Online Quiz
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Directions (Q 1–6): Choose the word that best fills each numbered blank in the passage (3A).
Kannan runs a small tea stall near the bus stand in Madurai. Until a few years ago, every customer paid (1) ________ cash, and he often ran short of change in the morning rush. Today a printed QR code hangs (2) ________ his kettle, and many customers scan it to pay. The change has (3) ________ him time and the trouble of counting coins. (4) ________, not every customer has a smartphone, so Kannan still keeps a small box of coins. Every evening he checks that the day's payments have (5) ____ his account. The phone, he says, has not changed his business so much as (6) ________ it.
Correct Answer: A [in]
Explanation:
“in” – the fixed expression is ‘pay in cash’.
Blank (2)
Correct Answer: C [beside]
Explanation:
“beside” – ‘beside’ = next to; ‘besides’ = in addition to; ‘between/among’ need two or more things.
Blank (3)
Correct Answer: D [saved]
Explanation:
“saved” – the change is helpful, so it has saved him time.
Blank (4)
Correct Answer: B [However]
Explanation:
“However” – the next idea is a limit of the change – contrast.
Blank (5)
Correct Answer: C [reached]
Explanation:
“reached” – have + past participle (present perfect).
Blank (6)
Correct Answer: D [simplified]
Explanation:
“simplified” – ‘not … so much as’ + a milder positive word matching the helpful change described.
Directions (Q 7–11): Choose the word or phrase that best fills each numbered blank in the passage (3B).
For most farmers in India, the monsoon is not just a season but a (7) ________. When the rains arrive on time, sowing begins, labour is in demand and village markets become busy. When they are (8) ________, the effects spread far beyond the fields. Farmers who have borrowed money for seeds and fertiliser worry about repayment, and families cut (9) ____ on spending. This is why weather forecasts are followed so closely, and why (10) ________ projects, which reduce dependence on rain, are so important. A good monsoon, (11) ________, is good news for the whole economy.
Correct Answer: B [lifeline]
Explanation:
“lifeline” – the next sentences show that the whole farm year depends on the rain.
Blank (8)
Correct Answer: A [delayed]
Explanation:
“delayed” – are + past participle (passive).
Blank (9)
Correct Answer: D [down]
Explanation:
“down” – ‘cut down on’ = reduce.
Blank (10)
Correct Answer: B [irrigation]
Explanation:
“irrigation” – irrigation = supplying water to land, which reduces dependence on rain.
Blank (11)
