Punjab National Bank Clerk- English Language : Solved Paper

Punjab National Bank Clerk (First Shift) Exam., 2011
English Language : Solved Paper
(Held on 19-6-2011)

Directions–(Q. 1–15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases/sentences have been printed in bold/italics to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

“The best man in the whole tribe is Manute the brave", everyone would say, You could see for yourself, at any time of the day, just how brave he was. He would jump to the ground from amazing heights, he would fight poisonous snakes, he would catch scorpions with his bare hands, and could cut the palm of his own hand with a knife-without even a flinch. They said the exact opposite about Pontoma. No one had seen him catch even a monkey.

One day, they happened upon each other in the forest, and Manute was showing Pontoma a coral snake he had just caught, when there began a downpour, the likes of which no one had ever seen. The both ran to shelter themselves under some thick foliage, and there they stayed until the rain had stopped.

However, when they were about to leave the shelter, they heard the roar of a tiger, at a distance of only a couple of metres. The foliage was very thick and dense, and the tiger wouldn't be able to get through it to attack them. However, the tiger was almost at the entrance hole. If it happened to come in and find the two tribesmen there, they certainly wouldn't get out alive. Manute was getting restless. He wanted to get out of that tight hole, and confront the tiger in open space, where he could fully use his great hunting skills. Pontoma was gesturing at him to keep still and be quiet, but Manute, tired of being stuck with a coward, leapt out of the thicket, surprising the tiger.

The tiger suffered a couple of deep wounds, but soon recovered and hurt Manute with two swipes of its paw, throwing him to the ground. The tiger took the initiative, and leapt upon Manute, but Manute's spear, in the hands of Pontoma, interrupted the tiger's attack. The tiger turned away, wounded, but the spear moved as fast as a beam of light, and with incredible precision, hurting the animal again and again, until it fell to the ground, lifeless.

Manute, shocked, and bleeding freely from his injuries, witnessed all his while lying flat on his back on the ground. Never before had he seen anyone take on a tiger, and use the spear with such calmness and strength, as he had seen Pontoma do just now. Neither of them said a thing. Manute's grateful expression needed no words to be understood. .Nor did they need words to know about Pontoma's wounded hand, or the fact that they were leaving a tiger skin there in the forest.

From that day on, people gradually remarked less on Manute's braveness. They thought may be he was less courageous than before. The strangest thing was that they now noticed that Manute's old spear was among Pontoma' s things. But Manute just smiled, and remembered the day he learned that true bravery lay not in seeking out danger, but in controlling one's fear when danger crosses your path.

1. What did Manute learn from Pontoma ?
(A) That to be brave, one needs to have friends around who can help in times of crisis
(B) That to be brave, one needs to keep on practicing all the time
(C) That to be brave, one needs to face his fear in times of danger
(D) That to be brave, one needs to know how to use the spear effectively
(E) That to be brave, one needs to look for danger all the time
Ans : (C)

2. Which of the following is false in the context of the story ?
(A) Manute was grateful to Pontoma for saving him from the clutches of the tiger
(B) Manute did manage to inflict a few deep wounds on the tiger
(C) Pontoma came out unscathed from the fight with the tiger
(D) In the fight that ensued, the tiger had injured Manute
(E) Pontoma saved Manute's life
Ans : (C)

3. How did Manute’s old spear possibly come in Pontoma's possession ?
(A) Manute did not want the spear anymore as it was old and had given it to Pontoma
(B) Everyone had insisted that Pontoma keep the spear as he had faced the tiger bravely
(C) Pontoma and Manute were best of friends and shared all their things
(D) Pontoma had used the spear to attack the tiger and it remained with him
(E) Pontoma had liked the spear and had asked Manute to lend it to him
Ans : (D)


4. 'or the fact that they were leaving a tiger skin there in the forest.' What event in the story does this line signify ?
(A) The bravery of Manute
(B) The start of the enmity between Manute and Pontoma
(C) The death of the tiger
(D) The loss incurred by Manute and Pontoma
(E) The littering in the forest
Ans : (C)

5. What did Manute and Pontoma do when it started raining ?
(A) They got wet and ran towards their respective homes
(B) They decided to share stories of bravery with each other
(C) They decided to attack a tiger in the forest to pass their time
(D) They took shelter in dense foliage till the rain stopped
(E) They looked at coral snakes till the rain stopped
Ans : (D)

