VERBAL ABILITY HANDOUT

(Introduction to VA)
Ref: VAHO1002201
Directions for question 1: The following question has Directions for question 7: In the following question,
a word followed by four choices. From among the choices, a sentence is given in which an idiom is used. The
select the most suitable synonym (word that means the idiomatic phrase is underlined. Four possible meanings of
same) for the main word and mark the letter the idiom are also given. Mark the letter corresponding
corresponding with it as your answer. with the correct meaning as your answer.
1. IGNOMINY 7. The event, which started with a lot of hype
(A) stupidity (B) inadequacy and much fanfare, eventually turned out to be
(C) disgrace (D) humour a damp squib.
(A) a grand success
Directions for question 2: A foreign expression and four
(B) very exciting
English phrases are given in the following question.
(C) an unmitigated disaster
Identify, from among the choices, the meaning of the
(D) much less impressive
foreign expression and mark the letter corresponding with
it as your answer. Directions for question 8: The following question has
2. ENTENTE CORDIALE four sentences each with a blank, followed by four words,
(A) ceremonial gathering out of which, one or more can fill each blank. Identify the
(B) pleasant experience number of sentences each word can go into and mark, as
(C) a wholesome drink your answer, the maximum number of sentences a word
(D) friendly understanding can fit into.

Directions for question 3: The following question has 8. (a) Working continuously without a ______ has
a sentence with one word underlined. Identify the impaired his health very badly.
meaning of the underlined word, as used in the sentence, (b) We started our journey at the ______ of dawn.
from among the four alternatives and mark the letter (c) The proceedings resumed after a brief ______.
corresponding with it as your answer. (d) In medieval England, it was considered
inauspicious to ______ an egg from the middle.
3. People were charmed by his handsome appearance
and courtly deportment. (A) crack (B) break (C) halt (D) recess
(A) judicious (B) snobbish
(C) dignified (D) pragmatic Directions for question 9: For the word below,
a contextual usage is provided. Pick the word/phrase from
Directions for question 4: An expression followed by the alternatives that is the most appropriate substitute in
four words is given in the following question. the given context and mark the letter corresponding with
The expression carries the meaning of one of the words. it as your answer.
Identify the word and mark the letter corresponding with it
as your answer. 9. Laudable: The applications of science, many of which
would appear laudable in isolation, are in fact
4. To speak or perform without preparation. responsible for our troubles.
(A) premeditate (B) adlib (A) attractive (B) praiseworthy
(C) fester (D) benumb (C) authentic (D) conducive
Directions for question 5: The following question has
a word, followed by four choices. From among the Directions for question 10: For the word given below,
choices, identify the word which is opposite in meaning a contextual usage is provided. From among the
(antonym) to the main word and mark the letter alternatives given, pick the word that is the most
corresponding with it as your answer. INAPPROPRIATE as a substitute in the given context and
mark the letter corresponding with it as your answer.
5. PENURY
(A) affluence (B) robustness 10. Concomitant: Although success is highly desirable,
(C) humility (D) haughtiness it has its concomitant disadvantages.
(A) associated (B) accompanying
Directions for question 6: In the following question, four (C) related (D) abhorrent
words identified as a, b, c and d are given. Two of them
are opposite in meaning to each other. Identify this pair Directions for question 11: In the following question, five
and from the choices, mark as your answer, the capitalized words and four choices are given. From
combination that matches your selection. among the choices, identify the word that can be
associated with all the five capitalized words.
6. (a) sanguine (b) temperate
(c) haughty (d) dejected 11. SPOT, BOARD, COFFEE, BIRD, MAGIC
(A) a – c (B) a – d (C) b – c (D) b – d (A) black (B) less (C) feather (D) table
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Directions for question 12: In the following question, e. Ours is just one in an eternal cycle of
a capitalised pair of words is given, followed by expanding and collapsing universe, like the
four lettered pairs of words. Three of the lettered pairs bladder of an oxygen machine.
