PNB Clerk (Second Shift) Exam, 2011 : English Language (Solved)

Punjab National Bank Clerk (Second Shift) Exam., 2011

(Held on 19-6-2011)

English Language: Solved Paper

Directions– (Q. 1-15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases/sentences have been printed in bold/italics to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once upon a time there was a shy and quiet octopus. He nearly always went about on his own because, although he wanted to have lots of friends, he was too self-conscious.

One day, the octopus was trying to catch a very slippery oyster. Before he knew it, he had tied himself into one massive knot, and he couldn't move. He tried with all his strength to wriggle free, but it was no good. In the end, despite the great embarrassment he felt at being seen in such a tangle, he had to ask for help from the passing fish. Many fish swam past, ignoring him, but one very kind little fish offered to help untie all those tentacles from all those suckers.

The octopus felt heartily relieved when he was finally set free, but he was so shy that he didn't dare talk to the fish and make friends with him. He simply thanked the fish, and quickly swam off. Later, the octopus spent the whole night thinking that he had wasted a great opportunity to make friends with that very kind little fish.

A couple of days later the octopus was resting between some rocks, when he noticed that everyone around was hurriedly swimming past. He looked into the distance and saw an enormous fish coming over to feed in that area. The octopus quickly hid; then peeping an eye out from his hiding place, he saw that the huge fish as chasing the kind little fish who had untied him. That little fish really needed urgent help, but the big fish was so dangerous-looking that no one dared to go near. The octopus, remembering how the little fish had helped him, felt that he had to do whatever he could to come to his aid.

Without hesitating, the octopus shot out from the rocks, like a ray. He put himself right in the path of the giant fish, and before the fish could do anything about it, the octopus had shot out the biggest jet of ink of his life. He grabbed the little fish, and swam off back to hide in the rocks. Everything happened so fast that the big fish had no time to react. However, he soon recovered from the surprise. Off he went to the rocks, looking for the octopus and the little fish. Now he really wanted to gobble them down !

Soon, though, he began feeling a terrible itch; first in his gills, and then in his fins, and then allover his body. It turned out that this giant fish had a very sensitive skin and the octopus's dark ink had given him a terrible allergy !! So the big fish swam away, irritated all over.

As soon as he was gone, all the fish that had been hiding came and congratulated the octopus for being so brave. Then the little fish told them all how he had helped the octopus a few days earlier, but he had never known anyone to end up doing something so dangerous. Hearing this, the other fish discovered how nice the shy octopus was, and everyone around was keen to be friends with such a brave and honourable octopus.

1. How did the octopus save the little fish ?
(A) By asking the little fish to hide before the big fish could see him
(B) By putting himself between the big fish and the little fish and shooting a jet of ink at the big fish
(C) By shooting a jet of ink at the big fish and thus managing to kill it
(D) By calling out for help from all the other fish and carrying the little fish to safety
(E) By offering his life to the big fish instead of the life of the little fish
Ans : (B)

2. Why did the octopus have to ask for help from the passing fish ?
(A) He was bored of swimming alone and thus asked the fish to accompany him
(B) He desperately needed to make friends and thus needed the fish to help him
(C) Someone had tied him up in a knot and he could not get himself untied
(D) He needed help in order to escape from the big fish that had come to eat him
(E) He had gotten himself tied up in a knot trying to catch an oyster
Ans : (E)

3. 'He nearly always went about on his own because, although he wanted to have lots of friends, he was too self-conscious.' How can this sentence be best re framed without changing its meaning ?
(A) Having many friends, he was self-conscious despite being alone
(B) Being alone, he had many friends despite being self-conscious
(C) Being self-conscious, he went about alone despite wanting to have many friends
(D) Being alone, he was self-conscious despite wanting to have many friends
(E) Having many friends, he went about alone despite being self-conscious
Ans : (D)

4. Which of the following characteristics can be attributed to the little fish from the story ?
(1) Kind
(2) Persuasive
(3) Shy
(A) Only (1) and (3)
(B) Only (1)
(C) All (1), (2) and (3)
(D) Only (2)
(E) Only (2) and (3)
Ans : (B)

