Paper : IES General Ability Previous Year Paper (2008)

SYNONYMS
Directions (For the 9 items which follow):
Each of the following nine items consists of a word or a group of words in capital letters,
followed by four words or groups of words. Select the word or group of words that is
most similar in meaning to the word or group of words in capital letters.

1. BEAVER AWAY
a. To waste away
b. To sleep for long hours
c. To work hard
d. To steal something

2. BADGER
a. To ricochet
b. To err
c. To apologize
d. To pester persistently

3. SWISH
a. False
b. Fashionable
c. Annulment
d. Rapid

4. SURREPTITIOUS
a. To be impatient
b. Susceptible
c. Supportive
d. To act stealthily

5. SURROGATE
a. Surpassable
b. Substitute
c. Surfeit
d. Surveillant

6. UP-THE CREEK
a. To get lot of money
b. In dire difficulties
c. To be very successful
d. To achieve one’s aim by deceit
7. CAVEAT
a. Award
b. Controversy
c. Warning
d. Graphic

8. NIP AND TUCK

a. Close competition
b. Heavy rain
c Fierce attack
d. Mixture

9. COMEUPPANCE
a.Sudden arrival
b.Parity
c.Paradox.
d.Retribution

ANTONYMS
Directions (For the 7 items which follow):

Each of the following seven items consists of a word in capital

letters, followed by four words or groups of words. Select the word
or group of words that is furthest in meaning to the word in capital
letters.

10. SALACIOUS
a. Decent
b. Satisfying
c. Preciptious
d. Fortifying

11. SEDULOUS
a. Lack of emotions
b. Lack of steady effort
c. Affluent
d. Modest
12. SWINGEINE
a. Dull
b. Meagre
c. Disrepute
d. Proportionate

13. TEDIUM
a. Appreciation
b. Fixation
c. Neutrability
d. Liveliness
14. TENDENTIOUS
a. Impartial
b. Calm
c. Supplementary
d. Super-duper

15. TEMERITY
a. Humourous
b. Hybrid
c. Humility
d. Humiliation

16. CAPRICE
a. Excuse
b. Steady behaviour
c. Accusation
d. Exhortation

Directions (For the 5 items which follow):

In each of the following five items, a related pair of words (in capital letters) is followed
by four pairs of words. Select the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that
expressed in the original pair (in capital letters).

17. CALLOW : MATURITY

a. Eager : Anxiety
b. Incipient : Fruition
c. Apathetic : Disinterest
d. Exposure : Weathering

18. DAMPEN : ENTHUSIASM

a. Moisten : Throat
b. Test : Commitment
c. Reverse: Direction
d. Mute : Sound

19. RUFFLE : COMPOSURE

a. Flourish : Prosperity
b. Adjust : Balance
c. Upset : Equilibrium
d. Chaff : Wheat

20. LATENT : MANIFESTATION

a. Dormant : Awakening
b. Patent : Appearance J
c. Redoubtable : Impress
d. Aggrieved : Distress

21. CELERITY : SNAIL

a. Indolence : Sloth
b. Humility : Peacock
c. Nervous : Energy
d. Emulation : Rivalry

SPOTTING ERRORS
Directions (For the 6 items which follow) :
(i) In this section, a number of sentences are given. The sentences are underlined in three
separate parts and each one is labeled (a), (b) and (c). Read each sentence to find out
whether there is an error in any underlined part. No sentence has more than one error.
When you find an error in any one of the underlined parts (a), (b) or (c), indicate your
response on the separate Answer Sheet at the approximate space. You may feel that there
is no error in a sentence. In that case letter (d) will signify a ‘No error’ response.
(ii) You are to indicate only one response for each item in your Answer Sheet. (If you
indicate more than one response, your answer will be considered wrong) Errors may be in
grammar, word usage or idioms. There may be a word missing or there may be a word
which should be removed.

(iii) You are not required to correct the error. You are
required only to indicate your response on the Answer Sheet.