exhibit the same relationship between the words as the (A) a and b (B) c and d
capitalised pair of words does. Identify the lettered pair that (C) a and e (D) a, b and e
DOES NOT exhibit the same relationship as the capitalised
pair does and mark the letter corresponding with it as Directions for question 17: In the question below,
your answer. the word at the top is used in four different ways, lettered
A to D. Choose the option in which the usage of the word
12. LUGUBRIOUS: MIRTHFUL is incorrect or inappropriate.
(A) taciturn : loquacious (B) frequent : rare
(C) loyal : treacherous (D) similar : identical 17. HOME
(A) During winter, parts of North India are home to
Directions for question 13: The question has several migratory birds.
a sentence with two blanks, followed by four pairs of (B) Although she found it difficult to adjust to the new
words as choices. From the choices, select the pair of surroundings initially, she gradually began to feel
words that can best complete the given sentence. at home.
(C) He obtained a loan from the bank to build a home.
13. Orchids are ______ plants which are difficult (D) However much I tried, I could not drive home
to ______ in tropical climates. the point.
(A) ephemeral . . . prune Directions for question 18: The following question has
(B) exotic . . . grow a sentence that is split into four parts. One of them has
(C) ubiquitous . . . cultivate an error. Mark the letter corresponding with the erroneous
(D) congenial . . . breed part as your answer.
Directions for question 14: The following question has
18. Had I been / in your place, / I would have / grabbed
a paragraph with one italicized word that does not make
(A) (B) (C)
sense. Choose the most appropriate replacement for that
at the opportunity.
word, from the options given below the paragraph.
(D)
14. Louis Mountbatten's spontaneous decision to Directions for question 19: The question below gives
announce the date of Indian independence on his own a sentence with a part of it underlined. Four substitutes
initiative was a bombshell. In the corridors of the house are given for the underlined portion. Identify the choice
of Commons, Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, no that forms a logical and grammatically correct statement
one had suspected that Mountbatten was ready to ring and mark the letter corresponding with it as your answer.
the curtain down so blitheringly on Britain's Indian
adventure. 19. You would have scored good marks if you had
(A) precipitously (B) harrowingly worked little harder.
(C) ludicrously (D) desperately (A) if you had worked little hard
(B) if you would have worked little hard
Directions for question 15: In the following question, (C) if you would have worked little harder
there are five sentences or parts of sentences that form (D) if you had worked a little harder
a paragraph. Identify the sentence(s) or part(s) of
sentence(s) that is/are correct in terms of grammar and Directions for question 20: In the following question,
usage. Then, choose the most appropriate option. two sentences are given. There may be errors in the
sentence(s). Mark your answer as
15. a. To a century fraught with violence Gandhi
offered an alternative – (A) if there is an error only in the first sentence;
b. his doctrine of ahimsa, non-violence. He had (B) if there is an error only in the second sentence;
used it mobilizing (C) if there are errors in both the sentences; and
c. the masses of India to drive England from the (D) if there is no error in either of the sentences.
sub-continent with moral crusade
20. . Each of the suspected men were thorough
d. instead of an armed rebellion, prayers instead of
interrogated.
machine-gun fire,
e. disdainful silence instead of the fracas of  The police finally managed to get through the truth.
terrorists' bombs. Directions for questions 21 to 23: Fill in the blanks
(A) a and b (B) d and e in the passage below with the most appropriate word from
(C) c and e (D) c, d and e among the options given for each blank. The right words
are the ones used by the author. Be guided by the author’s
Directions for question 16: Identify the incorrect overall style and meaning when you choose the answer.
sentence or sentences.
Today, we can all (21) famous landmarks such as the
16. a. Since everyone calls it the Big Bang, Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Taj Mahal or the Grand
many books caution us not to think of it as Canyon, without ever having visited them, thanks
an explosion in the conventional sense. primarily to photography. An art form and means of (22)
b. It was, rather, a vast, sudden explosion on communication, photography is so (23) in our society
whopping scale. that it is hard to imagine a time when it didn’t exist.
c. So what caused it?
d. One notion is that perhaps the prior entity was 21. (A) identify (B) locate
the relic of an earlier, collapsed universe. (C) simulate (D) imagine
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22. (A) digital (B) spiritual Directions for question 27: The following question has
(C) visual (D) mental a paragraph from which the last sentence has been
deleted. From the given options, choose the one that
23. (A) pervasive (B) obtrusive completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.
