1.One of the commonest forms of madness is the desire to be noticed, the pleasure derived from being noticed. Perhaps it is not merely common, but universal. In its __(1)__ form it doubtless is universal. Every child is pleased at being noticed; many __(2)__ children put in their whole time in distressing and idiotic effort to attract the attention of visitors; boys are always “showing off”; apparently all men and women are glad and grateful when they find that they have done a thing which has lifted them for a moment out of __(3)__ and caused wondering talk. This common madness can develop, by nurture, into a hunger for __(4)__ in one, for fame in another. It is this madness for being noticed and talked about which has invented kingship and the thousand other dignities, and tricked them out with pretty and showy fineries; it has made kings __(5)__ one another’s pockets, scramble for one another’s crowns and estates, slaughter one another’s subjects; it has raised up prize-fighters, and poets, and village mayors, and little and big politicians, and big and little charity-founders, and bicycle champions, and banditti chiefs, and frontier desperadoes, and Napoleons.

Ans:4
From the sentence, we can infer that missing word is an adjective. Hence, we can eliminate options a and c. The author says that the tendency to want to be noticed is nearly universal. Thus, we can infer that it would be most common in its mildest form. Hence, option D.

2.One of the commonest forms of madness is the desire to be noticed, the pleasure derived from being noticed. Perhaps it is not merely common, but universal. In its __(1)__ form it doubtless is universal. Every child is pleased at being noticed; many __(2)__ children put in their whole time in distressing and idiotic effort to attract the attention of visitors; boys are always “showing off”; apparently all men and women are glad and grateful when they find that they have done a thing which has lifted them for a moment out of __(3)__ and caused wondering talk. This common madness can develop, by nurture, into a hunger for __(4)__ in one, for fame in another. It is this madness for being noticed and talked about which has invented kingship and the thousand other dignities, and tricked them out with pretty and showy fineries; it has made kings __(5)__ one another’s pockets, scramble for one another’s crowns and estates, slaughter one another’s subjects; it has raised up prize-fighters, and poets, and village mayors, and little and big politicians, and big and little charity-founders, and bicycle champions, and banditti chiefs, and frontier desperadoes, and Napoleons.

Ans:5
From the context, we can infer that the adjective is a negative adjective. Hence, we can eliminate option A. Moreover, options B, C and D do not fit the context. Attention-seeking children are annoying or intolerable but not abusive etc. Hence, option E.

3.One of the commonest forms of madness is the desire to be noticed, the pleasure derived from being noticed. Perhaps it is not merely common, but universal. In its __(1)__ form it doubtless is universal. Every child is pleased at being noticed; many __(2)__ children put in their whole time in distressing and idiotic effort to attract the attention of visitors; boys are always “showing off”; apparently all men and women are glad and grateful when they find that they have done a thing which has lifted them for a moment out of __(3)__ and caused wondering talk. This common madness can develop, by nurture, into a hunger for __(4)__ in one, for fame in another. It is this madness for being noticed and talked about which has invented kingship and the thousand other dignities, and tricked them out with pretty and showy fineries; it has made kings __(5)__ one another’s pockets, scramble for one another’s crowns and estates, slaughter one another’s subjects; it has raised up prize-fighters, and poets, and village mayors, and little and big politicians, and big and little charity-founders, and bicycle champions, and banditti chiefs, and frontier desperadoes, and Napoleons.

Ans:1
From the paragraph, we can infer that the missing word is opposite in meaning to fame. Hence, option A.

4.One of the commonest forms of madness is the desire to be noticed, the pleasure derived from being noticed. Perhaps it is not merely common, but universal. In its __(1)__ form it doubtless is universal. Every child is pleased at being noticed; many __(2)__ children put in their whole time in distressing and idiotic effort to attract the attention of visitors; boys are always “showing off”; apparently all men and women are glad and grateful when they find that they have done a thing which has lifted them for a moment out of __(3)__ and caused wondering talk. This common madness can develop, by nurture, into a hunger for __(4)__ in one, for fame in another. It is this madness for being noticed and talked about which has invented kingship and the thousand other dignities, and tricked them out with pretty and showy fineries; it has made kings __(5)__ one another’s pockets, scramble for one another’s crowns and estates, slaughter one another’s subjects; it has raised up prize-fighters, and poets, and village mayors, and little and big politicians, and big and little charity-founders, and bicycle champions, and banditti chiefs, and frontier desperadoes, and Napoleons.

Ans:2
From the paragraph, we can infer that the missing word means the opposite of fame. Hence, notoriety, which means infamy fits this blank.

5.One of the commonest forms of madness is the desire to be noticed, the pleasure derived from being noticed. Perhaps it is not merely common, but universal. In its __(1)__ form it doubtless is universal. Every child is pleased at being noticed; many __(2)__ children put in their whole time in distressing and idiotic effort to attract the attention of visitors; boys are always “showing off”; apparently all men and women are glad and grateful when they find that they have done a thing which has lifted them for a moment out of __(3)__ and caused wondering talk. This common madness can develop, by nurture, into a hunger for __(4)__ in one, for fame in another. It is this madness for being noticed and talked about which has invented kingship and the thousand other dignities, and tricked them out with pretty and showy fineries; it has made kings __(5)__ one another’s pockets, scramble for one another’s crowns and estates, slaughter one another’s subjects; it has raised up prize-fighters, and poets, and village mayors, and little and big politicians, and big and little charity-founders, and bicycle champions, and banditti chiefs, and frontier desperadoes, and Napoleons.

Ans:3
The idiom is “to pick someone’s pockets” which means to steal. Hence, option C.

