Online Quiz
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Directions (Q 1–8): Read the passage Learning a Language as an Adult and answer the questions.
It is often said that children learn languages easily and adults struggle. There is some truth in this, but the picture is more interesting than the saying suggests. Young children do have an advantage in one area: pronunciation. A child who grows up hearing a language usually learns to speak it without a foreign accent, while most adults who learn a new language later in life keep some trace of their first language in the way they speak.
In other areas, adults have advantages of their own. They already understand how language works – that words can be grouped, that sentences have a structure and that the same idea can be said in different ways. They can use dictionaries, take notes and notice patterns deliberately. In the first months of study, adults often make faster progress than children, especially in vocabulary and reading.
What, then, decides success for an adult learner? Researchers point to a few factors that matter more than age. The first is the amount of contact with the language: an hour a week in a classroom cannot match daily conversation. The second is motivation – a learner who needs the language for work or family keeps going when the early excitement fades. The third is the willingness to make mistakes. Adults are often embarrassed to speak imperfectly, and this fear keeps them silent at exactly the stage when speaking would help them most.
None of this means that learning a language as an adult is easy. It takes years of steady practice, and progress often feels slow after the first quick gains. But the belief that it is impossible after a certain age is a myth that stops many people from even trying. For a bank officer posted to a region where a different language is spoken, a few hundred useful words and the courage to use them can change the way customers respond.
Correct Answer: A [Age, Accent and the Adult Learner]
Explanation:
Proof: “the belief that it is impossible after a certain age is a myth”.
In which area, according to the passage, do young children have an advantage?
Correct Answer: C [pronunciation]
Explanation:
Proof: “Young children do have an advantage in one area: pronunciation.”.
In the first months of study, adults often make faster progress than children in:
Correct Answer: B [vocabulary and reading]
Explanation:
Proof: “especially in vocabulary and reading”.
Which of the following is NOT named in the passage as a factor in an adult learner's success?
Correct Answer: D [the cost of the course]
Explanation:
Proof: “The first is the amount of contact with the language”.
Why does the fear of making mistakes harm adult learners, according to the passage?
Correct Answer: E [It keeps them silent at the stage when speaking would help them most.]
Explanation:
Proof: “this fear keeps them silent at exactly the stage when speaking would help them most”.
The author's attitude towards adults learning a language is best described as:
Correct Answer: E [encouraging but realistic]
Explanation:
Proof: “None of this means that learning a language as an adult is easy.” … “a myth that stops many people from even trying”.
Which word is closest in meaning to deliberately as used in the passage?
Correct Answer: A [on purpose]
Explanation:
Proof: “notice patterns deliberately”.
Which of the following is/are true according to the passage?
I. Most adults who learn a new language keep some trace of their first language when speaking it.
II. An hour a week in a classroom is as good as daily conversation.
III. Progress often feels slow after the first quick gains.
Correct Answer: D [Only I and III]
Explanation:
Proof: “keep some trace of their first language” … “progress often feels slow after the first quick gains”.
Directions (Q 9–14): In the passage below, each blank is numbered. Choose the word that best fits each blank.
A dripping tap seems too small a problem to (9) ________. Yet a tap that drips day and night can waste several buckets of water in a week, and in a house with three or four such taps the loss is far from (10) ________.
Most leaks are caused by a worn-out washer, a small rubber ring that costs very little and can be (11) ________ in a few minutes. Other simple habits help as well: closing the tap while brushing one's teeth, using a bucket (12) ________ of a hose to wash a vehicle and running the washing machine only with a full load. None of these steps requires much money or effort, but together they can (13) ________ a family's water use noticeably. In towns where water arrives only on certain days, such savings are not a (14) ________ but a necessity.
Correct Answer: B [matter]
Explanation:
“matter” – ‘too small to matter’ = to be important.
Blank (10)
Correct Answer: C [trivial]
Explanation:
“trivial” – ‘far from trivial’ = significant; an adjective is needed.
Blank (11)
Correct Answer: D [replaced]
Explanation:
“replaced” – passive ‘can be replaced’ needs the past participle.
