SSC CPO English Sample Practice Paper - 57

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Directions (1-15): Read the passage and give the answers of the questions:

One upon a time, King Lear ruled over Britain. He had three beautiful daughters. Goneril, the eldest, was married to the Duke of Albany. Regan, was wife to the Duke of Cornwall. The youngest, Cordelia, was still single. King Lear was old and felt that the royal duties were becoming too much for him to bear. So, he decided to let his daughters govern his kingdom. he planned to give the largest part of his kingdom to the daughter who loved him most.

He summoned his daughters and commanded his courtiers to assemble in the palace hall. King Lear asked his daughters to declare in public how much they loved him.

"Sir, " began Goneril. "I love you so much that words cannot express how I feel. I love only you."

King Lear was delighted with her reply. He gave a third of his kingdom to her. When it was Regan's turn to answer her father's question, she said, "Sir, my love for you is no less than Goneril's. I too love only you." Her words pleased her father very much and she was rewarded handsomely too.

Cordelia was the King's favorite daughter. He expected her to express an even deeper love for him than that declared by her sisters. Cordelia was sickened by her sisters' insincerity. She was too honest and sincere a person to flatter her father like sisters had. She refused to publicly announce her love for him. Her silence infuriated King Lear. He warned her that she would get nothing from him if she remained silent.

"Father," Cordelia said, "I love you as a daughter should. I respect as well as obey you. I cannot promise that I will love no one but you. If both my sisters love only you, then why have they married ?"

Cordelia's reply sent her father into a rage and led him to disown her. This pleased Goneril and Regan for they disliked their youngest sister because she was the apple of their father's eye. The courtiers listened in amazement but they were too frightened to intervene on Cordelia's behalf. All except the Duke the Kent. As he opened his mouth to speak, the King warned him not to interfere in a family matter. Though her father's decision to disown her caused Cordelia much pain, she refused to be a hypocrite like her sisters.

Meanwhile, the King of France and the Duke of Burgundy who both wanted Cordelia's hand in marriage, were waiting to see the king. King Lear summoned them and told them that Cordelia had no share of his kingdom and would have no wedding dowry at all. He then asked them if they were still interested in marrying her.

The Duke of Burgundy excused himself politely for he was only interested in the power and wealth Cordelia had before she was disowned. The King of France was a smarter man. He understood that Cordelia's honesty and sincerity had prevented her from stooping to flattery just to please her foolish father. He took Cordelia' hands in his and said to King Lear, " Cordelia's good heart means more to me than any kingdom.

From paragraph 1 :

1. Name King Lear's daughters

2. Give the meaning of the word 'bear'.

3. Why did the king want his daughters to govern his kingdom ?

4. How did he plan to divide his kingdom ?

From paragraph 2 :

5. What did both Goneril and Regan say that pleased their father ?

From paragraph 4 :

6. What was the King's reaction to Regan's reply ?

From paragraph 5 :

7. Why do you supposed Cordelia was sickened by her sisters' insincerity ?

8. Which word in this paragraph means 'angered' ?

From paragraph 6 :

9. According to Cordelia, what shouldn't her sisters have done if they loved their father and no one else ?

From paragraph 7 :

10. What does the phrase "the apple of their father's eye" mean ?

11. How do you think Goneril and Regan felt about their sister, Cordelia ?

12. Why did King Lear disown Cordelia ?

From paragraph 8 :

13. Why were the Duke of Burgundy and the King of France in King Lear's palace ?

14. Explain the meaning of the word 'summoned'.

From paragraph 9 :

15. Why did the King of France wish to marry Cordelia ?

Answers (1-15):

1. They are Goneril, Regan and Cordelia.

2. It means 'to take responsibility on oneself'.

3. It was because he was old and felt that royal duties were too much for him to bear.

4. He planned to give the largest part of his kingdom to the daughter who announced in public that she loved him most.

5. They both said that they loved their father and no one else.

6. The King was happy with Regan's reply.

7. It was because they had chosen to flatter their father for the sake of wealth.

8. The word is 'infuriated'.

9. They shouldn't have gotten married.

10. It means 'favorite'.

11. Goneril and Regan were jealous of their sister, Cordelia, because she was their father's favorite.

12. He did so because she would not declare in public her love to him.

13. They both wished to ask for Cordelia's hand in marriage.

14. It means 'asked to attend' or called'.

15. It was because she was honest and sincere.

Directions—(Q. 16–20) Which of the phrases (A), (B), (C) and (D) given below each sentence should replace the phrase printed in bold in the sentence to make it grammatically correct ? If the sentence is correct as it is given and no correction is required, mark (E) as the answer.

16. We have hired an advertising agency to prepare a campaign to encourage people votes.
(A) People from voting, (B) Voting for people, (C) People to vote, (D) Votes by people
Ans : (C)

17. During the training programme the new recruits will be briefed about how their role in the new organisation.
(A) What their roles, (B) About their role, (C) For its roles, (D) Which are their role
Ans : (B)

18. The equipment is in such poor condition that we have no alternative to buy new ones.
(A) Many alternative like, (B) Any alternative except, (C) No other alternative, (D) No alternative but
Ans : (D)

19. Since the deadline has been changed from next week to this Thursday you should give this work priority.
(A) Be given this work priority, (B) Not give priority this work, (C) Prioritised this work, (D) Priority this work
Ans : (E)

20. After the success of our project we have been receiving more requests than we do not have the resources to handle them.
(A) Many requests but, (B) Most of the requests, (C) More requests that, (D) Too many requests
Ans : (A)

Directions—(Q. 21–25) In each question below, a sentence with four words printed in bold type is given. These are lettered as (A),(B),(C) and (D).One of these four words printed in bold may be either wrongly spelt or inappropriate in the context of the sentence. Find out the word which is wrongly spelt or inappropriate, if any. The letter of that word is your answer. If all the words printed in bold are correctly spelt and also appropriate in the context of the sentence, mark (E) i.e., ‘All correct’ as your answer.