Directions:(6-10) Some words have been omitted from the following passage. Choose the most appropriate option from the given choices to fill in the blank.

6.When do these mysterious influences come, which change our happiness into discouragement, and our self-confidence into __(6)__? One might almost say that the air, the invisible air, is full of unknowable Forces, whose mysterious presence we have to __(7)__. I wake up in the best spirits, with an inclination to sing in my throat. Why? I go down by the side of the water, and suddenly, after walking a short distance, I return home __(8)__, as if some misfortune were awaiting me there. Why? Is it a cold shiver which, passing over my skin, has __(9)__ my nerves and given me low spirits? Is it the form of the clouds, or the colour of the sky, or the colour of the surrounding objects which is so changeable, which have troubled my thoughts as they passed before my eyes? Who can tell? Everything that surrounds us, everything that we see without looking at it, everything that we touch without knowing it, everything that we handle without feeling it, all that we meet without clearly distinguishing it, has a rapid, surprising and __(10)__ effect upon us and upon our organs, and through them on our ideas and on our heart itself.

Ans:2
From the context, we can infer that the word is the opposite of confidence. Hence, option B is the most suitable option.

7.Whence do these mysterious influences come, which change our happiness into discouragement, and our self-confidence into __(6)__? One might almost say that the air, the invisible air, is full of unknowable Forces, whose mysterious presence we have to __(7)__. I wake up in the best spirits, with an inclination to sing in my throat. Why? I go down by the side of the water, and suddenly, after walking a short distance, I return home __(8)__, as if some misfortune were awaiting me there. Why? Is it a cold shiver which, passing over my skin, has __(9)__ my nerves and given me low spirits? Is it the form of the clouds, or the colour of the sky, or the colour of the surrounding objects which is so changeable, which have troubled my thoughts as they passed before my eyes? Who can tell? Everything that surrounds us, everything that we see without looking at it, everything that we touch without knowing it, everything that we handle without feeling it, all that we meet without clearly distinguishing it, has a rapid, surprising and __(10)__ effect upon us and upon our organs, and through them on our ideas and on our heart itself.

Ans:5
From the context, we can infer that the missing word is a verb which means “to tolerate”. Hence, option E.

8.When do these mysterious influences come, which change our happiness into discouragement, and our self-confidence into __(6)__? One might almost say that the air, the invisible air, is full of unknowable Forces, whose mysterious presence we have to __(7)__. I wake up in the best spirits, with an inclination to sing in my throat. Why? I go down by the side of the water, and suddenly, after walking a short distance, I return home __(8)__, as if some misfortune were awaiting me there. Why? Is it a cold shiver which, passing over my skin, has __(9)__ my nerves and given me low spirits? Is it the form of the clouds, or the colour of the sky, or the colour of the surrounding objects which is so changeable, which have troubled my thoughts as they passed before my eyes? Who can tell? Everything that surrounds us, everything that we see without looking at it, everything that we touch without knowing it, everything that we handle without feeling it, all that we meet without clearly distinguishing it, has a rapid, surprising and __(10)__ effect upon us and upon our organs, and through them on our ideas and on our heart itself.

Ans:5
The author cannot understand why there is a sudden turn in his mood from happy to sad. From the context, we can infer that the missing word means the opposite of “joyful” or “happy”. Hence, option E is the most suitable word.

9.When do these mysterious influences come, which change our happiness into discouragement, and our self-confidence into __(6)__? One might almost say that the air, the invisible air, is full of unknowable Forces, whose mysterious presence we have to __(7)__. I wake up in the best spirits, with an inclination to sing in my throat. Why? I go down by the side of the water, and suddenly, after walking a short distance, I return home __(8)__, as if some misfortune were awaiting me there. Why? Is it a cold shiver which, passing over my skin, has __(9)__ my nerves and given me low spirits? Is it the form of the clouds, or the colour of the sky, or the colour of the surrounding objects which is so changeable, which have troubled my thoughts as they passed before my eyes? Who can tell? Everything that surrounds us, everything that we see without looking at it, everything that we touch without knowing it, everything that we handle without feeling it, all that we meet without clearly distinguishing it, has a rapid, surprising and __(10)__ effect upon us and upon our organs, and through them on our ideas and on our heart itself.

Ans:1
A cold shiver strains or upsets a person’s nerves. Hence, option A.

10.When do these mysterious influences come, which change our happiness into discouragement, and our self-confidence into __(6)__? One might almost say that the air, the invisible air, is full of unknowable Forces, whose mysterious presence we have to __(7)__. I wake up in the best spirits, with an inclination to sing in my throat. Why? I go down by the side of the water, and suddenly, after walking a short distance, I return home __(8)__, as if some misfortune were awaiting me there. Why? Is it a cold shiver which, passing over my skin, has __(9)__ my nerves and given me low spirits? Is it the form of the clouds, or the colour of the sky, or the colour of the surrounding objects which is so changeable, which have troubled my thoughts as they passed before my eyes? Who can tell? Everything that surrounds us, everything that we see without looking at it, everything that we touch without knowing it, everything that we handle without feeling it, all that we meet without clearly distinguishing it, has a rapid, surprising and __(10)__ effect upon us and upon our organs, and through them on our ideas and on our heart itself.

Ans:4
From the context, we can infer that the effects produced are sudden and puzzling to the author. Hence, we can eliminate all options other than A and D. As the author has already used the adjective rapid, the adjective sudden would be redundant in this case. Hence, option D.

1 thought on “Cloze Test in English For Competitive Exams”

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