22.
There were gapes of horror(a)
form the spectators as(b)
the performer fell from the tightrope(c)
No error (d)

23. She gazed at me(a)

in misbelief when(b)
I told her the news(c)
No error (d)

24. Acting from inside information(a)

the police were able to arrest the gang(b)
before the robbery occurred(c)
No error (d)

25. Amit did not have a girl-friend(a)

till he was 21, but now(b)
he is making up at the lost time(c)
No error (d)
26. She wanted to be an actress(a)
but her father soon(b)
nipped that idea in the bud(c)
No error (d)

27. Captain’s language was uncompromising(a)

he told junior officers their work (b)
must improve or they would be fired(c)
No error (d)

ORDERING OF SENTENCES Directions (For the 10 items which follow):

In the following items, each passage consists of six sentences. The first sentence (S1) and
final sentence (S6) are given in the beginning. The middle four sentences in each have
been removed and jumbled up. These are labeled P, Q, R and S. You are required to find
out the correct sequence of the four sentences and mark accordingly on the Answer Sheet.
Example ‘X’ has been solved for you.

(EXAMPLE)

X. S1 : There was a boy named Jack

S6 : At least she turned him out of the house
P : So the mother asked him to find work
Q : They were very poor
R : he lived with his mother
S : But Jack refused to work

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

(a) R - Q - P - S
(b) P - - R - S
(c) Q - P - R - S
(d) R - P - S - Q

Explanation: The correct sequence in this example is R-Q-P-S, which is marked by (a).
Therefore, (a) is the correct answer.

28. S1 : The first aeroplanes were fragile and clumsy.

S6 : In those days people considered flight in an aeroplane to be a miracle
P : When they took off they would not fly very high
Q : They also broke down frequently
R: It was difficult for them to take off
S : They flew slowly and only in the vicinity of the airfield

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

a. R - P - S - Q
b. S - Q - R - P
c. R -Q- S - P
d. S - P – R - Q

29. S1 : Lions usually live in a family partiescalled ‘prides’.

S6 : They actack man only when they are wounded or otherwise aroused.
P : Wild lions are not normally a menance to man.
Q : A pride is commonly made up of a lion,two lionesses and cubs.
R : Sometimes pigs and other animals are also killed by them.
S : They usually prey on zebras and antelopes.

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

a. P - S - R - Q
b. Q - R - S - P
c. P - R - S - Q
d. Q - S - R - P

30. S1 : Not long age television was a rarity.

S6: Only a few people understand the technology behind it.
P: It has become a means of entertainment and information.
Q: Yet nowadays there is one in virtually every home.
R: But most of us do not know much about how an image appears on the television
screen
S: We have grown used to it.

Which one of the following is the correct

sequence?
a. P - R - Q - S
b. Q - S - P - R
c. P - S- Q - R
d. Q - R - P - S

31. S1: I have know in my own life, in my own experience, people who were hating one
another on account of their religious views.

S6: We are the inheritors of a great world heritage.

P: They try to find out whatever is of value in them.
Q: You will find that other religions are studies with sympathy and respect by those who
do not adhere to them
R: All that has changed today.
S: The classics of the whole world form the classics of every human being.

Which one of the following is the correct

sequence?
a. P - S - R - Q
b. R - Q - P - S
c. P - - R - S
d. R - S - P - Q

32. S1: Javert was a strong, upright and just man.

S6: So he took the only way out for him-he killed himself.
P: But now his life was turned upside down.
Q: It was his safe world of rules.
R: He would help no one, and he helped noone.
S: He did not want favours from a thief.

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

a. Q - P -S - R
b. S - R -Q - P
c. Q - R -S - P
d. S - P - Q - R

33. S1: Nowadays we pay a great deal of attention to pure air, open windows and garden
cities.
S6: Pasteurised milk is milk which has been treated in this way.
P: Another useful discovery of Pasteur’s was the process, now called, pasteurization.
Q: Pasteur was one of the first to show how necessary all these are if we are to fight
against germs and disease.
R: Pasteur helped them by showing that by heating win or milk to a temperature of 60
degree Centrigrade, the germs were madeharmless.
S: Some wine-growers were troubled by a germ which has turned their win sour.

