Directions (1Q - 2Q): Read the following paragraph and answer the following questions.
Buying a house is the single largest financial investment an individual makes. Yet, in India, this act is fraught with risk and individuals depend on weak laws for justice. Occasionally, deviant promoters are called to account as was the case in the detention of Unitech’s promoters. This incident shows up the fallout of an absence of proper regulation to cover contracts between buyers and real estate promoters. A real estate bill, which is presently pending in Rajya Sabha, seeks to fill this gap. It has been debated for over two years and should be passed by Parliament in the budget session. India is in the midst of rapid urbanization and urban population is expected to more than double to about 900 million over the next three decades. Unfortunately, even the current population does not have adequate housing. A government estimate in 2012 put the shortage at nearly 19 million units. If this shortage is to be alleviated quickly, India’s messy real estate sector needs reforms.
The real estate bill seeks to set standards for contracts between buyers and sellers. Transparency, a rare commodity in real estate, is enforced as promoters have to upload project details on the regulators’ website. Importantly, standard definitions of terms mean that buyers will not feel cheated after taking possession of a house. In order to protect buyers who pay upfront, a part of the money collected for a real estate project is ring-fenced in a separate bank account. Also, given the uncertainty which exists in India on land titles, the real estate bill provides title insurance. This bill has been scrutinized by two parliamentary committees and its passage now brooks no delay.
This bill is an important step in cleaning up the real estate market, but the journey should not end with it. State governments play a significant role in real estate and they are often the source of problems. Some estimates suggest that real estate developers have to seek approvals of as many as 40 central and state departments, which lead to delays and an escalation in the cost of houses. Sensibly, NDA government’s project to provide universal urban housing forces states to institute reforms to access central funding. Without real estate reforms at the level of states, it will not be possible to meet the ambition of making housing accessible for all urban dwellers.
Q1. Which of the following is ‘true’ in the context of the passage?

A. Buying house is not a single largest individual investment. B. In India, no one depends on laws for justice. C. Urbanization increasing rapidly. D. The real estate bill not provides title insurance. E. None of these

Answer - Option C
Explanation - Urbanisation increasing rapidly.
Q2. What will not be possible to meet the Ambition of Making housing accessible for Urban Dwellers?

A. With the Real state reforms at State level. B. Without support of central government. C. Without passing the bill the in Rajya Sabha. D. Without real estate reforms at the level of states E. None of these

Answer - Option D
Explanation - Without real estate reforms at the level of states
Q3. Not acknowledging the crimes happening around us howsoever petty they are, kind of _________ them which in itself is a moral crime on our part.

I. excruciate II. legitimise III. stymie IV. validate

A. III, I B. II, IV C. I, IV D. II, III E. All fit

Answer - Option B
Explanation - Legitimise, validate – to make something legal, acceptable
Q4. And as Mark twain’s ________ goes; Facts are stubborn things but statistics are pliable.

I. paroemia II. dictum III. adage IV. platitude

A. II, III B. I, IV C. III D. II, III, IV E. All fit

Answer - Option E
Explanation - Paroemia, dictum, adage, platitude – a short statement that expresses a saying, general truth or principle.
Direction (5Q): Rearrange the following sentences in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph then answer the following questions.

• A. And yet, as disagreeable as the outcomes may have been so far, we must continue to focus on the Arab Spring uprisings, in order to uncover their root causes.
• B. Like any landmark event, they have posed new and difficult questions.
• C. But waning interest in the Arab uprisings reflects a deeper shift: hope for new, more representative political systems has given way to despair, as expectant revolutions have morphed into counter-revolution, civil war, failed states, and intensifying religious extremism.
• D. The sixth anniversary of the Arab Spring uprisings this year came and went largely unnoticed.
• E. And one of the most important is why economists failed to anticipate the unrest.
• F. Unlike in previous years, there was no torrent of commentary about the tumultuous events that shook the Arab world and seemed to promise a transformation of its politics, Of course, novelty wears off over time.

Q5. Which would be the Third sentence after Rearrangement?

A. 5 B. 4 C. 1 D. 3 E. 2

Answer - Option D
Explanation - The Correct Sequence is 463125

Directions (1Q - 2Q): Read the following Error spotting questions and answer the following below.
Q1.

A. Retro has gone geek, with board-game B. creator reinvent or tweaking old C. favourites to make them relevant D. and appeal to a new, young player. E. No error.

