CLAT English Questions With Solution Sheet-4

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Find CLAT English Worksheet-4 Questions and Answer Sheet Pdf

This page consists of important questions based on previous year CLAT English exam. Do solve all the questions and use as reference solutions given in the sheet. For more CLAT English Question check out parent Page.

CLAT English Worksheet-4 With detail solutions

Directions (Q. Nos. 1-8) Select the best option from the four alternatives given below and shade the appropriate answer.

1. Most of the people who ________ the book exhibition were teachers.

(a) witnessed (b) presented (c) conducted (d) attended

1. (d)

2. Intellect can only deal with things in so far as they ________ what has been experienced in the past, while intuition has the power of ______ the uniqueness and novelty that always belong to each fresh moment.

(a) Approximate, capturing (b) Resemble, apprehending

2. (b)

The statement is a comparison between intellect and intuition. Intellect is being related to the past. Intellect has the capacity to “deal with things” that it has already experienced in the past whereas intuition can help in processing new ideas or events. Hence the correct option is (b).

3. It ________ to everyone that the minister had been drinking.

(a) observed (b) known (c) discovered (d) realized

3. (a)

4. Mumbai office . . . . . a meeting of senior officials to discuss the high incidence of frauds.

(a) attended (b) convened (c) reported (d) registered

4. (b)

5. The ______ to logic, not felt while the mystic mood is dominant, reasserts itself as the mood fades, but with a desire to retain the _______ insight, or at least to prove that it was insight, and that what seems to contradict it is illusion.

(a) Drive, dying (b) Appeal, fading

5. (d)

Options for the second blank are very close, so we first concentrate our efforts on the first blank. For the first blank we need a word which satisfies the criterion of being when the mystic mood is dominant *something* of logic is not felt. Option (d) is most appropriate for this hence (d) is the correct answer.

6. We have not yet fully realized the ________ consequences of the war.

(a) happy (b) pleasing (c) grim (d) exciting

6. (c)

7. The part of the universe where we live there is such inequality and unfairness that the ethical and upright bleed and suffer whereas the bad flourish and one barely knows ______ which is more vexing; but to maintain justice we must believe that there will be a future to ______ the balance of life on our planet.

(a) Positively, return (b) For sure, redress

7. (b)

The writer is arguing that since there is injustice in the world and a balance of life is maintained on earth there will be a time when this injustice will be compensated. In this context the option (b) is most appropriate and hence it is the answer.

8. Those who respect liberty will understand the worthlessness of goods _____ through the ways of force and harm; they will never confine another’s soul or bind someone in chains of compulsion; they will be tender towards every human being because for them “good” as a principle is _____ and infinitely precious all at the same time.

(a) Obtained, decrepit (b) Achieved, feeble

8. (d)

In the second blank the two words will be somewhat antonymous. From the first blank we short list (b), (d). Dainty does not satisfy the context of the sentence; hence the answer is (d)

1-8. Grammar - Sentence completion – Medium

Directions (9-15): Analyze the following passage and provide an appropriate answer for the questions that follow:

Humans love to suppress abstract dangers. They react only after they get their fingers burned. In handling nuclear risks, however, we can hardly get away with such childlike behavior. To begin with, the old system of nuclear deterrence, which has survived particularly in the United States and Russia since the Cold War’s end, still involves lots of risks and dangers. While the international public largely ignores this fact, the risks remain.

To be sure, in the 1990s the US and Russia reduced their nuclear arsenals from 65,000 to approximately 26,000 weapons. But this number is still almost unimaginable and beyond any rational level needed for deterrence. Moreover, there are another 1,000 nuclear weapons in the hands of other nuclear states.

A second cause for worry is that the world is poised to enter a new nuclear age that threatens to be even more dangerous and expensive than the Cold War era of mutually assured destruction (MAD). Indeed, the outlines of this new nuclear age are already visible.

