Identify the correct
sentence/sentences:- Tony Blair, who announced on May 10 a date on which(1)/he was stepping down as Britains Prime Minister(2)/is an exceptionally gifted politician.(3)/His tumbling approval ratings which have traveled from plus 65 to minus 40(4)/in the ten years he has been in power reflects a definite scale of disenchantment(5)
Answer: A Statement 1 is faulty. The correct article to be is 'the' because it refers to a specific event on that day. Statement 2 is erroneous because Britains does not have an apostrophe. Statement 5 is incorrect because the verb 'reflects' does not agree with the noun 'ratings' which it refers to. It should be used in the plural. Hence correction is 'reflect'.
Q. No. 14:
Identify the correct
sentence/sentences:- Her body bent almost 90 degrees, nonagenarian Illamma(1)/trekked a long distance at her age(2)/with the help of two sticks(3)/braved the scorching sun to exercise her franchise.(4)/As ill luck would have had it, she had to return home for want of an ID card.(5)
Answer: A Statement 2 is erroneous. The sentences indicate that the distance covered was a lot for her age. hence 'for' and not 'at' is the right preposition. Statement 4 is incorrect. The verb 'braved' is incorrect.'Braving' is correct to imply that she walked a long distance even as she braved the hot sun. Statement 5:- As ill luck 'would have had it' is incorrect. The past is already indicted by 'would' hence would have had is redundant. 'would have it' is correct.
Q. No. 15:
Identify the correct
sentence/sentences:- Rates of social mobility may be computed either within the life span of man(1)/or as is more common, between generations of fathers and sons.(2)/Sociologists long entertained the belief, without too systematically examining the data(3)/that certain societies such as India had highly closed systems of stratification,(4)/that there is little upward mobility, almost all sons ended up in precisely the same strata their fathers had occupied(5)
Answer: B Statement 1 is erroneous because the indefinite article 'a' is missing before 'man'. The article is necessary because we are talking of the life span of different men and not mankind in general. Statement 2 is faulty as is more common is a parenthetical expression and hence it needs a comma at the end and the beginning of the expression.Hence 'or' as is more common, is the correction. Statement 5 is incorrect the plural 'strata' is used when referring to a single section of society. Hence 'stratum' is the correction.
Q. No. 16:
Identify the correct
sentence/sentences:- For the wealthy nations and in particular the top 20 per cent of the worlds' population(1)/who continue to enjoy the many fruit dished up by the capitalistic way of life(2)/the consumption of goods is reaching the point of near satiation.(3)/There is so much psychic value only one can get out of having two or three automobiles,(4)/a half dozen televisions and appliances of every sorts servicing every possible need and desire.(5)
Answer: C Statement 1 is incorrect. The apostrophe in world's population comes before the 's'. Statement 2 is erroneous. 'Many fruits' is the correction. Statement 4 is incorrect because of the positioning of the word 'only'. 'Only so much psychic value' is correct because it means a limited quantity. Statement 5 is faulty. Every should be followed by the singular noun. Hence 'every sort' is the correction.
Q. No. 17:
Identify the correct
sentence/sentences:- I might question whether soccer stadiums are the right venue for promoting religion(1)/but in an age where many professional athletes(2)/care more about cars women and controversy (3)/its refreshing to see one who is committed(4)/to have a positive impact on the world around him.(5)
Answer: C Statement 2 is erroneous. 'In the age where----' is incorrect to indicate a time period.'In an age of which' is the correction. Statement 3 is faulty because of a missing comma after cars. When there is a pause in speech and when there are several items listed in the sentence, each should be separated from the other using a comma. Statement 5 is erroneous- 'Committed' should be followed by the 'ing' form of the verb because we are committed to doing something. Hence 'to having a positive impact...' is correct.
Q. No. 18:
Identify the correct
sentence/sentences:- He bowed his head as the audience roared its praise(1)/and only stepped up on the stage after much cajoling.(2)/Even then, he simply nodded politely in typically modest fashion(3)/resembling a shy caretaker at his retirement party(4)/rather then a former playwright turned president returning to the stage after a long gap.(5)
Answer: C Statement 2 is erroneous. 'Stepped up onto the stage' is right. We use 'onto' when there is movement. Statement 5 is incorrect. 'Rather than' is the correct idiom.