Directions: In the following questions, a part of the sentence is given in bold. Improve the emboldened part using the given alternatives. In case no replacement is required, mark (E) as your answer.
1) While third grade reading proficiency is important as an indicator of a student’s later academic success, there is much research pointing toward social promotion of a student onto the next grade level despite of lack of proficiency as being preferable to retention.
A. In spite lack of proficiency as being preferable to retention.
B. In spite of a lack of proficiency as being preferable for retention.
C. Despite lack of proficiency as being preferable than retention.
D. despite lack of proficiency as being preferable to retention.
E. No Improvement
Sol:
‘despite’ is not followed by ‘of’ and ‘in spite’ is
always followed by ‘of’. Thus, the emboldened
part and option A get eliminated. Options B and
C get eliminated as they use the wrong
preposition with the word ‘preferable’.
‘Preferable’ takes the preposition ‘to’ with it.
Therefore, option D is the correct answer.
2) When Lenin returned to the country after the February Revolution, he took immediate actions to gain the peasantry’s allegiance, knowing that their support offered either a critical asset and a potentially detrimental liability.
A. its support offered either a critical asset or a potentially detrimental liability.
B. his support offered either a critical asset or a potentially detrimental liability.
C. their support offered either a critical asset or a potentially detrimental liability.
D. their support offered either a critical asset nor a potentially detrimental liability.
E. No Improvement
Sol:
The word ‘peasantry’ is a plural noun which means ‘small holders and agricultural labourers of low social status’. It is followed by a plural pronoun ‘their’. And the correct structure to be followed is ‘either…..or’. Thus, all the statements get eliminated.
Therefore, option C is the correct answer.
3) Personal health technologies used by an individual that generate data from that individual— offer an unprecedented opportunity to completely alter how we currently detect and manage infectious diseases at an individual as well as population level.
A. offers an unprecedented opportunity to complete alter
B. offer an unprecedented opportunity to completely altar
C. offers an unprecedented opportunity to completely alter
D. offer an unprecedented opportunity to complete alter
E. No Improvement
Sol:
The subject in the given sentence is ‘Personal
health technologies’ i.e. ‘plural’. So, it should be
followed by a plural verb ‘offer’. Thus, options A
and C get eliminated. Option B gets eliminated
as the word ‘altar’ is a noun which is a ritual
performing table. In the sentence the adverb
‘completely’ should be followed by the verb
‘alter’.
Therefore, option E is the correct answer.
4) As India moves through demographic transition, with low fertility rates and from increase life spans, the economic conditions and fundamental social structures like family dynamics have started to show dramatic changes.
A. with lowering fertility rates and increased life spans
B. with lowering fertility rates and increasing life spans
C. with lower fertility rates and increase life spans
D. with lowered fertility rates and increasing life spans
E. No Improvement
Sol:
The emboldened part and option C get
eliminated as the use of ‘increase life spans’ is
wrong.
According to parallelism, same grammatical
structure should be followed before and after the
conjunctions. So, all options get eliminated
except B.
