Common Entrance Examination Questions English Grammar and Verbal Reasoning

 ENGLISH/VERBAL APTITUDE/GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

PASSAGE 1

Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow them.

One morning, a few years ago, Paul and peter decided to go for hunting. They took their guns and set off. When they woke up in their hut in the jungle the following morning, Paul said, “Come on Peter, let’s go and shoot those lions”. “No. I am not ready yet”, said Peter who was feeling nervous. After another attempt to persuade Peter had failed, Paul decided to go alone. “I will shoot two lions”, he said. “One for you and one for me and you can skin them”.

Peter had not walked far into the jungle when he met a lion. The lion looked straight at him. Paul felt so frightened that he turned around and ran away.

The lion followed him. Paul could hear it close behind him, so he ran as fast as he could towards the hut. He could see that the door of the hut was open. When he was only a few meters away, he missed his step and fell down. The lion could not stop because it was running too fast. It jumped over Paul into the hut. Paul quickly jumped up and shut the door against the lion. Then he turned to Peter and said, “That is the first one, please skin it while I go and get the other one”.

1. Why didn’t Peter go with Paul to hunt for the lions?  A. he was afraid  B. Paul did not wake him up  C. Paul was too impatient  D. Peter didn’t have a gun  E. Peter was not very well
2. Why did the lion enter the hut?  A. the lion thought Paul was inside the hut  B. Peter tricked it inside the hut so that he can skin it  C. the lion was running too fast to stop at the entrance  D. when the lion saw two people, it was frightened and wanted to hide  E. Paul had shot and wounded the lion
3.  What made Paul to fall down?  A. he fell deliberately to allow the lion to jump over him  B. he was tired of running  C. the lion pulled his leg  D. he was so frightened, he wanted to beg for his life  E. he fell down accidentally
4. Who opened the door of the hut?  A. Peter  B. Paul  C. the lion  D. the wind  E. we are not told
5. Why was Paul frightened when the lion looked straight at him?  A. he didn’t have a gun with him  B. he wasn’t really looking for lion  C. he thought the lion might kill him  D. he wanted to go and ask Peter to come and see the lion  E. the lion was so big 

PASSAGE 2

Almost all the beggars in the town begged for aims in beggar’s street. The blind, the crippled and others who were disabled in different ways were all there. It was not very clear to most people why they had chosen that street as their point. The street was at one end of the city. They probably chose to meet at that place because it was very near a market. Most women on their way to the market passed by the beggars and gave money to them.

There was one of them, a man who sat daily at a corner of the street some 25 meters away from the others. He had beside him a dog from whose neck hung a card with the word “I am blind”. An old man who passed there every morning, always dropped one Kobo into the beggar’s tin and he very friendly with the beggar. One day, however, he was deep in thought and forgot to give the beggar the usual gift. Seeing this, the beggar ran after the old man and asked for his Kobo. The old man was surprised, gazed at him and said, “I thought you are blind” “Oh no sir”, said the beggar. “it is my dog that is blind”.

1. The street was given the name “Beggars street” because  A. the man who first built a house there was a beggar  B. all those who lived in the street were beggars  C. beggars usually have street named after them  D. it is the only place where begging is allowed in the city  E. a large number of beggars in the city were found there
2. Why did the beggars choose the street as their meeting point?  A. they wanted to avoid crowd in the city  B. the street was not far from the city centre  C. it was very near their homes  D. they could easily get alms from women going to the market  E. they could easily get things to buy and eat in the market
3. Why did the beggar hang the card “I am blind” on the neck of the dog?  A. he wanted to trick the people into believing that he was blind  B. he wanted people to be kind to his dog  C. the dog liked it very much  D. he wanted to be funny  E. he wanted to punish the dog
4. The old man gave money to the beggar because  A. he saw the beggar every morning  B. he liked the blind man’s dog  C. the beggar was old  D. the old man was rich  E. he thought the beggar was really blind
5. The old man did not give the beggar the usual gift because  A. he had been told that the beggar was not blind  B. he had no money on him that day  C. he forgot  D. he was ill  E. the beggar refused it
6. What did the old man do to the beggar after he had known that he was not blind?  A. he got all his money back  B. he got him removed from the street  C. he quarreled with him  D. he removed the beggar’s dog in exchange for the money which the beggar had falsely received from him  E. we are not told
7. How would you describe the action of the beggar?  A. careless  B. dishonest  C. disobedient  D. lazy  E. crude

Choose from the list of words lettered A to E the one which has almost the opposite meaning to the word bold in the sentence.

1. It took us three days to reach the top of the mountain.  A. boundary  B. side  C. end  D. bottom  E. height
2. All the teachers in our school are hard-working.  A. slow  B. happy  C. quick  D. lazy  E. cold
3. I was idle all the time.  A. busy  B. strong  C. rich  D. useful  E. smart
4. She is a very proud woman.  A. humble  B. small  C. grand  D. stubborn  E. poor
5. The police woman said we should move immediately.  A. finish  B. detain  C. stop  D. delay  E. stay
6. He lost his pen in the market.  A. bought  B. notice  C. saw  D. found  E. caught
7. The weather was really hot today.  A. cold  B. rainy  C. windy  D. cloudy  E. snowy
8. The book was very difficult to understand.  A. easy  B. short  C. interesting  D. cheap  E. light He is a very unselfish person.  A. selfish  B. honest  C. kind  D. generous  E. funny
9. The company’s profits have been decreasing.  A. increasing  B. remaining  C. fluctuating  D. stable  E. growing
10. The party was a complete failure.  A. success  B. disappointment  C. surprise  D. achievement  E. victory

Below each of the following sentences or group of words are five questions A-E. to which one of the questions is the sentence or group of words that give the answer.

