ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Time : 20 Min
Time : 20 Min
Directions (1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
Public sector banks are back in focus, not for the steep rise in bad loans, but for customer complaints against them. At first glances, the Reserve Bank of India’s annual report on the Banking Ombudsman Scheme reveals that customers of PSBs had a litany of grievances, while patrons-ff of private and foreign banks were quite content with the services offered to them. But one reason why PSBs account for about 65 per cent of the complaints is that these banks have a lion’s share — about three-fourths — of the loans and deposits in the banking system. If we consider the number of complaints per account or branch, nationalised banks, surprisingly, have fewer complaints than their private and foreign counterparts. Complaints from the rural and semi-urban population have witnessed an increase, implying the wider participation from these segments. But there is a lack of awareness about the ombudsman scheme or lack of access to it in these regions. While they account for about two-thirds of the bank branches in India, less than 30 per cent of the complaints were lodged from here.
Reporting such numbers only scratches the surface of the problem. The ombudsman scheme, which was launched two decades ago to provide a free grievance redress system in the face of rising complaints against banks, will now have to use the data to improve its functioning. Both the Centre and the regulator also need to act on longstanding grievances. For years now, debit/credit card operations (21 per cent of complaints) and unfair banking practices (29 per cent) have made up a large chunk of the complaints. Customers have had a laundry list of woes regarding failure of withdrawals from ATMs, issue of unsolicited cards and insurance policies, and banks’ non-adherence to ‘fair practices’ or BCSBI (Banking Codes and Standards Board of India) codes. The BCSBI was set up a decade ago to supplement the ombudsman scheme. Hence, the wide non-adherence to these codes on the part of banks is inexcusable. What it highlights is the need for the RBI to follow up more stringently on ensuring that banks conform to norms.
Reviewing the scope of the ombudsman scheme and educating customers on the procedures to lodge complaints, will ensure that grievances that do find their way into the redressal system get resolved effectively. While the report shows that the scheme disposed 96 per cent of the complaints in 2014-15, rejections were as high as around two-thirds, because the solution to many of the grievances fell outside the jurisdiction of the banking ombudsman. The RBI advisory that banks have an internal redress mechanism to deal with the issue first-hand will work only if the process is streamlined for better results.
1. What could be the best title for the above passage?
a. Ombudsman scheme
b. RBI's Policies
c. Beyond just numbers
d. Unfair practices
e. Major challenge
2. Which of the following is NOT True according to the passage?
I. Rural population is participating more in banking
II. Banking ombudsman scheme disposed more than 50 percent of the complaints in 2014-2015
III. Unfair banking practices lead to large number of complaints
a. III & I
b. II & III
c. I & II
d. I, II & III
e. None of the above
3. What would be the best way to resolve complaints effectively?
I. Debit/credit card operations should be limited
II. Banks should adhere to fair practices
III. customers should be educated on the procedures to lodge complaints.
a. III only
b. II & III
c. I & II
d. I, II & III
e. None of these
4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
a. Banks have internal banking ombudsman
b. BCSBI was set up by RBI a decade ago
c. Issuance of unsolicited cards is one of the woes of customers
d. PSBs account for less than 65 percent of the complaints
e. None of these
Directions (5-7): Choose the word which is most SIMILAR in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
5. Steep
a. gentle
b. continuous
c. abrupt
d. low
e. gradual
6. Redress
a. same
b. compensation
c. penalty
d. hurt
e. worse
7. Longstanding
a. strong
b. high
c. long
d. firm
e. abiding
Directions (8-10): Choose the word which is most OPPOSITE in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
8. Ensure
a. certify
b. arrange
c. endanger
d. guard
e. sure
9. Stringent
a. inflexible
b. easy going
c. compelling
d. critical
e. bound
10. Chunk
a. block
b. portion
c. large
d. whole
e. part
Direction (11-15): Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (5). (Ignore errors of
punctuation, if any.)
11. Your over-independent on a)/ others even for b)/ trivial matters may c)/ prove disadvantageous. d)/ No error e)
12. People who are a)/ fortunate enough to own b)/ a personal library are always c)/ held in high esteem by me. d)/ No error e)
13. A small loaf of bread a)/ given with affection b)/ is far superior to c)/ a delicious dish served with indifferently. d)/ No error e)
14. Everybody know a)/ that his failure can b) be attributed only c)/ to his lack of practice d.) No error e)
15. Most of the popular tele-serials a)/ are not only illogical b)/ in their story line c)/ but also crude in their presentation. d)/ No error e)
Directions (16-20): Rearrange the following five sentences (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E) in the proper sequence to form a paragraph; then answer the questions given below them.
