Allahabad Bank Probationary Officer Exam. 2008 Solved Paper
English Language
Directions—(Q. 1 to 10) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words are given in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.
The main idea conveyed by the report is that our children do not get a chance to enjoy learning at school because the syllabi are irrationally organised, teaching is text book centered and the system of examinations instills fear and encourages mechanical repetition. Text books developed along the lines of reconceptualised syllabi can attempt to integrate positive values, life skills, aesthetic sensibility and concern for the environment. They are interactive and make a conscious effort to point both children and the teachers towards other sources of learning such as neighbourhood, nature etc. In addition two parallel challenges deserve attention. The first is examination reforms. Rigid indifference to individualdifferences is the major flaw of the present system. From the quality of questions to the manner of evaluation, it favours drilled preparedness and ignores independent thought while the unrealistically high cut offs in coveted colleges are a further sign of systemic inefficiency. It is hardly surprising that the very thought of examinations makes the young depressed. Moreover practices of splitting unified topics into arbitrary bits carrying small marks value encourage teachers to concentrate on scoring topics overlooking the importance of perspective and overall understanding. Little surprise that many elite high fee schools are opting for International Baccalaureate not because it offers status with its global certification but for its flexibility and respect for individual differences in learning.
The second area is teacher training which suffers from obsolete notions. Most teachers are trained mainly to cover the syllabus in a mechanical exam-oriented manner. By insisting that every child move at the same pace in all subjects teachers encourage rote learning and ridicule for those who fall behind. Teacher training whether for nursery or secondary school teachers should be embedded in courses, which have the capacity to develop both the teacher's personality and perspective on society by linking subject learning with reflective and creative project work. The ultimate responsibility lies with universities and institutes of higher learning to ensure the quality of all teachers. Initiatives to improve the content of teacher training courses will ensure utilisation of desolate university campuses during summer vacations which conceal an enormous waste of infrastructure and expertise. The quality of education is a reflection of the quality of teachers and major improvements in their training and working conditions will motivate the young to pursue a teaching career and determine how India fares in the pursuit of economic and social development in the years to come.
1. According to the author, what is the major weakness of the present examination system ?
(A) Teachers do not take into account the nature of questions asked in the examination
(B) Teachers are subjective in their assessment of papers
(C) Cut off standards for admissions to good institutions need to be raised
(D) It distinguishes between a creative student and a rote learner
(E) It does not consider unique learning patterns of students
2. Which of the following factors is responsible for children's dislike of learning ?
1. Rigid, logical, systematic organisation of syllabus
2. Teaching methodology which does not focus on text books
3. Examination pattern which rewards rote learning
(A) Only (1)
(B) Both (1) and (2)
(C) Only (3)
(D) All (1), (2) and (3)
(E) None of these
3. What is the drawback of teacher training courses ?
(A) They are held during summer vacations so attendance is low
(B) Content is being constantly changed so teachers cannot keep up
(C) Their focus is on imparting education only from an examination perspective
(D) They focus on making syllabi interactive rather than focusing on examination patterns
(E) None of these
4. Which of the following is NOT TRUE in the context of the passage ?
(A) Examinations arouse negative emotions in students
(B) Weak students are at a disadvantage if teachers force students to learn at the same speed
(C) Holding teacher training courses only during the academic year will help teachers cover the syllabus in an examoriented manner
(D) The responsibility for improving the quality of teachers lies in the hands of universities
(E) In the present educational system rote learning is encouraged
5. According to the author which of the following conditions will influence India's future
development ?
1. Replacing traditional educational systems with globally accepted foreign systems
2. Improving employment conditions of teaching staff
3. Getting global accreditation for Indian college courses
(A) Only (1)
(B) Both (1) and (2)
(C) Both (2) and (3)
(D) Only (2)
(E) None of these
6. What will be the impact of having an interactive syllabus ?
(A) Teachers and students will explore sources other than the text book
(B) Students may get distracted and perform poorly in examinations
(C) Weaker students may get left behind
(D) Teachers may not be able to cover the entire syllabus for the examination
(E) Students and teachers alike will be overburdened
7. Which of the following is essential to improve the quality of education ?
1. Focus on encouraging educational systems like International Baccalaureate
2. Reducing the number of examinations students have to take
3. Lowering the cut offs for expensive colleges so that all students have access
(A) Both (2) and (3)
(B) Both (1) and (2)
(C) All (1), (2) and (3)
(D) Only (1)
