Indian Institute of Technology Madras
BS Degree Programme · Examination & Study Paper
BSHS1001 · English I
Quiz 1 · 26 Oct 2025 (Afternoon)
Examination Instructions & Guidelines
- Solve on notebook/paper first before checking solutions.
- MCQ: Exactly 1 option is correct. Negative marking applies.
- Scientific calculator allowed for all calculations.
- Official answer key is sealed at the end of this sheet.
Read the passage below, then answer Q1–Q10
Read the following passage and answer the given subquestions.
My father, Janakinath Bose, had migrated to Orissa in the eighties of the last century and had settled down at Cuttack as a lawyer. There I was born on Saturday, the 23rd January, 1897. My father was descended from the Boses of Mahinagar, while my mother, Prabhabati (or rather Prabhavati) belonged to the family of the Dutts of Hatkhola. I was the sixth son and the ninth child of my parents.
In these days of rapid communication, a night’s journey by train southwards along the eastern coast takes one from Calcutta to Cuttack and on the way there is neither adventure nor romance. But things were not quite the same sixty years ago. One had to go either by cart and encounter thieves and robbers on the road, or by sea and brave the wrath of the winds and the waves. Since it was safer to trust in God than in brother man, it was more common to travel by boat. Sea-going vessels would carry passengers up to Chandbali where transhipment would take place and from Chandbali, steamers would get to Cuttack through a number of rivers and canals. The description I used to hear from my mother since childhood of the rolling and pitching and the accompanying discomfort during the voyage would leave no desire in me to undergo such an experience. At a time when distances were long and journey by no means safe, my father must have had plenty of pluck to leave his village home and go far away in search of a career. Fortune favours the brave even in civil life and, by the time I was born, my father had already made a position for himself and was almost at the top of the legal profession in his new domicile.
Though a comparatively small town with a population in the neighbourhood of 20,000, Cuttack had an importance of its own owing to a variety of factors. It had an unbroken tradition since the days of the early Hindu Kings of Kalinga. It was the de facto capital of Orissa which could boast of such a famous place of pilgrimage as Puri (or Jagannath) and such glorious art-relics as those of Konarak, Bhuvaneswar, and Udaigiri. It was the headquarters not only for the British administration in Orissa, but also for the numerous ruling chiefs in that province. Altogether, Cuttack afforded a healthy environment for a growing child, and it had some of the virtues of both city and country life.
Ours was not a rich, but what might be regarded as a well-to-do, middle-class family. Naturally, I had no personal experience of what want and poverty meant and had no occasion to develop those traits of selfishness, greed, and the rest which are sometimes the unwelcome heritage of indigent circumstances in one’s early life. At the same time, there was not that luxury and lavishness _____ our home which has been the ruin _____ so many promising but pampered young souls or has helped to foster a supercilious, highbrow mentality in them. In fact, considering their worldly means, my parents always erred– and, I daresay, rightly too– on the side of simplicity in the upbringing of their children.
Excerpted from: Bose, Subhas Chandra. An Indian Pilgrim: An Unfinished Autobiography and Collected Letters 1897-1921.
Q1MCQ2 Marks·Choose one optionIn the sentence given below, the word in bold is used as _____. Naturally, I had no personal experience of what want and poverty meant.
- AA verb
- BA noun
- CAn adverb
- DAn adjective
- Q2MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
What was the vocation of the narrator’s father?
- ALawyer
- BDoctor
- CMerchant
- DTeacher
- Q3MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Indigent means _____.
- AVery rich
- BVery skilled
- CVery angry
- DVery poor
- Q4MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Which, according to the passage, is NOT a glorious art-relic that Orissa could boast of?
- AKonarak
- BBhuvaneswar
- CChandbali
- DUdaigiri
- Q5MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Choose the incorrect statement.
- AThe narrator’s father was one of the top lawyers in Cuttack
- BHearing stories of boat journeys from his mother, the narrator had a strong desire to go on a voyage
- CThe narrator came from a well-to-do, middle-class family
- DCuttack afforded a healthy environment for a growing child
- Q6MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
At a time when distances were long and journey by no means safe, my father must have had plenty of pluck to leave his village home and go far away in search of a career. What does the word in bold mean in this context?
- APoverty and desperation
- BCourage and determination
- CHunger and hardship
- DLove and support
- Q7MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions. At the same time, there was not that luxury and lavishness _____ our home which has been the ruin _____ so many promising but pampered young souls or has helped to foster a supercilious, highbrow mentality in them.
- Ain…of
- Bon…in
- Cof…at
- Dwith…through
- Q8MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Based on your reading of the text, match the adjectives to their fitting nouns.
