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Infosys Placement Paper


Infosys placement paper - 5



Verbal Ability Test (40 Questions in 35 minutes)

Directions for Questions 1-5: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow on the basis of the information provided in the passage.

Much of the information we have today about chimpanzees comes from the groundbreaking, long-term research of the great conservationist, Jane Goodall.
Jane Goodall was born in London, England, on April 3, 1934. On her second birthday, her father gave her a toy chimpanzee named Jubilee. Jubilee was named after a baby chimp in the London Zoo, and seemed to foretell the course Jane’s life would take. To this day, Jubilee sits in a chair in Jane’s London home. From an early age, Jane was fascinated by animals and animal stories. By the age of 10, she was talking about going to Africa to live among the animals there. At the time, in the early 1940s, this was a radical idea because women did not go to Africa by themselves. As a young woman, Jane finished school in London, attended secretarial school, and then worked for a documentary filmmaker for a while. When a school friend invited her to visit Kenya, she worked as a waitress until she had earned the fare to travel there by boat. She was 23 years old. Once in Kenya, she met Dr. Louis Leakey, a famous paleontologist and anthropologist. He was impressed with her thorough knowledge of Africa and its wildlife, and hired her to assist him and his wife on a fossil-hunting expedition to Olduvai Gorge. Dr. Leakey soon realized that Jane was the perfect person to complete a study he had been planning for some time. She expressed her interest in the idea of studying animals by living in the wild with them, rather than studying dead animals through paleontology. Dr. Leakey and Jane began planning a study of a group of chimpanzees who were living on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Kenya. At first, the British authorities would not approve their plan. At the time, they thought it was too dangerous for a woman to live in the wilds of Africa alone. But Jane’s mother, Vanne, agreed to join her so that she would not be alone. Finally, the authorities gave Jane the clearance she needed in order to go to Africa and begin her study. In July of 1960, Jane and her mother arrived at Gombe National Park in what was then called Tanganyika and is now called Tanzania. Jane faced many challenges as she began her work. The chimpanzees did not accept her right away, and it took months for them to get used to her presence in their territory. But she was very patient and remained focused on her goal. Little by little, she was able to enter their world. At first, she was able to watch the chimpanzees only from a great distance, using binoculars. As time passed, she was able to move her observation point closer to them while still using camouflage. Eventually, she was able to sit among them, touching, patting, and even feeding them. It was an amazing accomplishment for Jane, and a breakthrough in the study of animals in the wild. Jane named all of the chimpanzees that she studied, stating in her journals that she felt they each had a unique personality. One of the first significant observations that Jane made during the study was that chimpanzees make and use tools, much like humans do, to help them get food. It was previously thought that humans alone used tools. Also thanks to Jane’s research, we now know that chimps eat meat as well as plants and fruits. In many ways, she has helped us to see how chimpanzees and humans are similar. In doing so, she has made us more sympathetic toward these creatures, while helping us to better understand ourselves. The study started by Jane Goodall in 1960 is now the longest field study of any animal species in their natural habitat. Research continues to this day in Gombe and is conducted by a team of trained Tanzanians. Jane’s life has included much more than just her study of the chimps in Tanzania. She pursued a graduate degree while still conducting her study, receiving her Ph.D. from Cambridge University in 1965. In 1984, she received the J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize for "helping millions of people understand the importance of wildlife conservation to life on this planet." She has been married twice: first to a photographer and then to the director of National Parks. She has one son. Dr. Jane Goodall is now the world’s most renowned authority on chimpanzees, having studied their behavior for nearly 40 years. She has published many scientific articles, has written two books, and has won numerous awards for her groundbreaking work. The Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education, and Conservation was founded in 1977 in California but moved to the Washington, D.C., area in 1998. Its goal is to take the actions necessary to improve the environment for all living things. Dr. Goodall now travels extensively, giving lectures, visiting zoos and chimp sanctuaries, and talking to young people involved in environmental education. She is truly a great conservationist and an amazing human being.