1. The table is too heavy for me to carry.  A. why didn’t you bring the table?  B. have you seen the table?  C. has the carpenter brought the table?  D. can you lift the heavy table alone?  E. do you want the table?
2. He is the new teacher.  A. what is the name of the new teacher?  B. when did the new teacher arrived?  C. where is the new teacher?  D. who is that man?  E. where did the new teacher come from?
3. Ten   A. is this your tenth birthday?  B. when were you born?  C. how old are you?  D/ are you older than your sister?  E. when is your next birthday?
4. A long way   A. can you throw a long tennis ball a long way?  B. how far can you throw a long tennis ball?  C. what have you thrown?  D. have you thrown the tennis ball a long way?  E. why did you throw the tennis ball that far?
5. Two or three times a week.  A. how often do you visit your parents?  B. have you visited your parents this week?  C. when did you visit your parents last?  D. do you visit your parents two or three times a week?  E. why do you visit your parents two or three times a week?
6. No, he has left,  A. did he come?  B. has he come?  C. when did he arrive?  D. how did he get there?  E. is he waiting for me?
7. In the morning  A. has he arrived?  B. why did he come?  C. when did he arrive?  D. did he arrive in the morning?  E. what did he arrive in the morning?
8. She said that she is going to the supermarket tomorrow.  A. what did your sister say to you?  B. did your sister say she is going to the market tomorrow?  C. is tomorrow a market day?  D. who said she is going to the market tomorrow?  E. will your sister go to the market tomorrow?

Choose from the list of words or group of words in the options the one which is correctly and most suitably fills the gap in the sentence.

1. He jumped……………………the wall to avoid the police.  A. into  B. to  C. until  D. over  E. for
2. He has sucked his thumb……………..he was a child.  A. except  B. from  C. until  D. by  E. since
3. I………………the book thrice but I don’t understand it.  A. be reading  B. have read  C. was reading  D. reading  E. will be reading
4. The ruler we found is certainly……………than the one we lost.  A. long  B. longest  C. more longer  D. longer  E. the longer
5. If you work hard, you…………….the examination.  A. pass  B. have passed  C. are passing  D. will pass  E. passes
6. Mother said she was going home to take care…………………..the baby.  A. of   B. by  C. to  D. with  E. on
7. ………………….the time of the accident, nobody was near.  A. of   B. for  C. at  D. on  E. in
8. I have read the book………………..times.  A. much   B. more  C. many  D. most  E. any
9. He said that children should not disobey……………..parents.  A. its  B. their  C. them  D. him  E. hers
10. I am sure………………our teacher will go on transfer.  A. that  B. what  C. which  D. why  E. whether 

Each of the following items consists of five words labeled A to E. one of the words is a general term which describe the other four words. Choose the one that is the general term.

Example:

A.Six  B.ten  C.number  D.twelve  E.twenty

The general term in the example is “number” which describes the other four.

1. A. chair  B. stool  C. furniture  D. bench  E. table
2. A. maize  B. onion  C. wheat  D. crop  E. rice
3. A. container  B. box  C. bottle  D. bag  E. tin
4. A. big  B. short  C. size  D. fat  E. little
5. A. hut  B. house  C. school  D. church  E. building
6. A. round  B. shape  C. triangle  D. square  E. rectangle
7. A. red  B. blue  C. green  D. color  E. yellow
8. A. car  B. train  C. airplane  D. vehicle  E. bus
9. A. apple  B. banana  C. fruit  D. orange  E. strawberry
10. A. pencil  B. pen  C. marker  D. writing instrument  E. pencile case
11. A. cow  B. goat  C. sheep  D. animal  E. horse

In each of the following items, pick out the one that does NOT belong to the group.

Example:

A.Rat  B.lizard  C.dog  D.yam  E.elephant

The word “yam” does not belong to the group. So “D” is the answer.

1. A. class  B. friend  C. community  D. section  E. group
2. A. master  B. teacher  C. commander  D. supervisor  E. learner
3. A. eyes  B. neck  C. nose  D. ear  E. mouth
4. A. ear  B. lorry  C. aeroplane  D. bus  E. motor-cycle
5. This does not cause road accidents on highways.  A. over speeding  B. drinking alcoholic wine  C. disregarding zebra crossing  D. overtaking by the right  E. moderate speed
6. Which is the best way choosing a national leader by the people?  A. coup  B. heritage  C. selection  D. election  E. wealth
7. Tiger Wood is famous for playing………………….  A. golf  B. football  C. basket ball  D. hockey  E. handball
8. Fill in the missing words of the National Anthem

“the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain. To serve……………………….. One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity”

1. Without our mind
2. With hands and mouth
3. With hearts and might
4. The mighty God
5. We serve our minds  

“Education is the key to success. It is the tool that will open the doors to a brighter future. To acquire knowledge, one must……………………….” A. work hard B. be lazy C. be born rich D. be born intelligent E. have good luck

“A true leader is one who puts the needs of others before their own. A true leader is one who……………………..” A. self-interested B. self-centered C. self-motivated D. selfless E. self-obsessed

“In order to achieve success, one must have a clear vision and a plan to reach their goals. One must……………………..” A. give up easily B. have no direction C. have no ambition D. have a strong work ethic E. have no skills