5. 'The octopus, remembering how the little fish had helped him, felt that he had to do. What ever he could to come to his aid,' What feeling of the octopus towards the little fish does this line signify ?
(A) Revenge
(B) Suspicion
(C) Gratitude
(D) Compassion
(E) Repentance
Ans : (C)


6. 'Now he really wanted to gobble them down!' What emotion of the big fish does this sentence convey ?
(A) Happiness
(B) Pleasure
(C) Anger
(D) Helplessness
(E) Fear
Ans : (C)

7. Why did all the fish congratulate the octopus ?
(A) He had bravely saved the little fish from being eaten by the big fish
(B) He had successfully gotten himself untied all by himself
(C) He had managed to kill the big fish all alone and thus saved the lives of all the other fish
(D) He had finally managed to make a large number of friends in the ocean
(E) He had saved the little fish from the clutches of the oyster
Ans : (A)

8. Which of the following can be the most appropriate title for the t passage/story ?
(A) The Brave But Shy Octopus
(B) The Tiniest Fish
(C) The Fishes of the Ocean
(D) The Big Hungry Fish
(E) The Dumb Octopus
Ans : (A)

9. Which of the following characteristics can be attributed to the octopus from the story ?
(1) Troublesome
(2) Noble
(3) Brave
(A) Only (2)
(B) Only (1)
(C) Only (1) and (2)
(D) Only (2) and (3)
(E) All (1), (2) and (3)
Ans : (D)

10. Why did the big fish swim away ?
(A) He got scared looking at the huge octopus' and decided not to attack the little fish
(B) He was driven away by other fish
(C) He was unable to locate the octopus and the fish
(D) He got a terrible itch all over his body from the octopus ink
(E) He decided that he would not be able to handle both the octopus and the fish together
Ans : (D)

Directions– (Q. 11-13) Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

11. MASSIVE
(A) Big
(B) Heavy
(C) Thin
(D) Frail
(E) Plenty
Ans : (A)

12. REACT
(A) Emote
(B) Respond
(C) Replay
(D) Look
(E) Answer
Ans : (E)

13. NEARLY
(A) Quietly
(B) Closely
(C) Next
(D) Almost
(E) Proximally
Ans : (D)

Directions– (Q. 14-15) Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

14. HURRIEDLY
(A) Sickly
(B) Fast
(C) Quickly
(D) Palely
(E) Leisurely
Ans : (E)

15. SHY
(A) Healthy
(B) Timid
(C) Happy
(D) Polite
(E) Bold
Ans : (E)

Directions– (Q. 16-20) In each of the following questions, a sentence/s contain/s a blank space. You have to choose from the options (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E) and fill in the blank in such a manner that it completes the sentence/s in the most meaningful and grammatically appropriate manner.

16. The thieves knew that there was a lot of money in the bank and wanted to ……………….. on it.
(A) cash in
(B) borrow
(C) stash it
(D) steal
(E) purchase things
Ans : (D)

17. It was common knowledge that the Manager had committed a fraud. Just to……………….., the Manager was now lying through his teeth.
(A) admit it
(B) save his own skin
(C) reaffirm it
(D) jump the gun
(E) make hay while the sun shines
Ans : (B)

18. The rioting crowd had reached very close to Asha's house. Asha's brother somehow managed to avoid this crowd and reached home ………………..
(A) simply
(B) in one piece
(C) in silent
(D) in jiffy
(E) quicker
Ans : (B)

19. I have been so busy with work that I have not yet ……………….. to arranging my things in my new house.
(A) tried
(B) come ahead
(C) seemed
(D) attempting
(E) gotten around
Ans : (E)

20. I am hosting a party at my house tomorrow evening. I ……………….. you can make it on time.
(A) knew that
(B) understands
(C) hope that
(D) wishes that
(E) desire
Ans : (C)

Directions– (Q. 21-25) In each the following questions a short story is given with one of the lines in e story missing and represented by a blank. Select the best out of the five answer choices given, to make the story complete and coherent.

