SBI Specialist Officer Exam - How to score good marks in English Section ?

As far as SBI SO exam is concerned, you just need to score minimum cut off marks in Part - I (English, Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude). Marks that you score in these section will not be counted for merit list. But, its necessary to get min cut off marks in Part - I. Only, then your Part - II (Professional Knowledge) will be evaluated, based on which merit list are prepared.

How to prepare for English Section ?

If you have such question in your mind, don't worry. Concentrate on,
1. Reading Comprehension (but don't spend too much time in single question. If you can solve move to the next).
2. Fill in the blanks and vocabulary type questions.

You can refer previous years question papers and good books for your preparation. Here, we share English Section of 2012 Solved Question Paper.

2012 Solved Paper - English :

Q1-9.Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below them. Some words / phrases are printed in bold to help you to locate them while answering some of the questions.

In the second week of August 1998, just a few days after the incidents of bombing the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar- es- Salaam, a high- powered, brain- storming session was held near Washington DC, to discuss various aspects of terrorism, The meeting was attended by ten of America’s leading experts in various fields such as germ and chemical warfare, public health, disease control and also by the doctors and the law enforcing officers. Being asked to describe the horror of possible bio= attack, one of the experts narrated the following gloomy scenario.

A culprit in a crowded business centre or in a busy shopping mall of a town empties a test tube containing some fluid, which in turn creates an , unseen cloud of germ of a dreaded disease like anthrax, capable of inflicting a horrible death within  5 days on anyone who inhales it. At first, 500 or so victims feel that they have mid influenza which may recede after a day or two. Then the symptoms return again and their lungs start filling with fluid. They rush to local hospitals for treatment, but the panic- stricken people may find that the medicare services run quickly out of drugs due to excessive demand. But no one would be able to realize that a terrorist attack has occurred. One cannot deny the possibility that the germ involved would be of contagious variety capable of causing an epidemic. The meeting concluded that such attacks, apart from causing immediate human tragedy, would have dire long term effects on the political and social fabric of a country by way of ending people’s trust on the competence of the government.

The experts also said that the bombs used in Kenya and Tanzania were of the old fashion variety and involved large quantities of high explosives, but new terrorism will prove to be more deadly and probably more elusive than hijacking an aeroplane or a gelignite of previous decades. According Bruce Hoffman, an American specialist on political violence, old overthrow a colonial power or the capitalist system and so on. These terrorists were not shy about planting a bomb or hijacking an aircraft and they set some limit to their brutality. Killing so many innocent people might turn their natural supporters off. Political terrorists want a lot of people watching, but not a lot of people watching, but not a lot of people dead. “Old terrorism sought to change the  world while the new sort is often practiced by those who believe that the world has gone beyond redemption,” he added.

Hoffman says, “New Terrorism has no long term agenda, but is ruthless in its short- term intentions. It is often just a cacophonous cry of protest or an outburst of religious intolerance or a protest against the West in general and the US in particular. Its perpetrators may be religious fanatics or die- hard opponents of a government and see no reason to show restraint. They are simply intent on inflicting the maximum amount of pain on the victim.”

Q1. In the context of the passage, the culprit’s act of employing a test tube containing some fluid can be classified as:
A. a terrorist attack 
B. an epidemic of a dreaded disease 
C. a natural calamity    
D. panic created by an imaginary event  
E. None

Q2. In what way would the new terrorism be different from that of the earlier years?
i. more dangerous and less baffling 
ii. more hazardous for victims 
iii. less complicated for terrorists
A. 1 & 3 only       
B. 2 & 3 only       
C. 1 & 2 only        
D. All the three      
E. None

Q3. What was the immediate provocation for the meeting held in August 1998?
A. the insistence of America’s leading experts        
B. the horrors of possible bio- attacks     
C. a culprit’s heinous act of spreading germs
D. people’s lack of trust in the government             
E. None