The connection between terrorism and nuclear weapons; a nuclear-armed North Korea; the risk of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East triggered by Iran’s nuclear program; a new definition of state sovereignty as “nuclear sovereignty”, accompanied by a massive increase in the number of small and medium-sized nuclear states; a possible collapse of public order in nuclear Pakistan; the illegal proliferation of military nuclear technology; the legal proliferation of civilian nuclear technology and an increase in the number of “civilian” nuclear states, implying military proliferation risks; the nuclearization of space, triggering an arms race among large nuclear powers. Important political leaders, especially in the two biggest nuclear powers the US and Russia, know today’s existing risks and tomorrow’s emerging ones all too well. Yet nothing is being done to control, contain, or eliminate them. On the contrary, the situation is worsening.

Vital pillars of the old arms-control and anti-proliferation regime have either been destroyed–as was the case with the Anti-Ballistic Missile (AMB) Treaty–or substantially weakened, as with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Responsibility for this lies largely with the Bush administration which, by terminating the ABM Treaty, not only weakened the international control systems for nuclear weapons, but also sat on its hands when confronted with the NPT’s imminent collapse.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, proliferation of military nuclear technology is one of the major threats to humanity, particularly if this technology falls into terrorists hands. The use of nuclear weapons by terrorists would not only result in a major humanitarian tragedy, but also would most likely move the world beyond the threshold for actually waging a nuclear war. The consequences would be a nightmare.

Nearly equally worrisome is the nuclear redefinition of state sovereignty because it will not only lead to a large number of small, politically unstable nuclear powers, but will also increase the risk of proliferation into the hands of terrorists. Pakistan would, most likely, no longer be an isolated case.

An international initiative for the renewal and improvement of the international control regime, led by both big nuclear powers, is urgently needed to meet these and all other risks of the new nuclear age. For, if disarmament is to become effective, the signal must come from the top–the US and Russia. Here, the willingness of nuclear powers to implement their commitment to disarmament, as agreed in the NPT, is of prime importance.

The NPT–a bedrock of peace for more than three decades–is based on a political agreement between nuclear and non-nuclear states: the latter abstain from obtaining nuclear weapons, while the former destroy their arsenals. Unfortunately, only the first part of this agreement was realized (though not completely), while the second part still awaits fulfillment.

The NPT remains indispensable and needs urgent revision. However, this central pillar of international proliferation control is on the brink of collapse. The Review Conference in New York, in May 2005, ended virtually without any result.

The essential defect of the NPT is now visible in the nuclear dispute between Iran and the United Nations Security Council: the Treaty permits the development of all nuclear components indispensable for military use–particularly uranium enrichment–so long as there is no outright nuclear weapons program. This means that in emerging nuclear countries only one single political decision is required to “weaponize” a nuclear program. This kind of “security” is not sufficient.

Another controversial issue also has also come to the fore in connection with the current nuclear conflict with Iran: discrimination-free access to nuclear technology. Solving this problem will require the internationalization of access to civilian nuclear technology, along with filling the security gap under the existing NPT and substantially more far-reaching monitoring of all states that want to be part of such a system.

Leaders around the world know the dangers of a new nuclear age; they also know how to minimize them. But the political will to act decisively is not three, because the public does not regard nuclear disarmament and arms control as a political priority.

This must change. Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation are not questions of the past. They need to be addressed today if they are not to become the most dangerous threats tomorrow.

9. According to the writer, the new nuclear age

(a) is an era of mutually assured destruction.

(b) is one on which nuclear sovereignty has become essential.

(d) is being controlled by the two biggest powers.

9. (c)

10. “Civilian” nuclear states are most probably

(a) States where nuclear technology is used for peaceful purposes.

(b) Liberal democratic states with nuclear weapons capability.

(d) Where nuclear weapons are in the hands of a civilian government.

10. (c)

11. Which of the following is likely to trigger a nuclear arms race among the large powers?

(a) Nuclearization of space.

(b) The spread of terrorism.

(d) The redefinition of state sovereignty as nuclear sovereignty.

11. (a)

12. The writer is likely to agree with all these EXCEPT

(a) Nuclear Pakistan poses a threat to the international community.

(b) State sovereignty has come to be identified with nuclear weapons capability.

(d) Terrorists could trigger a world war fought with nuclear weapons.

12. (c)

13. According to the passage, the worst consequence of redefinition of state sovereignty is likely to be which of the following?

(a) The terrorists may gain access to nuclear technology.

(b) There will be an increasing number of politically unstable regimes.