Blank (12)
Correct Answer: B [instead]
Explanation:
“instead” – ‘instead of a hose’ – using one thing in place of another.
Blank (13)
Correct Answer: E [reduce]
Explanation:
“reduce” – can + base verb.
Blank (14)
Correct Answer: D [luxury]
Explanation:
“luxury” – ‘not a luxury but a necessity’ – the contrast needs ‘luxury’, a thing one can do without.
Directions (Q 15–19): Find the part of the sentence that has an error. If there is no error, choose ‘No error’.
Correct Answer: D [(D)]
Explanation:
Part (D): isn't she? → can't she?.
She bought (A) / a umbrella (B) / from the shop (C) / near the station. (D)
Correct Answer: B [(B)]
Explanation:
Part (B): a umbrella → an umbrella.
He suggested (A) / to take (B) / a taxi (C) / to the station. (D)
Correct Answer: B [(B)]
Explanation:
Part (B): to take → taking.
The bank changed (A) / it's logo (B) / after (C) / the merger. (D)
Correct Answer: B [(B)]
Explanation:
Part (B): it's → its. Rule: its = belonging to it; it's = it is.
The committee (A) / has approved (B) / the proposal (C) / without any change. (D)
Correct Answer: E [No error]
Explanation:
No error. The committee acts as one body → has approved; the sentence is correct.
Directions (Q 20–24): Rearrange the five sentences (A)–(E) to form a meaningful paragraph and answer the questions.
(A) It needs regular watering and protection from cattle for at least two or three years.
(B) Successful programmes therefore budget for the years after planting, not just for the planting day.
(C) This care costs far more than the sapling itself.
(D) But a sapling planted in May and then forgotten rarely survives the first summer.
(E) Planting trees along city roads has become a popular way to fight summer heat.
Correct Answer: E [(E)]
Explanation:
(E). Sequence EDACB. Opener (planting is popular) → ‘But’ (neglected saplings die) → ‘It needs’ care → ‘This care’ costs more → ‘therefore’ budget closes.
(City trees) After rearrangement, what is the THIRD sentence?
Correct Answer: A [(A)]
Explanation:
(A). Sequence EDACB. Opener (planting is popular) → ‘But’ (neglected saplings die) → ‘It needs’ care → ‘This care’ costs more → ‘therefore’ budget closes.
(City trees) Identify the FOURTH sentence of the meaningful paragraph.
Correct Answer: C [(C)]
Explanation:
(C). Sequence EDACB. Opener (planting is popular) → ‘But’ (neglected saplings die) → ‘It needs’ care → ‘This care’ costs more → ‘therefore’ budget closes.
(City trees) Which one is the FIFTH sentence once the sentences are rearranged?
Correct Answer: B [(B)]
Explanation:
(B). Sequence EDACB. Opener (planting is popular) → ‘But’ (neglected saplings die) → ‘It needs’ care → ‘This care’ costs more → ‘therefore’ budget closes.
(City trees) Which is the correct sequence of the sentences?
Correct Answer: C [EDACB]
Explanation:
EDACB. Opener (planting is popular) → ‘But’ (neglected saplings die) → ‘It needs’ care → ‘This care’ costs more → ‘therefore’ budget closes.
Directions (Q 25–27): Choose the word that best fills the blank.
Correct Answer: A [inaugurated]
Explanation:
will be + past participle (passive) → inaugurated.
Customers should keep their passwords ________ and change them regularly.
Correct Answer: E [confidential]
Explanation:
keep + object + adjective; confidential = secret.
Despite repeated reminders, he ________ to pay the instalment.
Correct Answer: B [failed]
Explanation:
A past-tense verb is needed for a past event: failed (to pay).
Directions (Q 28–30): Answer as directed.
Correct Answer: A [May I lend your calculator for an hour?]
Explanation:
lend = give for a time; take for a time = borrow → “May I borrow your calculator for an hour?”
Choose the word that best fills the blank: The doctor advised him to refrain ________ smoking.
Correct Answer: C [from]
Explanation:
refrain from + -ing (PR11).
Choose the word that best fills the blank: The factory had to lay ________ twenty workers when orders fell.