(C) inconspicuous (D) prominent
27. Many organisms in the visible world are poorly served
Directions for question 24: In the following question, by the traditional division into plants and animals.
four different ways of presenting an idea are given. Fungi, the group that includes mushrooms, moulds,
Choose the one that conforms most closely to standard mildews, yeasts and puffballs, were nearly always
English usage. treated as botanical objects, though, in fact, almost
nothing about them matches anything in the plant
24. (A) Born in Malabar in the far south of India, world. Structurally they have more in common with
animals in that they build their cells from chitin,
Shankara travelled incessantly all over India,
a material present in the shells of insects and the
meeting innumerable people, arguing, debating,
claws of mammals. Unlike plants, they don't photo
reasoning, convincing and filling them with a part synthesize but grow directly on their food
of his own passion and tremendous vitality. source. ______
(B) Born in Malabar in the far south of India, (A) Almost the only plant-like quality they have is that
Shankara incessantly travelled all over India, they root.
meeting innumerable people, arguing, debating, (B) They have no chlorophyll and thus are not green.
reasoning, convincing and filling them with a part (C) Fungi eat the sulphur off a concrete wall or the
of his own passion and tremendous vitality decaying matter between your toes – two things
(C) Born in Malabar in the far south of India. no plant will do.
Shankara travelled incessantly all over India, to (D) They differ from plants in how they reproduce
meet innumerable people, arguing, debating, and respire, how they build themselves.
reasoning, convincing and filling them to a part of Directions for question 28: In the following question,
his own passion and tremendous vitality four statements are given. Three of them are related in
(D) Born in Malabar in the far south of India. some way. Identify the ‘odd man’ and mark the letter
Shankara incessantly travelled all over India, corresponding with it as your answer.
meeting innumerable people, arguing, debating,
28. (A) An elegy is a poem of lamentation.
reasoning, convincing and filling them to a part of
(B) Shakespeare was the most famous exponent
his own passion and tremendous vitality.
of the sonnet.
(C) Shelly's Skylark is an ode.
Directions for question 25: In the following question,
(D) Pride and Prejudice is one of the most famous
a sentence is split into four parts and labelled a, b, c and
novels of Jane Austen.
d. Rearrange the parts to form the original sentence and
select the correct order from among the four choices given Directions for question 29: Four alternative summaries
below the question. are given below the following text. Choose the option that
best captures the essence of the text and mark the
25. a. who have heard everything from a long- number corresponding with it in the box provided below
distance telephone network each question.
b. and this comes as a surprise to people
c. to the Internet described as a data 29. As economists such as Dani Rodrik have pointed out,
‘superhighway’ gross economic inequalities do not result from
d. the information highway does not exist physically an inexorable forward march of technology or
globalization or from the nature of markets. They are
(A) abcd (B) dbac (C) cdba (D) dcab
products of policy choices, which are themselves the
outcome of politics. “Inequality,” as Joseph Stiglitz
Directions for question 26: In the following question, argues in Rewriting the Rules of the American
five sentences of a paragraph are given. Determine the Economy (2015), “has been a choice.” Achieving an
order in which the sentences have to be arranged to form economy with more egalitarian outcomes will require
a logically coherent paragraph and mark the correct different political choices and economic policies. It will
sequence of numbers in the box provided below the require that we choose different rules to govern labor,
question. housing, and financial markets.
(1) To think that globalization and advancement of
26. (1) Fuelling this demand is the burgeoning technology will obliterate economic inequalities is
working class with disposable incomes. a misconception.
(2) Experts say that the future market potential (2) Framing different rules to govern labor, housing,
is 8,000 tonnes. and financial markets go a long way in ushering
(3) It is no secret that Indians are the biggest in an economy with egalitarian outcomes.
consumers of gold in the world. (3) Disparate political choices and economic policies
(4) All this makes market analysts forecast the are the way forward towards achieving
re-emergence of gold as the hottest alternative an egalitarian economy.
asset. (4) An egalitarian society can be achieved only by
(5) The annual consumption of the yellow metal making drastic changes to political choices and
is 800 tonnes, the highest by any country. economic policies.

