Free Online & Latest English Quiz for SBI PO & SBI Clerk Exam
This quiz contains questions on Reading Comprehension and the topic is very important for competitive exams like SSC, Railway, Banking and insurance exams. Try to attempt this quiz in a time bound manner not taking more than 10-12 minutes in solving it.
Directions (1-5): In the following questions, you have four brief passages with 5 questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
Blame it on broken hearts and bereavement, to mere shyness and busy routines, millions of us suffer from some form of loneliness. Like a disease, it cuts across class, age groups and gender, leaving very few of us immune. And it’s not Robinson Crusoe’s loneliness, where a person is cut-off from society, but it’s loneliness despite living amid dear ones and neighbors, despite the Internet and social networking, crowded towns and shopping malls.”People can be alone without being lonely, or lonely in a crowd”, says one research paper on the subject. Those affected by loneliness are generally not keen to talk about it. They feel ashamed or embarrassed or simply do not have anyone to discuss the problem with. “Globally, modern urban living has become more and more individualistic and loneliness is a byproduct of it, “says a psychologist.”Relationships in present times have become transient, the concept of extended family has weakened and our circle of friends has narrowed.”
Q1. Who according to the author, suffers from loneliness?
(a) Only shy people
(b) Bereaved people
(c) Many people
(d) A few people
Q2. Loneliness is like
(a) A disease
(b) Shyness
(c) An immunity
(d) A broken heart
Q3. “Robinson Crusoe’s loneliness” means
(a) Living on an island.
(b) Being cut-off from society.
(c) Being hated by society.
(d) Having no family.
Q4. Why wouldn’t those affected by loneliness want to talk about it ?
(a) They feel ashamed or have no one to discuss with.
(b) They are too busy.
(c) No one interested.
(d) They are immune to it.
Q5. The author writes that
(a) People feel lonely only when they are alone.
(b) People can be alone and not feel lonely.
(c) Loneliness is caused by Robinson Crusoe.
(d) The concept of extended family is still strong.
Directions (6-10): In the following questions, you have four brief passages with 8 questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
Manufactures of consumer packaged goods (CPG) face two key challenges this year. The first is continued slow or negative growth in people’s disposable incomes. The second is changing consumer attitudes toward products and brands, as the great fragmentation of Consumer markets take another turn. In response, companies must dramatically shift the route they take to reach consumers in terms of both product distribution and communications. In many markets, consumer wages have been static for five years now. Even where economies are starting to perform better, the squeeze on after-tax wages, especially for the middle class younger people and families, is depressing consumer spending. Although growth in developing countries is still better than in the United States and Europe, a slowdown in emerging countries had hoped for higher sales has translated quickly into lower-than-expected consumer spending growth. Meanwhile, what we call the great fragmentation is manifested in consumer behavior and market response. In both developed and emerging markets, there is a wider variety among consumers now than at any time in the recent past. Growth is evident both at the top of the market (where more consumers are spending for higher-quality food and other packaged goods) and at the lower end (where an increasing number of consumers are concentrating on value). But the traditional middle of the market is shrinking. Further, individual consumer behavior is more pluralistic. We are used to seeing, for example, spirits buyers purchasing a premium brand in a bar, a less costly label at home for personal consumption and yet another when entertaining guests. But this type of variegated shopping has now spread to the grocery basket as well. Fewer consumers are making one big stocking-up trip each week. Instead, shoppers are visiting a premium store and a discounter as well as a supermarket, in multiple weekly shops – in addition to making frequent purchases online. During recession, more shoppers became inclined to spend time hunting for bargains and as some traditional retailers either went out of business or shuttered down, retail space was freed up and was often filled by convenience stores, specialty shops, and discounters. A decade ago, CPG companies had only a handful of sales channels to consider supermarkets, convenience stores, hypermarkets, convenience stores, hypermarkets in advanced economies and traditional small and large retailers in emerging countries. Since then, various discounters have made significant inroads, including no frills, low variety outlets, such as Europe’s Aldi and Lidi, which sell a limited range of private-label grocery items in smaller stores and massive warehouse clubs, such as Costco and Sam’s club, which initially operated solely in the U.S. but are now expanding internationally. In addition, dollar stores, specialized retailers, and online merchants are having an impact on the GPG landscape. Economizing consumers have been pleasantly, surprised by the savings generated by spreading their business among multiple channels, as well as by the variety and product quality they find. The result has been greater demand for more products and brands, with different sizes, packaging and sales methods. At most CPG companies, SKUs are proliferating despite there being little increase in overall consumption. A better outcome can be seen at smaller food and beverage suppliers, which are benefiting from consumer demand for variety and authenticity. A recent report found that in. the U.S., small manufacturers (with revenues of less than US $ 1 billion) grew at twice the compound annual rate of large manufacturers (with revenues of more than $3 billion) between 2009 and 2012. Consumers’ media usage has also fragmented with the rise of digital content and the proliferation of online devices. Each channel- from the Web, Mobile and social sites for radio, TV, and print-.Has its own requirements, audience appeal and economics, needing specialized attention. But, at the same time, media campaigns need to be closely coordinated for effective consumer messaging. Collectively, these shifts challenge the way CPG companies manage their brand and business portfolios and call for a rethinking on their go-to market approach, with an emphasis on analytics. Our work with INSEAD shows, that among business leaders, applying analytics-especially for tracking consumer behavior and product and promotional performance-considered one of the most effective ways to improve result and outpace the competition. But it’s not just about insight. It’s also about using the insight wisely to determine how to manage costs. The more knowledgeable about customer needs and preferences a company is the smarter and more focused it must be in managing its own economics to cost-effectively deliver both variety and value to be squeezed consumer.
