English MCQs and Answers: English MCQs are essential for OPSC, OSSC, OSSSC & Other State Exams. Aspirants willing to apply for the various Government exams in 2022 must go through the topics of general English for competitive exams, as the English language is a key part of the syllabus.
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Directions (1-5): In the following questions, out of the four alternatives, choose the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the Idiom/Phrase.
Q1. Fly off the handle
(a) to break something
(b) to be indifferent
(c) to act foolishly
(d) to get into rage and lose self-control
S1. Ans. (d)
Sol. Fly off the handle means lose one’s temper suddenly and unexpectedly.
Q2. The alpha and the omega
(a) very costly items
(b) assorted items
(c) the beginning and the end
(d) a nice act
S2. Ans. (c)
Sol. The alpha and the omega means the beginning and the end.
Q3. To flog a dead horse
(a) to do a thing in vain
(b) to act in a foolish way
(c) to criticize strongly
(d) try to revive interest in a subject that is out of date
S3. Ans. (d)
Sol. Flog means to beat and the idiom is to beat a dead horse or to flog a dead horse means to waste energy on a lost cause or unalterable situation.
Q4. Hobson’s choice
(a) first choice
(b) beautiful choice
(c) no choice at all as there is only one thing to choose from
(d) to choose something carefully
S4. Ans. (c)
Sol. Hobson’s choice means “take it or leave it as there is no other choice to choose from.”
Q5. A fool’s errand
(a) to go with a message
(b) one who takes a message
(c) a useless undertaking
(d) an observation
S5. Ans. (c)
Sol. A fool’s errands means a task or activity that has no hope of success.
Q6. Choose the most appropriate option to change the narration (direct/indirect) of the given sentence.
The commander said, “Keep marching till you reach the border.”
(a) The commander ordered his men to keep marching till they reached the border.
(b) The commander requested the men keep marching till they reach the border.
(c) The commander said the men should keep marching till they reach the border.
(d) The commander said to his men they should keep marching till you reach the border.
S6. Ans(a)
Sol. Correct option is The commander ordered his men to keep marching till they reached the border.
Q7. Select the segment which has an error.
Doctors say that eating red meat is one of a lead cause of heart disease.
(a) is one of a lead cause
(b) of heart disease
(c) Doctors say that
(d) eating red meat
S7. Ans(a)
Sol. Correct phrase is “one of the”. The general rule for usage of the phrase “one of the” is: One of the + PLURAL NOUN + that/who etc. + SINGULAR/PLURAL VERB.
Hence, “is one of a lead cause” should be replaced with “is one of the lead causes”.
Q8. I will be very busy lately.
(a) should be
(b) would be
(c) have been
(d) No improvement
S8. Ans. (c)
Sol. We use ‘Present perfect’ tense with lately. Hence option (c) is the correct choice.
Q9. Power failure are common nowadays.
(a) A power failure
(b) The power failure
(c) Power failures
(d) No improvement
S9. Ans. (c)
Sol. Following the subject-verb agreement rule, plural noun is to be used before a plural verb. Hence ‘Power failures’ is the correct choice.
Also, usage of “the” with “power failure” is not suggested as there in no other statement where “power failure” has been discussed already neither does it denote any kind of specification.
Q10. The majority of people interviewed prefer TV to radio.
(a) prefer TV than radio.
(b) prefer TV then radio.
(c) prefer TV or radio.
(d) No improvement
10. Ans. (d)
Sol. No improvement is required as ‘prefer’ takes ‘to’ with it.
Q11. Every time I go in a lift to my sixth-floor apartment, I remember the serenity of my ancestral home in the village.
(a) move in a lift
(b) ascend in a lift
(c) take a lift
(d) No improvement
S11. Ans. (c)
Sol. We use “go” when we have to go from point A to point B by any means of transport. We use “take” also with means of transport but “lift” is not a means of transport hence, we don’t use “go” with it. However, we can use “take” with it.
Ascend means to climb or to go up like mountain, wall, hill, and building.
We ascended the building through stairs.
We take lift to ascend the building.
Q12. With a thundering roar the huge rocket soared up from the launching pad.
(a) flew up
(b) went upwards
(c) took off
(d) No improvement
S12. Ans. (c)
Sol. Soar up means to rise rapidly but it does not mean to fly.
Its context of use is price rise, inflation rise, unemployment, poverty, currency rate etc. For e.g. The dollar soared against the yen.
Take off means to leave or to remove.
Q13. Choose the most appropriate option (Direct Speech- Indirect Speech) form of the given sentence.
He said to me, “Is the hospital near the shopping mall?”
(a) He asked me whether the hospital has been near the shopping mall.
(b) He told me that the hospital was near the shopping mall.
(c) He asked me if the hospital was near the shopping mall.
(d) He suggested that the hospital had been near the shopping mall.
S13. Ans.(c)
Sol. The correct answer is option c.
The given sentence is ‘Direct Speech’.
Direct Speech – Reporting the message of the speaker in the exact words as spoken by
him.
The given sentence is an ‘Interrogative Sentence.’
Interrogative Sentence – Sentences that ask questions are called interrogative sentences. Every interrogative sentence ends with a question mark. There are two main kinds of interrogative sentences. Those which start with an auxiliary verb and those which start with a question word such as what, why, when, where, how etc.
While changing it into an indirect form, we consider following rules.
Reported Verb – ‘Asked’ remains unchanged.
Conjunction – In the Interrogative sentence, ‘If/ Whether’ is used as a conjunction.
Tense – Present tense changes to Past tense.
The sentence thus formed is – He asked me if the hospital was near the shopping mall.
Q14. Choose the most appropriate option to change the voice (active/passive) form of the given sentence.
An interesting discussion is being held on environmental degradation.
(a) They are holding an interesting discussion on environmental degradation.
(b) An interesting discussion had been held on environmental degradation.
(c) An interesting discussion is to be held on environmental degradation.
(d) They will be holding an interesting discussion on environmental degradation.
S14. Ans(a)
Q15. Select the most appropriate idiom (in the context) to fill in the sentence.
The official found himself _____ when he could not explain his actions and all the members started attacking him with accusation of cheating.
(a) in the eye of a storm
(b) on the same page
(c) wet behind the ears
(d) burning the midnight oil
S15. Ans(a)
Sol. Be in the eye of a storm: To be at the center of or deeply involved in an especially difficult, stressful, or hectic situation or period of time.
Wet behind the ears: lacking experience; immature.