(d) Small states will become politically unstable.

13. (a)

14. What initiative does the writer expect from the US and Russia for the renewal of international (nuclear) control regime?

(a) Noncompliance to their commitment to disarmament agreed in the NPT.

(b) Urgently meet the risks of the new nuclear age.

(d) Abstain from acquiring nuclear weapons.

14. (d)

15. Which of the following is/are cited as issues in NPT that need/s to be addressed?

A. NPT permits non-nuclear states to weaponize with a single political decision.

B. NPT implicitly permits the development of nuclear weapons technology.

C. NPT allows access to civilian nuclear technology equally to all nations.

D. NPT does not have adequate monitoring of the signatories.

(a) A and C (b) A and B (c) B, C and D (d) C and D

15. (c)

9-15. Reading Comprehension – Medium

Directions (Q. Nos. 16-20) : In questions given below, a part of the sentence is Bold and underlined. Below are given alternatives to the underlined part which may improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative.

16. I was late to my own promotion party and the reason was because the party was a surprise party that I didn't know about

(a) and the reason was because the party was a surprise party that I didn't

(b) and the reason was because it was a surprise party that I didn't

(d) because it was a surprise party that I didn't

16. (d)

The original sentence is wordier than necessary, since it contains a redundancy. "The reason" and "because" mean essentially the same thing, and since both are used here, it is redundant. Choice D corrects this error by only using "because". It also substitutes the pronoun "it" instead of the noun "the party" which makes the sentence more succinct and to the point. It is acceptable to use the pronoun "it" to replace the party because "it" is not ambiguous- it is clear that the only thing "it" could be talking about is the party.

Choice A, as stated above, contains a wordiness error. It is redundant to say "the reason was because"

Choice B does not correct the original error, although it does improve the sentence and make it a bit shorter and less wordy by using the pronoun "it" to replace the noun "the party" (which is a bit redundant because we know we are talking about the party here).

Choice C starts to correct the error, by removing the "because". However, it makes the sentence wordier than necessary because although it uses the pronoun "it" to replace "the party," this choice adds an unnecessary prepositional phrase ("the party") to explain what "it" is, when it is already clear to the reader what "it" is.

17. Other countries have eradicated this disease ten years ago.

(a) eradicated (b) had eradicated (c) did eradicated (d) No improvement

17. (a)

18. Eve might could come to the lecture tomorrow, if her health allows her to

(a) Eve might could come to the lecture tomorrow

(b) Eve might be able to come to the lecture tomorrow

(d) Tomorrow, Eve might have come to the lecture

18. (b)

Might and could mean almost the same thing in this context- that there is a possibility something might happen or that something could happen. Using both words is redundant. Choice B corrects this error by saying that Eve "might be able" instead of "might could."

Choice A, as stated above, is redundant.

Choice C contains the same error as choice A.

Choice D contains the same error as choice A, and makes it even more redundant by adding "possible" -another conditional word.

19. Either he or I am going.

(a) he or I are going (b) he is going or I am

19. (d)

20. Jane Austen's novels are widely read and they are studied every year in universities throughout the world.

(a) read and they are studied every year

(b) read; they are studied every year

(d) read and every year they are studied

20. (b)

16-20. Grammar - Sentence Improvements – Medium

Directions (Q. Nos. 21-25) : Analyze the following passage and provide an appropriate answer for the questions that follow:

To teach is to create a space in which obedience to truth is practised. Space may sound a vague, poetic metaphor until we realise that it describes experiences of everyday life. We know what it means to be in a green and open field; we know what it means to be on a crowded rush hour bus. Their experiences of physical space have parallels in our relations with others. In our jobs we know what is to be pressed and crowded, our working space diminished by the urgency of deadline and competitiveness of colleagues. But then there are times when deadlines disappear and colleagues co-operate, when everyone has a space to move, invent and produce, with energy and enthusiasm. With family and friends, we know how it feels to have unreasonable demands placed upon us, to be boxed in by the expectations of those nearest to us. But then there are times when we feel accepted for who we are (or forgiven for who we are not), times when a spouse or a child or a friend gives us the space both to be and to become.

