Oriental Bank of Commerce Clerk Exam - English Language - Part 1

Directions-(Q. 1 to 15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it.

The Emperor’s brother-in-law was also his Prime Minister and his avourite courtier. He was not liked by the other courtiers as a result. Jealous of the Emperor’s brother-inlaw the courtiers once said, “Your Majesty, why don’t you appoint one of us as Prime Minister ? Subject us to a test to see who is truly the right person to be Prime Minister.” At the time the Prime Minister was out hunting with another courtier. In pursuit of their prey they mistakenly rode into the neighbouring kingdom. As they were strangers and had weapons they were arrested as spies by the soldiers there and were certain to be sentenced to death by the ruler, King Amir.

The courtier was petrified and bowed his head in prayer. The Prime Minister pretending to be praying whispered something in his ear. The two of them then began arguing. “I should be the one to die first !” each of them said. Those present were astonished to hear their argument. The soldiers brought the two before King Amir. He was astonished to hear of their strange behaviour. “Tell me why you are so eager to die ?” Pretending to be reluctant to reveal the reason the Prime Minister bowed respectfully and said, “Sir, our Emperor has a secret wish of annexing your kingdom. If you kill us the Emperor can attack your kingdom on the pretext of avenging our deaths. The Emperor has also promised us a great reward for our sacrifice. We felt that in case you changed your mind and set one of us free to return home he would not get the reward.” King Amir was worried when he heard this. Concerned that the lives of his subjects would be lost in war, King Amir refused to kill either of the two and sent them home. When they heard about the incident the Emperor’s courtiers bowed their heads. They were ashamed. They realised the Emperor had made a wise choice in selecting his Prime Minister.

1. Why were the courtiers not on good terms with the Emperor’s brother-in-law ?
The Emperor used to only heed his brother-in-law’s advice 
He was cleverer than they were and he would remind them of it 
He was empowered to take decisions on behalf of the Emperor 
He had more power and prestige and earned more than they did  None of these
 

2. Why did the Emperor’s two courtiers enter the neighbouring kingdom ?
The Emperor had asked them to deliver a message to its king 
They wanted to spy on the neighbouring kingdom 
They had accidentally wandered into neighbouring territory 
The other courtiers had set a trap for them 
Their curiosity about the kingdom led them to enter it
 

3. Why was the Emperor’s brotherin-law not afraid when faced with death ?
1. He felt that if he told King Amir the truth his life would be spared.
2. He was confident that he would be rescued.
3. He had prayed fervently asking God to save them.
None  Only 1  Only 2  Both 2 and 3  Only 3
 

4. Which of the following can be said about the Emperor ?
He reserved important posts for his family members 
He had chosen a worthy Prime Minister 
He was ruthless and wanted to conquer the neighbouring kingdom 
He treated all his courtiers shabbily except his brother-in-law 
He deliberately endangered the lives of his courtiers in order to test them
 

5. Why did the two courtiers begin to argue with each other ?
They wanted to distract the soldiers so they could escape 
It was a delaying tactics till they were rescued 
They blamed each other for the predicament they were in 
The Prime Minister wanted to stop the other courtier from divulging the Emperor’s plan to the enemy 
None of these
 

6. What surprised King Amir about the courtiers’ behaviour ?
1. They were very respectful to him although he had condemned them to death.
2. Each was volunteering to be killed first.
3. They had managed to convince the soldiers to set them free.
Only 1  Both 1 and 2  Only 3  Only 2  None of these
 

7. Why did King Amir set the two courtiers free ?
He believed their story that the Emperor was planning to attack 
He had great respect for their courage 
He had ascertained they were not spies so he set them free 
He was impressed by the wisdom of the Emperor’s courtiers 
None of these
 

8. Which of the following does not describe the Emperor’s reaction to the courtiers’ request to appoint one of them as Prime Minister ?
1. He thought about asking his brother-in-law to resign.
2. He tested his brother-in-law to prove he was best suited for the post of Prime Minister.
3. He disregarded it completely and punished the courtiers.
Only 1  Only 3  Both 1 and 3  All 1, 2 and 3  None of these
 

9. Which of the following is NOT true in the context of the passage ?
King Amir was concerned about the welfare of his people 
The Emperor’s brother-inlaw had enemies at court 
King Amir set the Emperor’s brother-in-law free on account of his bravery 
The Emperor’s brother-inlaw was deserving of the post of Prime Minister 
The Prime Minister was a quick thinker
 

10. What was the courtiers’ reaction when they heard about the Prime Minister’s safe return ?
They were disappointed because their plan had failed 
They were ashamed of their plot to kill him 
They were upset to hear about his bad experience 
They bowed in respect and praised his wisdom 
None of these
 

Directions-(Q. 11 to 13) Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
11. subject
topic  undergo  expose  citizen  accountable
 

12. pretext
excuse  guess  crime  example  fraud
 

13. petrified
panic  scared  feared  alarming  terror
 

Directions-(Q. 14 and 15) Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.

14. right
immoral  unsuitable  inaccurate  inconvenient  error
 

15. reveal
secret  darken  disclose  hide  invisible
 

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