6. Which of the following characteristics can be attributed to Pontoma from the story ?
(1) Humble
(2) Courageous
(3) Talkative
(A) Only (1) and (3)
(B) Only (1)
(C) All (1), (2) and (3)
(D) Only (3)
(E) Only (1) and (2)
Ans : (E)

7. Which of the following can be the most 'appropriate title for the passage/story ?
(A) The Life In A Jungle
(B) The Friendship Between Manute and Pontoma
(C) Manute's Antics
(D) The Silent Brave Man
(E) The Tiger and Manute
Ans : (D)

8. 'You could see for yourself, at any time of the day, just how brave he was. He would jump to the ground from amazing heights, he would fight poisonous snakes, 'he would catch scorpions with his bare hands, and could cut the palm of his own hand with a knife-without even a flinch.' What aspect of Manute's personality does this sentence portray ?
(A) Boastfulness
(B) Helpfulness
(C) Laziness
(D) Cheerfulness
(E) Peacefulness
Ans : (A)

9. 'He wanted to get out of that tight hole, and confront the tiger in open space, where he could fully use his great hunting skills.' How can this sentence be best reframed without changing its meaning ?
(A) Being stuck in a hiding place, he wanted the tiger to tackle him as he was good at hunting
(B) Tackling the tiger, he wanted to hone his hunting skills by coming out of his hiding place
(C) Being stuck in a hiding place, he wanted to tackle the tiger for his hunting skills
(D) The tiger possessing good hunting skills, wanted him to come out of his hiding place and tackle him
(E) Being good at hunting, he wanted to tackle the tiger by coming out of his hiding place
Ans : (E)

10. Which of the following characteristics can be attributed to Manute from the story ?
(1) Energetic
(2) Evil
(3) Coward
(A) Only (2)
(B) Only (1)
(C) Only (1) and (2)
(D) Only (2) and (3)
(E) All (1), (2) and (3)
Ans : (B)

Directions–(Q. 11–13) Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

11. TAKE ON
(A) Ride
(B) Fight
(C) Convince
(D) Buy
(E) Lift
Ans : (B)

12. LIFELESS
(A) Dead
(B) Tired
(C) Unconscious
(D) Weak
(E) Alive
Ans : (A)

13. STAYED
(A) Resided
(B) Remained
(C) Continued
(D) Lived
(E) Slept
Ans : (B)

Directions–(Q. 14-15) Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

14. CALMNESS
(A) Tranquility
(B) Arrogance
(C) Turbulence
(D) Expertise
(E) Anxiety
Ans : (C)

15. DENSE
(A) Sparse
(B) Dark
(C) Thick
(D) Bright
(E) Flimsy
Ans : (A)

Directions– (Q. 16–20) In each of the following questions, a sentence/s contain/s a blank space. You have to choose from the options (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E) and fill in the blank in such a manner that it completes the sentence/s in the most meaningful and grammatically appropriate manner .

16. The Manager realized that the clerk had forgotren to do his job and thus…………… for the loss to the Company.
(A) knew' about
(B) created
(C) hold guilty
(D) was responsible
(E) makes up
Ans : (D)

17. His vision is very poor but he refuses to do anything about it; ……………before he loses his eye sight completely.
(A) It is swiftly
(B) It won't be long
(C) Not soon
(D) He will very quickly
(E) It is time
Ans : (B)

18. ……………having worked really hard in office, Vilas did not get the much expected promotion.
(A) Inspite of
(B) On
(C) Since
(D) Despite of
(E) Besides
Ans : (A)

19. Tonight's game was ……………because of the rain.
(A) struck of
(B) called off
(C) winning (D) played
(E) cancelled
Ans : (B)

20. Riya did not care about me at all, I knew this as she had not even……………when I told her that I had failed in the exams.
(A) console me
(B) outspoken
(C) seen me
(D) closed her eyes
(E) batted an eyelid
Ans : (E)

Directions–(Q. 21–25) In each of the following questions a short story is given with one of the lines in the story missing and represented by a blank. Select the best out of the five answer choices given to make the story complete and coherent.

