AILET Previous Year Question Paper - 2020 | CLAT Past Year Papers (2008-2024) PDF Download

 Page 1


1 
 
SET – I (2020) 
SECTION – A : ENGLISH 
 
Directions (Q. 1 – Q. 5): Each set of questions in this section is based on the passage.  The 
questions are to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.  For 
some of the questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question.  
However, you are to choose the best answer; that is, the response that most accurately and 
completely answers the questions.  
  
In order to understand the development of Gangetic Valley plains, scholars have 
traditionally relied primarily on evidence from historical documents. However, such 
documentary sources provide a fragmentary record at best. Reliable accounts are very scarce 
for many parts of Northern India prior to the fifteenth century, and many of the relevant 
documents from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries focus selectively on matters relating to 
cultural or commercial interests. 
Studies of fossilized pollens preserved in peats and lake muds provide an additional 
means of investigating vegetative landscape change. Details of changes in vegetation 
resulting from both human activities and natural events are reflected in the kinds and 
quantities of minute pollens that become trapped in sediments. Analysis of samples can 
identify which kinds of plants produced the preserved pollens and when they were deposited, 
and in many cases the findings can serve to supplement or correct the documentary record. 
For example, analysis of samples from a bay in Jammu has revealed significant 
patterns of cereal-grain pollens beginning by about fourth century. The substantial clay 
content of the soil in this part of Jammu makes cultivation by primitive tools difficult. 
Historians thought that such soils were not tilled to any significant extent until the 
introduction of the wooden plough to India in the seventh century. Because cereal cultivation 
would have required tiling of the soil, the pollens evidence indicates that these soils must 
indeed have been successfully tilled before the introduction of the new plough. 
Another example concerns flax cultivation in Jammu, one of the great linen-producing 
areas of India during the sixteenth century. Some aspects of linen production in Jammu are 
well documented, but the documentary record tells little about the cultivation of flax, the 
plant from which linen is made, in that area. The record of sixteenth-century linen production 
in Jammu, together with the knowledge that flax cultivation had been established in India 
centuries before that time, led some historians to surmise that this plant was being cultivated 
in Jammu before the sixteenth century. But pollens analyses indicate that this is not the case; 
flax pollens were found only in deposits laid down since the sixteenth century. 
It must be stressed, though, that there are limits to the ability of the pollen record to 
reflect the vegetative history of the landscape. For example, pollen analysis cannot identify 
the species, but only the genus or family, of some plants. Among these is turmeric, a 
cultivated plant of medicinal importance in India. Turmeric belongs to a plant family that also 
comprises various native weeds, including Brahma Thandu. If Turmeric pollen were present 
in a deposit it would be indistinguishable from that of uncultivated native species. 
  
 
 
1. The phrase “documentary record” (para 2 and 4) primarily refers to -  
(A) articles, books, and other documents by current historians listing and 
analyzing all the available evidence regarding a particular historical period. 
Page 2


1 
 
SET – I (2020) 
SECTION – A : ENGLISH 
 
Directions (Q. 1 – Q. 5): Each set of questions in this section is based on the passage.  The 
questions are to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.  For 
some of the questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question.  
However, you are to choose the best answer; that is, the response that most accurately and 
completely answers the questions.  
  
