English Part 1

Introduction

English section in GATE is one of the significant sections to score marks in. In this article, we will have a look at some of the practice questions in the English language. These questions will help us improve our lexicon and our overall language skills.

Refer to the English Questions Part 2 for more questions.

English Questions

1. Which one of the following options is the closest in meaning to the word given below? 

Nadir

[GATE CS 2013]

1. Highest
2. Lowest
3. Medium
4. Integration

Answer: B

Explanation: Nadir means below. 
1. Astronomy A point on the celestial sphere directly below the observer, diametrically opposite the zenith. 2. The lowest point: the nadir of their fortunes.

2. Complete the sentence: Universalism is to particularism as diffuseness is to

[GATE CS 2013]

1. specificity
2. neutrality
3. generality
4. adaptation

Answer: A

Explanation: Diffuseness means to spread widely.

3. Were you a bird, you ______________ in the sky.

[GATE CS 2013]

1. would fly
2. shall fly
3. should fly
4. shall have flown

Answer: B

Explanation: Were and Would are used together in conditional sentences.

4. Choose the grammatically INCORRECT sentence:

[GATE CS 2013]

1. He is of Asian origin.
2. They belonged to Africa.
3. She is an European.
4. They migrated from India to Australia.

Answer: C

Explanation: The correct sentence is "She is a European." 'an' applies to those words which get pronounced with a, e, i, o, u. Here pronunciation is "Yuropean" ( E-silent; has a "Y" sound), similar to ' a University'. Hence a European.

5. After several defeats in wars, Robert Bruce went in exile and wanted to commit suicide. Just before committing suicide, he came across a spider attempting tirelessly to have its net. Time and again, the spider failed but that did not deter it to refrain from making attempts. Such attempts by the spider made Bruce curious. Thus, Bruce started observing the near-impossible goal of the spider to have the net. Ultimately, the spider succeeded in having its net despite several failures. Such act of the spider encouraged Bruce not to commit suicide. And then, Bruce went back again and won many a battle, and the rest is history. Which one of the following assertions is best supported by the above information?

[GATE CS 2013]

1. Failure is the pillar of success.
2. Honesty is the best policy.
3. Life begins and ends with adventures.
4. No adversity justifies giving up hope.

Answer: D

Explanation: None of A, B and C makes sense. Only option D "No adversity justifies giving up hope" is related to the given information.

6. Choose the most appropriate alternative from the options given below to complete the following sentence: Despite several ––––––––– the mission succeeded in its attempt to resolve the conflict.

[GATE CS 2012]

1. attempts
2. setbacks
3. meetings
4. delegations

Answer: B

Explanation: despite: in spite of; undeterred by

7. Which one of the following options is the closest in meaning to the word given below? Mitigate

[GATE CS 2012]

1. Diminish
2. Divulge
3. Dedicate
4. Denote

Answer: A

Explanation: mitigate: To make less severe or intense; moderate or alleviate.

8. Choose the grammatically INCORRECT sentence:

[GATE CS 2012]

1. They gave us the money back less the service charges of Three Hundred rupees.
2. This country’s expenditure is not less than that of Bangladesh.
3. The committee initially asked for funding of Fifty Lakh rupees, but later settled for a lesser sum.
4. This country’s expenditure on educational reforms is very less.

Answer: D

Explanation: "Very less" is incorrect. "Very little" or "much less" would be possible alternatives.

9. Choose the most appropriate alternative from the options given below to complete the following sentence: Suresh’s dog is the one ––––––––– was hurt in the stampede.

[GATE CS 2012]

1. that
2. which
3. who
4. whom

Answer: A

Explanation: Who and sometimes that refer to people. That and which refer to groups or things.

10. Wanted Temporary, Part-time persons for the post of Field Interviewer to conduct personal interviews to collect and collate economic data. Requirements: High School-pass, must be available for Day, Evening and Saturday work. Transportation paid, expenses reimbursed. Which one of the following is the best inference from the above advertisement?

[GATE CS 2012]

1. Gender-discriminatory
2. Xenophobic
3. Not designed to make the post attractive
4. Not gender-discriminatory

Answer: C

Explanation: There is no mention of gender. Xenophobia also doesn't fit.

11. Which of the following options is the closest in the meaning to the word below: 

[GATE CS 2011]

Inexplicable

1. Incomprehensible
2. indelible
3. inextricable
4. infallible

Answer: A

Explanation: Inexplicable means something that can not be explained. Incomprehensible looks like the best option.