21. An elderly carpenter told his employer-contractor of his plans to retire from the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, but overtime it was easy to see that. his heart was not. in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to inspect the house and said, …………… 'The carpenter was shocked ! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
(A) , 'This house is going to collapse in no time .
(B) "You have done a remarkable job.
(C) , 'This is your house; my gift to you.
(D) "What a bad job you have done !
(E) "I wanted to gift this house to my relative.
Ans : (C)

22. Once a boy who wanted to buy a puppy went to a store, , 'Mister ," he said to the owner, "1 want to buy one of your puppies." The owner called all the puppies outside with a whistle. Out from the doghouse and to the fence ran four little balls of fur. Slowly another little ball appeared; this one noticeably smaller. Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up. ………………," the little boy said, pointing to the runt. The owner knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would." With that the little boy reached down, rolled up one leg of his trousers and revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the owner, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands."
(A) "I want that one
(B) "What is that ?
(C) "That pup is so ugly
(D) "Is that puppy injured ?
(E) "I like the pups which came earlier
Ans : (A)

23. A selfish fox once invited a stork to dinner at his home in a hollow tree. On arrival at the fox's home, the stork was served soup in a shallow bowl. The fox licked up all his soup very quickly. However, the stork could not have any of it as the bowl was too shallow for her long beak. The poor stork just smiled politely and stayed hungry .The stork then invited the fox over to his home for dinner. The next day, when the fox arrived at the stork's home, he saw that they were also having soup for dinner. This time the soup was served in tall jugs……………….. This time it was his turn to go hungry.
(A) The stork drank the soup easily but the fox could not reach inside the tall jug
(B) The fox overturned the tall jug and had his share of the soup
(C) The stork politely poured all of the fox' s soup into another shallow bowl for the fox to drink
(D) The fox could easily reach into the tall jug
(E) The fox felt guilty about the way he had treated the stork
Ans : (A)

24. A man punished his three year old daughter for washing a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said. "This is for you, Daddy ;"
The man was embarrassed by his earlier over reaction ……………….He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside ?" The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, , 'Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Daddy.' The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.
(A) But was too egoistic to actually apologize to his little girl
(B) And opened the box to find a very lovely gift inside
(C) And wanted to make it unto her by praising the gift he had received
(D) And decided to apologize to, her
(E) But his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty
Ans : (E)

25. One day long ago, some sailors set out to sea in their sailing ship. One of them brought his pet monkey along for the long journey…………….Everyone fell into the sea, and the monkey was sure that he would drown. Suddenly a dolphin appeared and picked him up. They soon reached the island and the monkey came down from the dolphin' s back. The monkey thanked the dolphin for saving his life.
(A) The monkey entertained everyone on the ship with his antics
(B) The ship was very sturdy and could withstand strong gusts of wind
(C) When they were far out at sea, a terrible storm overturned their ship
(D) The ship reached the island
(E) The monkey rocked the ship and overturned it
Ans : (C)

Directions–(Q. 26–30) Rearrange the following six sentences (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) in the proper sequence to form a meaningful paragraph; then answer the questions given below them.
(1) The man replied "I neither have a computer nor an e-mail address."
(2) The HR manager interviewed him and then tested him on how well he could clean the floor .
(3) The man thus returned home disappointed .
(4) On completion of the test, he said, "You are hired, give me your e-mail address, and I'll send you the application to fill, as well as let you will start."
(5) A jobless man applied for the position of 'office boy' at a very big firm.
(6) "I'm sorry," said the HR manager, "if you do not have an e-mail address that means you do not exist and who does not exist, cannot have the job."

26. Which of the following should be the THIRD sentence after rearrangement?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 6
Ans : (D)

27. Which of the following should be the LAST (SIXTH) sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 6
(B) 5
(C) 4
(D) 3
(E) 2
Ans : (D)

28. Which of the following should be the FOURTH sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 5
(E) 6
Ans : (A)

29. Which of the following should be the FIRST sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 5
Ans : (E)

30. Which of the following should be the SECOND sentence after rearrangement ?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 6
Ans : (B)

Directions– (Q.31–35) In each of the following sentences there are five parts (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5). Rearrange these parts to form a meaningful and grammatically correct sentence and choose the alternative which represents that arrangement.
31. (1) they had to
(2) were of such
(3) be sent back
(4) the goods
(5) poor quality that
(A) 3,5,2,1,4
(B) 4,2,5,1,3
(C) 1,4,2,3,5
(D) 4,1,3,2,5
(E) 1,3,4,2,5
Ans : (B)

