M.A - English - 2017 PDF
M.A - English - 2017 PDF
M.A - English - 2017 PDF
Department of English
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PART-A
1. A pair of scissors is to cloth as a scythe is to ....
A. Wood
B. Steel
C. Paper.
D. Grass
2. The students had no choice but to carry ....... their teacher's order.
A. Out
B. On
C. Through
D. Away
5. If your students are not doing well on their quizzes they must not be very good.
In this sentence "they" might refer to
A. The students
B. The quizzes
C. Both the quizzes and the students
D. None of the above choices
6. The revolution against corruption has not lost steam: it _ _ _on as fiercely as before.
A. Rages
B. Razes
C. Rambles
D. Rattles
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7. While He hit the dog is a sentence that makes perfect sense, The dog he hit makes
incomplete sense, unless we add:
A. today.
B. yelped.
C. when.
D. helped.
8. Match the following pairs of words minding the oppositional logic of their respective
alignment.
I. profound i. placid
II. graceful ii. light
III. vigorous iii. flippant
IV. lush iv. superficial
V. earnest v. awkward
VI. heavy vi. austere
The correctly matched set according to the code is:
A. Lvi; ILv; III.iv; IV.iii; V.ii; Vi.i.
B. I.i; II.iii; III.ii; IV.vi; V.ii; VLiv.
C. Liv; ILv; III.i; IV.vi; V.iii; VI.ii.
D. I.ii; II.iii; IIl.i; IV.v; V.iv; Vl.iv.
9. The largest room in this building can take ten dining tables and some forty-odd chairs. Of
course the largest room in the world is the room for improvement.
What distinguishes the largest room in the first sentence from its use in the second?
A. The first refers to physical space while the second refers to the metaphorical.
B. Neither room is tangible or real in a specific sense.
C. Both rooms are large, the second larger than the first.
D. The first refers to metaphorical space while the second refers to the physical
10. They organized a party --------- his honour. That Ajita was not invited --------- it was a shame.
She admired him most and it seems unlikely that she would forgive the organizers ---------
their omission.
A. at, for, towards
B. about, at, against
C. in, to, for
D. after, on, with
11. In the following pairs of words, identify the pair that is not pronounced alike.
A. key-quay
B. plain-plane
C. die-dye
D. body-bawdy
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12. When I say that the benejits of demonetization are moot, what do I mean?
A. That I do not understand what the benefits are.
B. That I do not understand what demonetization is.
C. That the benefits of demonetization are surely seen.
D. That the benefits of demonetization are debatable.
14. May be and maybe should be carefully distinguished- the first as ---------- and the second as
A. formal, informal
B. strict, casual
C. two-word sequence, single word
D. single-word, two-word sequence
15. You will be given a box of tools, necessary accessories and spare-parts. You willjix all leaks
and blocks in the drainage by this evening. [----------j. Complete this utterance using how as
the first word of the next sentence which is not a question.
A. How difficult this task would be, you wouldn't imagine.
B. How are you going to do this?
C. How quickly you will do this, let me see!
D. How you do this well is up to you.
16. He earned his well-paidjob ajier a long struggle; when he laughed at the most inopportune
time, it cost him the job. List the verbs in this sentence.
A. earned, struggle, laughed
B. earned, laughed, cost
C. struggle, laughed, cost
D. job, laughed, inopportune
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17. Which word in the following sentence tells us that the speaker's being in the world has not
completely robbed him of the sense of surprise?
I know enough of the world now, to have almost lost the capacity of being much surprised by
anything; but it is a matter of some surprise to me that I can have been so easily thrown away
at such an age.
A. almost
B. but
C. some
D. much
19. Change this sentence into the active voice, "They were eliminated by us."
A. They eliminated us.
B. We eliminated them.
C. Elimination was done by us.
D. None of the above
20. The correct active voice form of the sentence "The menu was changed by Sue" is
A. Sue changes the menu.
B. Sue is changing the menu.
C. Sue changed the menu.
D. Sue was the one who changed the menu
21. "The people does not agree to this measure." Which word needs to be changed to correct this
sentence?
A. Agree
B. Does
C. Not
D. Measure
22. The function succeeded because of the students combined effort. The correct placing ofthe
omitted apostrophe would be
A. student's
B. students'
C. students's
D. students'es
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PART-B
The questions carry ONE mark each
0.33 marks will be deducted for each wrong answer
Answer in the OMR sheet, using a pen or sketch pen
27. If utopia is the fiction of a perfect place, what would the fiction of its opposite be?
A. Dystopia
B. Outopia
C. Mistopia
D. Detopia
28. In order to read the following authors, which set of contexts would be most relevant?
Monica Ali, Chitra Banerjee Divakuruni, Timothy Mo, Buchi Emecheta.