Q6. The central theme of the given passage is …….
(a) The shrinking market.
(b) Shift towards offering luxury goods to consumers.
(c) Products to offer consumers with squeezed pockets.
(d) Gaining insight into changing consumer behavior towards CPGs.
Q7. In the context of the passage, which of the following brands existed otherwise but is now being manifested in buying groceries as well?
(a) Consumers purchasing the same products for over a period of time.
(b) Consumer willing to purchase goods for a longer period of time.
(c) Consumers preferring luxury goods over regular goods.
(d) Consumers prefer buying goods from a variety of stores.
Q8. Which of the following is most nearly the OPPOSITE in meaning to the word ‘DEPRESSING’ as used in the passage?
(a) Encouraging
(b) Sunny
(c) Doubtful
(d) Light
Q9. Which of the following is TRUE in the context of the passage?
(a) In the U.S., during the three year period after 2009, small manufacturers did not fare well as compared to their larger counterparts.
(b) Impact on disposable incomes of people barely affects the CPG manufacturing industry.
(c) Post-tax wages, especially for the middle class, are one of the critical factors which have reduced spending behavior of consumers.
(d) CPG has always been a favorite among consumers.
Q10. Which of the following correctly explains the meaning of phrase, ‘a handful of’ as used in the passage?
(a) Boundless
(b) Planned
(c) Satisfactory
(d) Limited
Directions (Q. 11-15): Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow based on the information given in the passage.
In GORILLA society, power belongs to silverback males. These splendid creatures have numerous status markers besides their back hair: they are bigger than the rest of their band, strike space-filling postures, produce deeper sounds, thump their chests lustily and, in general, exude an air of physical fitness. Things are not that different in the corporate world. The typical chief executive is more than six feet tall, has a deep voice, a good posture, a touch of grey in his thick, lustrous hair and, for his age, a fit body. Bosses spread themselves out behind their large desks. They stand tall when talking to subordinates. Their conversation is laden with prestige pauses and declarative statements.
The big difference between gorillas and humans is, of course, that human society changes rapidly. The past few decades have seen a striking change in the distribution of power between men and women, the West and the emerging world and geeks and non-geeks. Women run some of America’s largest firms, such as General Motors (Mary Barra) and IBM (Virginia Rometty). More than half of the world’s biggest 2,500 public companies have their headquarters outside the West. Geeks barely out of short trousers run some of the world’s most dynamic businesses. Peter Thiel, one of Silicon Valley’s leading investors, has introduced a blanket rule: never invest in a CEO who wears a suit. Yet it is remarkable, in this supposed age of diversity, how many bosses still conform to the stereotype. First, they are tall: in research for his 2005 book, “Blink”, Malcolm Gladwell found that 30% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are 6 feet 2 inches or taller, compared with 3.9% of the American population. People who “sound right” also have a marked advantage in the race for the top. Quantified Communications, a Texas-based company, asked people to evaluate speeches delivered by 120 executives. They found that voice quality accounted for 23% of listeners’ evaluations and the content of the speech only accounted for 11%. Academics from the business schools of the University of California, San Diego and Duke University listened to 792 male CEOs giving presentations to investors and found that those with the deepest voices earned $187,000 a year more than the average.
Physical fitness seems to matter too: a study published this month, by Peter Limbach of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Florian Sonnenburg of the University of Cologne, found that companies in America’s S&P 1500 index who’s CEOs had finished a marathon were worth 5% more on average than those whose bosses had not. Good posture makes people act like leaders as well as look like them: Amy Cuddy of Harvard Business School notes that the very act of standing tall, with your feet planted solidly and somewhat apart, your chest out and your shoulders back, boosts the supply of testosterone to the blood and lowers the supply of cortisol, a steroid associated with stress. (Unfortunately, this also increases the chance that you will make a risky bet.) Besides relying on all these supposedly positive indicators of fitness to lead, those who choose bosses also rely on some negative stereotypes. Overweight people—women especially—are judged incapable of controlling themselves, let alone others. Those who “uptalk”—habitually ending their statements on a high note as if asking a question—rule themselves out on the grounds that they sound tentative and juvenile.
Q11. What can be the suitable title of the passage?
(a) The look of a leader
(b) Age of diversity
(c) Gorilla and humans
(d) Physical fitness matters
Q12. What the author wants to convey by saying “age of diversity”?
(a) There is diversity between man and woman
(b) There is diversity between young generation and old generation
(c) There is no gender bias at global level
(d) All of the above
Q13. According to the passage what physical qualities are required to become CEO of a company?
(a) Height, weight
(b) Height, sound
(c) Posture
(d) Both 2 and 3
Q14. What is TRUE according to passage?
- Good postures make people happy
- Physical fitness matters to become CEO
III. Women are incapable of controlling their weight
(a) I & II
(b) II & III
(c) III only
(d) II only
Q15. Which of the following statement is false in the context of the passage?
(a) The typical chief executive is mostly similar to Gorillas.
(b) It is found that voice quality account for 23% of listeners.
(c) Height, quality of sounds, posture are negative indicators.
(d) Both (1) and (2)
SOLUTIONS:-
Sol 1. (c)
Sol 2. (a)
Sol 3. (b)
Sol 4. (a)
Sol 5. (b)
Sol 6. (d)
Sol 7. (d)
Sol 8. (a)
Sol 9. (c)
Sol 10. (d)
Sol 11. (a)
Sol 12. (c)
Sol 13. (d)
Sol 14. (b)
Sol 15. (c)
0 responses on "Free Online & Latest English Quiz for SBI PO & SBI Clerk Exam : PART 39"