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Directions for question 30: In the following question, the only way for the quality of the content is
there are four sentences. Each sentence has pairs of downwards.
words/phrases that are italicized and highlighted. From
(1) Social media network tampers with quality of
the italicized and highlighted word(s)/phrase(s), select the
content.
most appropriate word(s)/phrase(s) to form correct
sentences. Then, from the options given, choose the best one. (2) In social media websites, engagement is
prioritized over quality.
30. a. The judge was not convinced that the defence (3) Social media networks do not serve the purpose
attorney had not tampered (a) / tempered (b) they are designed for.
with the evidence. (4) Advertisers choose social media websites as
b. Several parts of India experience draught (a) / their primary medium for advertising
drought (b) every year but ministers act as if
they have no role (a) / roll (b) to play in
alleviating people's suffering.
c. The party was a great success and conversation Directions for question 33: The following question
had flown (a) / flowed (b) freely. presents 5 statements of which 4, when placed in
d. India can make remarkable progress if its appropriate order, would form a contextually complete
venial (a) / venal (b) politicians would mend their paragraph. Pick the statement that is not a part of that
ways. context and mark the number corresponding with it in the
(A) aabab (B) abbaa (C) ababb (D) baaba box provided below the question.

Directions for question 31: The question given below 33. (1) Approximately 50 to 55 million people die
has a text which is followed by four options. Choose the worldwide each year, and it is estimated that
option which summarizes the given text in the most each death leaves an average of five bereaved
appropriate manner and mark the letter corresponding individuals.
with it in the box provided below the question. (2) Research attesting to the distinctiveness of
persistent grief and its associated adverse
31. Making things with 3D printers is an idea that is being effects led the World Health Organization in 2018
adopted by manufacturers to produce goods ranging to decide to include a grief-specific diagnosis in
from false teeth to jet engines. Conventional printing, their classification guidelines for mental disorders,
though, has not remained idle. Machines that have known as the ICD-1 (International Classification of
their origins in the high-speed rotary presses that Diseases, 11th revision), which will be fully
apply words and images to large reels of paper, like implemented in healthcare systems by 2022.
the ones which turn out the physical versions of a (3) The experience of loss usually causes a range of
newspaper, have started making other things as well. psychosocial reactions, such as withdrawal from
(1) Although the idea of making things with social activities, deep sadness, confusion about
3D printers is becoming popular, conventional one’s role in life, and bursts of loneliness.
printing hasn’t remained idle. (4) In the acute phase of bereavement, these types
(2) While the idea of producing a variety of goods of grief reactions are often all-consuming,
using 3D printers is gaining acceptance, excruciatingly painful, and highly impairing.
conventional printing machines too have begun (5) It’s a tragic fact of life that most of us will
diversified production. experience the loss of a loved one.
(3) In a stark contrast to the limited utility
of conventional printing machines, 3D printers
are going to be used for producing a variety of Directions for question 34: Create a word using all
goods ranging from false teeth to jet engines. jumbled letters as provided in the table and identify its
(4) While manufacturers are adopting the idea of appropriate meaning.
making things with 3D printers, conventional
printers are planned to be utilised for diverse 34.
purposes. A O
N R
T I B
Directions for question 32: The passage given below is R E A
followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best (A) Prudence (B) Anomaly
captures the author’s position and mark the number (C) Precision (D) Compassion
corresponding with it in the box provided below the question.
Directions for question 35: Create a word using all
32. Most of the social media websites tend to optimize jumbled letters as provided in the table and identify its
their algorithm to addict us and keep us clicking. The appropriate antonym.
biggest problem with this is that such platforms are
purely advertising supported. They lean on revenues 35.
that advertisers are eager to pay to promote Q A
themselves to those who naively and persistently I U N
stick to these sites. Facebook. Twitter, and other O M E
social networks make revenue based on how long
S U
you stay on their sites looking at it and clicking on
advertising. When the goals of such websites are (A) Tranquil (B) Abominable
clicks, but not actually being meaningful to our lives, (C) Agitated (D) Sophisticated
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