(A) A small wooden nest box is all it has taken to rekindle all the romance of bringing sparrows and other birds back into our cities and halt them from fading into the past like a forgotten folktale.
(B). There is something wrong with a city that remains unperturbed even as its birds desert it.
(C) Thankfully, the situation is not as hopeless as it seems.
(D) Much as we try to defend the seemingly irreversible modern life of these cities, we can't stop our hearts from crying when we realize that our rapidly degenerating urban eco-system isn't generous enough to let these delicate winged creatures build tiny little nests in its nooks and crannies, sit in solitude, and rear offspring.
(E) And this desertion seems to be true with most metros in India where house sparrows have almost become a thing of the past.
16. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement ?
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) E
17. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement ?
(a) E
(b) D
(c) C
(d) B
(e) A
18. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement ?
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) E
19. Which of the following should be the FOURTH sentence after rearrangement ?
(a) E
(b) D
(c) C
(d) B
(e) A
20. Which of the following should be the FIFTH sentence after rearrangement ?
(a) A
(b) B
(c) C
(d) D
(e) E
Directions (21-25): Which of the phrases (a), (b), (c) and (d) given below each statement should replace the phrase printed in bold in the sentence to make it grammatically correct? If the sentence is correct as it is given and ‘No correction is required,’ mark (e) as the answer.
21. A twenty-first century economy cannot be held hostage by power cuts nor travel on nineteenth century roads.
(a) cannot be hold (b) can either be held
(c) can neither be held (d) can either be hold
(e) No correction required
22. The company’s philosophy is to make sure that the employees are happy, have the ability to be intellectually stimulated and contributes towards their growth.
(a) contribute to their growth
(b) contribute towards its growth
(c) contributes towards its growing
(d) contribute to its growing
(e) No correction required
23. Even though many companies are now penetrating rural India, it would help to give India a real chance of witnessing a double digit GDP growth.
(a) Despite many companies are
(b) As many company is
(c) Besides many company are
(d) Since many companies are
(e) No correction required
24. Today, governments are introducing more and more technology into their system to address the needs of citizens at a pace fast than that of manual operations.
(a) faster than that of
(b) faster than those for
(c) fast than that for
(d) more than that for
(e) No correction required
25. Making good school education a reality would require major change in existing school system with expansion at both secondary and elementary levels.
(a) should requires major changes
(b) would require major changes
(c) must require some changes
(d) require major changes
(e) No correction 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 words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.
Pakistan is slowly becoming ..(26).. to its home-grown terrorism. The attack on Bacha Khan University, which killed mainly students, is reminiscent of the Peshawar terror attack in which ..(27).. of school-children were killed. One of the major ways Pakistan can eliminate/reduce terrorism is by providing the right education to its youth and taking stern action ..(28).. those directly or indirectly involved in running terror outfits. In its own interest, Pakistan also ..(29).. to end its policy of targeting India in the name of Kashmir. The state needs to gain control over the deep state, consisting of the Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). It needs to show action on ..(30).. perpetrators of terror attacks like those on Pathankot to justice.
26.(a) culprit
(b) target
(c) victim
(d) criminal
(e) founder
27.(a) numbers
(b) data
(c) most
(d) scores
(e) amount
28.(a) across
(b) against
(c) about
(d) toward
(e) for
29.(a) needs
(b) wants
(c) wishes
(d) hates
(e) works
30. (a) emerging
(b) forcing
(c) pulling
(d) pushing
(e) bringing
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Answer :
••••••••••••••
1.(c)
2. (e)
3.(a)
4. (c)
5.(c)
6. (b)
7. (e)
8. (c)
9. (b)
10.(d)
11.(a)
12. (e)
13. (d)
14. (a)
15. (e)
For questions (16-20); The correct sequence to form meaningful paragraph is BEDCA.
16. (b)
17. (a)
18. (d)
19. (c)
20. (a)
21. (c) Replace ‘cannot be held’ with ‘can neither be held’ as neither… nor is correct form of correlative.
22. (b) Replace ‘contributes towards their growth’ with ‘contribute towards its growth’
23. (d) Replace ‘Even though many companies are’ with ‘Since many companies are’
24. (a) Replace ‘fast than that of’ with ‘faster than that of’.
25. (b) Replace ‘would require major change’ with ‘would require major changes’.
26. (c)
27. (d)
28. (b)
29. (a)
30. (e)
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