Verbal question of the day

FILL IN THE BLANKS

The following question has a sentence with two blanks. Given below it are four pairs of words. Choose the pair that best completes the sentence.

Ironically, the normally ________ speaker became diffident and ______ when confronted with the approbatory stares of her eager spectators.

1. quiet, fervent
2. garrulous, reticent
3. dispassionate, tacit
4. humble, supercilious

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Verbal Question of the Day: 52

Verbal Question of the Day: 51

PARAJUMBLE

The five sentences (labelled 1,2,3,4, and 5) given in this question, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper order for the sentences and key in this sequence of five numbers as your answer.

1. The Chinese effectively demanded that the global corporation shift its entire Asian business out of their Indian operation and move it to China.
2. After they had covered the listed agenda, they found their local CEO cribbing about their Indian operation and how his Indian counterpart was dropping the ball, missing business opportunities and suchlike.
3. Two of the Chinese executives involved were ranking members of the Communist Party of China, and the Westerners noticed their Chinese colleagues’ proposal end with a distinct “or else…”.
4. A couple of years ago, top executives of a mid-sized Western multinational found themselves in Beijing attending a strategy meeting of their Chinese subsidiary.
5. The visiting executives thought this was the usual office politics until they found that two others joined in.

Please Note: The answer to this question will be posted tomorrow morning as a comment below.

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Verbal Question of the Day: 51

Verbal Question of the Day: 50

Critical Reasoning (CR)

Q. The Department of Telecom has said that it is considering a policy to block mobile applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook during emergencies, especially when national security and public order are under threat. The trigger behind this move is the growing incidents of lynchings invariably based on fake news that goes viral on social media channels. Government departments training their policy guns on technologies and companies that provide them in the marketplace are ill advised on several counts. Such a ban would violate the fundamental right of free speech. It would mean withholding services for most genuine consumers so that a tiny majority of trouble-makers are restricted. Bringing in such a policy also ignores the efforts of the industry to self-regulate itself.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the gist of the given argument?

1. ‘Managing the symptoms and ignoring the cause’ is an apt description of the policy to block certain mobile apps during emergencies.
2. The Department of Telecom’s move to block some mobile applications during emergencies would be a misguided one.
3. The Department of Telecom’s policies are a threat to citizens’ constitutionally guaranteed rights.
4. While it has certain drawbacks, the Department of Telecom’s move to block some mobile apps during emergencies is necessary to curb lynchings.

Please Note: The answer to this question will be posted tomorrow morning as a comment below.

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Verbal Question of the Day: 50

Verbal Question of the Day: 49

OUT OF CONTEXT

Five sentences related to a topic are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a meaningful and coherent short paragraph. Identify the odd one out. Choose its number as your answer and key it in.

1. In the wake of school shooting across the US, the movie takes a swipe at how much kids are internalizing this violence.
2. The film shows how the current crop of teens seamlessly flits between Snapchat filters, Instagram messaging and Twitter timelines.
3. Not just Mark Zuckerberg, but the rest of us too need to watch Eighth Grade, to understand the current zeitgeist of teenagers.
4. Bo Burnham’s new movie-Eighth Grade,portraying the emotional upheaval of a teenager, has a delightful story that is as fresh as the air in the Swiss Alps.
5. Burnham, the director, also turns out to be an indefatigable explorer of the sexual mores of Generation Z.

Please Note: The answer to this question will be posted tomorrow morning as a comment below.

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Verbal Question of the Day: 49

Verbal Question of the Day: 48

FILL IN THE BLANKS

The following question has a sentence with two blanks. Given below it are four pairs of words. Choose the pair that best completes the sentence.

A new “pig family” postal stamp (depicting three cheerful piglets) has ________ debate about whether China may _________  its family planning policy next year as couples delay parenthood and the world’s most populous nation greys.

1. incited, alter
2. stoked, exacerbate
3. stirred, loosen
4. kindled, augment

Please Note: The answer to this question will be posted tomorrow morning as a comment below.

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Verbal Question of the Day: 48

Verbal Question of the Day: 47

PARAJUMBLE

The five sentences (labelled 1,2,3,4, and 5) given in this question, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Decide on the proper order for the sentences and key in this sequence of five numbers as your answer.

1. Within the declining industry, one country now dominates the market for the design and export of nuclear plants: Russia.
2. Subsequently, many nuclear plants closed around the world.
3. The worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, it was a devastating blow to an industry that has been in the doldrums since the 1980s.
4. In March 2011, a tsunami engulfed the Fukushima power plant in Japan, ultimately causing a meltdown.
5. Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company, has 33 new plants on its order book, worth about $130 billion.

Please Note: The answer to this question will be posted tomorrow morning as a comment below.

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Verbal Question of the Day: 47

Verbal Question of the Day: 46

Critical Reasoning (CR)

Q. Poland and Hungary’s domestic laws are incompatible with the European Union’s core values, however, both countries enjoy impunity. The latest infringement proceedings against the two countries underscore the EU’s limits in enforcing compliance with common democratic standards given the bloc’s stringent requirement of unanimity among all member states to punish offending members. In theory, both states can be stripped of their voting rights in the EU and face financial sanctions. But each also knows that a unanimous decision by the bloc, under Article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty, could be vetoed by the other.

Which one of the following captures the essence of the given paragraph?

1. Both Poland and Hungary enjoy impunity despite their laws infringing on the EU’s core values.
2. A unanimous decision by the EU, taken under Article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty, can be vetoed by both Poland and Hungary.
3. The EU must remove the unanimous decision clause to be able to punish offending members.
4. The EU does not have an adequate enforcement mechanism for its democratic standards.

Please Note: The answer to this question will be posted tomorrow morning as a comment below.

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Verbal Question of the Day: 46

Verbal Question of the Day: 45

OUT OF CONTEXT

Five sentences related to a topic are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a meaningful and coherent short paragraph. Identify the odd one out. Choose its number as your answer and key it in.

1. Shanghai in the 1930’s has been widely shown to have had smoke filled nightclubs, back alley gambling houses, and dark, seedy opium dens, all frequented by Chinese mobsters, Russian emigres and at least one gorgeous femme fatale with a past.
2. Though the book shows signs of being exhaustively researched, much of the material, by the author’s own admission, has been freely embroidered.
3. “City of Devils”, a new narrative history of the city, is not likely to clear matters up.
4. Just how much of Shanghai’s notorious reputation is historical fact and how much is Hollywood fantasy is hard to say.
5. “City of Devils” is based on real people and real events, but because of the sub-rosa nature of the episodes described, “assumptions have been made”.

Please Note: The answer to this question will be posted tomorrow morning as a comment below.

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Verbal Question of the Day: 45

Verbal Question of the Day: 44