Read this sentence from the article.

1. 'But she was very patient and remained focused on her goal'. What is an antonym for the word focused?

A) bothered
B) tired
C) disinterested
D) concerned
Ans: C

2. What is the author’s purpose in writing this article?

A) to entertain the reader with stories about chimpanzees
B) to inform the reader of the importance of wildlife conservation
C) to warn the reader about the challenges of working in Africa
D) to describe the work and life of Jane Goodall.
Ans: D

3. Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons Dr. Leakey chose Jane to work with him?
A) She knew a lot about Africa.
B) She knew a lot about African wildlife.
C) She earned the money to travel to Africa on her own.
D) She was interested in studying animals in the wild.
Ans: C

4. Which of the following is NOT true of chimpanzees?
A) Chimpanzees are often comfortable with strangers right away.
B) Chimpanzees eat meat as well as plants and fruit.
C) Chimpanzees use tools to help them get food.
D) Different chimpanzees have different personalities.
Ans: A

5. Jane Goodall is now the world’s most renowned authority on chimpanzees, having studied their behavior for nearly forty years. What does authority mean?
A) an intelligent person
B) one who studies animals
C) a scientist
D) an expert
Ans: B

Read this sentence from the article.

Directions for Questions 6-10: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow on the basis of the information provided in the passage.

There are some men who seem to be always on the lookout for trouble and, to tell the truth, they are seldom disappointed. Listening to such men one would think that this world is one of the stormiest and most disagreeable places. Yet, after all it is not such a bad place and the difficulty is often in the man who is too thin- skinned. On the other hand, the man who goes out expecting people to be like himself, kind and brotherly, will be surprised at the kindness he meets even in the most unlike quarters. A smile is apt to be met met with a respective smile while the sneer is just as apt to provoke a snarl. Men living in the same neighborhood may live vastly different lives. But it is not the neighborhood which is quarrelsome, but the man within us. And we have it in out power to change our neighborhood into a pleasant one by simply changing our own ways.

6. The passage is about
A) our disagreeable and hostile world
B) a kindly and pleasant world
C) our different and unresponsive world
D) the world and what one makes of it.
Ans: D

7. "..............they are seldom disappointed". The statement denotes that such men
A) welcome difficulties as a morale booster
B) do not have face any trouble
C) manage to keep unruffled in the face of discomforts
D) generally do not fail to come across troubles
Ans: D

8. The author's own view of the world is that it is
A) one of the loveliest and quietest places
B) an unpleasant and turbulent place
C) one's own excessive sensitivity that makes it a bad place
D) a sordid place for those who suffer in life
Ans: C

9. Which of the following is opposite in meaning to the expression 'thin-skinned' as sed in the passage?
A) Insensitive
B) Intelligent
C) Awkward
D) Obstinate
Ans: A

10. "On the other hand............. unlikely quarter" The statement shows that people's reaction to our attitude is
A) Generally indifferent
B) surprisingly responsive
C) often adverse
D) mainly favourable
Ans: B

Directions 11-18: Pick out the most effective word from the given words to fill in the blank to make the sentence meaningfully complete.

11. For a few seconds, Madan was.............blinded by the powerful lights of the oncoming car
A) heavily
B) largely
C) greatly
D) powerfully
E) totally
Ans: E

12. His interest in the study of human behavior is indeed very..............
A) strong
B) large
C) broad
D) vast
E) deep
Ans: E

13. The police have................a complaint against four persons
A) entered
B) lodged
C) registered
D) noted
E) received
Ans: C

14. The improvement made by changes in the system was ....................and did not warrant the large expenses.
A) large
B) small
C) minute
D) marginal
E) uncertain
Ans: D

15. The man who is..........................hesitating which of the two things he will do first, will do neither.
A) persistently
B) constantly
C) insistently
D) consistently
E) perpetually
Ans: A