21. A King when once returning to his palace, complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he had been for such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Definitely, this would need thousands of cows' skin, and would cost a huge amount of money. Then one of his wise servants dared himself to tell the king, ……... The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a 'shoe' for himself.
(A) "Why don't you just make a concrete road instead ?"
(B) "We will immediately start killing all the cows in the kingdom to cover the road for you, your majesty.
(C) "We will immediately start mending the road so that you are not inconvenienced on your next trip."
(D) "Instead of spending all that money, why don't you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet ?"
(E) "You must be crazy to want better roads."
Ans : (D)

22. Two men were walking along one summer day. Soon it became too hot to go any further and, seeing a large tree nearby, they threw themselves on the ground to rest in its shade. Gazing up into the branches one man said to the other: "…………….It does not have fruit or nuts that we can eat and we cannot even use its wood for anything." "Don't be so ungrateful," rustled the tree in reply. "I am being extremely useful to you at this very moment, shielding you from the hot sun. And you call me good-for-nothing !"
(A) "Look, the branches of this tree are so long
(B) "What a beautiful tree !
(C) "Had this tree not been here we would have had to bear the brunt of the heat
(D) "What a useless tree this is
(E) "I want to cut this tree down because of its usefulness
Ans : (D)

23. The father of a boy, who constantly lost his temper, gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence…………... He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The day passed and the
young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. When you say things in anger, they leave scars just like these. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound will still be there.
(A) Due to constant hammering the fence broke into pieces
(B) Finally the father asked the boy to stop hammering nails into the fence
(C) The boy suddenly started losing his temper again
(D) The boy ran out of nails to hammer
(E) Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all
Ans : (E)

24. A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns ?" …………………., and just before it was ready to bloom, it died.
(A) So he pleaded with the rose to drop its thorns
(B) Quickly the man examined the thorns on the rose
(C) The man smelled the rose
(D) Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose
(E) Excited, he poured a lot of water into the pot
Ans : (D)

25. A wise woman who was travelling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveller who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveller saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveller left, rejoicing his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. ……………"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious, give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone."
(A) The wise woman visited him a few days later and forced him to return the stone
(B) But after a few days, the stone started giving him a lot of trouble and he considered it unlucky
(C) But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman
(D) He went back to the mountains to look for another stone
(E) A few days later, he came back and asked for another stone from the wise woman
Ans : (C)

Directions– (Q. 26-30) Re-arrange the following six sentences (1), (2), (3), (4),(5) and (6) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph; then answer the questions given below them.
(1) The little one, whose mother's skin the Wolf was wearing, began to follow the Wolf.
(2) One day he found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside.
(3) Thus for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals.
(4) A wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs.
(5) The wolf led the little one a little afar and soon made a meal off her.
(6) The wolf put it on over his own pelt and strolled down among the sheep.

26. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 6
Ans : (E)

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

28. Which of the following should be the FOURTH sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 5
(E) 6
Ans : (A)

29. Which of the following should be the LAST (SIXTH) sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 6
(B) 5
(C) 4
(D) 3
(E) 2
Ans : (D)

30. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 6
Ans : (B)

Directions– (Q. 31-35) In each of the following sentences there are five parts (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Rearrange these parts to form a meaningful and grammatically correct sentence and choose the alternative which represents the arrangement.

31. (1) she bought
(2) her friend
(3) so happy that
(4) flowers for
(5) she was
(A) 1 4 2 3 5
(B) 3 5 1 4 2
(C) 2 5 1 3 4
(D) 5 3 1 4 2
(E) 1 5 324
Ans : (D)

32. (1) people attended
(2) there were
(3) the meeting that
(4) no seats available
(5) so many
(A) 5 1 3 2 4
(B) 2 4 5 1 3
(C) 2 5 1 3 4
(D) 5 2 1 3 4
(E) 1 5 32 4
Ans : (A)

33. (1) customers who visit
(2) want to know
(3) nowadays banks
(4) everything about
(5) their branches
(A) 3 2 4 1 5
(B) 4 3 1 2 5
(C) 2 3 4 1 5
(D) 5 3 2 4 1
(E) 1 5 2 4 3
Ans : (A)

