Free English Usage - 05 Practice Test - CAT
Question 1
(A) The users must also accept the realities [A] / the reality [B] that enjoying world – class facilities comes with [A] / comes for [B] a price.
(B) Italian fashion icon Giorgio Armani’s namesake corporation has entered in [A] / entered into [B] a joint venture with DLF to TAP India’s expanding luxury consumer market.
(C) It’s true that past promises are no guarantee against [A] / guarantee of [B] future performance.
(D) The affiliating system in India is a curse for [A] / curse on [B] higher education.
SOLUTION
Solution : D
In the first part of the sentence ‘the reality’ is suitable. In the next part of the sentence the verbal phrase ‘comes with a price’ means expensive. ‘Enter into’ is correct as it suggests joining or getting into a venture. Into indicates motion. If one thing generates another it is a guarantee of the other. ‘Curse on’ is acceptable. It is a curse on something.
Hence BABBB.
ANS:option D
Question 2
(A) If the Videocon group’s bid for Motorola Inc’s mobile-phone business, would go [A] / goes [B] through, it would [A] / it will [B] become the world’s third largest handset producer.
(B) If he had brought [A] / brought [B] the movie to Broadway, he would have put Lenny Kravitz in it
(C) If Mr. Putin’s Russia is accepted as an emerging democracy,it will be [A] / would be [B] difficult to justify the new containment policy.
(D) If he won a lottery, he would donate [A] / would have donated [B] the major part of it to a worthy cause.
SOLUTION
Solution : D
‘Would’ cannot be used in the conditional clause, hence goes is correct. If the ‘if clause’ has present tense (goes through) it should be followed by ‘will’. In sentence 2 the main clause has ‘would have’ therefore the ‘if clause’ must be in the past perfect tense (had brought).
In sentence 3 present tense (is) should be followed by ‘will be’. In 4 the conditional clause is in the simple past tense, hence it should be followed by ‘would have donated’. Hence BBAAB.
ANS: option D
Question 3
(A) When the waiver is announced each one of the fifteen thousand farmers, who has [A] /have[B] land holdings upto 15 acres would [A] / will [B] heave a sigh of relief.
(B) Every man and every woman of the entire village know [A] / knows [B] that it is a political move to divide farmers.
(C) Neither the Prime Minister nor the congress President have [A] / has [B] heard the farmer’s pleas.
(D) Almost every-one of the infrastructure companies has [A] / have [B] discounted ambient factors like construction risks.
SOLUTION
Solution : B
‘Who has’ refers to the singular subject of each farmer and ‘will heave a sigh of relief' refers to each one of them. Hence AB is acceptable. Each,every, neither, either take singular verbs. Hence BBBA is correct. In the first sentence as ‘will’ is the present form it is suitable in the context. ABBBA.
ANS:option B
Question 4
(A) In the past few years the imaginative [A] / imaginary [B] distinctions between [A] / among [B] urban life and the natural world have crumbled.
(B) The decision of the election commission of India to hold Assembly elections in Karnataka before the expiry of the six-month [A] / six-months [B] term of the President’s rule ends a period of political uncertainty.
(C) Now Hamlet is primarily [A] / primary [B] a drama of revenge, one of the most dislikeable of all human passions.
(D) The winds blow unceasingly sapping your energy, blighting your hopes and producing energy, blighting your hopes and producing [A] / produce [B] a conviction that nothing is worth an effort.
SOLUTION
Solution : D
‘Imaginary’ describes something that is created by and exists only in the mind, that is not real whereas imaginative means new, original and clever. Hence, option ‘B’ imaginary’ is correct. In sentence 2 the compound word 'six-month' is used as an adjective and therefore it should be in the singular. In sentence 3 primarily means ‘mainly’ and primary means ‘most important’. Hence ‘A’ ‘primarily is correct. In sentence 4 to maintain parallelism in construction production [A] should be used. Hence BAAAA is the right choice.
ANS:option D
Question 5
(B) On entering certain kinds of wild country, I have an instinctive feeling about[A] /of [B] home-coming
(C) What most clearly marks [A] / marks off [B] cognitivism from behaviorvism is the belief that there are hidden causes of behavior.
(D) The state government has expressed considerable concern for [A] / about [B] the rapid rise in the latest crime figures in the capital city.
SOLUTION
Solution : A
Since ‘pleasure’ is derived from something,option A is correct and ‘in the house keeper’s’
room is correct. In sentence 2 feeling ‘of’ home coming is correct. In sentence 3 marks
means ‘distinguishes’ hence option B is suitable. In sentence 4 ‘concern for’ is incorrect
for it is used for a person. For a situation ‘concern about’ is used. Hence ABBBB.
ANS:option A
Question 6
Famed for his masterful use of irony, many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics due to the author slowly revealing at the end of each piece a tragic twist of fate.
SOLUTION
Solution : D
The original sentence begins with the modifier "Famed for his masterful use of irony," which requires a person as its subject. However, in the original sentence, "many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories" is the subject. Moreover, the phrase "due to the author slowly revealing" is awkward.
