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Dena Bank Probationary Officer Exam Paper
English Language
Directionsâ(Q. 1â15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words in the passage have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.
In a small hill town there lived a thief. He was very smart and before breaking into houses for theft he used to enquire about the lifestyles of the people staying in that house. Then at the dead of night he used to commit theft.
Dhanpatrai was a moneylender living in the same town. He was thrifty and never wasted money. He had a daughter named Laxmi. The thief knew that Dhanpatrai was rich and he had a lot of jewellery with him. Smartly the thief found out the location of the house and designed the theft. One night, getting up to the roof of the house he started removing the roof-covering made of
earthen tiles.
The moneylender heard the sound and was sure that a thief was on the roof of the house. Now he had to create some ploy. He hit upon a plan. âLaxmi, Laxmiâ he called out to his daughter who was sleeping. âLaxmi, I hope our money-box and jewellery are kept in the ceiling,â he asked cleverly.
Generally, in hill area, to keep house warm in winter, houses have a thatched roofing and below that, a wooden ceiling. Certain things used to be kept in the space between the roofing and wooden ceiling. So when the thief heard the question put by Dhanpatrai, he thought that there was a ceiling below the thatched roof. So he jumped down.
But actually in the house there was no wooden ceiling. So the thief fell to the floor of the house which was about fifteen feet below and broke his leg. Immediately the moneylender called all the neighbours and they handed over the thief to the police. He saved his house from being burgled, with his ingenuity.
1. What was the role of Laxmi in this episode ?
(A) She called people and scared the thief.
(B) Laxmi sent the people for police.
(C) She asked Dhanpatrai to call the people.
(D) Her name was used to misguide the thief.
(E) She got the idea of fooling the thief.
Ans : (D)
2. How did the thief enter the house of Dhanpatrai ?
(a) By removing the tiled top of the house.
(b) By removing the wooden ceiling.
(c) By opening the door with duplicate key.
(A) Only (a)
(B) Only (b)
(C) Only (c)
(D) Both (a) and (b)
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)
3. Where was the jewellery actually kept ?
(A) Inside the bed on which Laxmi was sleeping
(B) On the thatched roof top
(C) Below the pillow of Dhanpatrai
(D) There is no mention of jewelleryâs location
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)
4. What was the quality of the thief ?
(A) He was expert in removing roof tops
(B) Before theft he used to study the lifestyles of residents
(C) He was accurate in identifying his victim
(D) He was liked by the people and the police
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)
5. Who was Dhanpatrai ?
(A) The father of the thief
(B) The moneylender who used to keep valuables on the roof
(C) A cunning and crafty man
(D) The father of Laxmi
(E) The thief
Ans : (D)
6. Who called the police ?
(A) The son of Dhanpatrai
(B) The daughter of Dhanpatrai
(C) Dhanpatrai himself
(D) Some one who provoked the thief for the act
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)
7. Which quality of Dhanpatrai protected his house ?
(A) His thrifty behaviour
(B) His deep affection for the daughter
(C) The cleverness with which he handled the situation
(D) His past decision of not thatching the roof top
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)
8. Why did the thief choose Dhanpatraiâs house for the act ?
(A) There was hardly any house left in the town for theft
(B) Dhanpatrai was living with his daughter
(C) The house did not have wooden ceiling
(D) He had the information that Dhanpatrai was rich
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)
9. Which of the following statements is TRUE in the context of the passage ?
(A) The daughter of Dhanpatrai was too weak to handle the thief
(B) The people of the town did not like Dhanpatrai
(C) Dhanpatrai played a trick with the thief
(D) Dhanpatrai did not have money for wastage
(E) Laxmi rushed out and gathered the people
Ans : (C)
10. The thief would have escaped unhurt had there been ..........
(A) a dog in the house
(B) a wooden ceiling below the thatched roof
(C) very few policemen to catch him
(D) no alertness on the part of Dhanpatraiâs son
(E) jewellery kept in the house
Ans : (B)
Directionsâ(Q. 11â15) Which of the following word/phrase has the SAME meaning as the word/phrase printed in bold as used in the passage.
11. Thrifty
(A) Miser
(B) Spendthrift
(C) Shameful
(D) Prolific
(E) Extravagant
Ans : (A)
12. Broke his leg
(A) Fell unconscious
(B) Was shocked
(C) Fracture at the back
(D) Broke the thorn
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)
13. At the dead of
(A) On death of
(B) At deep
(C) In the dawn
(D) Early evening
(E) Every day
Ans : (B)
14. Hit upon a plan
(A) Got an idea
(B) Quashed the plan
(C) Lacked planning
(D) Without plan
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)
15. Enquire about
(A) Keep pace with
(B) Write
(C) Investigate into
(D) Keep others informed
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)
Directionsâ(Q. 16â20) Rearrange the following five sentences (a),(b),(c),(d) and (e) in the proper sequence so as to form a meaningful paragraph. Then answer the questions given below them.
(a) To her surprise, she found the baby quite safe in the cradle.
(b) It had blood all over its mouth
(c) She then entered the house, expecting to find her baby dead
(d) Malathi discovered the mongoose seated on the doorstep.
(e) Thinking that it had killed her son, she struck the mongoose so hard that it laid still.