Which one of the following is the correctsequence?

a. R - S -P - Q
b. Q- P - S - R
c. R - P - S - Q
d. Q- S - P - R

34. S1: Scientist have found that any train running on wheels cannot go faster than 300
kilometres an hour.
S6: Japanese engineers are, therefore, planning another kind of train, a magnetic train
without, wheels, which would also float above the ground.
P: One way of building such trains has already been tried out
Q: If we want trains which can go still faster we must build them without wheels.
R: But it would not be possible to run them on the Tokaido line because in same tunnels
there would not be enough air to support them
S: Here, the whole train floats above the ground on top of a cushion of air created by
powerful fans.

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

a. Q-P-S-R
b. S-R-Q-P
c. Q-R-S-P
d. S-P-Q-R

35. S1: Newspapers are the cheapest medium of information today.

S6: Consequently, 50 percent of our population is denied across to information vital for
the functionaries of a democracy.
P: If you cannot buy a paper, you can go to a public library.
Q: And yet newspapers do not reach nearly fifty percent of our population.
R: They are also easily available to everybody
S: It is because people are illiterate.

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

a. R-S-Q-P
b. Q-P-R-S
c. R-P-Q-S
d. Q-S-R-P .

36. S1: Social isolation, overcrowding, the competitiveness of our society and several
other factors are responsible for stress.
S6: Yet some other get totally depressed andoften much worried.
P: In England we refer to competition insociety as the ‘rat-race’.
Q: All of us react to that rat-race in differentways.
R: But some of us get very much tried andbored every easily.
S: The pressures on all of us are very great because speed and competition have become
part of every day life.

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

a. R-P-Q-S
b. S–Q–P-R
c. R–Q–P-S
d. S-P–Q-R

37. S1: It is true that a few women have opportunities to work outside the home.
S6: If women stop doing this work there would be havoc in the public life.
P: Women do much work all the time within the house.
Q: This work could be termed as socially productive labour.
R: It consists of cooking, washing, cleaning, fetching fuel and water etc.
S: This work is crucial to the survival ofsociety.

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

a. P-Q-R-S
b. R-S-P–Q
c. P-S-R–Q
d. R-Q-P–S

ORDERING OF WORDS IN A SENTENCE

Direction (For the 10 items which follow)
In the following item, some parts of the sentence have been jumbled up. You are required
to rearrange these parts which are labeled P, Q, R and S to produce the correct sequence.
Choose the proper sequence and marks in your Answer Sheet accordingly. Example ‘Z’
has been solved for you.

(EXAMPLE)

Z. It is well-known that
the effect:P
it very bad:Q
on children:R
of cinema : S

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

(a) P-S-R-Q
(b) S-P-Q-R
(c) S-R-P-Q
(d) Q-S-R-P Explanation:
The proper way of writing the sentence is “It is well-known that the effect of cinema on
children is very bad.” This is indicated by the sequence P-S-R-Q and so (a) is the correct
answer.

38. Life comes

Awed by all the things that their words can do with computer and gadgets:P
who can get anything done by clinking a few buttons:Q
a full circle when some technologically challenged mothers:R
begin to believe that their child is a super-kid in the digital world:S

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

a. R-P–Q–S
b. P-R–Q–S
c. R-P–S-Q
d. P-R-S-

39. Unaware
Reading other periodicals and publication:P
ourselves with merely:Q
of the need to build:R
the intellect we tend to entertain:S

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

a. Q-P-R-S
b. R-S-Q-P
c. Q-S-R-P
d. R-P-Q-S
40. Loss of employment
in a country like India where:P
is no social security net to fall back on:Q
most people are still poor and there:R
or livelihood can be really injurious:S

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

a. S-R-P-Q
b. Q-P-R-S
c. Q-R-P-S
d. S-P-R-Q

41. Many people

organized their energies around a goal:P
but simply because they have never:Q
or brains or even courage:R
fail in life not for lack of ability:S
Which one of the following is the correct sequence?
a. P-Q-R-S
b. S-R–Q–P
c. P-R–Q–P
d. S-Q–R–P

