5 February 2025 · Shift 2

Synonym in context The bracketed word 'hasten' means to make something happen sooner or faster, so the blank needs a verb of that meaning which also works with the particle 'up'. 'Speed up' means to make a process go faster, so a gentle peel may speed up improvement, i.e. bring the improvement on sooner. loiter = to hang about idly without purpose; delay = to make something happen later than planned; stall = to hold up or halt progress. All three of those move the action in the opposite direction to 'hasten', so only 'speed' fits. Therefore the correct option is (c).

Word definition 'Apportion' means to divide something up and share it out in fixed parts - 'the profits were apportioned among the three partners'. 'To allocate' means to distribute a resource, share or duty for a particular purpose, which is exactly the same idea. To confess = to admit a fault or a crime; to request = to ask for something politely; to complicate = to make something harder to deal with. None of those three involves dividing and sharing out, so they cannot define 'apportion'. Therefore the correct option is (b).

Verb collocation The blank comes straight after the preposition 'before', and a verb following a preposition must be in the -ing form. Of the four choices only 'stepping' is an -ing form, and 'step onto the stage' is the fixed collocation for walking on to a stage. So the sentence reads: Santra took a deep breath before stepping onto the stage to deliver her speech. 'stuck', 'hit' and 'made' are past forms, and none of them collocates with 'onto the stage' - one steps onto a stage, one does not 'make' or 'hit' onto it. Therefore the correct option is (d).

Antonym 'Opaque' describes a material that light cannot pass through at all, such as a brick wall or a sheet of metal. Its exact opposite is 'transparent' - allowing light through so completely that whatever lies behind can be seen, like clear glass. Cloudy = partly covered or not clear (it is nearer to 'opaque', not opposite to it); dull = lacking brightness or interest; dark = having little or no light. None of those three reverses the idea of letting light pass, so only 'transparent' is a true antonym. Therefore the correct option is (b).

Synonym of highlighted word 'Rudimentary' means limited to the basics - elementary and undeveloped, as in 'a rudimentary knowledge of French'. 'Primitive' carries the same sense of being basic and at an early, undeveloped stage, so it can replace the highlighted word without changing the meaning. exquisite = extremely beautiful and finely made; creative = able to produce original ideas; mysterious = difficult to understand or explain. The sentence says only a minimum of understanding is needed, so a word of praise like 'exquisite' or 'creative' contradicts the sense. Therefore the correct option is (a).

Idiom substitution The underlined word describes listeners who cannot make sense of what they have heard, so the idiom must mean 'puzzled'. 'Scratch one's head' is the idiom for being puzzled or unable to understand something, so 'left everyone scratching their heads' says exactly what 'left everyone confused' says. turn a blind eye = to ignore a wrong deliberately; steal the show = to draw all the attention to oneself; bite the bullet = to face something unpleasant bravely. None of those three is about failing to understand, so they cannot replace the underlined word. Therefore the correct option is (a).

Subject-verb agreement As a pronoun, 'neither' means 'not one of the two' and is always singular, so it takes a singular verb: neither has, never neither have. The connector must stay 'but', because the second clause contrasts with 'wants the certified seeds', and 'any' is the determiner used in a negative sense. So the segment becomes 'but neither has any papers'. (b) 'either' is affirmative and destroys the negative meaning; (c) and (d) put 'many' for 'any', which implies a large number instead of none, and 'none' in (d) is used of more than two people. Therefore the correct option is (a).

Idiom substitution The underlined part describes people trapped in a hard situation from which there is no way out. 'Back against the wall' is the idiom for exactly that - pushed into a corner and forced to fight because no escape is left. go to the dogs = to fall into ruin or decay; give currency (to) = to spread or popularise a report; give one a long rope = to allow someone a great deal of freedom. None of those three carries the idea of being cornered, so only (b) fits the underlined segment. Therefore the correct option is (b).

Adverb placement An adverb of degree such as 'barely', 'hardly' or 'scarcely' takes mid-position - after the auxiliary or modal and before the main verb: 'could barely make out'. It must not be dropped in between a verb and its object, and 'make out' is a phrasal verb whose two parts should not be cut off from the object by an adverb. Option (c) places 'barely' after 'make out', giving 'Mohan could make out barely the distant figure', which breaks both rules. In (a), (b) and (d) the adverbs 'usually', 'barely' and 'often' all sit correctly between the modal 'could' and the main verb, so those three sentences are faultless. Therefore the sentence with the incorrect use of the adverb is option (c).

Spelling error The sentence reads: "I can't believe I recieved such a beautiful gift." The correct spelling is 'received'. The rule is 'i before e, except after c' - since the pair follows a 'c' here, the order must be 'ei'. 'believe' keeps the normal 'ie' order because there is no 'c' in front of it, so it is spelt correctly; 'such' and 'gift' are correct too. Therefore the incorrectly spelt word is option (c).