In order to understand the development of Gangetic Valley plains, scholars have 
traditionally relied primarily on evidence from historical documents. However, such 
documentary sources provide a fragmentary record at best. Reliable accounts are very scarce 
for many parts of Northern India prior to the fifteenth century, and many of the relevant 
documents from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries focus selectively on matters relating to 
cultural or commercial interests. 
Studies of fossilized pollens preserved in peats and lake muds provide an additional 
means of investigating vegetative landscape change. Details of changes in vegetation 
resulting from both human activities and natural events are reflected in the kinds and 
quantities of minute pollens that become trapped in sediments. Analysis of samples can 
identify which kinds of plants produced the preserved pollens and when they were deposited, 
and in many cases the findings can serve to supplement or correct the documentary record. 
For example, analysis of samples from a bay in Jammu has revealed significant 
patterns of cereal-grain pollens beginning by about fourth century. The substantial clay 
content of the soil in this part of Jammu makes cultivation by primitive tools difficult. 
Historians thought that such soils were not tilled to any significant extent until the 
introduction of the wooden plough to India in the seventh century. Because cereal cultivation 
would have required tiling of the soil, the pollens evidence indicates that these soils must 
indeed have been successfully tilled before the introduction of the new plough. 
Another example concerns flax cultivation in Jammu, one of the great linen-producing 
areas of India during the sixteenth century. Some aspects of linen production in Jammu are 
well documented, but the documentary record tells little about the cultivation of flax, the 
plant from which linen is made, in that area. The record of sixteenth-century linen production 
in Jammu, together with the knowledge that flax cultivation had been established in India 
centuries before that time, led some historians to surmise that this plant was being cultivated 
in Jammu before the sixteenth century. But pollens analyses indicate that this is not the case; 
flax pollens were found only in deposits laid down since the sixteenth century. 
It must be stressed, though, that there are limits to the ability of the pollen record to 
reflect the vegetative history of the landscape. For example, pollen analysis cannot identify 
the species, but only the genus or family, of some plants. Among these is turmeric, a 
cultivated plant of medicinal importance in India. Turmeric belongs to a plant family that also 
comprises various native weeds, including Brahma Thandu. If Turmeric pollen were present 
in a deposit it would be indistinguishable from that of uncultivated native species. 
  
 
 
1. The phrase “documentary record” (para 2 and 4) primarily refers to -  
(A) articles, books, and other documents by current historians listing and 
analyzing all the available evidence regarding a particular historical period. 
2 
 
(B) government and commercial records, maps, and similar documents produced 
in the past that recoded conditions and events of that time. 
(C) documented results of analyses of fossilized pollen.  
(D) the kinds and qualities of fossilized pollen grains preserved in peats and lake 
muds.   
 
2. The passage indicates that pollen analyses have provided evidence against which one 
of the following views? 
(A) In certain parts of Jammu, cereal grains were not cultivated to any significant 
extent before the seventh century. 
(B) Cereal grain cultivation began in Jammu around fourth century. 
(C) In certain parts of India, cereal grains have been cultivated continuously since 
the introduction of the wooden plough.  
(D) Cereal grain cultivation requires successful tilling of the soil. 
 
3. The passage indicates that prior to the use of pollen analysis in the study of the history 
of the Gangetic Valley plains, at least some historians believed which one of the 
following? 
(A) Turmeric was not used as a medicinal plant in India until after the sixteenth 
century. 
(B) Cereal grain was not cultivated anywhere in India until at least the seventh 
century.   
(C) The history of the Gangetic Valley plains during the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries was well documented. 
(D) The beginning of flax cultivation in Jammu may well have occurred before the 
sixteenth century.   
 
4. Which of the following most accurately describes the relationship between the second 
paragraph and the final paragraph? 
(A) The second paragraph describes a view against which the author intends to 
argue, and the final paragraph states the author’s argument against that view.   
(B) The second paragraph proposes a hypothesis for which the final paragraph 
offers a supporting example. 
(C) The final paragraph qualifies the claim made in the second paragraph. 
(D) The final paragraph describes a problem that must be solved before the 
method advocated in the second paragraph can be considered viable. 
 
5. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?   
(A) While pollen evidence can sometimes supplement other sources of historical 
information, its applicability is severely limited, since it cannot be used to 
identify plant species. 
(B) Analysis of fossilized pollen is a useful means of supplementing and in some 
cases correcting other sources of information regarding changes in the 
Gangetic Valley plains. 
(C) Analysis of fossilized pollen has provided new evidence that the cultivation of 
such crops as cereal grains, flax, and turmeric had a significant impact on the 
Gangetic Valley plains. 
(D) Analysis of fossilized pollen has proven to be a valuable tool in the 
identification of ancient plant species.  
 
Page 3


1 
 
SET – I (2020) 
SECTION – A : ENGLISH 
 
Directions (Q. 1 – Q. 5): Each set of questions in this section is based on the passage.  The 
questions are to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.  For 
some of the questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question.  
However, you are to choose the best answer; that is, the response that most accurately and 
completely answers the questions.  
  