32. (1) budget is
(2) in earlier years
(3) than those
(4) this year's
(5) much better
(A) 2,1,5,3,4
(B) 1,5,4,3,2
(C) 4,1,5,3,2
(D) 5,3,2,4,1
(E) 3,2,4,1,5
Ans : (C)

33. (1) my shop
(2) there were
(3) front of
(4) standing in
(5) five people
(A) 2,5,4,3,1
(B) 4,2,1,5,3
(C) 2,1,5,3,4
(D) 5,2,4,3,1
(E) 1,5,2,4,3
Ans : (A)

34. (1) and meet
(2) too late
(3) him now
(4) it is
(5) to go
(A) 2,4,5,3,1
(B) 3,1,5,2,4
(C) 2,1,3,4,5
(D) 1,5,2,4,3
(E) 4,2,5,1,3
Ans : (E)

35. (1) she wants
(2) in a place
(3) where there is
(4) tolive
(5) no pollution
(A) 3,5,2,1,4
(B) 4,2,3,5,1
(C) 1,4,2,3,5
(D) 2,3,5,4,1
(E) 1,5,2,3,4
Ans : (C)

Directions– (Q, 36–40) Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it, The error if any, will be in one part of the sentence, The letter of that part is the answer, If there is no error, the answer is (E), (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any),

36. The man ran (A) / to a tree, climbed (B) / on to it and (C) / sit on branch. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (D)

37. A young man was standing (A) / on the road proclaiming (B) / that he had the more (C) / beautiful car in the whole world. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)

38. The girl sat down (A) / for dinner but refused to (B) / eat until (C) / her father came home. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)

39. The only thing that (A) / the couple worried (B) / on was, where their (C) / happiness would last forever. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (C)

40. One day, the King woke up (A) / earlier than usually (B) / to take a stroll (C) / around his palace. (D) No error (E)
Ans : (B)

Directions–(Q. 41–50) In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.

Camilla was a very greedy, gluttonous little girl. She ...(41)... had any friends because she thought it was much more fun to spend her time alone, eating cake and pudding. Her parents were ...(42)...; so they took all the sweet food in the house and hid it.

So Camilla left the house, desperately ...(43)... for something sweet to eat. On she went, until she ended up in small abandoned hut full of old pots and glasses of all shapes and sizes. Out of all of them, the one that most ...(44)... Camilla's attention was a shiny little bottle made of good-coloured glass. It ...(45)... to be full of chocolate, and Camilla took a quick swig. It was delicious, but she felt a strange tickling sensation, so she read the label. "Glass Tears", it said, and in small print it explained : “Magically converts tears into chocolate.”

Wow, was Camilla excited! She ran everywhere looking for ...(46)... who was crying, and she came upon a little girl who was weeping disconsolately. Sure enough, her tears were converted into chocolate, and as they ran down her cheeks, to her mouth, they sweetened her lips. That soon ...(47)... her crying. Camilla and the girl spent a fun time together, tasting the delicious tears, and they parted as friends. Something similar ...(48)... with a woman who had dropped son1e plates, and with an old man who couldn't find his walking stick. The appearance of Camilla and the chocolate tears ...(49)... up those sad faces, helping them smile once again. Soon Camilla ...(50)... that, cheering people up was much more valuable even than chocolate. Her mad search for sweet food stopped, and her search became one for sad people who she could try to help. From those sweet encounters came a mountain of friends that filled her life with meaning and happiness.

41. (A) always
(B) didn't
(C) not
(D) hardly
(E) bare
Ans : (D)

42. (A) busy
(B) worried
(C) hungry
(D) feared
(E) happy
Ans : (B)

43. (A) looking
(B) cooking
(C) asking
(D) see
(E) cry
Ans : (A)

44. (A) saw
(B) glanced
(C) caught
(D) wanted
(E) call
Ans : (C)

45. (A) tried
(B) opened
(C) was
(D) seemed
(E) contained
Ans : (D)

46. (A) someone
(B) people
(C) body
(D) something
(E) any
Ans : (A)

47. (A) made
(B) gauged
(C) stopped
(D) cease
(E) wasted
Ans : (C)

48. (A) event
(B) incident
(C) occur
(D) placed
(E) happened
Ans : (E)

49. (A) closed
(B) broke
(C) light
(D) went
(E) cheered
Ans : (C)

50. (A) asked
(B) realised
(C) smiled
(D) understands
(E) expected
Ans : (B)

adv