16. He is too...................to be deceived easily
A) strong
B) modern
C) kind
D) honest
E) intelligent
Ans: E

17. The Manager gave her his ..... that the complaint would be investigated
A. assurance
B. suggestion
C. avowal
D. support
Ans: A

18. I am feeling ...... better today.
A. rather
B. too
C. fairly
D. very
Ans: C

Direction Questions19-26: In each question below is given a passage followed by several inference. You have to examine each inference separately in the context of the passage and decide upon its degree of truth or falsity.

mark your answer as :
A. if the inference is ' definitely true' i.e. , it directly follows from the facts given in the passage
B. if the inference is ' probably true' though not definitely true in the light of the facts given
C. if you think the data are in adequate i.e., from the facts given you cannot say whether the inference is likely to be true or false
D. if you think the inference is ' probably false' though not definitely false in the light of the facts given; and
E. if you think inference is ' definitely false' i.e. , it contradicts the given facts.

Passage I

Urban services have not expanded fast enough to cope with urban expansion. Low investment allocation have tended top be under spent. Both public( e. g. water and sewage) and private (e.g. low-income area housing) infrastructure quality has declined. this impact of the environment in which children live and the supporting services available to them when they fall ill, seems clear. The decline in average food availability and the rise in absolute poverty point in the same satisfactory direction

19. There is nothing to boast about urban services
Ans: A

20. The public transport system is in the hands of private sector.
Ans: C

21. Birth rate is higher in Urban areas compared to rural areas.
Ans: C

22. Low-cost urban housing is one of the priorities
Ans: B

23. The environment around plays an important role on the health status.
Ans: A

Passage II

Though the state cultivate only 3.2 lakh tonnes of mangoes, they are of premium quality and with mangoes becoming second most consumed fruit in the world after grapes. the government has been trying exporting it through sea route which is cheaper . An experiment which was done in this regard last year has proved successful.

24. Quality of mangoes is an important factor in exports.
Ans: A

25. The state also exports good quality grapes
Ans: C

26. The state also cultivates a large number of medium quality mangoes.
Ans: E

Direction27-32: In each of the following questions, find out which part of the sentence has an error. if there is no mistake the answer is 'no error'

27. I going there / will not solve / this complicated problem / No error
A.
B.
C.
D.
Ans : A

28. You can get /all the information you want / in this book / No error
A
B
C
D
Ans : A

29. The bus could not / ascend the steep hill / because it was in the wrong gears / No error
A.
B.
C.
D.
Ans : C

30.No stronger / a figure than his / is prescribed in the history / No error
A.
B.
C.
D.
Ans : C

31. most people would have /attended the union meeting / if they had / longer notice of it / No error
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Ans : D

32. And though one did not / quite believe his claim / one saw no harm / in granting him permission / No error
A
B
C
D
E
Ans: E

Directions33 : In each question, a part of sentence is printed in italics. Below each sentence, some phrases are given which can substitute the italicized part of the sentence. If the sentence is correct as it is, the answer is 'No correction required'

33. The problems of translation are still remain.
A. are remain.
B. will remained
C. will still remain.
D. No Correction required
Ans : C

34. It is ten years since I have begun living here
A. begun
B. had begun
C. began
D. No Correction required
Ans : C

35. Education is a strong instrument for moldings the character of the young.
A. striking
B. powerful
C. potent
D. No Correction required
Ans : B

36. He gave the I.A.S. examination in all seriousness.
A. appeared
B. took
C. undertook
D. No Correction required
Ans: B

37. He has cooked that meal so often he can do it with his eyes closed.
A. mind blank
B. eyes covered
C. hands full
D. No Correction required
Ans: D

38. The young hikers went as far as they finally got lost in the valley.
A. so far that
B. too far that
C. so far as that
D. No Correction required
Ans: A

39. He stopped to work an hour ago
A. to working
B. to have worked
C. working
D. No Correction required
Ans : C

40. The fact finding committee has so far not made any advancement.
A. progress
B. improvement
C. stride
D. No Correction required
Ans: A