Indian Overseas Bank Probationary Officer (English Language) Paper (Held on 28-10-2010)

Indian Overseas Bank

Probationary Officer (English Language) Paper
(Held on 28-10-2010)

Directions —(Q. 1–15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once upon a time there was an old man called Yugiyama, in a small village in Japan. He lived alone as his only son had gone far away to study. Yugiyama was a nice and friendly man who was liked by all the people in the village. He had a very positive view of everything that happened around him. He never grumbled or complained about anything. The villagers would often come over to the old man’s house to express their sympathy as his only son had gone far away and even at this old age he had no one to look after him and support him. They often wondered aloud if his son would ever return . As a reply to all their concerns, Yugiyama would always thank them and say, ‘‘Whatever happens, happens for the good.’’ No one ever understood why he was never sad about his son’s absence. One day, Yugiyama’s son returned to the village after completing his education. His son had become a merchant and was earning very well. He took great care of his father. Everyone was not only amazed at Yugiyama’s luck but they were also very happy for him. Streams of villagers came over to congratulate him and like always, the old man was polite. He thanked all of them for coming over and said, ‘‘Whatever happens, happens for the good.’’

Barely a few days had passed, when one day; Yugiyama’s son fell off a horse’s back and broke his leg. Once again the entire village came over to Yugiyama’s house to express their concern and again the old man thanked them for their sympathy and said, ‘‘Whatever happens, happens for the good.’’ Some of the villagers were surprised to hear this and wondered what good could there possibly be in this situation as his son had broken a leg and old Yugiyama would have to take care of him. A month later, the kingdom to which Yugiyama belonged and the neighbouring kingdom had a war. The king announced that they needed more young men in the army. A small troupe of the army came to the village and recruited all able-bodied young men into the army. They did not give anyone a choice. Even those who were reluctant were forced to join the army.

When they came to Yugiyama’s house they found his son with a broken leg. The army leader told Yugiyama, ‘‘Your son is injured and so he will not be of any help in the battle field.’’ This they left him behind. Once again, all the villagers came to the old man’s house to congratulate him for his good luck. They said, ‘‘You are lucky that your son was not recruited. Otherwise who would have loooked after you ?’’ Like always, the old man thanked them and said, ‘‘Whatever happens, happens for the good.’’ It was only then that the villagers understood the true meaning of Yugiyama’s words.

1. Why did Yugiyama always say, ‘‘whatever happens, happens for the good’’?
(A) He had a positive view about everything
(B) His teacher had asked him to say these words
(C) His son liked to hear these words
(D) He liked to puzzle the villagers by saying these words
(E) This was his way of grumbling about everything
Ans : (A)

2. Why was everyone amazed at Yugiyama’s luck ?(A) His son had given him an expensive gift
(B) His son was given a high post in the army after this return
(C) His son had returned and was taking great care of him
(D) His son had become one of the greatest warriors
(E) His son received an award for being a successful merchant
Ans : (C)

3. Why did Yugiyama live alone ?(A) He liked to live alone
(B) His son abandoned him as he was very old
(C) His son had gone away to study
(D) His son had gone away to work in another village
(E) He had no family at all
Ans : (C)

4. Initially, the villagers sympathised with Yugiyama because—(A) He was old and there was no one to look after him
(B) He never complained about anything
(C) His house was robbed one night
(D) He broke his leg while working in the fields
(E) He had no friends
Ans : (A)

5. Why did the army recruit more men ?(A) The king wanted an army bigger than the neighbouring kingdom
(B) The kingdom was at war and it needed more soldiers to defend itself
(C) The soldiers were resigning as the king was cruel to them
(D) The king was planning to attack another kingdom and thus wanted to huge army
(E) The king wanted to create employment for his subjects
Ans : (B)

6. An appropriate title for this passage would be—(A) The great Yugiyama
(B) Yugiyama’s dutiful son
(C) The helpful villagers
(D) The Japanese king
(E) Whatever happens, happens for the good
Ans : (E)

7. Arrange the following incidents in chronological order as they occurred in the passage—1. Yugiyama’s son fell off from a horse’s back and broke his leg.
2. Yugiyama’s son returned to the village as a merchant and took care of Yugiyama.
3. Yugiyama’s son was spared from joining the army because of his broken leg
4. The kingdom was at war and the army forcefully recruited more men
(A) 1, 2, 4, 3
(B) 2, 1, 3, 4
(C) 2, 4, 1, 3
(D) 2, 1, 4, 3
(E) 1, 2, 3, 4
Ans : (D)

8. Later, the villagers sympathized with Yugiyama because—
(A) His son had decided to leave him alone and live in another village
(B) Yugiyama broke his leg when he fell off a horse’s back
(C) The army recruited Yugiyama despite the fact that he was old
(D) Yugiyama’s son fell off a horse’s back and broke his leg
(E) The army recruited Yugiyama’s son despite the fact that his leg was broken
Ans : (D)