A. Neocolonialism, Industrialization, Democracy
B. Neocolonialism, Immigration, Globalization
C. Globalization, Naturalization, Inoculation
D. Immigration, Globalization, Industrialization
Read the following poem and answer the questions 29-32 that follow:
30. "Meek mild creatures" and "So fair a fancy few ... " are both
A. Examples of alliteration
B. Examples of assonance
C. Examples of sibilance
D. None of the above
33. The sentence, "He was prone to bottling up everything," means that ...
A. He was an alcoholic.
B. He was a perfumer.
C. He was a hoarder in the kitchen.
D. He was a person who kept all his feelings hidden.
34. Which of the following combinations of terms describe 'literature in the age of the internet'?
A. Hypertext, digital literature, Ergodic Literature
B. Digitalis, Diggitext, Hypertext
C. Ergodic Literature, hypertext, NetLit
D. NetLit, Digitalis, Netflix
35. Exaggerated facial features of well-known public figures are the characteristic of. ..
A. Graphics
B. Realist cinema
C. Caricature
D. Comics
36. When the first line of a printed text starts further in than the rest of the paragraph, it may be
said to be ...
A. indented
B. intended
C. dented
D. transcendent
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37. Poems which describe a landscape from a higher vantage point are known as ... poems.
A. Vantage
B. Tower
C. Topographic
D. Accentuated
Read the following passage and answer the questions 38-40 that follow:
It's human to want light and warmth. Our pagan ancestors had a calendar of fire festivals, and
God's first recorded words, according to the Hebrew Bible, were: "Let there be light." Night
belongs to the dark side, literally and metaphorically: ghosts, scary monsters, robbers, the
unknown. Electricity's triumph over the night keeps us safer as well as busier.
But whatever extends the day loses us the dark.
We now live in a fast-moving, fully lit world where night still happens, but is optional to
experience. Our 2417 culture has phased out the night. In fact we treat the night like failed
daylight. Yet slowness and silence - the different rhythm of the night - are a necessary
correction to the day.
As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the
contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a
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bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and
steadfastness.
Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer. I guess
the same is true of our human society-things can look dark, then a break shows in the
clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly. It is quite obvious that the human race
has made a queer mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbor seeds of
goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the conditions are right. Man's
curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble.
We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out.
43. The contagion that the writer hopes will spread is the contagion of. ..
A. Trouble making
B. Darkness
C. Goodness
D. Great troubles and disasters
44. The writer sees certain traits as having led mankind into trouble. These traits do not include ...
A. Curiosity
B. Persistence
C. Compassion
D. Resourcefulness
45. If certain traits have led mankind into trouble the author hopes that. ..
A. Mankind will jettison those traits and mend its ways.
B. Evolution will render those traits obsolete for the better.
C. Man will become extinct and that will be a pity.
D. Those traits will also prove to be the saving grace for mankind.
50. "Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated" is a satiric response by an author to a
misinformed obituary. Identify the author.
A. Lewis Carroll
B. Mark Twain
C. Herman Melville
D. Ernest Hemingway
51. In which school of criticism would the following subjects/concerns be the focus of analysis?
Labour, wage, property, ownership
A. New Criticism
B. Economimesis
C. Historicism
D. Marxism
54. The poet speaks ofthe end of the world and tells us that
A. Both desire and hate are equally destructive
B. For the ending ofthe world people need to be full of desire
C. For the world to end people must be consumed by hate
D. The world will end because of people
55. The publishing sensation of2015 was the sequel to To Kill a Mocking Bird. What was the
title of the sequel?
A. Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
B. The Mandala ofSherlock Holmes
C. Go Set a Watchman
D. The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
58. Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and John Bunyan's A Pilgrim's Progress both feature the
_ _ ofa longjoumey. The correct term which can be used in the blank is
A. Motive
B. Motif
C. Theme
D. Plot
59. Match the birds (column I) with poets who have written poems on them (Column II)
(I) (II)
Eagle Ted Hughes
Hawk Albert, Lord Tennyson
Swan PB Shelley
Skylark WB Yeats
A. Eagle-Hughes, Hawk-Tennyson, Swan-Yeats, Skylark-Shelley
B. Eagle-Yeats, Hawk-Hughes, Swan-Shelley, Skylark-Tennyson
C. Eagle-Tennyson, Hawk-Hughes, Swan-Yeats, Skylark-Shelley
D. Eagle-Yeats, Hawk-Shelley, Swan-Tennyson, Skylark-Tennyson
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60. Which term in the list below describes the practice of teaching?