(E) None of these
8. Why do teachers focus on ‘scoring’ topics ?
(A) Pressure from colleges who want to maintain high cut offs
(B) Faulty examination pattern which divides topics into smaller sections
(C) It is an objective of teacher training programmes
(D) To reduce the nervousness of students during examinations
(E) None of these
9. What is the author's recommendation to universities ?
(A) Encourage only creative project work for primary school teachers
(B) Enforce strict rules so that only those truly interested take up teaching as a profession
(C) Utilise their infrastructure during the academic year for teacher training
(D) Pass on responsibility for improving teacher training content to a government body
(E) None of these
10. Why is the International Baccalaureate gaining popularity ?
(A) It is a rigid well defined system
(B) It has a good reputation
(C) Fees of other educational systems are too high for the quality of education given
(D) It allows students some scope to learn at their own pace
(E) None of these
Directions—(Q. 11 to 13) Choose the word which is most nearly the SAME in meaning as the word given in bold as used in the passage.
11. Coveted
(A) desired
(B) priceless
(C) necessary
(D) private
(E) valid
12. Instils
(A) teach
(B) causes
(C) orders
(D) inserts
(E) invites
13. Challenges
(A) fears
(B) questions
(C) disputes
(D) obstacles
(E) conflicts
Directions—(Q. 14 and 15) Choose the word which is most OPPOSITE in meaning of the word given in bold as used in the passage.
14. Desolate
(A) happy
(B) occupied
(C) dejected
(D) repaired
(E) cheerful
15. Obsolete
(A) stylish
(B) fashion
(C) present
(D) useless
(E) novel
Directions—(Q. 16 to 25) Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical 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) i.e. ‘No Error’. (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any.)
16. During the flood (A)/ Shilpa's colleagues (B)/prayed for (C)/ her safety. (D) No error (E)
17. Everyone admires Deepa (A)/ because of her ability (B)/ to generate (C)/ so good ideas. (D) No error (E)
18. The company has announced (A)/ a bonus for all (B)/employee who (C)/ achieve their sales targets. (D) No error (E)
19. The Cashier cannot (A)/ give no explanation (B)/ for the money (C)/ that is missing. (D) No error (E)
20. The manager has(A)/confidence in the engineer(B)/ability to (C)/ design the new software. (D) No error (E)
21. He has been assigned (A)/ with that team(B)/because he is(C)/well qualified and experienced. (D) No error (E)
22. The company's new project (A)/cannot be launched(B)/unless the approval (C)/ of the Board. (D) No error (E)
23. Instead criticizing (A)/ why don't (B)/ you help (C)/ with the presentation ? (D) No error (E)
24. Mr. Sethi was(A)/not given a promotion(B)/because he is(C)/frequent absent. (D) No error (E)
25. Inspite of (A) /so many hardships(B) /Amar has managed (C) /to success. (D) No error (E)
26. The United Nations Nuclear Inspectors recently visited Iran to find out the progress made by Iran in order to follow the deadline to stop enrichment of uranium by the same.
Which of the following is the report of the Group of Inspectors ?
(A) Iran has completely stopped enrichment of uranium
(B) Iran has failed to observed the deadline imposed by the UNO
(C) Iran has stopped enrichment of Uranium but is not ready to destroy the nuclear weapons produced earlier
(D) Iran did not allow Inspectors to visit its facilities and also refused to put any ban on the enrichment programme
(E) None of these
27. Ms. Asha Rose Migiro who has taken over as the Deputy Secretary General of the UNO, is a citizen of which of the following countries ?
(A) South Africa
(B) Tanzania
(C) India
(D) Trinidad
(E) None of these
28. The 12th ASEAN Summit was organized in 2007 in Cebu. Cebu is in which of the following countries ?
(A) Philippines
(B) China
(C) Nepal
(D) North Korea
(E) Thailand
29. The Prime Minister of India launched Auto Mission Plan (AMP) in the beginning of the year 2007. The plan is expected to transform India into a global automobile player in the next—
(A) ten years
(B) twelve years
(C) fifteen years
(D) twenty years
(E) five years
30. Haryana Governor Akhlaq-ur-Rehman Kidwai recently took the oath as the acting Governor of which of the following States ?
(A) Rajasthan
(B) Punjab
(C) Delhi
(D) Uttar Pradesh
(E) None of these
31. Which of the following countries won the men’s Indoor Hockey World Championship 2007 held in Vienna /
(A) Poland
(B) Spain
(C) Austria
(D) Germany
(E) England
32. ‘Samjhouta Express’ which became the target of a bomb blast a few months back runs between which of the following two stations ?
