Questions based cloze test ibps rrb mains exam 2018 set 5

Directions (1 to 10): In the passage given below words are given in bold, each followed by a number given in the brackets. Every word in bold has five alternatives. Find out the word which best suits the place. If the given word suits the blank, mark ‘No correction required’ as the answer.

Since November 2015 the pound has 1) escalated by over 15% against other currencies, mainly because of worries caused by last year’s Brexit 2) franchise. As the cost of imports has risen, inflation has jumped. Figures released on November 14th showed that in October consumer-price inflation was 3%, the joint-highest level since 2012. That is squeezing Britons’ living standards. Yet there is the reason to think that 3) growth may soon be on its way down again. In the 1970s inflation was a 4) thrash on the British economy. As unions battled with employers over wage settlements, it often rose above 20%. Yet lately inflation has become 5) quiescent. The Bank of England won operational independence over monetary policy in 1997. Since then the annual rate of consumer price inflation has averaged almost exactly 2%, in line with the bank’s official target. Nonetheless, as an open economy with a fairly volatile currency, Britain is prone to short-term 6) drills in inflation. In 2011, as oil prices soared and the government increased VAT, it hit 5.2%. With weak growth in nominal wages since the financial crisis of 2008-09, even relatively small rises in the inflation rate are felt keenly by workers. The latest bout of inflation has caused real-terms wages to fall in every month since February. Yet inflation may not remain high for long. In the 1970s, workers and businesses responded to a jump in inflation by demanding ever higher wages and prices to compensate. That created a 7) atrocious circle. This time around, however, there is little evidence of these so-called “second-round effects”. In recent months the growth in nominal wages has been only about 2% a year. Industries that are less affected by sterling’s drop, such as those in the service sector, have not jacked up prices. Retailers are offering 8) generous discounts to lure in the punters. Meanwhile, the effect of the pound’s 9) drop last year will soon fade. Most measures of inflation capture the year-on-year change in prices. The worst of sterling’s post-referendum depreciation was over by October 2016. Import prices will therefore not continue to rise sharply. There is a close correlation between movements in sterling and Britain’s “core” rate of inflation (a measure which excludes the most volatile components). If that correlation continues, then within a few months the headline rate of inflation should near 2%, assuming 10) sterlingholds steady. That is no small assumption. The pound suffers whenever there is bad news about Brexit, and there is a good chance that the months ahead will contain plenty of that. If Britain edges further to the cliff edge of a “no-deal” exit, sterling could start to slide again, pushing up prices. But for now, at least, inflation looks more likely to fall than to rise any further.

 

1)

a) Reduced       b) Diminished   c) Lowered

d) Depreciated  e) No correction required

 

2)

a) Referendum   b) Ballot   c) Division

d) Recall            e) No correction required

 

3)

a) Expansion  b) Collapse   c) Inflation

d) Deflation    e) No correction required

 

4)

a) Scourge   b) Castigate   c) Cane

d) Punish    e) No correction required

 

5)

a) Diligent   b) Active   c) Proactive

d) Quick     e) No correction required

 

6)

a) Brads    b) Spikes  c) Quills

d) Agents  e) No correction required

 

7)

a) Vicious      b) Heinous   c) Malignant  

d) Depraved  e) No correction required

 

8)

a) Liberal       b) Considerate  c) Fair

d) Abundant  e) No correction required

 

9)

a) Plunge   b) Descend   c) Ascend

d) Ascent   e) No correction required

 

10)

a) Capital       b) Prime   c) Creditable

d) Esteemed  e) No correction required

 

Answers:

Ans 1: d)   Ans 2: a)     Ans 3: c)     Ans 4: a)     Ans 5: e)

Ans 6: b)  Ans 7: a)     Ans 8: e)     Ans 9: a)     Ans 10: e)

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