Adjective vs adverb A word that tells us how an action was performed modifies the verb, and only an adverb can do that. Here 'fell' is the verb, so it needs the adverb 'heavily': 'The rain fell heavily and caused flooding in the streets'. 'Heavy' is an adjective and can qualify only a noun, as in 'heavy rain' - it cannot stand after the verb 'fell'. 'The rain', 'and caused flooding' and 'in the streets' are all correct as they stand. Therefore the part that contains the error is option (c).

Synonym 'Dodge' means to avoid something by a quick movement or by a clever device - 'he dodged the question', 'a tax dodge'. 'Trick' carries the same idea of a clever device used to deceive someone or to get out of a difficulty, so it is the closest synonym here. Display = to show something openly; panic = a sudden uncontrollable fear; opine = to state an opinion. None of those three involves evading or outwitting, so only 'trick' matches 'dodge'. Therefore the correct option is (b).

Quantifier usage 'Few' is used only with plural countable nouns - a few books, a few days - but 'time' in the sense of duration is uncountable, so 'few time' is impossible. The quantifier used with uncountable nouns is 'some', and 'quite some time' is the set phrase meaning 'a fairly long while'. So the corrected sentence is: It took quite some time to finish the project. (b) leaves 'quite time', which is not English; (c) 'some a time' and (d) 'a time some' place the article and the quantifier in impossible positions. Therefore the correct option is (a).

Idiom substitution The underlined phrase describes handling a situation so shrewdly that one gets the greatest possible benefit from it. 'Play one's cards right' is the idiom for exactly that, so the sentence becomes 'he knows how to play his cards right and get the best deal'. play it safe = to avoid all risk, which is not the same as squeezing out the maximum advantage; play it by ear = to deal with things as they come instead of planning, and here he is clearly working to a plan. 'Play it by air' is not an English idiom at all - it is a corrupted form of 'play it by ear'. Therefore the correct option is (c).

Spelling error The sentence contains '...spurious data and ambigous conclusions...'. The correct spelling is 'ambiguous' - the word is built on 'ambiguity', and the ending -guous keeps the 'u' after the 'g' (compare contiguous, strenuous). 'spurious' (= false, not genuine), 'untenable' (= impossible to defend) and 'conclusions' are all spelt correctly. Therefore the incorrectly spelt word is option (c).

Preposition of time Blank (76) needs the preposition that goes with a named day or a day that repeats: 'go to the park ___ weekends'. 'On' is used with days and dates, and 'on weekends' - like 'on Sundays' - means 'every weekend', which suits 'love to go'. 'before weekends' would mean earlier than the weekend; 'during' needs a definite phrase such as 'during the weekend'; 'in' is used with months, years and parts of the day, not with 'weekends'. Therefore the correct option is (a).

Verb collocation Blank (77) needs a past-tense verb that collocates with 'a picnic basket ... with sandwiches, fruit, and juice', that is, with filling a container before an outing. The standard collocation is 'pack something with something': they packed a picnic basket with sandwiches, fruit, and juice. 'arranged' means to set out neatly or to plan in advance, and one arranges the food inside a basket rather than arranging the basket 'with' the food. 'gathered' means to collect scattered things together - one gathers the food, not the basket; 'accumulated' means to pile up gradually over a long period, which cannot describe one Sunday morning. Therefore the correct option is (a).

Past tense verb The passage is a narrative set in the past - 'Last Sunday, they ...' - so blank (78) must take a past form. 'Brought', the past form of 'bring', is the only past form offered, and 'They brought a blanket to sit on and a frisbee to play with' fits the sense of carrying things along. 'manage', 'buy' and 'arrange' are bare present forms and would break the tense of the whole passage. Therefore the correct option is (a).

Verb form in time clause 'As soon as' introduces a time clause, which needs a subject and a finite verb in the simple past to match the main clause 'Sarah spread the blanket'. 'They arrived' is that form: As soon as they arrived at the park, Sarah spread the blanket on the green grass. 'they was arrive' is doubly wrong - 'they' takes 'were', and 'was/were' cannot be followed by the base form; 'they had arrive' needs the past participle 'arrived' after 'had'. 'they arrive' is the simple present and clashes with the past-tense narrative. Therefore the correct option is (c).

Subject-verb form After the phrase 'After eating,' the main clause must supply a subject and a past-tense verb, in line with the rest of the narrative. 'They decided' does both - 'they' points back to Sarah and Tom, and 'decided' keeps the past tense: After eating, they decided to play with the frisbee. 'they had decide' and 'they all decide' use the base form where a participle or a past form is needed; 'everyone decide' is wrong twice over - 'everyone' takes the singular 'decides', and it also changes the subject of the story. Therefore the correct option is (c).