Answer - Option B
Explanation - creators reinventing or tweaking old
Q2.

A. In its newly revamp version, traditional B. bank notes that were carefully collected, C. counted and categorised, have been D. replaced by debit cards and swipe machines. E. No error.

Answer - Option A
Explanation - In its newly revamped version, traditional
Directions (3Q - 4Q): Which of the following phrases (I), (II), and (III) given below each sentence should replace the phrase printed in bold letters to make the sentence grammatically correct? Choose the best option among the five given alternatives that reflect the correct use of phrase in the context of the grammatically correct sentence. If the sentence is correct as it is, mark (E) i.e., “No correction required” as the answer.
Q3. Social anxieties over braid chopping and ‘love jihad’ directly feed up conservative agendas that also deny women functional autonomy and upset ambitious government schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.

(I) directly feed into conservative agendas that (II) directly feed over conservative agendas that (III) directly feed under conservative agendas that

A. Only (I) is correct B. Only (II) is correct C. Both (I) and (III) are correct D. All are correct E. No correction required

Answer - Option A
Explanation - “directly feed into conservative agendas that” is the correct phrase to make the sentence correct. Also, the phrasal verb “feed into” means ‘to put something into something; to push a supply of something into something’.
Q4. Across India the social psyche is fraying for the edges where superstition, hate-spewing ideologies, and fear of the “other” are producing massive disruptions, sometimes tapping social media’s viral potential.

(I) the social psyche is fraying of the edges (II) the social psyche is fraying in the edges (III) the social psyche is fraying at the edges

A. Only (I) is correct B. Only (II) is correct C. Only (III) is correct D. Both (I) and (II) are correct E. No correction required

Answer - Option C
Explanation - “the social psyche is fraying at the edges” is the correct phrase to make the sentence correct. Also, the phrasal verb “fraying at the edges” means ‘it has an uncertain or unsteady quality’.
Q5. Aplomb

A. ease B. ribald C. repose D. serenity E. poise

Answer - Option B
Explanation - Aplomb- self-confidence or assurance, especially when in a demanding situation.

Directions (1Q - 2Q): Read the following Cloze test questions and answer the following below.
A cynical move is underway to promote a new, powerful, and troubling technology known as “gene drives” for use in conservation. This is not just your everyday genetic modification, known as “GMO”; it is a new technology, which creates “mutagenic chain reactions” that can reshape living systems in unimaginable ways. Gene drives represent the next frontier of genetic engineering, synthetic biology, and gene editing. The technology (1Q) the standard rules of genetic inheritance, ensuring that a particular trait, delivered by humans into an organism’s DNA using advanced gene-editing technology, spreads to all (2Q) generations, thereby altering the future of the entire species. It is a biological tool with unprecedented power. Yet, instead of taking time to consider fully the ethical, ecological, and social issues, many are aggressively promoting gene-drive technology for use in conservation. One proposal aims to protect native birds on Hawaii’s Kauai Island by using gene drives to reduce the population of a species of mosquito that carries avian malaria. Another plan, championed by a conservation consortium that includes the US and Australian government agencies, would eradicate invasive, bird-harming mice on particular islands by introducing altered mice that prevent them from producing female offspring. Creating the “daughterless mouse” would be the first step toward so-called Genetic Biocontrol of Invasive Rodents (GBIRd), designed to cause deliberate extinctions of “pest” species like rats, in order to save “favored” species, such as birds.
Q1.

A. perceptual B. grant C. overrides D. concede E. acquiesce

Answer - Option C
Explanation - overrides
Q2.

A. archaic B. azoic C. archaeozoic D. antecedent E. subsequent

Answer - Option E
Explanation - subsequent
Q3. Smile : Laugh : Cry

A. Sit : Sleep : Play B. Frown : Anger : Temper C. Morgning : Night : Day D. Touch : Catch : Release E. None of these

Answer - Option D
Explanation - Touch : Catch : Release
Directions (4Q - 5Q): Read the following question Word Analogy and answer the below.
Q4. Thrust : Spear

A. Scabbard : Sword B. Mangle: Iron C. Bow : Arrow D. Fence : Epee E. None of these

Answer - Option D
Explanation - First is the action performed with the second.
Q5. Garbage : Squalor

A. Poor : Hunger B. Diamond : Magnificence C. Colour : Brush D. Dirtiness : Cleanlness E. None of these

Answer - Option B
Explanation - Second is the property of the first.