unemployment has turned out the biggest contributor behind this deficit. Lack of proper irrigation infrastructures and outdated cultivation methods still used renders most of the agriculture land in India usable for cultivating just one crop a year. This is another contributing factor towards seasonal nature of unemployment in the sector. There has been a definite push towards providing the people employment by the agriculture-based industries with alternate methods of employment during the lull seasons. Skill-based trainings for their employment in other sectors are lacking till date. Agriculture still remains as the biggest employer in the country. People are not yet keen towards self-employment, especially in the rural sector, depending on existing employment opportunities. For landless people in rural areas of India, one of the major means of livelihood is the cottage industries like fabric and handicrafts. As a consequence, it is becoming more and more difficult to sustain the cottage industries inciting loss of employment for many.
Collective efforts directed by the Government as well as citizens towards the following points might help alleviate the problem of unemployment in the country. One of the most sure-shot remedies of the unemployment situation in India is rapid industrialization. Increased number of industries translates effectively into increased number of employment opportunities. Due to the emphasis put on agriculture in our economy, industrialization still takes a backseat, with farmers not ready to give up land for establishing industries. They need to be encouraged with better incentives and guaranteed jobs for a member of the family in the newly established industry. The curriculum pursued in universities should be altered to focus more on practical aspects of learning. More institutions need to be established that offer vocational courses that will translate directly into relevant jobs. Self-employment should be encouraged more with introduction of liability free loans and government assistance for funding. Incubation centers need to be promoted to cultivate original business ideas that will be financially viable. Better irrigation facilities, better farming equipment, dissemination of knowledge regarding multiple crop rotation and crop management should be focused on. This will lead to year round increased production of crops, generating employment throughout the year. Although India’s economic market is seeing increased investments from overseas investors owing to its cheap labour costs; a lot more is still need to bridge the gap of unemployment. Government as well as leading business houses of the country should seek to invite more foreign collaboration and capital investment in every sector. Subsequent policies have focused on the issues like poverty and unemployment, but the implementation leaves a lot to be desired. Schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Rajiv Gandhi Swavlamban Rozgar Yojna are examples of the initiatives that the government has undertaken to address the unemployment problem. The government should seek to streamline its implementation strategies so that the benefit from such schemes may be maximized.
1) According to the passage which of the following options are mentioned as a solution to reduce the problem of unemployment?
- By Increasing industrialization
- By Improving Infrastructure in industries
- By Inviting larger Capital Investments
a) ii and iii
b) i and ii
c) i and iii
d) Only i
e) None of these
2) Which of the following given options is not the type of unemployment as mentioned in the passage?
a) Cyclical unemployment
b) Frictional unemployment
c) Disguised unemployment
d) Vocational unemployment
e) Structural unemployment
3) According to the passage which of the following statements have been mentioned correct about involuntary unemployment?
- Involuntary unemployment arises when some certain factors prevent a physically fit individual willing to work from getting an appointment
- It has been said that involuntary unemployment arises due to insufficiency of effective demand
- Figures reveal that the involuntary unemployment rate in the country is at 19.7%
a) Only iii
b) i and ii
c) ii and iii
d) i and iii
e) All are correct
4) Which of the following is true in the context of the passage?
- In order to deal with the problem of unemployment the government has undertaken Schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and Rajiv Gandhi Swavlamban Rozgar Yojna
- India’s rural unemployment rate stands at 7.15% in the year 2015
- A survey data revealed that 77% of families do not have a regular salaried person
a) i and iii
b) i and ii
c) Only iii
d) ii and iii
e) None of these
5) According to the passage which of the following given statements have been mentioned correct as the causes of unemployment in the country?
- Economic Growth without adequate employment opportunities
- Lack of proper irrigation infrastructures and outdated cultivation methods in agriculture
- Faulty Employment planning
a) i and ii
b) ii and iii
c) i and iii
d) Only i
e) All are correct
6) Which of the following is not true in the context of the passage?
- In the year 2016, India’s unemployment rate in urban areas stand at 9.62%.
- In the last ten years population of India has increased by 136.28 million and unemployment is at a 5 year high in the financial year of 2015-2016.
- Unemployment rate is higher among women at 7.7 percent versus 4.3% among men.
a) i and ii
b) i and iii
c) Only iii
d) Only ii
e) None of these
7) Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the word “alleviate” printed in bold as used in the passage.
a) Assuage
b) Exacerbate
c) Corrode
d) Retrograde
e) Descend
8) Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the word “inciting” printed in bold as used in the passage.
a) Tranquilizing
b) Persuading
c) Abasing
d) Dismaying
e) Enervating
9) Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word “streamline” printed in bold as used in the passage.
a) Abridge
b) Interpret
c) Elucidate
d) Mystify
e) Chasten
10) Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word “ripples” printed in bold as used in the passage.
a) Palpitate
b) Flutter
c) Undulate
d) Quiver
e) Unflustered
Directions (11-15): In each of the following sentences there is one blank space. Below each sentence there are four words denoted by a), b), c) d) and e). Find one word that to be fitted in both the sentences I and II and another word that to fit in sentence III and to make it meaning fully complete
11)
- You should not _______ my silence as an acceptance of your ridiculous plan to rob the bank.
- Although I tried to pay you a compliment, you have decided to _______ my words as an insult.
- She might be more _______ to the idea if you explained how much money it would save.
a) Explicated, pliable
b) Construe , amenable
c) Decipher, intractable
d) Perplex, acquiescent
e) Rendered, persuadable
12)
- I was shocked when my husband tried to _______ me by bringing his mistress to my birthday party.
- I am certain my sister meant to _______ me when she showed my date my baby pictures
- We are a non-profit agency that provides legal services to________ clients.
a) Discomfit, affluent
b) Collaborate, destitute
c) Expedite, penurious
d) Mortify, indigent
e) Relieve, impoverished
13)
- Because I did not ________ the thesis statement in the first paragraph of my research paper, I lost ten points
- Teachers are asked to ________ the school rules to their students on the first day of class.
- The author makes use of ________ speech to highlight the differences in upbringing between the novel’s hero and heroine.
a) Modulate, formal
b) Repose, vernacular
c) Enunciate, colloquial
d) Propound, stilted
e) Mumble, dialectal
14)
- Jack is a philanthropist who only supports causes that __________ him in the eyes of the world.
- I attempted to _________ the CEO’s high status in the company to sweet talk him into signing off on the deal
- Her ambition to become an artist was __________ by failing eyesight
a) Aggrandize, thwarted
b) Congratulates, baffled
c) Denounce, impeded
d) Ennoble, liberated
e) Applauds, dodged
15)
- Since the doctor had never seen such unusual symptoms, he could only _________ on the cause of the patient’s illness
- Without any leads or evidence, the detectives can only __________ about who might have committed the crime
- Even people who _________ a creative God usually acknowledge that his existence shifts the big question rather than resolving it.
a) Excogitate, predicated
b) Surmise, theorized
c) Abstain, assert
d) Speculate, postulate
e) Ruminate, measure
Directions (16-20): In each of the following questions on phrase has been given and it has been followed by four sentences. You have to find out on which sentences phrase has been used properly according to its meaning and mark your answer from the options denoted a), b), c), d).Mark e) as your answer of you find that the phrase has been applied properly in all sentences.
16) Bring around
- He was reluctant to come with her, but she brought him around.
- Carl is bringing around the snacks to us.
- We’re concerned that the merger will bring around layoffs.
- It was a difficult conference to organize, but Sam brought it around.
a) i and iii
b) ii and iii
c) i and ii
d) ii and iv
e) All are correct
17) Root out
- The gardener began to root out the weeds
- We must do our best to root out poverty
- Good manners were rooted out him like a second nature.
- There would be a major drive to root out corruption.
a) i and ii
b) ii and iii
c) i and iv
d) All except iii
e) All are correct
18) Lean back
- Jessica claims to be leaning back, but it looks like she’s only turning sideways.
- Don’t make me lean back you in front of everyone.”
- They have learned to lean back each other for support”
- Let’s lean back and be comfortable.
a) iii and iv
b) ii and iii
c) i and iv
d) i and ii
e) All are correct
19) Hem in
- The troops hemmed their enemy in on all sides.
- The police hemmed in the rowdy crowd.
- The large city buildings hem me in
- The terms of this contract really have me hemmed in
a) iii and iv
b) ii and iii
c) i and ii
d) All except iv
e) All are correct
20) Wear down
- The new employee is wearing down my patience.
- Management finally wore down the union, and the strike was ended.
- This hot weather wears me down.