In order to understand the development of Gangetic Valley plains, scholars have 
traditionally relied primarily on evidence from historical documents. However, such 
documentary sources provide a fragmentary record at best. Reliable accounts are very scarce 
for many parts of Northern India prior to the fifteenth century, and many of the relevant 
documents from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries focus selectively on matters relating to 
cultural or commercial interests. 
Studies of fossilized pollens preserved in peats and lake muds provide an additional 
means of investigating vegetative landscape change. Details of changes in vegetation 
resulting from both human activities and natural events are reflected in the kinds and 
quantities of minute pollens that become trapped in sediments. Analysis of samples can 
identify which kinds of plants produced the preserved pollens and when they were deposited, 
and in many cases the findings can serve to supplement or correct the documentary record. 
For example, analysis of samples from a bay in Jammu has revealed significant 
patterns of cereal-grain pollens beginning by about fourth century. The substantial clay 
content of the soil in this part of Jammu makes cultivation by primitive tools difficult. 
Historians thought that such soils were not tilled to any significant extent until the 
introduction of the wooden plough to India in the seventh century. Because cereal cultivation 
would have required tiling of the soil, the pollens evidence indicates that these soils must 
indeed have been successfully tilled before the introduction of the new plough. 
Another example concerns flax cultivation in Jammu, one of the great linen-producing 
areas of India during the sixteenth century. Some aspects of linen production in Jammu are 
well documented, but the documentary record tells little about the cultivation of flax, the 
plant from which linen is made, in that area. The record of sixteenth-century linen production 
in Jammu, together with the knowledge that flax cultivation had been established in India 
centuries before that time, led some historians to surmise that this plant was being cultivated 
in Jammu before the sixteenth century. But pollens analyses indicate that this is not the case; 
flax pollens were found only in deposits laid down since the sixteenth century. 
It must be stressed, though, that there are limits to the ability of the pollen record to 
reflect the vegetative history of the landscape. For example, pollen analysis cannot identify 
the species, but only the genus or family, of some plants. Among these is turmeric, a 
cultivated plant of medicinal importance in India. Turmeric belongs to a plant family that also 
comprises various native weeds, including Brahma Thandu. If Turmeric pollen were present 
in a deposit it would be indistinguishable from that of uncultivated native species. 
  
 
 
1. The phrase “documentary record” (para 2 and 4) primarily refers to -  
(A) articles, books, and other documents by current historians listing and 
analyzing all the available evidence regarding a particular historical period. 
2 
 
(B) government and commercial records, maps, and similar documents produced 
in the past that recoded conditions and events of that time. 
(C) documented results of analyses of fossilized pollen.  
(D) the kinds and qualities of fossilized pollen grains preserved in peats and lake 
muds.   
 
2. The passage indicates that pollen analyses have provided evidence against which one 
of the following views? 
(A) In certain parts of Jammu, cereal grains were not cultivated to any significant 
extent before the seventh century. 
(B) Cereal grain cultivation began in Jammu around fourth century. 
(C) In certain parts of India, cereal grains have been cultivated continuously since 
the introduction of the wooden plough.  
(D) Cereal grain cultivation requires successful tilling of the soil. 
 
3. The passage indicates that prior to the use of pollen analysis in the study of the history 
of the Gangetic Valley plains, at least some historians believed which one of the 
following? 
(A) Turmeric was not used as a medicinal plant in India until after the sixteenth 
century. 
(B) Cereal grain was not cultivated anywhere in India until at least the seventh 
century.   
(C) The history of the Gangetic Valley plains during the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries was well documented. 
(D) The beginning of flax cultivation in Jammu may well have occurred before the 
sixteenth century.   
 
4. Which of the following most accurately describes the relationship between the second 
paragraph and the final paragraph? 
(A) The second paragraph describes a view against which the author intends to 
argue, and the final paragraph states the author’s argument against that view.   
(B) The second paragraph proposes a hypothesis for which the final paragraph 
offers a supporting example. 
(C) The final paragraph qualifies the claim made in the second paragraph. 
(D) The final paragraph describes a problem that must be solved before the 
method advocated in the second paragraph can be considered viable. 
 
5. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?   
(A) While pollen evidence can sometimes supplement other sources of historical 
information, its applicability is severely limited, since it cannot be used to 
identify plant species. 
(B) Analysis of fossilized pollen is a useful means of supplementing and in some 
cases correcting other sources of information regarding changes in the 
Gangetic Valley plains. 
(C) Analysis of fossilized pollen has provided new evidence that the cultivation of 
such crops as cereal grains, flax, and turmeric had a significant impact on the 
Gangetic Valley plains. 
(D) Analysis of fossilized pollen has proven to be a valuable tool in the 
identification of ancient plant species.  
 
3 
 
Directions (Q. 6 – Q. 8): In each of the following questions, a word is highlighted. 
Choose the word which is a synonym of the highlighted word. 
 
6. The systematic vilification of facts and expertise, the violent abnegation of diverse 
thought, the constant blasts of paranoia-stoking crime reports and patriotic sound bites 
on an inescapable news network—could this be more now?  
(A) indulgence    (B) denial 
(C) acceptance    (D) adoption 
 
7. Her 2014 autobiography, A Fighting Chance, and recent stump speeches are 
festooned in pep club spirit and folksy blandishments, cloying bits of business that 
have attached themselves to her life story.  
 
(A) cajolery     (B) roughness 
(C) criticism      (D) bully 
 
8. Were other international trade negotiations to be put back because of the virus — for 
example those being conducted between London and Washington — Britain’s 
government could start to look obdurate about the Brexit talks.   
 
(A) sensitive    (B) illusive   
(C) flexible    (D) callous   
   
Directions (Q. 9 – Q. 11): Complete the following sentences with an appropriate irregular 
verb and one of these phases. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. The road repairs …………………….  might delay traffic.  
(A)  I – b      (B) VII - c  
(C)  VI - g      (D) III - f  
 
10. All the bijouterie …………….. have now been recovered.  
(A)  VII – a     (B) III - f  
(C)  VI - a      (D) III - a  
 
        (i)              (ii) 
I. Make a. From the jeweler 
II. Choose b. on the label 
III. Carry c. To the players 
IV. Give d. To represent India 
V. Print e. At today’s meeting 
VI. Damage f. On the boulevard 
VII. Take g. In the storm 
Page 4


1 
 
SET – I (2020) 
SECTION – A : ENGLISH 
 
Directions (Q. 1 – Q. 5): Each set of questions in this section is based on the passage.  The 
questions are to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.  For 
some of the questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question.  
However, you are to choose the best answer; that is, the response that most accurately and 
completely answers the questions.  
  
In order to understand the development of Gangetic Valley plains, scholars have 
traditionally relied primarily on evidence from historical documents. However, such 
documentary sources provide a fragmentary record at best. Reliable accounts are very scarce 
for many parts of Northern India prior to the fifteenth century, and many of the relevant 
documents from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries focus selectively on matters relating to 
cultural or commercial interests. 
Studies of fossilized pollens preserved in peats and lake muds provide an additional 
means of investigating vegetative landscape change. Details of changes in vegetation 
resulting from both human activities and natural events are reflected in the kinds and 
quantities of minute pollens that become trapped in sediments. Analysis of samples can 
identify which kinds of plants produced the preserved pollens and when they were deposited, 
and in many cases the findings can serve to supplement or correct the documentary record. 
For example, analysis of samples from a bay in Jammu has revealed significant 
patterns of cereal-grain pollens beginning by about fourth century. The substantial clay 
content of the soil in this part of Jammu makes cultivation by primitive tools difficult. 
Historians thought that such soils were not tilled to any significant extent until the 
introduction of the wooden plough to India in the seventh century. Because cereal cultivation 
would have required tiling of the soil, the pollens evidence indicates that these soils must 
indeed have been successfully tilled before the introduction of the new plough. 
Another example concerns flax cultivation in Jammu, one of the great linen-producing 
areas of India during the sixteenth century. Some aspects of linen production in Jammu are 
well documented, but the documentary record tells little about the cultivation of flax, the 
plant from which linen is made, in that area. The record of sixteenth-century linen production 
in Jammu, together with the knowledge that flax cultivation had been established in India 
centuries before that time, led some historians to surmise that this plant was being cultivated 
in Jammu before the sixteenth century. But pollens analyses indicate that this is not the case; 
flax pollens were found only in deposits laid down since the sixteenth century. 
It must be stressed, though, that there are limits to the ability of the pollen record to 
reflect the vegetative history of the landscape. For example, pollen analysis cannot identify 
the species, but only the genus or family, of some plants. Among these is turmeric, a 
cultivated plant of medicinal importance in India. Turmeric belongs to a plant family that also 
comprises various native weeds, including Brahma Thandu. If Turmeric pollen were present 
in a deposit it would be indistinguishable from that of uncultivated native species. 
  