Similar experiences of crowding and space are found in education. To sit in a class where the teacher stuffs our minds with information, organises it with finality, insists on having the answers while being utterly uninterested in our views, and focus us into a grim competition for grades – to sin in such a class is to experience a lack of space for learning. But to study with a teacher who not only speaks but also listens, who not only answers but asks questions and welcomes our insights, who provides information and theories that do not close doors but open new ones, who encourages students to help each other learn – to study with such a teacher is to know the power of a learning space.

A learning space has three essential dimensions: openness, boundaries and an air of hospitality. To create open learning space is to remove the impediments to learning that we find around and within us; we often them ourselves to evade the challenge of truth and transformation. One source of such impediments is our fear of appearing ignorant to others or to ourselves. The openness of a space is created by the firmness of its boundaries. A learning space cannot extend indefinitely, if it did, it would not be a structure for learning but an invitation for confusion and chaos. When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers. The teacher who wants to create an open learning space must define and defend its boundaries with care. Because the pursuit of truth can be painful and discomforting, the learning space must be hospitable. Hospitable means receiving each other, our struggles, our new-born ideas with openness and care. It means creating an ethos in which the community of truth can form and the pain of its transformation be borne. A learning space needs to be hospitable not to make learning painless, but to make painful things possible, things without which no learning can occur – things like exposing ignorance, testing tentative hypotheses, challenging false or partial information, and mutual criticism of thought.

The task of creating learning space with qualities of openness, boundaries and hospitality can be approached at several levels. The most basic level is the physical arrangement of the classroom. Consider the traditional classroom setting with row upon row of chairs facing the lecture where learning space is confined to the narrow alley of attention between student and teacher. In this space, there is no community of truth, hospitality or room for students to relate to the thoughts of each other. Contrast it with the chairs placed in a circular arrangement creating an open space within which learners can interconnect. At another level, the teacher can create conceptual space – space with words in two ways. One is through Assigned reading, not in the form of speed reading several hundred pages but contemplative reading, which opens, not fills our learning space. A teacher can also create a learning space by means of lectures. By providing critical information and a framework of interpretation, a lecturer can lay down boundaries within which learning occurs.

We also create learning space through the kind of speech we utter and the silence from which true speech emanates. Speech is a precious gift and a vital tool, but too often our speaking is an evasion of truth, a way of buttressing our self-serving reconstructions of reality. Silence must, therefore, be an integral part of learning space. In silence, more than in arguments, our mind-made world falls away and we are open to the truth that seeks us. Words often divide us, but silence can unite. Finally teachers must also create emotional space in the classroom, space that allows feelings to arise and be dealt with because submerged feelings can undermine learning. In an emotionally honest learning space, one created by a teacher who does not fear dealing with feelings, the community of truth can flourish between us and we can flourish in it.

21. Which of the following statements best describes the author’s conception of learning space?

(a) Where the teacher is friendly.

(b) Where there is no grim competition for grades.

(d) Where the teacher provides information and theories which open new doors and encourages students to help each other learn.

21. (d)

22. The statement “the openness of a space is created by the firmness of its boundaries”, appears contradictory. Which of the following statements provides the best justification for the proposition?

(a) We cannot have a space without boundaries.

(b) Bounded space is highly structured.

(d) A teacher can effectively defend a learning space without boundaries.

22. (a)

23. According to the author, learning is a painful process because

(a) it exposes our ignorance.

(b) our views and hypotheses are challenged.

(d) All of the above reasons

23. (d)

24. The task of creating learning space with qualities of openness, boundaries and hospitality is multidimensional. It involves operating at

(a) psychological and conceptual levels

(b) physical, perceptual and behavioural levels

(d) conceptual, verbal and sensitive levels

24. (c)

25. According to the author, silence must be an integral part of learning space because

(a) silence helps to unite us with others to treat a community of truth.

(b) silent contemplation prepares us to construct our mind-made world.

(d) speaking is too often a way of buttressing our self-serving reconstruction of reality.

25. (a)

21-25. Comprehension type – Medium

Direction (Q.No. 26 – 30) : In the following questions, four alternatives are given four the idioms / phrases. Choose the one which best express the meaning of the given idioms / phrases.