Q4. What could be the probable consequences of bio- attacks, as mentioned in the passage?
i. Several deaths      
ii. Political turmoil         
iii. Social unrest
A. 1 only        
B. 2 only       
C. 3 only          
D. 1 & 2 only         
E. All three

Q5. The author’s purpose of writing the above passage seems to explain:    
A. the methods to contain terrorism       
B. the socio- political turmoil in African countries     
C. the deadly  strategies adopted by modern         terrorists      
D. reasons for killing innocent people      
E. the salient features of terrorism of yester- year

Q6. According to the author of the passage, the root cause of terrorism is:
i. religious fanaticism      
ii. Socio- political changes in countries       
iii. The enormous population growth
A. 1 only        
B. 2 only      
C. 3 only       
D. 1 & 2 only     
E. All three

Q7. The phrases, such attacks, as mentioned in the last sentence of second paragraph, refers to:
A. the onslaught on an epidemic as a natural calamity         
B. bio- attack on political people in the government
C. attack aimed at damaging the reputation of the government     
D. bio- attack maneuvered by unscrupulous elements    
E. None

Q8. The sole objective of the old terrorism, according to Hoffman, was to:
A. plant bombs to kill innocent people     
B. establish colonial power or capitalist system     
C. make people realize the incompetence of the government     
D. give a setback to socio- political order       
E. None

Q9. Which of the following statements is true about new terrorism?
A. Its immediate objectives are quite tragic      
B. It has far- sighted goals to achieve    
C. It can differentiate between the innocent people and the guilty    
D. It is free from any political ideology         E. It advocates people in changing the socio- political order.

Q10-19. In the following passages there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are also printed below the passage and against each 5 words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate words in each case.

Fundamentally, all human __1__possess combination of fixed inherited traits. All men possess the __2__  highly developed nervous system, back- bones, erect posture, hair, etc. Therefore, __3__ among men arise only __4__ changes of this __5__ pattern. Racial __6__ represent one of the finest distinctions and are based on certain __7__ differences. Two races may be __8__ in hair colour, in eye colour but __9__ in stature while two others may be __10__  in stature but differ in the colour of eyes and hair.

Q10. A. animal         
B. beings          
C. mind                   
D. society           
E. thinking

Q11. A. large            
B. different       
C. same                   
D. natural           
E. biological

Q12. A. sameness     
B. naturalness   
C. growth               
D. substance       
E. variations

Q13. A. no                
B. large             
C. fundamental       
D. minor             
E. artificial

Q14. A. fluctuating   
B. mad              
C. picturesque        
D. basic               
E. maddening

Q15. A. differences        
B. clashes        
C. hatred                
D. tolerance          
E. sameness

Q16. A. clearcut             
B. minor          
C. unnoticeable      
D. massive            
E. neat

Q17. A. Alike                 
B. different      
C. mismatched       
D. beautiful          
E. untouched

Q18. A. matched            
B. same            
C. different            
D. close                 
E. tall

Q19. A. tall                    
B. short             
C. uncouth             
D. ugly                  
E. same

Q20-25. In the following questions choose the word which best expresses the meaning of the given word.

Q20. INDICT
A. condemn      
B. reprimand         
C. accuse    
D. Allege      
E. None

Q21. SCINTILLATING
A. smouldering       
B. gilittering          
C. touching         
D. warming        
E. None

Q22. REFECTORY
A. restaurant           
B. parlour              
C. living room    
D. dining room   
E. None

Q23. DISTINCTION
A. diffusion            
B. disagreement     
C. different         
D. degree            
E. None

Q24. IMPROVEMENT
A. advancement       
B. betterment         
C. promotion      
D. preference      
E. None

Q25. ADVERSITY
A. failure                
B. helplessness       
C. misfortune      
D. crisis              
E. None

Answers :

1.A , 2.C , 3.B , 4.E , 5.C , 6.E , 7.C , 8.D, 9.B, 10.B , 11.C , 12.E , 13.C, 14.D , 15.D , 16.C , 17.A , 18.C , 19.E , 20.C , 21.B , 22.D , 23.C, 24.B , 25.C