 
 
1. The phrase “documentary record” (para 2 and 4) primarily refers to -  
(A) articles, books, and other documents by current historians listing and 
analyzing all the available evidence regarding a particular historical period. 
2 
 
(B) government and commercial records, maps, and similar documents produced 
in the past that recoded conditions and events of that time. 
(C) documented results of analyses of fossilized pollen.  
(D) the kinds and qualities of fossilized pollen grains preserved in peats and lake 
muds.   
 
2. The passage indicates that pollen analyses have provided evidence against which one 
of the following views? 
(A) In certain parts of Jammu, cereal grains were not cultivated to any significant 
extent before the seventh century. 
(B) Cereal grain cultivation began in Jammu around fourth century. 
(C) In certain parts of India, cereal grains have been cultivated continuously since 
the introduction of the wooden plough.  
(D) Cereal grain cultivation requires successful tilling of the soil. 
 
3. The passage indicates that prior to the use of pollen analysis in the study of the history 
of the Gangetic Valley plains, at least some historians believed which one of the 
following? 
(A) Turmeric was not used as a medicinal plant in India until after the sixteenth 
century. 
(B) Cereal grain was not cultivated anywhere in India until at least the seventh 
century.   
(C) The history of the Gangetic Valley plains during the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries was well documented. 
(D) The beginning of flax cultivation in Jammu may well have occurred before the 
sixteenth century.   
 
4. Which of the following most accurately describes the relationship between the second 
paragraph and the final paragraph? 
(A) The second paragraph describes a view against which the author intends to 
argue, and the final paragraph states the author’s argument against that view.   
(B) The second paragraph proposes a hypothesis for which the final paragraph 
offers a supporting example. 
(C) The final paragraph qualifies the claim made in the second paragraph. 
(D) The final paragraph describes a problem that must be solved before the 
method advocated in the second paragraph can be considered viable. 
 
5. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?   
(A) While pollen evidence can sometimes supplement other sources of historical 
information, its applicability is severely limited, since it cannot be used to 
identify plant species. 
(B) Analysis of fossilized pollen is a useful means of supplementing and in some 
cases correcting other sources of information regarding changes in the 
Gangetic Valley plains. 
(C) Analysis of fossilized pollen has provided new evidence that the cultivation of 
such crops as cereal grains, flax, and turmeric had a significant impact on the 
Gangetic Valley plains. 
(D) Analysis of fossilized pollen has proven to be a valuable tool in the 
identification of ancient plant species.  
 
3 
 
Directions (Q. 6 – Q. 8): In each of the following questions, a word is highlighted. 
Choose the word which is a synonym of the highlighted word. 
 
6. The systematic vilification of facts and expertise, the violent abnegation of diverse 
thought, the constant blasts of paranoia-stoking crime reports and patriotic sound bites 
on an inescapable news network—could this be more now?  
(A) indulgence    (B) denial 
(C) acceptance    (D) adoption 
 
7. Her 2014 autobiography, A Fighting Chance, and recent stump speeches are 
festooned in pep club spirit and folksy blandishments, cloying bits of business that 
have attached themselves to her life story.  
 
(A) cajolery     (B) roughness 
(C) criticism      (D) bully 
 
8. Were other international trade negotiations to be put back because of the virus — for 
example those being conducted between London and Washington — Britain’s 
government could start to look obdurate about the Brexit talks.   
 