Pedagogy, epistemology, demagogy, ontology
A. ontology
B. epistemology
C. demagogy
D. pedagogy
Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don't know. I had a telegram from the home: 'Mother
passed away. Funeral tomorrow. Yours sincerely.' That doesn't mean anything. It may have been
yesterday.
64. Match the news item with the headlines so that they correspond in terms of meaning and
content:
News Items
(i) The team trumped all opposition to win the trophy.
(ii) Man survives 20 days on the ocean without any supplies.
(iii) Doctors performed a complicated operation to save his life.
(iv) Global warming will wipe out many species of animals.
News headlines
a. "Celebrations over the victory"
b. "Life-saving procedure performed successfully"
c. "Fewer life forms on earth likely"
d. "Heroic feat at sea"
A. i-c, ii-d, iii-a, iv-b
B. i-b, ii-d, iii-a, iv-c
C. i-a, ii-d, iii-b, iv-c
D. i-d, ii-c, iii-a, iv-c
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65. Taking even part of someone else's work and presenting it as your own leaves you open to
criminal charges. Theft of material from film, video, music, and computer software is ---------.
Similar theft from published work and educational material is ----------.
A. downloading, xerographing.
B. piracy, plagiarism.
C. stealing, filching.
D. duplicating, copying.
Call me Ishmael. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no
money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail
about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen,
and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth;
whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily
pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and
especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral
principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking
people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my
substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his
sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it,
almost all men in their degree, sometime or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings
towards the ocean with me.
66. What is the ostensible reason the narrator gives for going to sea?
A. He has no money and no particular attachments.
B. He has lots of money and a desire to see the world.
C. He has numerous attachments, and no money.
D. He has no money and no particular attachments.
67. How would you describe the man from his account of himself?
A. impetuous, moody, violent
B. impetuous, cheery, generous
C. moody, calm, generous
D. impetuous, moody, witty
68. He sees going to sea as a substitute for acts of .... that he may indulge in
A. philandering
B. philanthropy
C. anti-social behaviour
D. preaching
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70. Complete the series in the order of general, specific, and more specific/concrete detail:
Food vegetarian idly-chutney;
Media newspaper The Hindu;
Place city Hyderabad
Literature poetry ?
A. Essays ofElia
B. The Eve of St. Agnes
e. Treasure Island
D. Hamlet
71. Metaphor brings out the thisness of a that, or the thatness of a this. Metaphor tells us
something about one thing as seen from the point of view of another thing. And to consider A
from the point ofviewofB is, of course, to use B as a perspective upon A.In short, ---------.
A. Metaphor's perspective is neither one nor the other.
B. Metaphor sees one thing in terms of something else.
C. We see in metaphor a device that allows some perspectival alternatives.
D. We see in things a device that affords some metaphorical alternatives.
72. In a standard dictionary, words labelled slang, dialect, taboo, colloquial, non-standard,
archaic, or obsolete are ----------.
A. helpful in enriching our vocabulary regardless of their usefulness in present contexts and
appropriate styles.
B. helpful in deciding whether they are wholly appropriate for our purpose, audience and
context.
e. listed mainly for those interested in advanced philological and sociolinguistic matters.
D. listed mainly for those interested in morphological, comparative linguistic, and/or semantic
studies.
73. The scientist experiments and the cub plays; both are learning to correct their errors of
judgement in a selling ---------.
(Complete the sentence with the most appropriate phrase.)
A. most congenial for correction.
B. in which errors are not fatal.
C. most vulnerable to hazards.
D. in which errors cost dearly.
74. Shakespeare often used well-known stories, and though the audience presumably was not
surprised by the deaths of Caesar ad Brutus, it enjoyed the ---------- of anticipating them.
A. surprise
B. salience
e. suspense
D. satisfaction
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Which words/ phrases indicate that the poet sees a lifeless body?
