Directions :  In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage, against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case. 
Once there was a lake which was (1) to many golden swans. Every six months, the swans would leave a golden feather as a (2) for using the lake. The soldiers of the kingdom in which the lake was, would collect the feathers and deposit them in the royal treasury. One day, a homeless bird saw the lake. "The water in this lake (3) so coot and soothing. I will (4) my nest here," thought the bird. As soon as the bird settled down near the lake, the golden swans noticed her. They shouted, "This lake belongs to us! We pay a golden feather to the King for using it. You cannot live here."
"I am homeless, brothers. I too will pay the rent. Please give me (5)." the bird pleaded. "How will you pay the rent? You do not have golden feathers," said the swans, laughing. They further added, "Stop dreaming and leave at once." The humble bird pleaded many times. But, the arrogant swans (6) her away. "I will teach them a lesson!" decided the humiliated bird. She went to the King and said, "O King! The, swans, in your lake are impolite and unkind. I begged for shelter but they said that they had rented the lake"." The King was angry with the arrogant swans for (7) insulted the homeless bird. He ordered his soldiers to bring the arrogant swans to his court. In no time, all the golden swans were brought to the King's court. "Do you think the royal treasury depends upon your golden feathers? You cannot decide who lives by the lake. Leave the lake at once or you all will be beheaded!" shouted the King. The swans shivered with (8) on hearing the King. They flew away and never (9). The bird built her home near the lake and lived there happily forever. The bird gave shelter to all other birds who (10) to stay near the lake. 

Fill in the blank at (2).

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

Did the earth always____(i)_____ as it does today? No, __(ii)____ its origin about 4.8 billion year ago, our planet has ___(iii)____ a lot of changes. The initial ball of fire ___(iv)___ down and the surface slowly ___(v)__ solid. Today we know that the Earth’s crust is divided into several plates, which move continuously. Entire continents have been displaced and mountains, islands and new seas have been formed or have disappeared.

Fill in the blank at (iv).

Read the passage carefully and answer the question accordingly.

The saddest part of life lies not in the act of dying, but in failing to truly live while we are alive. Too many of us play small with our lives, never letting the fullness of our humanity see the light of day. I’ve learned that what really counts in life, in the end, is not how many toys we have collected or how much money we’ve accumulated, but how many of our talents we have liberated and used for a purpose that adds value to this world. What truly matters most are the lives we have touched and the legacy that we have left. Tolstoy put it so well when he wrote: “We live for ourselves only when we live for others.” It took me forty years to discover this simple point of wisdom.

Forty long years to discover that success cannot really be pursued. Success ensues and flows into your life as the unintended yet inevitable byproduct of a life spent enriching the lives of other people. When you shift your daily focus from a compulsion to survive towards a lifelong commitment to serve, your existence cannot help but explode into success. I still can’t believe that I had to wait until the “half-time” of my life to figure out that true fulfillment as a human being comes not from achieving those grand gestures that put us on the front pages of the newspapers and business magazines, but instead from those basic and incremental acts of decency that each one of us has the privilege to practice each and every day if we simply make the choice to do so. Mother Teresa, a great leader of human hearts if ever there was one, said it best: “There are no great acts, only small acts done with great love.” I learned this the hard way in my life. Until recently, I had been so busy striving, I had missed out on living. I was so busy chasing life’s big pleasures that I had missed out on the little ones, those micro joys that weave themselves in and out of our lives on a daily basis but often go unnoticed. My days were overscheduled, my mind was overworked and my spirit was underfed.

According to the passage, what took Tolstoy forty years to discover?

Direction: In the following question, out of the four alternatives, choose the one which can be substituted for the given sentence.

A disease that is prevalent in a particular area

Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence.
 Our office is in the 2nd floor of the skyscraper.

Read the passage carefully and fill in the blank.
Happy is the man who... (151) ..... the habit of reading when he is young. He has secured a life-long source of.... (152) instruction and inspiration. So long as he has his beloved books he need .... (153).. feel lonely. He always has a pleas- ant .... (154) ... of leisure moments. He is the…(155)… of wealth more precious than gold .... (156).. indeed is the man who does not read and ... (157)... is his life..(158)…gives  the highest kind of pleasure. When we are….(159). …it is a healthy recreation to lose .... (160) .. .in the company of books.

Mark the answer (160).

In these questions read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in it. If there is no error, the answer is (D).

I shall have to (A)/ with draw from my savings (B)/ to buy a new car.(C)/ No error (D)

In the following question, out of the given four alternatives, select the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the Idiom/Phrase.

Spin your wheels