21. The document (A) he gave me was long and complicated (B) and I struggled (C) to understand (D) it. Ans : (E)

22. We shall have to await (A) and see if these measures (B) are sufficient (C) to address (D) the problem.
Ans : (A)

23. They are negotiating (A) to try and reach (B) an agreement which will beneficial (C) everyone concerned. (D)
Ans : (C)

24. The company has decided (A) to allott (B) a substantial (C) portion (D) of its profits to research and development
Ans : (B)

25. It remains (A) to be seen whether (B) these reforms (C) will be acceptable (D) by the Board.
Ans : (D)

Directions—(Q. 26–30) Rearrange the following five sentences (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph; then answer the questions given below them.

(1) For instance, if we measure the room temperature continuously and plot its graph with time on Xaxis and temperature on the Y-axis,we get a continuous waveform, which is an analog signal. Analog is always continuous.
(2) The absence or presence of something can be used to plot a digital signal.
(3) An analog signal is a continuously varying signal, similar to a sinusoidal waveform.
(4) Any signal can be classified into one of the two types : analog and digital.
(5) In contrast, a digital signal takes the form of pulses,where we have something or nothing.

26. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 1, (B) 2, (C) 3, (D) 4, (E) 5
Ans : (D)

27. Which of the following should be the FIFTH sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 1, (B) 2, (C) 3, (D) 4, (E) 5
Ans : (B)

28. Which of the following should be the FOURTH sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 1, (B) 2, (C) 3, (D) 4, (E) 5
Ans : (E)

29. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 1, (B) 2, (C) 3, (D) 4, (E) 5
Ans : (A)

30. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 1, (B) 2, (C) 3, (D) 4, (E) 5
Ans : (C)

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 punctuation, if any.)

31. He has taken care to (A)/compliance with the norms (B)/so he expects the proposal (C)/to be approved without delay. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)

32. Under the terms of the new deal (A)/the channel can broadcast (B)/the next cricket tournament to be (C)/played among India and Australia. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)

33. Our equipment gets damage (A)/very often in summer (B)/because there are (C)/frequent power cuts. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (A)

34. We have received many (A)/of the letters from customers (B)/asking us to extend (C)/the deadline to repay their loans. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)

35. Since I had lived there (A)/for many years the villagers (B)/were very comfortable talked (C)/to me about their problems. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)

36. We have been under (A)/a lot of pressure to (B)/open fifty new stores (C)/by the ending of the year. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)

37. The government has (A)/launched many creative schemes (B)/to make banking services (C)/available to everyone. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (E)

38. The company is in debt (A)/and has been unable (B)/to pay their employees’ salaries (C)/for the past six months. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)

39. This is turned out to be (A)/one of our most successful projects (B)/and we have made quite (C)/a large profit from it. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (A)

40. A non banking financial company is a (A)/financial institution similarly to a bank (B)/but it cannot issue (C)/cheque books to customers. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)

Directions—(Q. 41–50) 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.

On October 2, 1983 the Grameen Bank Project …(41)… the Grameen Bank. We invited the Finance Minister to be the Chief Guest at our …(42)… ceremony. But when the Ministry came to …(43)… that the ceremony would take place in a remote district, they said it would not be an …(44)… place to launch a Bank and that the ceremony should be …(45)… in Dhaka so that all the top Government Officials could …(46)… We stood firm and …(47)… to them that we did not work in urban areas so it made no …(48)… to have the ceremony in a city …(49)… we had no borrowers. We had the ceremony in a big open field with the Finance Minister present as Chief Guest. For all of us who had worked so hard to …(50)… this it was a dream come true.

41. (A) reorganised, (B) merged, (C) named, (D) converted, (E) became
Ans : (E)

42. (A) opening, (B) closing, (C) dedicated, (D) inaugurate, (E) induction
Ans : (A)

43. (A) reveal,  (B) know, (C) aware, (D) inform, (E) acquaint
Ans : (B)

44. (A) excellent, (B) available, (C) inauspicious, (D) appropriate, (E) obvious
Ans : (D)

45. (A) invited, (B) assembled, (C) done, (D) shifted, (E) held
Ans : (E)

46. (A) present, (B) accompany, (C) attend, (D) involve, (E) entertain
Ans : (C)

47. (A) apologised, (B) told, (C) explained, (D) denied, (E) refused
Ans : (C)

48. (A) difference, (B) sense, (C) difficulty, (D) meaning, (E) point
Ans : (B)

49. (A) where,  (B) while, (C) that, (D) however, (E) which
Ans : (A)

50. (A) obey, (B) achieve, (C) discover, (D) built, (E) perform
Ans : (B)