Skill Enhancement Test - Quarter 1

What do you think are some of the reasons why projects fail? Give your answer as a series of statements. 

Find the speed of the boat in still water, if a boat covers a certain distance upstream in 2 hours, while it comes back in 1`1/2` hours. If the speed of the stream be 3 kmph.

• 18 kmph

• 12 kmph

• 24 kmph

• 21 kmph

The rate at which a sum becomes four times of itself in 25 years at S.I.,will be:

• 30

• 29

• 12

• 50

In covering a distance of 30 km, Abhay takes 2 hours more than Sameer. If Abhay doubles his speed, then he would take 1 hour less than Sameer. Abhay's speed is:

• 5 kmph

• 5.25 kmph

• 6 kmph

• 6.25 kmph

A, B and C can do a piece of work in 20, 30 and 60 days respectively. In how many days can A do the work if he is assisted by B and C on every third day?

• 14 days

• 16 days

• 17 days

• 15 days

The cost price of 20 articles is the same as the selling price of x articles. If the profit is 25%, then the value of x is:

• 14

• 16

• 20

• 15

In how many different ways can the letters of the word 'LEADING' be arranged in such a way that the vowels always come together?

• 360

• 480

• 720

• 5040

What number comes next 10, 9, 60, 90, 70 and 66?

• 96

• 99

• 16

• 77

3 pumps, working 8 hours a day, can empty a tank in 2 days. How many hours a day must 4 pumps work to empty the tank in 1 day?

• 9

• 10

• 11

• 12

Nine cricket fans are watching a match in a stadium. Seated in one row, they are are J , K , L , M , N , O , P , Q and R. L is at the right of M and at third place at the right of N. K is at one end of of the row. Q is seated adjacent to both O and P. O is at the third place at the left of K. J is right next to left of O. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

• N is two seats away from J.

• M is at extreme end.

• R and P are neighbors.

• There is one person between L and O

In what ratio must a grocer mix two varieties of pulses costing Rs. 15 and Rs. 20 per kg respectively so as to get a mixture worth Rs. 16.50 kg?

• 3:7

• 5:7

• 7:3

• 7:5

Pointing to a photograph of a boy Suresh said, "He is the son of the only son of my mother." How is Suresh related to that boy?

• Brother

• Father

• Cousin

• Uncle

What is the value of c , If 8 is 4% of a, and 4 is 8% of b. c equals b/a.

• 12

• 0.25

• 0.155

• 64

I forgot the last digit of a 7 digit telephone number. If one randomly dial the final three digits after correctly dialling the four, then what is the chance of dialling the correct number?

• 1/1000

• 1/1001

• 1/900

• 1/901

Find the remainder when 67⁹⁹ is divided by 7.

• 4

• 6

• 2

• 1

A sum of money placed at compound interest doubles itself in 4 years. In how many years will it amount to 8 times?

• 12

• 9

• 8

• 27

The average temperature for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday was 40^oC. The average for Thursday, Friday and Saturday was 41^oC. If temperature on Saturday was 42^oC, what was the temperature on Wednesday?

• 44

• 41

• 39

• 37

Find the H.C.F, if the numbers are in the ratio of 4 : 5 : 6 and their L.C.M. is 2400.

• 40

• 60

• 80

• 20

P and Q take part in 100 m race. P runs at 6kmph. P gives Q a start of 8 m and still beats him by 8 seconds. The speed of Q is:

• 6.14

• 15.2

• 5.68

• 4.86

  Today is Monday. After 61 days, it will be:

• Wednesday

• Thursday

• Friday

• Saturday

Two trains of equal length are running on parallel lines in the same direction at 46 km/hr and 36 km/hr. The faster train passes the slower train in 36 seconds. The length of each train is:

• 44

• 46

• 50

• 42

To catch a tartar means:

