General English Practice Question and Answer

Q:

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases are given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Core competencies and focus are now the mantras of corporate strategists in Western economies. But while managers in the West have dismantled many conglomerates assembled in the 1960s and 1970s, the large, diversified business group remains the dominant form of enterprise throughout most emerging markets. Some groups operate as holding companies with full ownership in many enterprises, others are collections of publicly traded companies, but all have some degree of central control.

As emerging markets open up to global competition, consultants and foreign investors are increasingly pressuring these groups to conform to Western practice by scaling back the scope of their business activities. The conglomerate is the dinosaur of organizational design, they argue, too unwieldy and slow to compete in today's fast-paced markets. Already a number of executives have decided to break up their groups in order to show that they are focusing on only a few core businesses. 

There are reasons to worry about this trend. Focus is good advice in New York or London, but something important gets lost in translation when that advice is given to groups in emerging markets. Western companies take for granted a range of institutions that support their business activities, but many of these institutions are absent in other regions of the world. Without effective securities regulation and venture capital firms, for example, focused companies may be unable to raise adequate financing; and without strong educational institutions, they will struggle to hire skilled employees.

Communicating with customers is difficult when the local infrastructure is poor, and unpredictable government behavior can stymie any operation, although a focused strategy may enable a company to perform a few activities well, companies in emerging markets must take responsibility for a wide range of functions in order to do business effectively. 

In the case of product markets, buyers and sellers usually suffer from a severe dearth of information for three reasons. First, the communications infrastructure in emerging markets is often under-developed. Even as wireless communication spreads throughout the West, vast stretches in countries such as China and India remain without telephones. Power shortages often render the modes of communication that do exist ineffective. The postal service is typically inefficient, slow, or unreliable; and the private sector rarely provides efficient courier services. High rates of illiteracy make it difficult for marketers to communicate effectively with customers. 

Second, even when information about products does get around, there are no mechanisms to corroborate the claims made by sellers. Independent consumer - information organizations are rare, and government watchdog agencies are of little use. The few analysts who rate products are generally less sophisticated than their counterparts in advanced economies. 

Third, consumers have no redress mechanisms if a product does not deliver on its promise. Law enforcement is often capricious and so slow that few who assign any value to time would resort to it. Unlike in advanced markets, there are few extrajudicial arbitration mechanisms to which one can appeal. 

As a result of this lack of information, companies in emerging markets face much higher costs in building credible brands than their counterparts in advanced economies. In turn, established brands wield tremendous power. A conglomerate with a reputation for quality products and services can use its group name to enter new businesses, even if those businesses are completely unrelated to its current lines. Groups also have an advantage when they do try to build up a brand because they can spread the cost of maintaining it across multiple lines of business. Such groups then have a greater incentive not to damage brand quality in anyone business because they will pay the price in their other businesses as well.

What suggestions have been cited by the writer in regard to raising adequate financing and hiring skilled employees ?

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  • 1
    Effective securities regulation
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 2
    Effective securities regulation and venture capital firms
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 3
    Effective securities regulation and venture capital firms and strong educational institutions
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 4
    Both ( 1 ) and ( 3 )
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 5
    None of these
    Correct
    Wrong
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Answer : 3. "Effective securities regulation and venture capital firms and strong educational institutions "

Q:

In the question a sentence has been given in Direct/Indirect. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best expresses the same sentence in Indirect/Direct and mark your answer in the Answer Sheet.

The teacher said, "Rajiv, come to my desk with your exercise book now." 

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  • 1
    The teacher ordered Rajiv to come to her desk with his exercise book now.
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 2
    The teacher ordered Rajiv to come to her desk with his exercise book then.
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 3
    The teacher ordered Rajiv to go to her desk with his exercise book now.
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 4
    The teacher said to Rajiv come to her desk with his exercise book then.
    Correct
    Wrong
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Answer : 2. "The teacher ordered Rajiv to come to her desk with his exercise book then. "

Q:

Direction: In the following questions, out of the four alternatives, choose the one which best expresses the meaning of the given word as your answer.

Fetch

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  • 1
    Order
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 2
    Bring
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 3
    Scoop
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 4
    Take
    Correct
    Wrong
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Answer : 2. "Bring"

Q:

Choose the antonym of the underlined word.
The clergyman wrote an elegy in the country churchyard.

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  • 1
    Layman
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 2
    Ecclesiastic
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 3
    Parson
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 4
    Pastor
    Correct
    Wrong
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Answer : 1. "Layman"

Q:

The following sentence has been split into four segments. Identify the segment that contains an INCORRECTLY spelt word.
 The mother’s tired and overrought mind could not process / the information of the demise of her only son / and she sat like a statue even when her / tormentors passed several obnoxious comments.

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  • 1
    her tormentors passed several obnoxious comments
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 2
    The mother’s tired and overrought mind could not process
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 3
    the information of the demise of her only son
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 4
    and she sat like a statue even when her
    Correct
    Wrong
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Answer : 2. "The mother’s tired and overrought mind could not process"
Explanation :

The correct spelling is "overwrought," not "overrought."

Q:

Select the most appropriate meaning of the underlined word in a sentence.

Even though James won the election, he has not brought any of his campaign promises to fruition.

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  • 1
    concealment
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 2
    nourishment
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 3
    disappointment
    Correct
    Wrong
  • 4
    accomplishment
    Correct
    Wrong
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Answer : 4. "accomplishment"

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