General English Solved Paper II: 2005

(ORDERING OF SENTENCES)

Directions (For the 10 items which follows): In the following items, each passage consists of six sentences. The first sentence (S1) and the final sentence (S6) are given in the beginning. The middle four sentences in each have been removed and jumbled up. These are labelled P, Q, R and S. You are required to find out the proper sequence of the four sentences and mark accordingly on the Answer Sheet. Example ‘X’ has been solved for you.

X. S1 : There was a boy named Jack.
S6 : At last she turned him out of the house.
P : So the mother asked him to find work.
Q : They were very poor.
R : He lived with his mother.
S : But Jack refused to work.
Which one of the following sequences is correct ?
(a) R - Q - P - S (b) P - Q - R - S
(c) Q - P - R - S (d) R - P - S - Q

Explanation:

The correct sequence in this example is
R - Q - P - S which is marked by (a). Therefore, (a) is the correct answer.

1. S1 : The words “slim” and “fat” have very different meanings.
S6 : If on the other hand, you say, “Shyam has a slim chance of winning the title”, what you are implying is that he has a very slight chance of winning it.
P : The funny thing is, they don’t !
Q : When you say, “Ram winning the title ? Fat chance”,
What you mean is that he has little or no chance of winning it.
R : The two expressions have a very negative meaning. S : So, you would expect “slim chance” and “fat chance” to have very different meanings as well.
 Which one of the following sequences is correct ?
(a) S - Q - R - P (b) R - P - S - Q
(c) S - P - R - Q (d) R - Q - S - P

2. S1 : Conscience is also a great ledger where our offences are booked and registered.
S6 : But conscience asks, “Is it right ?” P : Cowardice asks, “Is it safe?”
P : If conscience stings once, it is an admonition, if twice, it is a condemnation.
R : It threatens, promises, rewards, and punishes, keeping all under its control.
S : It is a terrible witness.
Which one of the following sequences is correct ?
(a) S - R - Q - P (b) P - Q - R - S
(c) S - Q - R - P (d) P - R - Q - S

3. S1 : If road building is posited as the solution to African poverty, we have learned nothing from history.
S6 : To this end, Europe had to control Africa, and so the colonial invasion began.
P : The trade ended in the 1860s and was succeeded by a new wave of exploitation.
Q : Its earliest export was the indigenous population consigned as slaves to America.
R : For the past two centuries, Africa’s roads have led to its impoverishment.
S : European traders realised they could use Africa’s cheap labour to extract its abundant minerals and grow cash crops to export to Europe.
Which one of the following sequences is correct ?
(a) P - S - R - Q (b) R - Q - P - S
(c) P - Q - R - S (d) R - S - P - Q

4. S1 : There must be a strong desire to achieve recognition.
S6 : He will face rejection with aplomb and discouragement will not bring him down.
P : A person who has worked under a successful leader is a subordinate who is envied and admired.
Q : He will show strength in adversity and magnanimity in success.
R : Personal problems and issues are secondary to a great leader.
S : A leader that is recognised brings credit to his team.
Which one of the following sequences is correct ?
(a) R - P - S - Q (b) S - Q - R - P
(c) R - Q - S - P (d) S - P - R - Q

5. S1 : The government attributes the shortage of coal to an improved load factor.
S6 : Sometimes, the amount of shale in the despatch goes up to 45 per cent.
P : When production does not meet demand, people at the mines add shale to coal.
Q : One needs to examine many more factors related to power generation.
R : The quality of coal is one of them.
S : It requires only some planning to ensure sufficient supply of coal before increasing the load factor.
Which one of the following sequences is correct ?
(a) R - P - S - Q (b) S - Q - R - P
(c) R - Q - S - P (d) S - P - R - Q

6. S1 : Gangtok was hot in June, but I carried a wind cheater with me on a friend’s advice.
S6 : We had reached Baba Mandir where a free feast was on.
P : Around 1 p.m., we saw a long line of cars before a small tin shed decorated with coloured beads.
Q : There were 32 hairpin bends on the 16 km stretch up to Zuluk which is at a height of 11,000 ft.
R : On the way, the driver produced his permit at the police post and the car entered the Army zone.
S : I was shivering like a leaf despite wearing the wind cheater.
Which one of the following sequences is correct ?
(a) S - Q - R - P (b) R - P - S - Q
(c) S - P - R - Q (d) R - Q - S - P

7. S1 : Once as a young army officer, in my overconfidence, I dispatched our regimental football team, a sure-fire winner, to the wrong location.
S6 : When I asked Major Dhodi once why he did not tell the CO, he said that the old man had other worries and hence why add on to them.
P : With a series of long distance telephone calls and dynamic action based on absolute confidence, he got the regimental team back at the correct location . where it replayed the match and won the tournament 1
Q : In our absence, our rivals got a walkover in the actual location.
R : But the second-in-command of the regiment, Major Dhodi came to my rescue.
S : And the best part of the story is that my Commanding Officer never came to know of this major fiasco.
Which one of the following sequences is correct ?
(a) Q - R - P - S (b) P - S - Q - R
(c) Q - S - P - R (d) P - R - Q - S

8. S1: People often have the wrong impression that army officers are unduly harsh.
S6 : He wanted me to stay, on for another two more months to help him out with some work.
P : Way back in my service in the army, youngsters were given their annual leave only after they had completed one year of solid slogging.
Q : It is my considered opinion that they are officers and gentlemen even if they are not the very paragon of virtue.
R : My regiment was in the plains of Punjab and I came all the way down to my home in Kerala to enjoy my well-earned rest for two months.
S : The leave was about to be over in a jiffy and I was planning to return, when my father came out with an impossible situation.
Which one of the following sequences is correct ?
(a) Q - S - R - P (b) R - P - Q - S
(c) Q - P - R - S (d) R - S - Q - P

9. S1 : It wasn’t a normal journey to work.
S6 : Just before I left, the news darkened : two more explosions and reports of blackened bodies being laid out on the street outside various Tube stations.
P : But this time I was staying with my in-laws in Victoria, so it would be quicker.
Q : But then I heard the news that several underground stations were closed.
R : Usually I travel from Paddington station across London to Canary Wharf.
S : My journey wasn’t affected.
Which one of the following sequences is correct ?
(a) R - P - Q - S (b) S - Q - P - R
(c) R - Q - P - S (d) S - P - Q - R

10. S1 : The Dalai Lama is now officially an old man.
S6 : Not even the unrest created by the Dalai Lama’s acceptance of autonomy for Tibet within China could put a damper on the day.
P : That, however, did not stop the celebrations.
Q : To Tibetans, the 70th birthday is the start of the old age.
R : And on July 6, Tibet’s spiritual leader accepted this by saying he was in semi-retirement.
S : Thousands of devotees braved heavy rains to reach Dharamshala.
Which one of the following sequences is correct ?
(a) P - S - Q - R (b) Q - R - P - S
(c) P - R - Q - S (d) Q - S - P - R

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