(A) sensitive    (B) illusive   
(C) flexible    (D) callous   
   
Directions (Q. 9 – Q. 11): Complete the following sentences with an appropriate irregular 
verb and one of these phases. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. The road repairs …………………….  might delay traffic.  
(A)  I – b      (B) VII - c  
(C)  VI - g      (D) III - f  
 
10. All the bijouterie …………….. have now been recovered.  
(A)  VII – a     (B) III - f  
(C)  VI - a      (D) III - a  
 
        (i)              (ii) 
I. Make a. From the jeweler 
II. Choose b. on the label 
III. Carry c. To the players 
IV. Give d. To represent India 
V. Print e. At today’s meeting 
VI. Damage f. On the boulevard 
VII. Take g. In the storm 
4 
 
11. The admonition ……………………. about their behaviour on the pitch was ignored.
  
(A)  I – a      (B) VII - b  
(C)  VI - g      (D) IV - c  
 
Directions (Q. 12 – Q. 13): Following are the questions based on the same words used 
as different parts of speech. Choose the correct matches.   
 
 12. Back 
 
1. Noun a. The back portion of the 
house is in dilapidated 
condition. 
2. Adverb b. In a coalition government a 
number of parties back the 
single largest party to form 
the government. 
3. Adjective c. There is a road at the back of 
this theater. 
4. Verb d. She has come back from 
America. 
  
 (A) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-d   (B) 1-d, 2-c, 3-b, 4-a 
(C) 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-b  (D) 1-b, 2-a, 3-d, 4-c 
 
13. Near 
 
1. Adjective a. Draw near while I speak to 
you. 
2. Verb b. There is a mango tree near 
our house. 
3. Adverb c. Lajwanti is a near relative of 
mine. 
4. Preposition d. I am nearing the end of the 
given work. 
  
 (A) 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-b    (B) 1-d, 2-c, 3-b, 4-a 
(C) 4-c, 1-b, 2-d, 3-a   (D) 3-c, 2-b, 1-a, 4-d 
  
Directions (Q. 14 – Q. 16): Observe the following sentences where some changes are made 
in the sentence but keeping the sense of the sentence same. In the following questions, the 
sentences have some element of similarity. You have to find out the similarity and choose the 
option which is odd one out. 
 
Page 5


1 
 
SET – I (2020) 
SECTION – A : ENGLISH 
 
Directions (Q. 1 – Q. 5): Each set of questions in this section is based on the passage.  The 
questions are to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.  For 
some of the questions, more than one of the choices could conceivably answer the question.  
However, you are to choose the best answer; that is, the response that most accurately and 
completely answers the questions.  
  
In order to understand the development of Gangetic Valley plains, scholars have 
traditionally relied primarily on evidence from historical documents. However, such 
documentary sources provide a fragmentary record at best. Reliable accounts are very scarce 
for many parts of Northern India prior to the fifteenth century, and many of the relevant 
documents from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries focus selectively on matters relating to 
cultural or commercial interests. 
Studies of fossilized pollens preserved in peats and lake muds provide an additional 
means of investigating vegetative landscape change. Details of changes in vegetation 
resulting from both human activities and natural events are reflected in the kinds and 
quantities of minute pollens that become trapped in sediments. Analysis of samples can 
identify which kinds of plants produced the preserved pollens and when they were deposited, 
and in many cases the findings can serve to supplement or correct the documentary record. 
For example, analysis of samples from a bay in Jammu has revealed significant 
patterns of cereal-grain pollens beginning by about fourth century. The substantial clay 
content of the soil in this part of Jammu makes cultivation by primitive tools difficult. 
Historians thought that such soils were not tilled to any significant extent until the 
introduction of the wooden plough to India in the seventh century. Because cereal cultivation 
would have required tiling of the soil, the pollens evidence indicates that these soils must 
indeed have been successfully tilled before the introduction of the new plough. 
Another example concerns flax cultivation in Jammu, one of the great linen-producing 
areas of India during the sixteenth century. Some aspects of linen production in Jammu are 
well documented, but the documentary record tells little about the cultivation of flax, the 
plant from which linen is made, in that area. The record of sixteenth-century linen production 
in Jammu, together with the knowledge that flax cultivation had been established in India 
centuries before that time, led some historians to surmise that this plant was being cultivated 
in Jammu before the sixteenth century. But pollens analyses indicate that this is not the case; 
flax pollens were found only in deposits laid down since the sixteenth century. 
It must be stressed, though, that there are limits to the ability of the pollen record to 
reflect the vegetative history of the landscape. For example, pollen analysis cannot identify 
the species, but only the genus or family, of some plants. Among these is turmeric, a 
cultivated plant of medicinal importance in India. Turmeric belongs to a plant family that also 
comprises various native weeds, including Brahma Thandu. If Turmeric pollen were present 
in a deposit it would be indistinguishable from that of uncultivated native species. 
  
