Directions : Read the following passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives. 

For months the old tanker, African Queen , lay turned over on her side, stuck fast in the sands off the coast of Maryland. She had run aground so badly that her owners had decided to leave her to her fate. It was considered impossible to refloat her and the ship began to rust and sink deeper and deeper into the sands. Men frequently came out in small boats and removed any parts that could be sold-until two men decided to attempt the impossible : to float the African Queen once more. Both men were engineers and had no experience of ships so that few people thought they could succeed. 

The men began by studying the exact state of the African Queen and came to the conclusion that she would float again if air was pumped into the tanks which were now full of sea-water. A diver was sent down to examine the underside of the ship. In the cold, dark water he found an enormous hole in her side which had been torn when the ship ran aground. It was plain that nothing could be done until the hole was repaired. As no single sheet of steel would cover it, the men were obliged to order a great number of sheets which had to be joined together. For several weeks divers worked continually to close the hole. At times, the sea was so rough that it was difficult to go down; and on more than one occasion, they had to contend with sharks. 

At last the hole was covered and the men began to pump the sea-water out of the ship’s tanks. It seemed as if they were bound to succeed, for when the tanks were full of air, the African Queen began to stir in the water. The men could not understand why she still would not float until they discovered that her rudder was embedded in mud. Huge cranes were brought to haul the sunken rudder out and the ship was again afloat. By this time, the men were almost exhausted. They had worked ceaselessly for three months to save the African Queen and had succeeded when everyone thought they would fail. Now they stood on the bridge of the ship, tired but proud, as tugs brought the African Queen into the harbour. 

Men frequently went out to the African Queen because 

In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank.

Everything (1) _________ us makes our environment. Living and non-living things form the (2) _________ of our surroundings. Plants, animals and microbes are parts of our environment. Humans have affected the environment in multiple (3) ______ like clearing of forests, building houses and farms, making roads, etc. This is the root (4) _______ of air, water and land pollution on the planet. Ecologists across the globe are making efforts to educate mankind about the (5) _________ of nature, the crisis we face and the methods of managing these crises.

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 1.

Sentences of a paragraph are given below in jumbled order. Arrange the sentences in the correct order to form a meaningful and coherent paragraph.

A. People post images of their cuisine, daily cosmetic routines, shopping videos, and dance videos.

B. Uploading photos to social networking sites has grown popular in today's society.

C. Because of the rising influence of social media on people, they want to constantly appear their best.

D. Therefore people have become more image sensors and begun to prioritise personal care.

Select the most appropriate synonym of the given word.

Clandestine

Two statements with blanks have been given. These statements are followed by five alternatives. Choose the one which fits into the pair of statements.

I. My lawyer is going to _______a letter of complaint.
 II. He took a minute or two to_____his thoughts before he replied.

Directions: In the following questions, sentences are given with blanks to be filled in with an appropriate word(s). Four alternatives are suggested for each question. Choose the correct alternative out of the four as your answer.

They organized an event last month in ______ with another company. 

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the idiom/phrase.

to drink like a fish

Rearrange the parts of the sentence in correct order.

Some algal blooms

P. beneficial to aquatic life, since these tiny

Q. nutrient conditions are optimal, and they can be

R. occur naturally when temperature, water, and

S. organisms form the base of the food chain