ENGLISH-Reading Comprehension Practice Set – 18
As Banking EXAMS like IBPS Clerical, IBPS PO and SSC CGL 2017 exam is on the way. So, for the practice of candidates here we are providing English Practice set to boost up your preparation.
Even the names at Sutton Harbour give it away. While the pleasure boats, including Windfall and Felicity, gleam in the sunshine, the light warms rust on the decks of craft such as Pisces. The fishing industry is struggling to stay afloat in Plymouth, a port in Devon. Locals grumble about regulation, fuel costs and the dearth of crew. Revenues are stagnant and the facilities ageing. But if times are tough for the fishers, they may be tougher for the fish. In 2013, the most recent year for which full data are available, 32% of the world’s fish stocks were being exploited beyond their sustainable limit, up from 10% in the 1970s, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. The amount of fish caught at sea has been pretty much flat for the past three decades, but the share of the world’s fish stocks that are being plundered unsustainably has continued to increase.
Overfishing is not the only problem. Pollution, notably fertiliser run-off, damages a lot of marine ecosystems. There are estimated to be 5trn bits of plastic in the ocean, with over 8m tonnes of the stuff added every year. By the middle of the century the sea could contain more plastic than fish by weight, according to research done for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Not all the harm comes directly from the land; some comes via the sky. Carbon dioxide accumulating on the atmosphere has so far raised the world’s average sea surface temperature by about 0.7oC. This has effects at depth; when seas warm up they become more stratified, making it harder for nutrients in the waters below to rise to where they are most needed by fish and plankton. Given this, it might seem fortunate that the ocean absorbs a fair bit of that carbon dioxide, thus reducing the warming. But doing so changes the ocean’s chemistry, making it more acidic. This is a particular problem for creatures with calcium- carbonate shells—which includes not just crabs and oysters but quite a lot of larvae, too. Acidification makes carbonates more likely to dissolve.
It is hard to grasp the scale of such planetary changes, and impossible to say how much damage they will do. That is the way of things with the ocean; it is vast and human horizons are close. That something so immense could be put at risk just by people leading their daily lives seems inconceivable. But as with the atmosphere and the surface of the continents—where humans now move more sediments than the natural processes of erosion—the fact that something is vast does not mean humans cannot have profound impacts on it. For the sake of the hundreds of millions of people whose dependence on the ocean for livelihoods or sustenance, as well as for the sake of the ocean itself, these human impacts need to be reined in. There are signs that, where fishing is concerned, this may be coming about, not least because monitoring what goes on over the horizon is becoming ever easier. But there is a great deal left to do.
Q1. Which of the following are responsible for the damage caused to marine ecosystems?
A. Overfishing
B. Fertiliser run-off
C. Natural processes of erosion
(a) Only A
(b) Only B
(c) A and B
(d) A, B and C
(e) A and C
Q2. What according to locals of Plymouth is responsible for the struggle of fishing industry to stay afloat?
A. Regulation
B. Fuel costs
C. Inadequate supply of the people who can sail a ship/boat
(a) Only A
(b) Only B
(c) A and B
(d) A and C
(e) A, B and C
Q3. Which of the following could be contained by the sea even more than fishes by the middle of the century?
(a) Fertilizers
(b) Acidification
(c) Carbonates
(d) Carbon dioxide
(e) Plastic
Q4. What according to the writer is carbon dioxide responsible for?
A. Acidification
B. Stratification of seas
C. Water pollution
(a) Only A
(b) Only B
(c) Only C
(d) A and B
(e) A, B and C
Q5. What doesn’t let the nutrients reach the fishes and plankton?
(a) Overfishing
(b) Plastics
(c) Carbonates
(d) Stratification of seas
(e) None of these
Q6. In the following question, find the word that is most similar in the meaning to the word “grumble”?
(a) budge
(b) whinge
(c) disband
(d) plunder
(e) pillage
Q7. In the following question, find the word that is most similar in the meaning to the word “dearth”?
(a) abundance
(b) shortage
(c) profusion
(d) plethora
(e) surfeit
Q8. In the following question, find the word that is most similar in the meaning to the word “inconceivable”?
(a) surplus
(b) superfluous
(c) glut
(d) ludicrous
(e) flood
Q9. Which of the following phrases would replace the phrase given in bold-“accumulating on the”?
(a) accumulating in the
(b) accumulating into
(c) accumulate into an
(d) accumulate in the
(e) no change
Q10. Which of the following phrases would replace the phrase given in bold-“whose dependence on the”?
(a) which depend on
(b) who depend on the
(c) which depend on the
(d) whose dependence onto
(e) no change required
Directions (11-15): In each question below, the word at the top of the question is used in four different ways. Choose the option in which the usage of the word is INCORRECT or INAPPROPRIATE.
Q11. CREDIT
(a) The writer complained that the credit at the end of the film did not mention his name.
(b) A long term credit has more to do with trust than with greed.
(c) He is such a noble character that he never takes any credit for his kindly acts.
(d) The boss’s assistant was quite willing to accept undeserved credit for the deal’s success.
(e) None of the above is incorrect.
Q12. CLOSE
(a) The stores in this town close around 9 p.m. every day.
(b) The ship was closing with the island.
(c) In the final moments of the race she closed the distance to the lead racer.
(d) The nation closed the door to immigrants.
(e) None of the above is incorrect.
Q13. MOVE
(a) The sun’s heat forced the hikers to move into the shade.
(b) He believes an MBA would help him in moving on the executive ladder.
(c) One cannot be too rigid in one’s views; must learn to move with the times.
(d) She was deeply moved by his acts of kindness.
(e) None of the above is incorrect.
Q14. MARRY
(a) He decided to marry his daughter to his business partner’s son.
(b) Her parents agreed to marry her with the man of her choice.
(c) The girl got married into a prominent family.
(d) The priest will marry the boy and the girl in a proper ceremony.
(e) None of the above is incorrect.
Q15. PREVAIL
(a) They all hoped that at the end of all their struggles justice would prevail.
(b) The winds that prevail in the mountains are believed to be good for health.
(c) His courage and strength helped him prevail upon the enemy with ease.
(d) Can I prevail on you to stay for dinner?
(e) None of the above is incorrect.
Answers:
1) A 2) A 3) D 4) E 5) C 6) B 7) A 8) D 9) A 10) E