 
 
1. The phrase “documentary record” (para 2 and 4) primarily refers to -  
(A) articles, books, and other documents by current historians listing and 
analyzing all the available evidence regarding a particular historical period. 
2 
 
(B) government and commercial records, maps, and similar documents produced 
in the past that recoded conditions and events of that time. 
(C) documented results of analyses of fossilized pollen.  
(D) the kinds and qualities of fossilized pollen grains preserved in peats and lake 
muds.   
 
2. The passage indicates that pollen analyses have provided evidence against which one 
of the following views? 
(A) In certain parts of Jammu, cereal grains were not cultivated to any significant 
extent before the seventh century. 
(B) Cereal grain cultivation began in Jammu around fourth century. 
(C) In certain parts of India, cereal grains have been cultivated continuously since 
the introduction of the wooden plough.  
(D) Cereal grain cultivation requires successful tilling of the soil. 
 
3. The passage indicates that prior to the use of pollen analysis in the study of the history 
of the Gangetic Valley plains, at least some historians believed which one of the 
following? 
(A) Turmeric was not used as a medicinal plant in India until after the sixteenth 
century. 
(B) Cereal grain was not cultivated anywhere in India until at least the seventh 
century.   
(C) The history of the Gangetic Valley plains during the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries was well documented. 
(D) The beginning of flax cultivation in Jammu may well have occurred before the 
sixteenth century.   
 
4. Which of the following most accurately describes the relationship between the second 
paragraph and the final paragraph? 
(A) The second paragraph describes a view against which the author intends to 
argue, and the final paragraph states the author’s argument against that view.   
(B) The second paragraph proposes a hypothesis for which the final paragraph 
offers a supporting example. 
(C) The final paragraph qualifies the claim made in the second paragraph. 
(D) The final paragraph describes a problem that must be solved before the 
method advocated in the second paragraph can be considered viable. 
 
5. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?   
(A) While pollen evidence can sometimes supplement other sources of historical 
information, its applicability is severely limited, since it cannot be used to 
identify plant species. 
(B) Analysis of fossilized pollen is a useful means of supplementing and in some 
cases correcting other sources of information regarding changes in the 
Gangetic Valley plains. 
(C) Analysis of fossilized pollen has provided new evidence that the cultivation of 
such crops as cereal grains, flax, and turmeric had a significant impact on the 
Gangetic Valley plains. 
(D) Analysis of fossilized pollen has proven to be a valuable tool in the 
identification of ancient plant species.  
 
3 
 
Directions (Q. 6 – Q. 8): In each of the following questions, a word is highlighted. 
Choose the word which is a synonym of the highlighted word. 
 
6. The systematic vilification of facts and expertise, the violent abnegation of diverse 
thought, the constant blasts of paranoia-stoking crime reports and patriotic sound bites 
on an inescapable news network—could this be more now?  
(A) indulgence    (B) denial 
(C) acceptance    (D) adoption 
 
7. Her 2014 autobiography, A Fighting Chance, and recent stump speeches are 
festooned in pep club spirit and folksy blandishments, cloying bits of business that 
have attached themselves to her life story.  
 
(A) cajolery     (B) roughness 
(C) criticism      (D) bully 
 
8. Were other international trade negotiations to be put back because of the virus — for 
example those being conducted between London and Washington — Britain’s 
government could start to look obdurate about the Brexit talks.   
 