34. (1) wait for them
(2) before we
(3) we should
(4) make this decision
(5) to explain
(A) 3 4 5 2 1
(B) 3 1 5 24
(C) 2 1 3 4 5
(D) 1 5 2 4 3
(E) 4 2 1 5 3
Ans : (B)

35. (1) one should
(2) in advance
(3) a house
(4) before buying
(5) plan well
(A) 1 5 4 3 2
(B) 4 2 1 5 3
(C) 2 1 5 3 4
(D) 1 5 2 3 4
(E) 1 5 2 4 3
Ans : (E)

Directions–(Q. 36-40) 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.)

36. A man sleeping (A) / at night in his cabin (B) / that suddenly (C) / his room filled with light. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)

37. For hours the secretary ignoring them, (A) / hoping that the couple would (B) / finally be discouraged (C) / and go away. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (A)

38. Working together for the first time, (A) / the father and son developed concepts of how (B) / they could accomplish the task and (C) / how the obstacles could be overcome. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)

39. Once upon a time there was (A) / a water-bearer who had two large pots. (B) / each hung on each end of a pole (C) / who he carried across his neck. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)

40. Often when we face obstacles (A) / in our day-to-day life, our hurdles (B) / seemed very small in comparison (C) / to what many others have faced. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)

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 Noah's Ark things were getting a bit boring. Noah and his animals had spent so many days secluded there that they started organising games and activities to ...(41)... themselves. But, with all that pent up energy, the games got rather rowdy, and a woodpecker ended up drilling a hole in the bottom of the ark. As water began ...(42)... the boat, the hole got bigger. So, more water came in, and things got a bit disquieting.

One by one, different animals tried to ...(43)... the hole. They even got competitive about it because everyone wanted to be the animal that had saved the ark. The beaver built a dam over the hole, but not ...(44)... that worked. Everyone was ...(45)... and worried that the boat would sink. That was, until the bee started talking. The bee explained to everyone how it was that bees always worked together, as a team, each one doing the job they were best at. On hearing this, all the animals set about working together, each one playing their part by contributing their own special talent. The birds grabbed onto parts of the ark with their beaks, and flapped their wings furiously, lifting the boat up a little. The elephants ...(46)... up the water in their trunks and shot it back into the sea. The fastest animals ran here and there, collecting material. Those used to making nests' took this material and stuffed it quickly into the hole.

And so, working together, the animals managed to reduce the amount of water coming into the ark, but they still hadn't stopped it ...(47) ... Desperate, they kept asking each other if there were any other animals that could ...(48) ... They searched and searched, but there were no other animals left in the ark. Then suddenly, a little fish swam in through the hole. The animals ...(49)... that they still had not asked for, help from all the sea creatures. They asked the little fish to go and summon help to save their boat. He swam off and soon fish after fish ...(50)... at the ark. Even a big whale came, and the whale pressed its great belly against the hole in the ship. This stopped any more water from entering, and it gave the animals on the ark time to close up the hole.

41. (A) haunt
(B) entertained
(C) find
(D) kill
(E) amuse
Ans : (E)

42. (A) on
(B) pouring
(C) seeping
(D) entering
(E) coming
Ans : (C)

43. (A) watch
(B) fix
(C) blocks
(D) closed
(E) make
Ans : (B)

44. (A) more
(B) it
(C) also
(D) even
(E) so
Ans : (D)

45. (A) hungry
(B) scared
(C) much
(D) dead
(E) happy
Ans : (B)

46. (A) sucked
(B) dipped
(C) drank
(D) sorted
(E) draw
Ans : (A)

47. (A) completely
(B) not
(C) entire
(D) full
(E) flow
Ans : (A)

48. (A) worry
(B) worship
(C) help
(D) swim
(E) survive
Ans : (C)

49. (A) wept
(B) understand
(C) fought
(D) stood
(E) realised
Ans : (E)

50. (A) brought
(B) occurred
(C) arrived
(D) come
(E) swam
Ans : (B)