English Quiz - 44 | IBPS | SBI

Directions(1-10): Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases are given in bole to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

         Former Foreign Minister K Natwar Singh's book, One Life is Not Enough, has touched off a storm. It promises to unpack the black boxes of the Congress and UPA. The daily dribble of disclosures is fascinating by itself. But things could get more exciting. The kerfuffle over the book and its claims appears to have punctured Congress president Sonia Gandhi's stoic silence. She has promised to respond with her own version of events. In a country starved for in-the-know, behind-the-scenes accounts at the highest echelons of politics and government, Gandhi's counter is eagerly waited.

         This could be the chance for one of India's most intriguing leaders to tell the people about the daily routines and significant milestones in her dramatic journey. The prime minister's widow who became the president of India's old political party. The reluctant politician who immersed herself in the political cut and thrust in the country she made her own, yet refused to be PM. Was it, indeed, her "inner voice" or Rahul Gandhi's that guided her in 2004? What was the division of labour, really, between 10 Janpath and PMO?

           In India, politicians and their intimates remain generally tight-lipped. Elsewhere, the code of political omerta has, happily, been long dead, with a steady flow of political tell-alls signalling that discretion is on the wane and disclosures are on the rise. Be it the flood of books by people who have worked for former President George W Bush, or those by politicians who have no further axe to grind, the US in particular has seen political stalwarts and their confidants perform Beltway editions of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon. The revelations may often be sudsy, leaning on vaguely attributed sources, intent on settling scores. They could lead to a more mean-spirited public chatter. Yet, loquacious insiders ought to be encouraged to spill the beans. The more secrets come out in the open, the better our approximation of "truth".

1.What is the main purpose of writing the book 'One Life is Not Enough'? Reply in the context of the given passage.

a)To discuss India's international relations

b)To expose the wrongdoings of the Congress and UPA

c)To denigrate Congress president Mrs Sonia Gandhi

d)To instigate Mrs Sonia Gandhi to expose the misdemeanour of the Congress

e)To focus on India's relations with its neighbouring countries.

2.Why did Sonia Gandhi refuse to become PM in 2004?

a)It was the then president APJ Kalam who advised her to not become the PM.

b)Sonia Gandhi decided to refuse the post of PM due to the huge pandemonium in parliament over the issue of her citizenship.

c)It was her inner voice which prompted her not to become PM.

d)It was Rahul Gandhi who forbade her from becoming the PM.

e)Not clear from the passage

3.What has been the reaction of Sonia Gandhi to the revelations by the former Foreign Minister K Natwar Singh through his book One Life is Not Enough?

a)Sonia Gandhi has decided to file a defamation suit against Mr Natwar Singh

b)She has decided to wrie a book to expose Mr Natwar Singh's misdeeds 

c)She has promised to reply by mentioning the events in her own way

d)As usual, she preferred to maintain silence over such a petty issue.

e)None of these

4.According to the passage, what is/are the difference between the behaviour of political confidants in India and elsewhere?

(A)Indian political confidants are more often than non tongue-tied in criticising their leaders

(B)Despite political omerta, foreign politicians do not hesitate to disclose the wrong doings of their political leaders

(C)At present, the disclosure about politicians are on the rise in foreign countries.

a)Only A and B

b)Only B and C

c)Only A and C

d)Only B

e)All A, B and C

5.Find the correct statement on the basis of the given passage.

a)Garrulous insiders should be encouraged to disclose the facts

b)Natwar Singh's book is nothing but an attack on Mrs Sonia Gandhi

c)Mrs Sonia Gandhi lack s the required courage to lead the country

d)One Life is Not Enough is a book written with the purpose to denigrate the INC and praise the BJP.

e)In the Congress party it is only Rahul Gandhi who deserves to be the PM.

Directions(6 -8): Choose the word/group of words which is MOST SIMILAR in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

6.Kerfuffle

a)tranquility

b)calm

c)order

d)commotion

e)peacefulness

7.Echelons

a)system

b)level

c)theory

d)place

e)complexity

8.Omerta

a)character

b)activities

c)silence

d)behaviour

e)oath of secrecy.

Directions(9 -10): Choose the word/group of words which is MOST OPPOSITE in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

9.Wane

a)decline

b)wither

c)rise

d)sink

e)subside

10.Revelation

a)concealment

b)divination

c)disclosure

d)clue

e)scoop

Answers

1.b
2.e
3.c
4.c
5.a
6.d
7.b
8.e
9.c
10.a