• To trap wanted criminal with great difficulty

• To catch a dangerous person

• To meet with disaster

• To deal with a person who is more than one's match

SYMpHONY:COMPOSER as

• Leonardo:music

• Fresco:painter

• Colours:pallet

• Art:appreciation

S₁: When a satellite is launched, the rocket begins by going slowly upwards through the air. P : However, the higher it goes, the less air it meets. Q : As the rocket goes higher, it travels faster. R : For the atmosphere becomes thinner. S : As a result there is less friction. S₆: Consequently, the rocket still does not become too hot. The proper sequence should be:

• PQRS

• PQSR

• QSPR

• QPRS

When it was feared that the serfs might go too far and gain their freedom from serfdom, the protestant leaders joined the princes at crushing them.

• Into crushing

• In crushing

• For crushing

• Without crushing

The Hubble Space Telescope will search for planets around the stars, a key to the ...... of extraterrestrial life, and will examine interstellar dust and gases out of which stars are born.

• Perception

• Discovery

• Quest

• Enquiry

Comprehension: Q26-Q35 No student of a foreign language needs to be told that grammar is complex.  By changing word sequences and by adding a range of auxiliary verbs and suffixes, we are able to communicate tiny variations in meaning.  We can turn a statement into a question, state whether an action has taken place or is soon to take place, and perform many other word tricks to convey subtle differences in meaning.  Nor is this complexity inherent to the English language.  All languages, even those of so-called 'primitive' tribes have clever grammatical components.  The Cherokee pronoun system, for example, can distinguish between 'you and I', 'several other people and I' and 'you, another person and I'.  In English, all these meanings are summed up in the one, crude pronoun 'we'.  Grammar is universal and plays a part in every language, no matter how widespread it is.  So the question which has baffled many linguists is - who created grammar? At first, it would appear that this question is impossible to answer.  To find out how grammar is created, someone needs to be present at the time of a language's creation, documenting its emergence.  Many historical linguists are able to trace modern complex languages back to earlier languages, but in order to answer the question of how complex languages are actually formed, the researcher needs to observe how languages are started from scratch.  Amazingly, however, this is possible. Some of the most recent languages evolved due to the Atlantic slave trade.  At that time, slaves from a number of different ethnicities were forced to work together under colonizer's rule.  Since they had no opportunity to learn each other's languages, they developed a make-shift language called a pidgin.  Pidgins are strings of words copied from the language of the landowner.  They have little in the way of grammar, and in many cases it is difficult for a listener to deduce when an event happened, and who did what to whom.  [A] Speakers need to use circumlocution in order to make their meaning understood.  [B] Interestingly, however, all it takes for a pidgin to become a complex language is for a group of children to be exposed to it at the time when they learn their mother tongue.  [C] Slave children did not simply copy the strings of words uttered by their elders, they adapted their words to create a new, expressive language.  [D] It included standardised word orders and grammatical markers that existed in neither the pidgin language, nor the language of the colonizers. Complex grammar systems which emerge from pidgins are termed creoles, and they are invented by children. Further evidence of this can be seen in studying sign languages for the deaf.  Sign languages are not simply a series of gestures; they utilise the same grammatical machinery that is found in spoken languages.  Moreover, there are many different languages used worldwide. The creation of one such language was documented quite recently in Nicaragua. Previously, all deaf people were isolated from each other, but in 1979 a new government introduced schools for the deaf.  Although children were taught speech and lip reading in the classroom, in the playgrounds they began to invent their own sign system, using the gestures that they used at home.  It was basically a pidgin.  Each child used the signs differently, and there was no consistent grammar.  However, children who joined the school later, when this inventive sign system was already around, developed a quite different sign language.  Although it was based on the signs of the older children, the younger children's language was more fluid and compact, and it utilised a large range of grammatical devices to clarify meaning.  What is more, all the children used the signs in the same way.  A new creole was born. Some linguists believe that many of the world's most established languages were creoles at first.  The English past tense –ed ending may have evolved from the verb 'do'.  'It ended' may once have been 'It end-did'.  Therefore it would appear that even the most widespread languages were partly created by children.  Children appear to have innate grammatical machinery in their brains, which springs to life when they are first trying to make sense of the world around them.  Their minds can serve to create logical, complex structures, even when there is no grammar present for them to copy. In paragraph 1, why does the writer include information about the Cherokee language?