42. Being
to a viewing point a higher more expansive place:P
to move from a point of view:Q
willing to change allows you:R
from which you can seen both sides: S
Which one of the following is the correct sequence?
a. R-Q-P-S
b. Q-R-P-S
c. Q-R-S-P
d. R-Q-S-P

43. Yet one area

to players who have violated the spirit of the game:P
in which Indian Cricket administration should definitely:Q
denying the benefits of Indian corporate sponsorship:R
use its financial clout is in:S
Which one of the following is the correctsequence?
a. R-P-Q-S
b. Q-S-R-P
c. R-S-Q-P
d. Q-P-R-S

44. While improvements

have definitely helped climbers now carry lighter oxygen bottles:P
in technology over the years:Q
made of titanium and get regular weather updates:R
through satellite phones the route to Mt.Everest remains treacherous as ever:S
Which one of the following is the correct
sequence?
a. Q-P-R-S
b. S-R-P-Q
c. Q-R-P-S
d. S-P-R-Q

45. Life
the number of breaths you take:P
that take your breath away:Q
is not measured by:R
but by the moments:S
Which one of the following is the correct sequence?
a. Q-P-S-R
b. R-S-P-Q
c. Q-S-P-R
d. R-P-S-Q

46. The greatest

miss it but that it is too:P
danger for most of us:Q
is not that our aim is too high and we:R
low and we reach it:S
Which one of the following is the correct
sequence?
a. Q-S-P-R
b. P-R-Q-S
c. Q-R-P-S
d. P-S-Q-R

47. The fundamental

but an institutional framework that lays down:P
and cannot be trampled on by the ruling government:Q
the rights of the people and rules of political engagement:R
mark of a democracy is not elections: S

Which one of the following is the correct sequence?

a. S-P-Q-R
b. P-S-R-Q
c. P-S-Q-R
d. S-P-R-Q
COMPREHENSION
Directions (For the 13 items which follow):
In this section, you have three short passages. After each passage, you will find several
questions based on the passage. First, read and passage and then answer the questions
based on it. You are required to select your answers based on the contents of the passage
and opinion of the author only.
Example ‘T and ‘J” are solved for you

PASSAGE (EXAMPLE)

In our approach to life, be it pragmatic or otherwise, a basic fact that confronts us

squarely and unmistakable is the desire for peace, security and happiness. Different forms
of life at different levels of existence make up the teeming denizens of this earth of ours.
And, no matter whether they belong to the higher groups such as human beings or to the
lower groups and as animals, all beings primarily seek peace, comfort and security. Life
is as dear to a mute creature as it is to a man. Even the lowliest insect strives for
protection against dangers that threaten its life. Just as each one of us wants to live and
not to die, so do all other creature.

I. The author’s remains point is that

(a) different forms of life are found on earth
(b) different levels of existence are possible in nature
(c) peace and security are the chief goals of all living beings
(d) even the weakest creature struggles to preserve its life

J. Which one of the following assumptions or steps is

essential in developing the author’s position?
(a) All forms of life have a single over-riding goal
(b) The will to survive of a creature is identified with a desire of peace
(c) All beings are divided into higher and lower groups
(d) A parallel is drawn between happiness and life, and pain and death.

Explanation:
I. The idea which represents the author’s main point is
“peace and security are the chief goals of all living being”, which is response (c). So (c)
is the correct answer.
J. The best assumption underlying the passage in “The will
to survive of a creature is identified with a desire for peace”, which is response (b). So (b)
is the correct answer.

PASSAGE I
J.K Galbraith has described the current inflation as a “revolt of the rich against the poor”.
Richard Parker supports this view with the claim that it is the richest people that benefit
by inflation: while the rest, especially the poorest, suffer in proportion to their relative
property. On the other hand, a 1979 study published by the Brookings Institute indicates
that the lower classes are generally benefited by inflation, while the upper classes lose.
The confusion over who suffers from inflation is extended to other questions such as the
major causes of inflation. In addition to the proponents of the demand theory, there are
many who doubt whether inflation is essentially an economic problem at all. Konard
Kellen holds that inflation is not an economic problem but a psychological one. Paul
Samuelson cites a social factor, the evaluation of a more humane society, as a root cause
of inflation.