9. Why did the leader of the army troupe reject Yugiyama’s son ?(A) His son requested the leader to reject him as his father was old
(B) His son had a broken leg and would’be useless in the battlefield
(C) The villagers requested the leader to spare all those who were injured
(D) The leader was jealous of Yugiyama’s son who was a rich merchant
(E) Both (A) and (B)
Ans : (B)

10. Why were the villagers surprised to hear Yugiyama’s response when they came to sympathise with him the second time ?(A) He was not grumbling and complaining even when his son broke his leg
(B) He was very rude to the people who came to sympathise with him
(C) He was disappointed that now his son would be incapable of joining the army
(D) He did not show any concern towards his son’s accident
(E) He was happy because his son broke his leg
Ans : (A)

Directions —(Q. 11-13) Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in the meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

11. Reluctant(A) Unhappy
(B) Unsatisfied
(C) Unwilling
(D) Ungrateful
(E) Unenthusiastic
Ans : (C)

12. Positive(A) Precise
(B) Optimistic
(C) Smart
(D) Encouraging
(E) Detailed
Ans : (B)

13. Able-bodied(A) Young and Tall
(B) Tall and Handsome
(C) Strong and Healthy
(D) Strong and Tall
(E) Young and Healthy
Ans : (C)

Directions —(Q. 14 and 15) Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in passage.

14. Polite(A) Angry
(B) Sheepish
(C) Offended
(D) Rude
(E) Furious
Ans : (D)

15. Return(A) Leave
(B) Borrow
(C) Visit
(D) Arrive
(E) Take
Ans : (D)

Directions —(Q. 16–20) Each sentence below has a blank/s, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the words that best fit/s the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

16. The man sitting ......... the enquiry counter was very helpful ......... polite.(A) on-or
(B) by-but
(C) near-then
(D) over-because
(E) at-and
Ans : (E)

17. Everyone was advised not to go near the seashore as high tide was.........(A) estimated
(B) predicted
(C) calculated
(D) deposited
(E) avoided
Ans : (B)

18. His father gifted him a motorbike but ......... him to ride it safely.(A) helped
(B) saw
(C) cautioned
(D) pleased
(E) teach
Ans : (C)

19. All the children were asked to ...... carefully ...... the teacher was giving instructions.(A) listen-while
(B) seek-as
(C) attend-when
(D) see-then
(E) understand-and
Ans : (A)

20. Tarun was nervous ...... his performance at the concert.(A) as
(B) before
(C) and
(D) on
(E) because
Ans : (B)

Directions —(Q. 21–25) Rearrange the following six sentences 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph then answer the questions given below them.

1. The farmer called his neighbours and asked them to help him put mud into the well but the mule thought that he was calling the neighbours to help him get out of the well.
2. A farmer wanted to get rid of his old mule and buy a new one but the mule always came back from wherever the farmer left him.
3. He walked away from his cruel master and never returned.
4. One day the mule fell into a well and the farmer thought, ‘‘Why not bury it there so that I don’t have to worry about getting rid of it ?’’
5. The mule started shaking off all the mud that fell on him and kept climbing on the heap of mud as it fell into the well, soon he was on top of the mud heap and he easily got out of the well.
6. When they started putting mud in the well the mule realized his master’s plan and started thinking of ways to save himself.

21. Which of the following should be the FIFTH sentence in the rearrangement ?(A) 4
(B) 2
(C) 1
(D) 6
(E) 5
Ans : (E)

22. Which of the following should be the FOURTH sentence in the rearrangement ?(A) 1
(B) 6
(C) 2
(D) 3
(E) 4
Ans : (B)

23. Which of the following should be the LAST (SIXTH) sentence in the rearrangement ?(A) 2
(B) 5
(C) 3
(D) 1
(E) 4
Ans : (C)

24. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence in the rearrangement ?(A) 4
(B) 1
(C) 3
(D) 2
(E) 6
Ans : (D)

25. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence in the rearrangement ?(A) 2
(B) 6
(C) 5
(D) 4
(E) 1
Ans : (D)

Directions —(Q. 31–40) Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic 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). (Ignore errors of the punctuation if any).

31. There were (A) / many people (B) / present on the (C) / award function. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (E)

32. It was a long (A) / and uncomfortable journey (B) / but he managed (C) / to reach with time. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)

33. The car broke (A) / down while he (B) / was on his (C) / way to work. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (E)

34. Do you wanted (A) / to discuss this (B) / project today or can (C) / we do it tomorrow ? (D) No error (E)
Ans : (A)

35. Inspite of being (A) / unwell, Shalini gave (B) / a wonderful performance (C) / at the concert. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (A)

36. Nina had applied (A) / for a loans for (B) / post-graduate studies but (C) / it was not sanctioned. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)

37. People find it (A) / difficult to understand (B) / him as he (C) / don’t speak clearly. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)

38. Dr. Shah was explain (A) / the benefits of (B) / exercising atleast (C) / five times a week. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (A)

39. The actor donated (A) / a huge sum of (B) / the money to the (C) / orphanage on Children’s Day. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)

40. The customers were asked to (A) / give their feedback after (B) / using the try pack of the (C) / new detergent powder. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)