12. Choose the most appropriate word (s) from the options given below to complete the following sentence. I Contemplated ____________ Singapore for my vacation but decided against it.

[GATE CS 2011]

1. to visit
2. having to visit
3. visiting
4. for a visit

Answer: C

Explanation: Contemplate is a transitive verb. So it should be followed by a gerund. Hence the correct usage of contemplate is verb+ ing form.

13. Choose the most appropriate word from the options given below to complete the following sentence.

If you are trying to make a strong impression on your audience, you 

cannot do so by being understated, tentative or_____________.

[GATE CS 2011]

1. Hyperbolic
2. Restrained
3. Argumentative
4. Indifferent

Answer: B

Explanation: The word placed should be similar to understated and tentative. Restrained seems to be the best choice.

14. Few school curricula include a unit on how to deal with bereavement and grief, and yet all students at some point in their lives suffer from losses through death and parting. Based on the above passage which topic would not be included in a unit on bereavement?

[GATE CS 2011]

1. how to write a letter of condolence
2. what emotional stages are passed through in the healing process
3. what the leading causes of death are
4. Show to give support to a grieving friend

Answer: C

Explanation: As per the given passage, the unit on bereavement is about how to deal with bereavement and grief, not about the causes of death. All other options make sense.

15. Choose the most appropriate word from the options given below to the complete the following sentence: His rather casual remarks on politics ___________ his lack of seriousness about the subject.

[GATE CS 2010]

1. masked
2. belied
3. betrayed
4. suppressed

Answer: C

Explanation: There should be words like showed or revealed or betrayed.

16. Which of the following options is closest in meaning to the word Circuitous.

[GATE CS 2010]

1. cyclic
2. indirect
3. confusing
4. crooked

Answer: B

Explanation:  circuitous: Being or taking a roundabout, lengthy course or Characterized by indirectness, evasiveness, or complexity, as inaction or language

17. Choose the most appropriate word from the options given below to complete the following sentence: If we manage to ____________ our natural resources, we would leave a better planet for our children.

[GATE CS 2010]

1. uphold
2. restrain
3. cherish
4. conserve

Answer: D

Explanation: conserve: To protect from loss or harm; preserve

18. The question below consists of a pair of related words followed by four pairs of words. Select the pair that best expresses the relation in the original pair. Unemployed: Worker

[GATE CS 2010]

1. fallow: land
2. unaware: sleeper
3. wit: jester
4. renovated: house

Answer: A

Explanation: A worker who is not working is called unemployed, similarly a land which is not used is called fallow.

19. Modern warfare has changed from large scale clashes of armies to suppression of civilian populations. Chemical agents that do their work silently appear to be suited to such warfare; and regretfully, there exist people in military establishments who think that chemical agents are useful tools for their cause. Which of the following statements best sums up the meaning of the above passage:

[GATE CS 2010]

1. Modern warfare has resulted in civil strife.
2. Chemical agents are useful in modern warfare.
3. Use of chemical agents in warfare would be undesirable
4. People in military establishments like to use chemical agents in war.

Answer: D

Explanation: Civil Strife means civil disorder, a term used to describe unrest caused by a group of people, which is not true in the light of the given passage. So, A is not the correct option. B is incorrect because there is no fact in the data justifying the usefulness of chemical agents for warfare. C is also incorrect because it is mentioned in the second line that chemical agents appear to be suited for such warfare, which implies that they are desirable. It is mentioned in the last line that there exist people in military establishments who think that chemical agents are useful for warfare, which makes D correct.

20. Which of the following options is the closest in meaning to the phrase underlined in the sentence below? 
It is fascinating to see life forms cope with varied environmental conditions.

[GATE CS 2010]

1. adopt to
2. adapt to
3. adept in
4. accept with

Answer: C

Explanation: In the above phrase, underlined part is *cope with*. 
"Cope" - It's a verb. 
Means - deal effectively with some difficulty. 
Sentence - "his ability to cope with stress". 
"adopt" - verb. 
Meaning - choose to take up or follow (an idea, method, or course of action). 
Sentence - "this approach has been adopted by many big banks". 
"adapt" - verb. 
Meaning - become adjusted to new conditions. 
Sentence -"a large organization can be slow to adapt to change". 
"adept" - adjective 
Meaning - very skilled or proficient at something. 
Sentence - "she is adept at cutting through red tape". 
"accept" - verb 
Meaning - consent to receive or undertake (something offered). 
Sentence - "he accepted a pen as a present". 
Hence, only "adapt" goes right with the phrase described in the question.