16. Which of the sentences should come LAST (FIFTH) in the paragraph after rearrangement ?
(A) a
(B) b
(C) c
(D) d
(E) e
Ans : (A)
17. Which of the sentences should come FOURTH in the paragraph after rearrangement ?
(A) a
(B) b
(C) c
(D) d
(E) e
Ans : (C)
18. Which of the sentences should come FIRST in the paragraph after rearrangement ?
(A) a
(B) b
(C) c
(D) d
(E) e
Ans : (D)
19. Which of the sentences should come THIRD in the paragraph after rearrangement ?
(A) a
(B) b
(C) c
(D) d
(E) e
Ans : (E)
20. Which of the sentences should come SECOND in the paragraph after rearrangement ?
(A) a
(B) b
(C) c
(D) d
(E) e
Ans : (B)
Directionsâ(Q. 21â25) Which of the phrases (A),(B),(C),(D) given below each sentence should replace the phrase printed in bold type to make the sentence grammatically correct ? If the sentence is correct mark (E) i.e. âNo correction requiredâ as the answer.
21. Newspapers have great power because their enormous circulation.
(A) on account
(B) because of
(C) as a result
(D) owing
(E) No correction required
Ans : (B)
22. The crowd which has gather to protest against the decision slowly returned to their homes.
(A) which had gathered
(B) which have gather
(C) gathering up
(D) which gathers around
(E) No correction required
Ans : (A)
23. He will be handling the next project since he has vastly experience in this business.
(A) vast experience
(B) vastly experienced
(C) a vast experiencing
(D) the vast experience
(E) No correction required
Ans : (C)
24. Children nowadays are watching too much television.
(A) to much of
(B) more of
(C) very much of
(D) much on
(E) No correction required
Ans : (E)
25. The bridge in connection with the two cities will remain closed for security reasons.
(A) connects between
(B) in connection to
(C) being connected from
(D) connecting
(E) No correction required
Ans : (C)
Directionsâ(Q. 26â35) Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The letter of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is (E) i.e. âNo errorâ. (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any).
26. Mr. Gupta insisted (A) / that he was (B) / fully prepare (C) / to present the proposal. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)
27. All this document (A) / have been destroyed (B) / in the fire (C) / which occurred last month. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (A)
28. On his next (A) / official visit to Delhi (B) / he plans to (C) / visit his old colleagues. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (E)
29. Sunil refused to admit that (A) / he did not know (B) / what to operate (C) / the new machine. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)
30. He has refused (A) / not to take (B) / the promotion although (C) / he is eligible. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)
31. There has been (A) / a fall from (B) / the profits of (C) / our company recently. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)
32. The decision to open (A) / offices in Shimla (B) / were taken at (C) / the last Board meeting. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)
33. We were so late (A) / than the meeting (B) / was almost over v/ when we arrived. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)
34. They waited patient (A) / for the Chairmanâs speech (B) / to end in order (C) / to begin the discussion. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (A)
35. Arjun was (A) / not selected (B) / for the post (C) / inspite his hard work. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)
Directionsâ(Q. 36â40) Pick out the most effective word/group of words from those given to fill in the blanks to make the sentence meaningfully complete.
36. Although he appears to be very ......... in his speech, he is very good at heart.
(A) strong
(B) fine
(C) rude
(D) innocent
(E) talkative
Ans : (C)
37. He was wrongly punished although he was not ..........
(A) fault
(B) mistaken
(C) erroneous
(D) guilty
(E) accused
Ans : (D)
38. ......... you complete the assignment in time, you will not be allowed to proceed on leave.
(A) If
(B) Unless
(C) Before
(D) When
(E) After
Ans : (B)
39. In the ......... two months, we will not be able to meet him.
(A) past
(B) last
(C) farther
(D) next
(E) future
Ans : (A)
40. The festival of Deepawali was ......... by all of us.
(A) performed
(B) enjoyed
(C) spent
(D) engaged
(E) rejoicing
Ans : (B)
Directionsâ(Q. 41â50) 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.
One day a jackal fell into an old well. There was not much water in the well. There was only knee-deep water and the jackal didnât die. But he couldnât climb up ...(41)... of his best efforts.
A goat came that way. It peeped into the well and saw the jackal. The goat asked, âWhat are you ...(42)... there ?â The jackal replied, âOh ! This well ...(43)... sweet, jaggery water, I have had my fill. I canât drink more. It is very sweet. Do you want to ...(44)... it ?â âYes, of course,â the goat replied. âThen jump inâ, advised the jackal.â The goat jumped in. In a second the jackal jumped on the goatâs back and jumped out of the well. The goat ...(45)... its mistake. It called for help from the jackal to get out of the well. But the jackal ran away smiling and with the pride of
having ...(46)... the poor goat. On the way he met a cat. Most sarcastically he told the cat, âOh ! You lot is really pitiable. For food you have to ...(47)... on left-overs. You have to go to the backside of houses, hotels or garbage dumps for your food. I catch fouls, kill and eat them.â When he was ...(48)... like this some hunting dogs came that way. The cat was clever. It jumped up on a tree. But the jackal had ...(49)... to go. Even though it tried to run, the hunting dogs ...(50)... it and killed it. All his slyness, could not save him, from his doom.
41. (A) instead
(B) inspite
(C) because
(D) better
(E) despite
Ans : (B)
42. (A) doing
(B) studying
(C) examining
(D) searching
(E) wandering
Ans : (A)
43. (A) stone
(B) made
(C) smells
(D) contains
(E) carried
Ans : (D)
44. (A) eat
(B) examine
(C) prove
(D) avoid
(E) taste
Ans : (E)
45. (A) suffers
(B) done
(C) realized
(D) makes
(E) punished
Ans : (C)
46. (A) won
(B) gained
(C) ditch
(D) cheated
(E) helped
Ans : (D)
47. (A) depend
(B) hunt
(C) wait
(D) bent
(E) relied
Ans : (A)
48. (A) whispering
(B) moaning
(C) boasting
(D) crying
(E) yelling
Ans : (C)
49. (A) everywhere
(B) nowhere
(C) not
(D) place
(E) where
Ans : (B)
50. (A) avoided
(B) catch
(C) powered
(D) hold
(E) overpowered
Ans : (E)