26. Through thick and thin

(a) big and small (b) large object

26. (c)

27. To carry all before one

(a) finish quickly (b) make a promise

27. (d)

28. A white elephant

(a) an elephant with white skin (b) a costly thing

28. (d)

29. To beat about the bush

(a) not to come to the point

(b) vigorous search for the culprit

(d) working hard to achieve the goal

29. (a)

30. Between the devil and the deep sea

(a) a deep sea diver (b) to be evil tempered

30. (c)

26-30. Grammar - Idioms and Phrases – Easy

Directions (Q. Nos. 31-35). The sentences given in each question, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Each sentence is labelled with a letter. Choose the most logical order of sentences from among the given choices to construct a coherent paragraph.

31. A: The Winchester or hard disk drives can store much more data than what can be stored on a floppy diskette.

B: Hard disks come sealed and they cannot be removed or changed like floppy diskettes.

C: Often floppy disk system is used in conjunction will the Winchester disk system

D: This makes for an ideal system for secondary storage.

(a) CABD (b) CBDA (c) BACD (d) ABCD

31. (c)

32. A: Commending the man for his work, he said: 'It has come out exactly as I had wanted it.'

B: And just as he finished the job, the gentleman who had placed the order entered his home.

C: Then suddenly one night he began carving from some waste material available at home.

D: He was working on it feverishly without food or water till the next afternoon.

(a) ACDB (b) CDAB (c) ABCD (d) CDBA

32. (d)

CD is a mandatory pair. B indicates completion of work and hence will follow the pair CD. Moreover, BA is a mandatory pair as ‘the man’ in A refers to ‘the gentleman’ of B. Thus, option (d) is the correct answer.

33. A: The last time India hosted the Congress was in 1964.

B: The host institution would be the Geological Survey of India (GSI), along with the science academies of five countries of the sub-continent.

C: The event will be sponsored by the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.

D: The voting took place on Thursday at the ongoing 34th International Geological Congress in Brisbane, Australia.

(a) ABDC (b) DABC (c) ADCB (d) ABCD

33. (b)

D and A are in past tense while the mandatory pair BC is in future tense. Therefore, BC will follow the sentences D and A making option (b) the correct answer.

34. A: In all, about 400 cases involve Rs. 15 lakhs and above.

B: The oldest case in this category belongs to 1992.

C: All these will now be listed before a Division Bench.

D: Sources said these cases would be posted before the Tax Bench, and be heard once or twice a week.

(a) BACD (b) ABCD (c) ABDC (d) BADC

34. (a)

B refers to a single case while other three sentences refer to ‘cases’. Thus, B will begin the sequence. The sentence A presents a problem for which C and D provide a solution. So, option (a) is the correct answer.

35. A: This will take you to a page where you will have an option to ‘create a book.’

B: Once a ‘book’ is created, you can either save it in your computer or take a print-out which will look exactly like a book.

C: You will have to first click on the ‘create a book’ link on the left.

D: In some cases, you may have to click the print/export option before you can access the ‘create a book’ option.

(a) ABCD (b) ACDB (c) BCDA (d) ACBD

35. (c)

CD is a mandatory pair and A follows them. This condition is fulfilled by only option (c). So, it is the correct answer.

31-35. Grammar - Sentence rearrangement - Medium

Directions : (Q.No. 36-Q.No.38) : In each of the following questions a word is followed by four options. You have to choose the option that is the most appropriate synonym to the given word.

36. Pernickety (unnecessarily concerned about unimportant things)

(a) Spiteful (b) Careless (c) Fussy (d) Ignorant

36. (c)

37. Inquisitive (eager to know)

(a) Sensitive (b) Careful (c) Curious (d) Anxious

37. (c)

38. Restive (unable to stay still)

(a) Restful (b) Restless (c) Tired (d) Excited

38. (b)

Directions (Q. Nos. 39-40) : In each of the following questions a word is followed by four options. You have to choose the option which is most opposite in meaning to the given word.

39. Equivocal (doubtful)

(a) Mistaken (b) Quaint (c) Clear (d) Universal

39. (c)

40. Prosaic (dull and ordinary)

(a) Pensive (b) Imaginative (c) Pacified (d) Rhetorical

40. (d)

36-40. Vocabulary - Synonyms and Antonyms – Medium