21. Choose the most appropriate word from the options given below to complete the following sentence. He could not understand the judges awarding her the first prize, because he thought that her performance was quite __________.

[GATE CS 2014 Set1]

1. superb
2. medium
3. mediocre
4. exhilarating

Answer: C

Explanation: Here, superb and exhilarating would imply that the performance was brilliant. But, the fact that he could not understand why she got awarded the first prize indicates that her performance was not that amazing in his opinion. 
So, A and D are incorrect. 
Medium is more used as a noun and denoted intermediate in quality, value, etc. 
So, B is incorrect. 
Mediocre is used as an adjective (to represent quality) and means low in performance, i.e., normal and not extraordinary and C is the correct choice.

22. In a press meet on the recent scam, the minister said, "The buck stops here". What did the minister convey by the statement?

[GATE CS 2014 Set1]

1. He wants all the money
2. He will return the money
3. He will assume final responsibility
4. He will resist all enquiries

Answer: C

Explanation: ’The buck stops here’ means - Responsibility is not passed on beyond this point. Option (C) is correct.

23. Consider the statement

“Not all that glitters is gold”

Predicate glitters(x) is true if x glitters and predicate gold(x) is true if x is gold. Which one of the following logical formulae represents the above statement? 

[GATE CS 2014 Set1]

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

Answer: D

Explanation: The statement “Not all that glitters is gold” can be expressed as follows :

¬(∀x(glitters(x)⇒gold(x)) ... (1)

Where ∀x(glitters(x)⇒gold(x) refers that all glitters is gold. Now ,

∃x¬(glitters(x)⇒gold(x)) ... (2) , Since we know ¬∀x() = ∃x¬()

(Where ∀ refers to -> All and ∃x refers to -> There exists some).

As we know, A⇒B is true only in the case that either A is false or B is true. It can also defined in the other way :

A⇒B=¬A∨B (negationA or B ) ... (3)

From equation (2) and (3) , we have ∃x(¬(¬glitters(x)∨gold(x))

⇒∃x(glitters(x)∧¬gold(x)) ... (4) , Negation cancellation ¬(¬) = () : and ¬(()∨()) = (¬()∧¬()) .

So Answer is (D) .

 

24. Choose the most appropriate phrase from the options given below to complete the following sentence.

[GATE CS 2014 Set2]

India is a post-colonial country because

1. it was a former British colony
2. Indian Information Technology professionals have colonized the world
3. India does not follow any colonial practices
4. India has helped other countries gain freedom

Answer: A

Explanation: A country is called postcolonial if it came into existence after the colonies of the British and the Europeans were abolished and the countries then under their rule were declared independent. India was under British colonial rule till 1947, i.e. it was a former British colony and thus is called a postcolonial country. So, A is the correct option.

25. Who ___________ was coming to see us this evening?

[GATE CS 2014 Set2]

1. you said
2. did you say
3. did you say that
4. had you

Answer: B

Explanation: Only (B) makes sense, others don't fit.

26. Match the columns.

   Column 1          Column 2

1) eradicate       P) misrepresent

2) distort         Q) soak completely

3) saturate        R) use

4) utilize         S) destroy utterly 

[GATE CS 2014 Set2]

1. 1:S, 2:P, 3:Q, 4:R
2. 1:P, 2:Q, 3:R, 4:S
3. 1:Q, 2:R, 3:S, 4:P
4. 1:S, 2:P, 3:R, 4:Q

Answer: A

Explanation: "eradicate" means "destroy utterly" 
"distort" matches with "misrepresent" 
"saturate" matches with "soak completely" 
"utilize" matches with "use"

27. The old city of Koenigsberg, which had a German majority population before World War 2, is now called Kaliningrad. After the events of the war, Kaliningrad is now a Russian territory and has a predominantly Russian population. It is bordered by the Baltic Sea on the north and the countries of Poland to the south and west and Lithuania to the east respectively. Which of the statements below can be inferred from this passage?

[GATE CS 2014 Set2]

1. Kaliningrad was historically Russian in its ethnic make up
2. Kaliningrad is a part of Russia despite it not being contiguous with the rest of Russia
3. Koenigsberg was renamed Kaliningrad, as that was its original Russian name
4. Poland and Lithuania are on the route from Kaliningrad to the rest of Russia

Answer: B

Explanation:  

A is not true in the light of the given facts

• A is incorrect because the first line says that Kaliningrad (Koenigsberg before the war) had a majority of the German population during the war. So, it was historically German and not Russian.
• B is correct as although Kaliningrad is not contiguous with the rest of Russia (being surrounded by countries of Poland in the south and west, Lithuania in the east and the Baltic Sea in the north), it has a predominantly Russian population.
• C cannot be inferred from the passage as it is nowhere in the passage what the original Russian name of Koenigsberg was.
• D is also not true because no data about the route is mentioned in the passage.

So, B is the correct option.

28. The number of people diagnosed with dengue fever (contracted from the bite of a mosquito) in north India is twice the number diagnosed last year. Municipal authorities have concluded that measures to control the mosquito population have failed in this region. Which one of the following statements, if true, does not contradict this conclusion?

[GATE CS 2014 Set2]

1. A high proportion of the affected population has returned from neighbouring countries where dengue is prevalent
2. More cases of dengue are now reported because of an increase in the Municipal Office’s administrative efficiency
3. Many more cases of dengue are being diagnosed this year since the introduction of a new and effective diagnostic test
4. The number of people with malarial fever (also contracted from mosquito bites) has increased this year

Answer: D

Explanation: 

• A contradicts the conclusion of the municipal authorities. So, A is not the correct choice.
• B is an incorrect choice because there is no data in the passage relating the reporting of cases and the efficiency of the administrative capabilities of the municipal authorities.
• C is also incorrect as it contradicts the conclusion of the municipal authorities.
• D is the correct choice as both malarial fever and dengue fever are caused by mosquito bites. If dengue fever had increased because of some other reason other than that concluded by the municipal authorities, then there would not have been increase in the people with malarial fever. This statement supports the conclusion of the municipal authorities.
   

29. While trying to collect(I) an envelope from under the table (II), Mr X fell down (III) and was losing consciousness (IV) Which one of the above-underlined parts of the sentence is NOT appropriate?

[GATE CS 2014 Set3]

1. I
2. II
3. III
4. IV

Answer: D

Explanation: 

Here, part IV is incorrect. "was losing consciousness" shows continuous process of losing consciousness, but he was not in the process, rather he just lost consciousness. So, the correction is " was losing consciousness "  → " lost consciousness ".

Thus, IV is the correct choice.

30. If she _______________ how to calibrate the instrument, she _______________ done the experiment.

[GATE CS 2014 Set3]

1. knows, will have
2. knew, had
3. had known, could have
4. should have known, would have

Answer: C

Explanation: In Type 3 conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the past perfect, and the tense in the main clause is the perfect conditional or the perfect continuous conditional.

31. Choose the word that is opposite in meaning to the word “coherent”.

[GATE CS 2014 Set3]

1. sticky
2. well-connected
3. rambling
4. friendly

Answer: C

Explanation: Coherent - Adj. Meaning - (of an argument, theory, or policy) logical and consistent. 
Rambling - Adj. Meaning - (of writing or speech) lengthy and confused or inconsequential. Hence both are opposite to each other.

32. Didn’t you buy _________ when you went shopping?

[GATE CS 2015 Set1]

1. any paper
2. much paper
3. no paper
4. a few paper

Answer: A

Explanation: In general, any is used in negative sentences and questions.

33. Which of the following options is the closest in meaning to the sentence below?

[GATE CS 2015 Set1]

She enjoyed herself immensely at the party.

1. She had a terrible time at the party
2. She had a horrible time at the party
3. She had a terrific time at the party
4. She had a terrifying time at the party

Answer: C

Explanation: Except for C, all other options indicate that she didn't enjoy it. Horrible and terrible means fearful. Terrific means wonderful. 

34. Which one of the following combinations is incorrect?

[GATE CS 2015 Set1]

1. Acquiescence - Submission
2. Wheedle - Roundabout
3. Flippancy - Lightness
4. Profligate - Extravagant

Answer: B

Explanation: 

Flippancy - lack of respect or seriousness.

Acquiescence - the reluctant acceptance of something without protest.

Wheedle -  use endearments or flattery to persuade someone to do something or 

Profligate  - recklessly extravagant

35. Select the alternative meaning of the underlined part of the sentence. The chain snatchers took to their heels when the police party arrived.

[GATE CS 2015 Set1]

1. took shelter in a thick jungle
2. open indiscriminate fire
3. took to flight
4. unconditionally surrendered

Answer: C

Explanation: Both took to flight and took to their heels meaning to run away.