- The paint on the house is wearing down.
a) All except iv
b) i and ii
c) iii and iv
d) ii and iii
e) All are correct
Answers:
1). Correct Answer is: c)
It is mentioned in para 3-One of the most sure-shot remedies of the unemployment situation in India is rapid industrialization, Government as well as leading business houses of the country should seek to invite more foreign collaboration and capital investment in every sector
2). Correct Answer is: d)
It is mentioned in para 1-Unemployment is further categorized into subheads such as disguised, structural, frictional, cyclical and seasonal unemployment
3). Correct Answer is: b)
It is mentioned in para 1-Involuntary unemployment encompasses all those factors that prevent a physically fit individual willing to work from getting an appointment. According to John Maynard Keynes, involuntary unemployment arises due to insufficiency of effective demand which can be solved by stepping up aggregate demand
4). Correct Answer is: a)
It is clearly mentioned in para 2&3-Schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Rajiv Gandhi Swavlamban Rozgar Yojna are examples of the initiatives that the government has undertaken to address the unemployment problem, Current survey data revealed that at the all-India level, 77% of families do not have a regular salaried person.
5). Correct Answer is: e)
It is clearly mentioned in para 2-The root of the problem can be traced to a host of reasons that contributes collectively towards causes and one of which is lack of employment opportunities, Lack of proper irrigation infrastructures and outdated cultivation methods still used renders most of the agriculture land in India usable for cultivating just one crop a year. This is another contributing factor, another contributing factor is improper Employment planning, the five-year plans implemented by the government have not contributed proportionately towards generation of employment.
5). Correct Answer is: c)
it is clearly mentioned in para 1&2-In the year 2016, India’s rural unemployment rate stands at 7.15% whereas unemployment rate in urban areas stand at 9.62%, In the last ten years (2006-2016), India’s population has increased by 136.28 million and unemployment is at a 5 year high in the financial year of 2015-2016, On the other hand, unemployment rate is higher among women at 8.7 percent versus 4.3% among men.
6). Correct Answer is: a)
The meaning of word alleviate is to make suffering or a problem less severe.
7). Correct Answer is: b)
The meaning of word inciting is to cause or generate
8). Correct Answer is: d)
The meaning of word inciting is to organize or bring together
10). Correct Answer is: e)
The meaning of word ripples is to flow
Direction (11-15)
11). Correct Answer is: b)
The meaning of “construe” is “to explain or understand a word or action in a particular way” and it is suitable for i and ii blanks and the meaning of “amenable” is “easily persuaded or controlled” so it is appropriate for iii blank.
12). Correct Answer is: d)
The meaning of “mortify” is “to cause someone to feel very embarrassed or ashamed” and it is suitable for i and ii blanks and the meaning of “indigent” is “poor or needy” so it is appropriate for iii blank.
13). Correct Answer is: c)
The meaning of “enunciate” is “to express something in clear or definite terms” and it is suitable for i and ii blanks and the meaning of “colloquial” is “language used in ordinary or familiar conversation” so it is appropriate for iii blank.
14). Correct Answer is: a)
The meaning of “aggrandize” is “to cause something to seem or be greater” and it is suitable for i and ii blanks and the meaning of “thwarted” is “to stand in the way of or oppose” so it is appropriate for iii blank.
15). Correct Answer is: d)
The meaning of “speculate” is “to think about deeply and theorize” and it is suitable for i and ii blanks and the meaning of “postulate” is “to suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of something” so it is appropriate for iii blank.
Direction (16-20)
16). Correct Answer is: c)
The meaning of “bring around” is to persuade someone to do something or to distribute something and the phrase has been applied properly in i and ii sentences
17). Correct Answer is: d)
The meaning of “root out” is to get rid of completely and the phrase has been applied properly in i, ii and iv sentences
18). Correct Answer is: c)
The meaning of “lean back” is to recline backwards, pressing on someone or something the phrase has been applied properly in i and iv sentences
19). Correct Answer is: e)
The meaning of “hem in” is to restrict someone or to surround and enclose someone or something and the phrase has been applied properly in all the sentences
20). Correct Answer is: a)
The meaning of “wear down” is to exhaust someone or to cause someone to submit by pressure and the phrase has been applied properly in i, ii and iii sentences
Daily Practice Test Schedule | Good Luck
| Topic | Daily Publishing Time |
| Daily News Papers & Editorials | 8.00 AM |
| Current Affairs Quiz | 9.00 AM |
| Quantitative Aptitude “20-20” | 11.00 AM |
| Vocabulary (Based on The Hindu) | 12.00 PM |
| General Awareness “20-20” | 1.00 PM |
| English Language “20-20” | 2.00 PM |
| Reasoning Puzzles & Seating | 4.00 PM |
| Daily Current Affairs Updates | 5.00 PM |
| Data Interpretation / Application Sums (Topic Wise) | 6.00 PM |
| Reasoning Ability “20-20” | 7.00 PM |
| English Language (New Pattern Questions) | 8.00 PM |