(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.(B) The pronoun "he" must have a person as its antecedent, yet there is no person in the sentence. Remember that "he" cannot refer to "Guy de Maupassant" here, since the name is part of a possessive phrase: "Guy de Maupassant's short stories". The author himself is not grammatically present in the sentence.
(C) The opening modifier "famed for using irony in a masterful way" incorrectly modifies "short stories" instead of Guy de Maupassant himself. It also contains the awkward phrase "because of the author slowly revealing."
(D) CORRECT. This choice remedies the flawed modifier by rewriting the sentence to avoid it. This choice also replaces the awkward phrase "due to the author's revealing" with "evidenced in the slow revelation."
Question 7
Teachers in this country have generally been trained either to approach mathematics like a creative activity or that they should force students to memorize rules and principles without truly understanding how to apply them.
SOLUTION
Solution : C
The original sentence incorrectly pairs an infinitive ("to approach") with a clause ("that they should...") in the construction "either X or Y." Moreover, the use of "like" in the phrase "to approach mathematics like a creative activity" is incorrect. “Like” is used to compare the similarities between things, while “as” is used in comparisons that show equality. In this case, mathematics is a creative activity; thus, “as” is necessary.
(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.
(B) While this choice does contain proper parallel structure, it incorrectly uses "like" instead of "as" in the phrase "to approach mathematics like a creative activity".
(C) CORRECT. The construction "either X or Y" requires parallelism between X and Y. In choice C, X and Y are parallel infinitive phrases ("to approach . . ." and "to force . . .").
(D) While this choice does create a parallel construction, it awkwardly begins the parallel elements with the words "that they" instead of the infinitive "to." Moreover, this choice incorrectly uses "like" instead of "as" in the phrase "to approach mathematics like a creative activity".
Question 8
The audience for the new opera, an inventive rendition of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, was clearly enthralled by the show for the attendees paused for some moments before applauding vigorously at its conclusion.
SOLUTION
Solution : A
Option (A)
Audience is what’s called a collective noun because, like jury or family it describes a group of people that functions as a singular subject; one says the family is rather than the family are.
Therefore, the singular was is the correct verb for audience and you can eliminate (B) and (C).
Next, you have to decide among for the attendees, for they, and as is clear since its attendees.
(D) has a pronoun error since they has no clear referent. The singular audience wouldn’t work as the referent, and the sentence doesn’t provide us with any other options.
Question 9
The basic needs of the average cat are simple and largely inexpensive: food, water, affection, and shelter, and occasional visits to the veterinarian.
SOLUTION
Solution : C
Option (C)
To deal with the sentence successfully you first need to consider its meaning. The sentence lists five items, four of which support the claim that cats’ needs are “simple and largely inexpensive.”
You know that the fifth item, the trips to the vet, aren’t part of this list and shouldn’t be parallel with it because, first, the and before shelter suggests that the initial list ends with shelter and, second, trips to the vet are not inexpensive. Therefore, the final item needs to be expressed as an exception. Eliminate (A). At this point, the primary problem is one of expression. veterinarian visits, while shorter, is less clear and idiomatic than visits to the veterinarian. Out with (B). As for (D), we have a dangling modifier: who is occasionally visiting the vet? Eliminate. Hence (C) it is.
Question 10
One benefit of learning to speak a language while learning to read it rather then separately is that the student can more effectively apply his or her knowledge in social settings.
SOLUTION
Solution : D
Option (D)
The problem with the original sentence is separately. Separately is an adverb but in this context it’s not clear exactly which verb it’s modifying. (A) and (B) share the same problem.
(C) and (D) both bring out the parallelism in the sentence, which you can see if you rewrite the sentence: “One benefit of learning to speak a language while learning to read it rather than as/in a separate process is . . . .”. You’ll notice that (D) changes process to the plural processes and undermines the parallelism; the underlined portion should refer to only one process, that of learning to speak a language, in order to create a parallel alternative to while learning to read it.
Hence, (D) is more appropriate.
Question 11
LITTLE
SOLUTION
Solution : D
Little means ‘not much’ (negative) whereas ‘a little’ means to a small degree (positive). The Manager is in little mood (meaning no mood) to talk-
ANS:option D
Question 12
LIFT
SOLUTION
Solution : D
The phrase ‘to lift something’ means to steal (as in shoplift). Hence ‘lift mangoes’ is wrong, it should be get or obtain. However we can ‘lift potatoes’ meaning to dig up from the ground.
ANS:option D
Question 13
GIVE
SOLUTION
Solution : C
To ‘give away' means something given free. Hence loans cannot be given away.
ANS:option C
Question 14
PEN
SOLUTION
Solution : D
Pen in the first sentence refers to an enclosure for sheep. In the second sentence it refers to a female swan. In the third sentence it is a verb meaning ‘to write’. The fourth sentence is wrong because ‘great people of pen’s is incorrect usage.
ANS:option D
Question 15
EVEN
SOLUTION
Solution : C
In sentence 1 ‘even’ is an adverb (qualifying stronger) used to emphasize something unexpected. In the second sentence ‘even’ means equal. The third sentence is wrong as the intended meaning is to ‘get even’.
ANS: