English for Competitive Exams – Odd Man Out Practice Questions with Key

Many changes have been effected in the English section of the bank recruitment exam paper in recent times. New items like ‘Multiple Errors’ and ‘The Odd man Out’ are included and it goes without saying that you have to
put in lots of practice to crack the exam. The questions are also useful for various other exams like UPSC, APPSC, TSPSC, SSC CGHL etc.

ODD MAN OUT:

Under the ‘Odd Man Out’ item, each question is like a small passage, comprising Five sentences. Read them carefully and separate them into two groups. The four sentences which are thematically relevant and connected make up one group and a complete and meaningful passage. The one sentence which is not thematically so relevant and connected is the Odd Man Out. It is like a biker from a by-lane joining a rally of cyclists on the main road. These new pattern questions are time consuming and are meant to test your mettle. Only focused practice is needed to answer
them and score maximum marks. Here are some model questions prepared as per the new pattern for your practice.

Directions (Q1-10): In each question FIVE sentences are labelled as a, b, c, d, e and only four of them make a complete and meaningful paragraph. Pick out that one sentence (Odd Man out) which does not fit into the theme/ passage.

1. a) Early horses such as Hyracotherium, which lived 55 million years ago, did have multiple toes.
b) These horses were much smaller animals.
c) Horses have great memory power.
d) A recent study at Harvard University, the USA, found that one broad hoof is almost as strong as multiple smaller toes but much lighter.
e) Natural selection has gradually discarded the horse’s side toes and widened the middle one.
1) c 2) d 3) a 4) e 5) b

2. a) Dirty air is making us ill.
b) In fact, 40,000 premature deaths per year can be attributed to poor air quality.
c) As a step to clean up air, the UK government has decided to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040.
d) But experts feel that the deadline is not soon enough.
e) In India we have many new and expensive models of cars and vans.
1) d 2) c 3) e 4) b 5) a

3. a) According to one recent survey, there are over five trillion pieces of plastic in the world’s oceans.
b) This plastic soup covers an area twice the size of the continental United States.
c) As plastic moves through our seas, it breaks down into smaller pieces that can easily be swallowed by marine life.
d) And the problems continue beneath the surface.
e) Plastic toys and domestic furniture items are everywhere.
1) e 2) c 3) a 4) d 5) b

4. a) Kubera is no longer worshiped today as he once was in ancient India.
b) He is the pot-bellied king of the Yakshas and associated with great wealth.
c) He is often known as the treasurer of the gods.
d) There is a poor man in our street and his name is Kubera!
e) We learn of Kubera for the first time in the Shatapatha Brahmanas, a ritual manual.
1) d 2) e 3) a 4) c 5) b

5. a) Ants are highly social insects.
b) They work hard as a team.
c) Good communication skills lie at the heart of their success.
d) They rely heavily on chemical scents to defend territories and exchange complex information.
e) Many people eat ants.
1) e 2) c 3) a 4) b 5) d

6. a) The Supreme Court’s verdict legalizing passive euthanasia owes much to the Aruna Shanbaug case.
b) Aruna Shanbaug, 25, was a nurse in the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.
c) On November 27, 1973 Aruna was assaulted by a sweeper.
d) During the assault she was tied with a dog chain around her neck which cut off oxygen supply to her brain and left her in a vegetative state.
e) Medical experts have hailed the Court’s verdict.
1) e 2) c 3) d 4) b 5) a

7. a) Epicurus was a Greek philosopher who was born in 341 BC.
b) He founded a school of philosophy.
c) Food lovers are often called epicureans.
d) Epicurus had a different view of sensual pleasures.
e) He was a fierce critic of religion.
1) e 2) c 3) d 4) a 5) b

8. a) The Indian Meteorological Department says that both the Telugu states will witness severe summer this year.
b) Coastal Andhra region is going to have the worst summer, the Department says.
c) The core heat wave zones in Telangana will also be under the grip of heat wave for more days this years, the Met people have said.
d) According to them, this time the average temperature would be above normal.
e) We wear cotton dresses in summer.
1) d 2) c 3) e 4) a 5) b

9. a) Till the nineteenth century, nobody really knew much about food.
b) Nobody knew how food was used by the human body.
c) Nobody knew why some kinds of food were more nourishing than others.
d) Taj Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in Hyderabad.
e) Not even Greeks-who laid the foundations for so many other branches of science had given any serious study to food and nutrition!
1) e 2) d 3) a 4) c 5) b

10. a) The year 2017 marked fifty years of the ATM services across the world and 30 years of the ATM services in India.
b) The ATM was the brainchild of John Shepherd-Barron, an English banknote printing specialist.
c) Banks collect ATM service charges from customers.
d) He sold his idea to Barclays Bank and the first ATM started on 27 June 1967 in a suburb of London.
e) India’s first ATM came about in 1987 in Bombay.
1) c 2) d 3) a 4) b 5) e

Key / Answers:

1-1, 2-3, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1, 6-1, 7-2, 8-3 , 9-2, 10-1.



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