48. What does the author believe?

a. Only the rich suffer from inflation
b. Only the poor suffer from inflation
c. Both the rich and the poor suffer from inflation
d. It is debatable as to who suffers from inflation

49. From the passage, which one of the following may be inferred?
a. The effect of inflation can be studied with scientific precision
b. The effect of inflation cannot be studied with scientific precision
c. Economists are biased towards the rich or the poor
d. The effect of inflation varies from place to place, and people to people

50. On the basis of the information given in the

passage, what are the causes of inflation?
a. Essentially economic
b. Essentially psychological
c. Essentially social
d. Highly controversial

51. How des the author write?

a. Objectively
b. Critically
c. Sympathetically
d. Persuasively

PASSAGE II
Work itself is a very important factor in motivating a person. A person tends to perform a
task more enthusiastically if that work affords more satisfaction than the other work. A
person’s satisfaction out of work is more is it is more need satisfying. A man seeks
something from work and if he gets more satisfaction from a particular work he will be
prone to do that work better or harder. There are incentives for work; these can be
financial or non-financial. People like missionaries and some scientists do not work
basically for material gains as such. A person wants to do a work which is personally
meaningful.

52. Which one of the following is correct?

a. Work is the most important factor by which a person is motivated.
b. Work is the least important factor that motivates a person
c. Among the several factors that motivate a person, work is an important one.
d. Nothing can motivate a person who does not have some permanent work.

53. Which one of the following is correct?

A person’s work satisfaction depends on
a. the money and other benefits he receives from work
b. the need satisfying nature of the work he does
c. the physical environment in which he works
d. the personal relationship he establishes with his colleagues and superiors

54. Which one of the following is correct?

If, a person get more satisfaction from a particular work, he will
a. stick on the that work for every
b. certainly achieve mastery over that work soon
c. slowly develop a taste for that work
d. do that work in a better and harder manure

55. Which one of the following is correct?

Both the scientists and the missionaries work
a. because of the incentives given to them
b. without hopping for any material gain
c. without receiving any material gain
d. because they want to be appreciated

56. Which one of the following is correct?

Every person wants to have a work which
a. helps him to get involved meaningfully
b. helps him to earn substantially
c. is pleasant and easy
d. can be finished quickly

PASSAGE III
In our country there is very little popular writing on science. Those who write are writing
for other scientists. The newspapers these days devote a little more space then before for
scientific topics but they appear to be rather ill-digested knowledge not written in simple
readable language. So if we are to bridge this gap and disseminate scientific knowledge
and promote scientific temper, it has become necessary for some of the scientists to turn
to popularization. Today we have almost compulsion for doing this if we are to convey to
the people the meaning and relevance of the pursuit of science. It is time same scientists
enters the field of scientific journalism.

57. What does the passage suggest?

a. The author is fully satisfied with the role of newspapers in promoting popular writing
on science.
b. The author is totally dissatisfied with therole of newspapers in promoting popular
writing on science.
c. The author appreciates the readiness ofnewspapers to allow more space than before to
writings on science.
d. The author condemns the attitude displayed by newspapers in the matter of promoting
popular writing on science.

58. Which one of the following is correct?

Popular writing on science in our country appears to be
a. not properly digested and easilycomprehensible
b. extremely restricted in outlook
c. very lucid, intelligible and self explanatory
d. based on obsolete knowledge of the topics chosen

59. Which one of the following is correct?

The propose of promoting popular scientific writing in newspapers is
a. to attract more people to the study of science
b. to spread scientific knowledge and encourage scientific temper among the common
people
c. to give the people information about modern scientific inventions
d. to help the newspapers to increase their circulation among the students of sciencel!

60. The author wants some of the scientists “to turn to popularization”. What does that
imply?
a. The scientists should go round and country and explain to the people the various
achievements of science J
b. The scientists should make use of the television and radio to spread the message of
science among the common people
c. The scientists should write in newspapers about the various aspects of science in easily
understandable language.
d. The scientists should seek the help of social organizations to spread scientific
knowledge among the common people.

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