Back to summary

SBI PO Mock Test Paper 1

Directions (Q. 1-10) In the following passage there are blanks, each of which have been numbered. These numbers are given below the passage and against each, five words/phrases are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word/phrase in each case.

Defence deals, done under the thick, dark cover of national security, are ___(1)___ for their lack of ___(2)___. As a result, decision-makers in the defence and political establishments often manage to hide the role of middlemen in ___(3)___ deals worth hundreds of crores of rupees. Bofors is India’s most famous defence scandal, with many deep political and diplomatic ___(4)___, but it was neither the first nor the last in a long line of defence purchases that have become keywords associated with the ___(5)___ of corruption in the public mind. Reports of bribery by the Italian defence firm Finmeccanica in the supply of 12 AgustaWestland helicopters for VVIP transport have thus come as no surprise. Finmeccanica and its top executives have been under ___(6)___ in Italy for months, but the Indian government chose to do nothing citing absence of specific, actionable ___(7)___. With the arrest of Finmeccanica head Giuseppe Orsi, the Central Bureau of Investigation left with no choice but to ___(8)___ a probe Defence Minister A.K. Antony into the deal. The charges against the top executives of Finmeccanica and its subsidiary AgustaWestland are specific, with the amount of bribe put at about 10 per cent of the `3,600 crore deal. But the CBI, while ____(9)___ the money trail in India, will need to work in ___(10)___ coordination with the Italian investigators.

1.
(1) famous
(2) notorious
(3) popular
(4) lambasted
(5) hidden

2.
(1) honest
(2) dishonesty
(3) transparency
(4) funds
(5) secrecy

3.
(1) churn
(2) creating
(3) manufacturing
(4) swinging
(5) mending

4.
(1) ramifications
(2) notifications
(3) stage
(4) consequence
(5) secrets

5.
(1) look
(2) hint
(3) stint
(4) cause
(5) stink

6.
(1) instigation
(2) investigation
(3) covers
(4) observation
(5) simulation

7.
(1) information
(2) proof
(3) topic
(4) cause
(5) scrutiny

8.
(1) ask
(2) enquire
(3) inquire
(4) order
(5) request

9.
(1) trail
(2) tail
(3) following
(4) follow
(5) viewing

10.
(1) hot
(2) close
(3) resonant
(4) weird
(5) matched

1. 2 The second line suggests that the adverb would be something popular but with a negative connotation. Hence, ‘notorious’ is the correct word.
2. 3 By looking at the second line, we get an indication that the situation defies honesty. Hence, ‘transparency’ fits the blank very well.
3. 4 ‘Swinging the deal’ refers to manipulating the deal.
4. 1 ‘Ramification’ refers to a complex or unwelcome consequence of an action or event. Option (4) is incorrect since the blank requires a plural word.
5. 5 ‘Stink’ means to be offensive or to be in a bad repute. The other words make the sentence logically incorrect.
6. 2 The reports have already made it clear that bribery is involved in the supply of AugustaWestland helicopters. Therefore, the most appropriate word to fill in the blank is investigation.
7. 1 The minimal requirement to take an action is ‘information’.
8. 4 In this case, a probe will be ‘ordered’, and not ‘asked’ or ‘requested’, since it is done by a higher authority.
9. 3 More often than not, ‘money trail’ is followed by ‘following/follow’. ‘Follow’ is incorrect since it will make the sentence grammatically incorrect.
10. 2 The blank needs a word which means that CBI will work faithfully with the Italian investigators. ‘Closely’ best fills in the blank.