(A) sensitive    (B) illusive   
(C) flexible    (D) callous   
   
Directions (Q. 9 – Q. 11): Complete the following sentences with an appropriate irregular 
verb and one of these phases. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. The road repairs …………………….  might delay traffic.  
(A)  I – b      (B) VII - c  
(C)  VI - g      (D) III - f  
 
10. All the bijouterie …………….. have now been recovered.  
(A)  VII – a     (B) III - f  
(C)  VI - a      (D) III - a  
 
        (i)              (ii) 
I. Make a. From the jeweler 
II. Choose b. on the label 
III. Carry c. To the players 
IV. Give d. To represent India 
V. Print e. At today’s meeting 
VI. Damage f. On the boulevard 
VII. Take g. In the storm 
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11. The admonition ……………………. about their behaviour on the pitch was ignored.
  
(A)  I – a      (B) VII - b  
(C)  VI - g      (D) IV - c  
 
Directions (Q. 12 – Q. 13): Following are the questions based on the same words used 
as different parts of speech. Choose the correct matches.   
 
 12. Back 
 
1. Noun a. The back portion of the 
house is in dilapidated 
condition. 
2. Adverb b. In a coalition government a 
number of parties back the 
single largest party to form 
the government. 
3. Adjective c. There is a road at the back of 
this theater. 
4. Verb d. She has come back from 
America. 
  
 (A) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-d   (B) 1-d, 2-c, 3-b, 4-a 
(C) 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-b  (D) 1-b, 2-a, 3-d, 4-c 
 
13. Near 
 
1. Adjective a. Draw near while I speak to 
you. 
2. Verb b. There is a mango tree near 
our house. 
3. Adverb c. Lajwanti is a near relative of 
mine. 
4. Preposition d. I am nearing the end of the 
given work. 
  
 (A) 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-b    (B) 1-d, 2-c, 3-b, 4-a 
(C) 4-c, 1-b, 2-d, 3-a   (D) 3-c, 2-b, 1-a, 4-d 
  
Directions (Q. 14 – Q. 16): Observe the following sentences where some changes are made 
in the sentence but keeping the sense of the sentence same. In the following questions, the 
sentences have some element of similarity. You have to find out the similarity and choose the 
option which is odd one out. 
 
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14. (A) His behaviour displeased his officers. 
  His officers were displeased at his behaviour. 
 (B) One must respect one’s elders. 
  One’s elders must be respected. 
 (C) I said, “Do not speak of the past.” 
I advised him not to speak of the past. 
 (D) A crash radio message was handed over to me. 
  They handed over a crash radio message to me. 
 
15. (A) I don’t expect to see him back here. 
  I don’t expect that I will see him back here. 
 (B) In spite of his poverty, he is satisfied. 
  He is poor but he is satisfied. 
(C) He gave them not only food but some money also. 
  Besides food, he gave him some money also. 
 (D) Escaping arrest, he ran away. 
  He ran away in order to escape arrest.  
 
16. (A) The teacher was strict but always loving. 
  Though the teacher was strict, she was always loving. 
 (B) He is very rich and can buy a car. 
He is so rich that he can buy a car. 
(C) He ran hard but missed the bus. 
 Although he ran, he missed the bus. 
(D) You know what my errand is. 
  You know my errand.  
  
Direction (Q. 17 – Q. 22):  Choose the sentence which is correct grammatically. 
 
17. (A) “Mr. Sharma has conveyed his heart-felt thanks to the Principal of the school  
and its management for their support to the cause of children with special 
needs.” 
 (B) “The government was adviced to take immediate steps”. 
 (C) This colt will make a good mare. 
 (D) Is your mother the executrix of this deed? 
 
18. (A) You have fallen in bad company. 
 (B) Please run through the book. 
 (C) He set every thing to naught. 
 (D) He is calling you a bad name. 
 
19. (A) All of the reptiles lay eggs. 
(B) Waiting in the queue for half an hour, Jay suddenly realised that he had left his 
wallet at home. 
 (C) ‘Do you think Meena will remember your birthday?’ ‘I suspect not.’ 
 (D) The coffee in this coffee shop is the best one in town. 
 
20. (A) He has a shave every morning, but you wouldn’t think he had. 
 (B) Supposing you don’t get the job – what will you do then? 
 (C) The strikes were mainly concerned about working conditions.