(A) New Delhi–Lahore
(B) New Delhi–Wagah
(C) Amritsar–Wagah
(D) Amritsar–Lahore
(E) New Delhi–Islamabad
33. Mr. Okram Ibobi Singh is the Chief Minister of—
(A) Haryana
(B) Punjab
(C) Manipur
(D) Meghalaya
(E) None of these
34. Who amongst the following was adjudged as the Femina Miss India Universe 2007 ?
(A) Puja Gupta
(B) Pooja Chitgopekar
(C) Sweta Lamba
(D) Sarah Jane Dias
(E) None of these
35. Which of the following films won the 52nd National Filmfare Awards for Best Music ?
(A) Omkara
(B) Fana
(C) Lage Raho Munnabhai
(D) Rang De Basanti
(E) Dhoom-2
36. Which of the following is the full form of the ‘WMF’ ?
(A) Web Mutual Fund
(B) World Mutual Fund
(C) World Monuments Fund
(D) World Music Fund
(E) None of these
37. The 43rd Conference of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on security policies was organized in—
(A) Prague
(B) Moscow
(C) Vienna
(D) Paris
(E) Munich
38. Who amongst the following is the author of the book—“A view from the Outside : Why Good Economics Works for Every- one ?”
(A) Dr. Manmohan Singh
(B) Dr. Amartya Sen
(C) Mr. L. N. Mittal
(D) Mr. Ashok Lahiri
(E) Mr. P. Chidambaram
39. Who amongst the following won the WTA Title of Ericson International WTA Tennis Event 2007 (Women’s) ?
(A) Mara Santangelo
(B) Chia Jung Chuan
(C) Alla Kudryavtseva
(D) Yung-Jan Chan
(E) Yaroslava Shvedova
40. Which of the following State was at the top of the list of Medals won by it in 33rd National Games 2007 ?
(A) Punjab
(B) Uttar Pradesh
(C) Kerala
(D) Manipur
(E) Assam
41. After much persuasion and also after facing an economic sanction on it which of the following countries recently decided to end its Nuclear Programme ?
(A) China
(B) Iran
(C) Libya
(D) North Korea
(E) None of these
42. The USA recently signed the Acquisition and Cross Serving Agreement (ACSA) providing for mutual support during humanitarian missions, peace keeping operations etc. with a country of Indian sub-continent. The name of the country is—
(A) Nepal
(B) Bhutan
(C) Sri Lanka
(D) India
(E) Bangladesh
43. Immediately prior to becoming the President of India Mrs. Pratibha Patil was the—
(A) Union Minister for Social Welfare
(B) Chairperson National Commission for Women
(C) Governor of Punjab
(D) Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh
(E) None of these
44. As per the targets set for 11th plan period the dropout rate of children from elementary school should be brought to which of the following levels by 2011-12 ?
(A) 10%
(B) 15%
(C) 20%
(D) 25%
(E) 30%
45. Digambar Kamat is the 19th Chief Minister of—
(A) Goa
(B) Karnataka
(C) Maharashtra
(D) Chhattisgarh
(E) None of these
46. Which of the following statements about Afro-Asia Cup 2007 is true ?
1. Africa XI won the tourna-ment
2. Asia XI won the tournament
3. All the three matches played under the tournament were declared draw, Hence no team won the trophy
4. Africa won the first match and declared winner
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 4
(E) None of these
47. Who amongst the following is the author of the book ‘Gandhi–A Spiritual Journey’ ?
(A) Mark Tully
(B) Ramchandra Gandhi
(C) K. N. Raj
(D) M. S. Swaminathan
(E) M. V. Kamath
48. Samresh Jung became the first Indian to bag on Olympic quota in which of the following events ?
(A) Swimming
(B) Pistol shooting
(C) 100 mtrs. Race
(D) High jump
(E) Long jump
49. Who amongst the following is allowed recently to have 49 per cent stake in HPCL Refinery ?
(A) Tata
(B) Mukesh Ambani
(C) Kumarmangalam Birla
(D) L. N. Mittal
(E) None of these
50. Which of the following is observed as the ‘World Refugees Day’ by the UNO ?
(A) June 26th
(B) July 26th
(C) July 20th
(D) June 20th
(E) August 20th
Answers :
1. (E) 2. (C) 3. (C) 4. (C) 5. (D)
6. (A) 7. (D) 8. (B) 9. (C) 10. (D)
11. (A) 12. (D) 13. (B) 14. (B) 15. (C)
16. (E) 17. (C) 18. (C) 19. (B) 20. (B)
21. (A) 22. (C) 23. (A) 24. (D) 25. (D)
26. (D) 27. (B) 28. (A) 29. (A) 30. (A)
31. (D) 32. (A) 33. (C) 34. (A) 35. (D)
36. (C) 37. (E) 38. (E) 39. (E) 40. (D)
41. (D) 42. (C) 43. (E) 44. (A) 45. (A)
46. (B) 47. (E) 48. (B) 49. (D) 50. (D)
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