A. distressful hands
B. fixed eyes -
C. dead smile
D. sullen hall
76. Read this passage and select the best descriptions of the point it makes:
Among so much variety, people are still found to ask, and to give an answer to, the question:
what is it that makes modem poetry modem? Those who think that they can define modem
poetry are more often found among its detractors than among its admirers- for while it is
easy to attribute a common quality to ev~rything we like, it is still easier to attribute a
common vice to what repels us.
(I) It is not easy to define modem poetry. (2) It is not easy to define what is modern
about modem poetry. (3) People who do not like modem poetry are more likely to give it a
definition. (4) The very first phrase here ("Among so much variety ... ") refers to the richness
of modem poetry available upon which to base one's definition of modern.
A. (1), and (4)
B. (2), and (3)
C. (J),(2),and(4)
D. (2), (3), and (4)
A. (1)
B. (2)
C. (3)
D. (4)
79.In which classic does one read the story of "The Frogs asking for a King"?
A. La Fontaine's Fables
B. Grimm's FailY Tales
C. Vishnu Sharma's Kathiisarilsligara
D. /Esop's Fables
The Spanish bullfight has always been a spectacular public sport, not just because it
entertained large crowds but also because matadors came from the ranks of ordinary people.
It is this as well as their skills that made bullfighters like Antonio Ordinez such superstars.
lallikattu still does not have its home-bred heroes, but it too is a popular sport that has
become culture as it pits man against beast, rather ordinary men against ordinary beasts. It is
almost as if we were compelled to demonstrate our mastery over nature at regular intervals.
But because we are blessed with cunning, a trait that animals do not possess, we pick on four-
legged creatures that are not carnivores, nor are naturally dangerous to us. We hunt foxes that
attack poultry, or we fight bulls that have no quarrel with humans. Nobody would like to take
on tigers or grizzly bears and call it culture.
As humans we need to show off our cultural might and we do this best by fighting the weak.
never the strong, not even those who are our equals. This is what prompted the anarchist
Peter Kropotkin to remark that nature is not "red in tooth and claw," but people are.
80. Which word in this passage carries the meaning, "that which is intended or suited to the taste
or means of the general public'''?
A. mastery
B. anarchist
C. culture
D. popular
81. Which phrase suggests that man has an urge to prove his superiority over other species of the
world?
A. pits man against beast
B. show off our cultural might
C. blessed with cunning
D. it is almost as if
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82. Identify the statement that suggests that culture after all is a tame affair.
A. [Jallikattu] too is a popular sport that has become culture as it pits man against beast, rather
ordinary men against ordinary beasts.
B. It is almost as if we were compelled to demonstrate our mastery over nature at regular
intervals.
C. Nobody would like to take on tigers or grizzly bears and call it culture.
D. This is what prompted the anarchist Peter Kropotkin to remark that nature is not "red in tooth
and claw," but people are.
83. What trait, according to the author, do the animals not possess in contradistinction to man?
A. culture
B. cunning
C. sportive spirit
D. mastery over nature
85. A Rhyme, sentence or phrase etc used for helping with memorization is called a
A. Memoaid
B. Mnemonic
C. Memoriser
D. Remember all
The railroad was not the first institution to impose regularity on society, or to draw attention
to the importance of precise timekeeping. For as long as merchants have set out their wares at
daybreak and communal festivities have been celebrated, people have been in rough
agreement with their neighbors as to the time of day. The value of this tradition is today more
apparent than ever. Were it not for public acceptance of a single yardstick of time,
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social life would be unbearably chaotic: the massive daily transfers of goods, services, and
information would proceed in fits and starts; the very fabric of modern society would begin to
unravel.
89. "Forth sprang the impassioned Queen her Lord to clasp". Rewrite the sentence in regular
prose.
A. Impassioned, to clasp her Lord, the Queen sprang forth.
B. To Clasp her Lord, the impassioned queen sprang forth.
C. The impassioned Queen sprang forth to clasp her Lord.
D. The Impassioned Queen, to clasp her Lord sprang forth.
93. What single word would you substitute for a lot a/in the following?
Our doctors are very busy. They don't have a lot a/time/or listening to your cases. Be brief
A. whole
B. great
C. plenty
D. much
98. Fill in the blanks with the most suitable phrase from the options given below:
Not for several hours ...... discover the bike had been stolen.
A. Did we
B. Had We
C. Hadn't we
D. We had.
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100. "On moving day, things were at sixes and sevens". 'At sixes and sevens' means
A. People were doing sums
B. Everything was in a state of confusion
C. Everything was peaceful and tidy
D. Things were being counted wrongly.