Following the Centre’s decision to withdraw high-value banknotes and impose withdrawal ___A___ on account-holders Banks have thus found themselves in an ___B___ situation where their liabilities have jumped sharply, while their assets have instead almost ___C___. This has added to their woes at a time when ___D___ bad loans have pushed most public sector banks to post record quarterly losses. The demonetization decision has ___E___ ended up providing banks with the windfall of low-cost deposits that could potentially serve as the launch pad to a credit-backed demand.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank A A. action B. curbs C. penalty D. sanction E. taxes
Option: B
In the context of the paragraph describing the after-effects of ‘Demonetization’ on the Indian Bank Industry, the word “curbs” which refers to “checks or restraints on something” is the most suitable among the choices given.
Ex. If you do not cage him now, you lose the ability to curb the animalistic side of him.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank B A. pathetic B. quandary C. unenviable D. estranged E. degrading
Option: C
Usage of “estranged” which refers to ‘alienated’ is absurd here and the option D is hence eliminated. “Pathetic” or “degrading” are too intense to be thought of and hence both can be eliminated as well. “Quandary” which means ‘a state of perplexity’ is not going well with the context either. Clearly, the banks were not perplexed, their situation was rather unenviable or unpleasant and therefore “unenviable” is the most suited word for the blank.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank C A. withdrew B. gathered C. suspended D. stagnated E. minimize
Option: D
Usage of the verb “minimize” would be ungrammatical as the sentence is in the past tense. Hence, option E is immediately eliminated. If we observe the sentence, we can infer that the word after ‘instead’ must be the opposite in meaning to ‘jumped sharply’ and out of the choices given, only “stagnated” which refers to ‘become dull or inactive’ is fitting the gap appropriately.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank D A. mounting B. increase C. varying D. multiplying E. overestimated
Option: A
The usage of “increase” would have been correct, had it been in its present participle form “increasing”. Option B hence gets eliminated. Further, usage of any of the words “varying”, “multiplying” and “overestimated” is not adding any meaning to the context either. Options C, D, and E get eliminated as well. Usage of “mounting” which refers to ‘going up’ or ‘increasing’ is the most appropriate word out of the choices given as options.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank E A. independently B. unknowingly C. willy-nilly D. inadvertently E. proved
Option: C
Usage of the word “proved” for the blank will be grammatically incorrect because two action verbs ‘proved’ and ‘ended up’ cannot come together in a sentence. Option E is hence eliminated. Further, usage of any of the words “independently”, “unknowingly” and “inadvertently” with reference to ‘Demonetisation’ is absurd and not making any sense in the context of the paragraph. Options A, B, and D get eliminated as well. Usage of “willy-nilly” which means ‘whether one likes it or not’ is the only option left and it at the same time fits the gap contextually.
The BCCI and its State associations will probably ___A___ the day the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal began in 2013, but in all honesty, there have been so many opportunities for them to stem the rot that it is difficult to pinpoint how it all went so wrong. Increasingly, the BCCI has become ___B___ and waged a battle that has seemed strategically unsound. There was a major disconnect between how far the Board really believed the court would go and the ground reality. What may also have ___C___ the BCCI’s notice is the changing perception of governance in sports and not just in India. The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has seen an ___D___ overhaul recently, and in India, the Sports Ministry’s vocal ___E___ of the Indian Olympic Association’s controversial appointments is a case in point.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank A A. remembers B. recall C. justified D. rue E. rejoices
Option: D
Usage of “justified” will be erroneous as the first sentence of the paragraph is in Future Indefinite tense. Option C hence gets eliminated. Out of the remaining four words, “rue” refers to ‘bitterly regret (something one has done or allowed to happen) and wish it is undone. fits the gap and goes well with the context of the passage.
37. Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank B A. victim B. isolated C. superpower D. unparallel E. invincible
Option: B
Usage of either of the words “victim” or “superpower” will be ungrammatical as they both are nouns and when used in a singular form, must be preceded by the indefinite article ‘a’. Options A and C hence get eliminated. Moreover, usage of either of the words “unparalleled” or “invincible” does not add any meaningful or logical context to the paragraph. Options D and E can be eliminated as well. Obviously, the word “isolated” which means ‘solitary’ or ‘cut off’ will fit the gap contextually.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank C A. indicated B. caught C. escaped D. come E. incurred
Option: C
Usage of “come” for the gap will be erroneous because the correct expression is “come to somebody’s notice”. Option D is hence eliminated. Further, neither of the words “indicated” and “incurred” fits the gap logically. Options A and E get eliminated as well. If we infer the context of the paragraph, we can deduce the fact that BCCI somehow failed to notice the changing perception of governance in sport and not just India. Therefore, the word “escaped” will be a better choice over “caught”.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank D A. rigorous B. reverse C. inward D. unending E. invasive Option: E
Option: E
Usage of either “rigorous” or “reverse” will be erroneous here as the indefinite article ‘an’ will only be followed by a word starting with a vowel sound. Option A and B are hence eliminated. Similarly, usage of either “inward” or “unending” would not add any meaning to the context and hence will be eliminated as well. The only option left now is “invasive”. Anything that is invasive goes or grows where you don’t want it and the usage of this word for the blank is absolutely appropriate in the given context.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank E A. chastising B. appreciation C. criticized D. expressions E. nagging
Option: A
Usage of the word “appreciation” would bring contradiction to what is inferred from the paragraph. Option B is hence eliminated. Usage of “expressions” will absolutely be absurd and hence option D can be eliminated as well. Usage of the word “criticized” will be ungrammatical and thus option C gets eliminated too.
Now, between “nagging” which means ‘constantly harassing someone’ and “chastising” which means ‘telling someone that something they did was really bad” the latter fits the gap appropriately.