• To show how simple, traditional cultures can have complicated grammar structures

• To show how English grammar differs from Cherokee grammar

• To prove that complex grammar structures were invented by the Cherokees.

• To demonstrate how difficult it is to learn the Cherokee language

What can be inferred about the slaves' pidgin language?

• It contained complex grammar.

• It was based on many different languages.

• It was difficult to understand, even among slaves.

• It was created by the land-owners

All the following sentences about Nicaraguan sign language are true EXCEPT:

• The language has been created since 1979

• The language is based on speech and lip reading.

• The language incorporates signs which children used at home.

• The language was perfected by younger children

In paragraph 3, where can the following sentence be placed? It included standardised word orders and grammatical markers that existed in neither the pidgin language, nor the language of the colonizers.

• A

• B

• C

• D

 'From scratch' in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to:

• From the very beginning

• in simple cultures

• By copying something else

• by using written information

'Make-shift' in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to:

• Complicated and expressive

• Simple and temporary

• Extensive and diverse

• Private and personal

Which sentence is closest in meaning to the highlighted sentence? Grammar is universal and plays a part in every language, no matter how widespread it is.:

• All languages, whether they are spoken by a few people or a lot of people, contain grammar

• Some languages include a lot of grammar, whereas other languages contain a little.

• Languages which contain a lot of grammar are more common that languages that contain a little

• The grammar of all languages is the same, no matter where the languages evolved.

All of the following are features of the new Nicaraguan sign language EXCEPT:

• All children used the same gestures to show meaning.

• The meaning was clearer than the previous sign language.

• The hand movements were smoother and smaller

• New gestures were created for everyday objects and activities

Which idea is presented in the final paragraph?

• English was probably once a creole.

• The English past tense system is inaccurate.

• Linguists have proven that English was created by children.

• Children say English past tenses differently from adults.

Look at the word 'consistent' in paragraph 4. This word could best be replaced by which of the following?

• Natural

• Predictable

• Imaginable

• Uniform

Which among the following is the SYNONYMS of to the word “argot”?

• Emulous

• Associates

• Dialect

• Supports

Upon visiting the Middle East in 1850, Gustave Flaubert was so         belly dancing that he wrote, in a letter to his mother, that the dancers alone made his trip worthwhile.

• Overwhelmed by

• Enamored by

• Beseeched by

• Flustered by

Possessed of an insatiable sweet tooth, Jim enjoyed all kinds of candy, but he had a special         for gumdrops, his absolute favorite.

• Odium

• Nature

• Disregard

• Predilection

What is the antonym of "beckon"?

• Guess

• Ignore

• Support

• Understand

Many organisations find it beneficial to employ students over the summer. Permanent staff often wish to take their own holidays over this period. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for companies to experience peak workloads in the summer and so require extra staff. Summer employment also attracts students who may return as well-qualified recruits to an organisation when they have completed their education. Ensuring that the students learn as much as possible about the organisation encourages interest in working on a permanent basis. Organisations pay students on a fixed rate without the usual entitlement to paid holidays or bonus schemes. This sentence is : "Students are subject to the organisation’s standard disciplinary and grievance procedures."

• True

• False

• Cannot Say

Which ones of the following are key components to the success of any Project?

• Scope

• Cost

• Schedule/Time

• Resources

• Risk

• Stakeholders' Satisfaction (Quality)

When targeting a large existing market for your new product/service, it is correct to say that since the market is so large, capturing even 1% of it will be completely profitable. 

• True

• False

Why can I not print the Nike swoosh on stickers and sell them with no affirmation from Nike?

• Patent Issues

• Trademark Issues

• Copyright Issues