[1] Worldly- AHeritage
- BCommunication
- CMeans
- Q9MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Based on your reading of the text, match the adjectives to their fitting nouns.
[2] Unwelcome- AHeritage
- BCommunication
- CMeans
- Q10MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Based on your reading of the text, match the adjectives to their fitting nouns.
[3] Rapid- AHeritage
- BCommunication
- CMeans
- Q11MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Which of the given consonant-vowel sequences correctly illustrates the consonant cluster/clusters in the word exhibit?
- AVCCCVCVC
- BVCCVCVC
- CVCCVCCVC
- DVCVCVC
- Q12MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
In which word does the underlined part have a different sound?
- AVision
- BAzure
- CMeasure
- DPrison
- Q13MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Which semi-vowel does the word “quiet” contain?
- A/w/
- B/y/
- Q14MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Which among the following words has the same sound as underlined in “foe”?
- AGown
- BFlow
- CBrow
- DBrown
- Q15MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Which among the following is a word without a diphthong?
- APly
- BClay
- CBuy
- DClue
- Q16MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Identify the part of speech of the underlined word: “The dog ran into the glass door.”
- ANoun
- BPronoun
- CVerb
- DConjunction
- Q17MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Identify the part of speech of the underlined word: “The bread was stale; it had been left outside overnight.”
- ANoun
- BPronoun
- CVerb
- DConjunction
- Q18MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Choose the correct option: “Out of all the girls in the basketball team, Tina was the _______.”
- ATaller
- BTallest
- Q19MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Identify the adjective in the following sentence: “Stop at the house with the yellow scooter parked outside.”
- AStop
- BHouse
- CYellow
- DScooter
- Q20MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
“I reached Chennai yesterday.” The word “yesterday” is an adverb of ____.
- ATime
- BPlace
- CFrequency
- DNone of these
- Q21MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Choose the appropriate option: “I couldn’t reach Chennai on time; my car fell ____ a ditch.”
- AOnto
- BAbove
- CInto
- DAbout
- Q22MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Which one of the following words is a preposition?
- ATile
- BTeal
- CUntil
- DHunting
- Q23MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Identify the conjunction in the following sentence: “The food at the canteen was neither tasty nor nutritious.”
- AFood
- BCanteen
- CTasty
- DNeither/nor
- Q24MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Choose the appropriate option: ____! Stop pulling my hair!
- AWow
- BOops
- COuch
- DHi
- Q25MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Choose the correct option: Can you get me _____ cup of curd when you go to the supermarket?
- AAn
- BA
- CThe
- DNone of these
Read the passage below, then answer Q26–Q30
Fill in the blanks in List A using appropriate idioms from List B

Based on the above data, answer the given subquestions.
Q26MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option“Kathy Stevens.” Does the name _____?
- AThrew in the towel
- BFace the music
- CThrough thick and thin
- DRing a bell
- EBlow off some steam
- Q27MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
For several years, he was trying unsuccessfully to emigrate to the UAE, but eventually he _____.
- AThrew in the towel
- BFace the music
- CThrough thick and thin
- DRing a bell
- EBlow off some steam
- Q28MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
After a long day, he goes cycling to _____.
- AThrew in the towel
- BFace the music
- CThrough thick and thin
- DRing a bell
- EBlow off some steam
- Q29MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
She has suffered a great deal of personal loss, but her husband stayed with her _____.
- AThrew in the towel
- BFace the music
- CThrough thick and thin
- DRing a bell
- EBlow off some steam
- Q30MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Make sure that you have sufficient attendance in your courses, or you will have to _____.
- AThrew in the towel
- BFace the music
- CThrough thick and thin
- DRing a bell
- EBlow off some steam
- Q31MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Replace the bold word in the sentence with one of the phrasal verbs given below to convey the same meaning. He promised to contribute towards the fund but later withdrew.
- ABacked out
- BBacked on
- CBacked away
- DBacked off
- Q32MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
“Run into” is an example of an inseparable phrasal verb.
- ATRUE
- BFALSE
- Q33MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Fill in the blank with the most suitable phrasal verb. The old man _____ his beliefs.
- AHeld up
- BHeld onto
- CHeld off
- DHeld out
- Q34MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
There are ___ grains of sand in the box.
- AFew
- BA few
- CLittle
- DSome
- Q35MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
The customer complained that the vegetables are ___.
- AOvercooked
- BUndercooked
- CBoth Overcooked and Undercooked
- DEnough cooked
Read the passage below, then answer Q36–Q40
Complete the telephonic conversation given below with the most polite and correct responses in the given subquestions.
Ravi: Hello, Sneha. It’s Ravi. Are you free? (1)_________________________________
Sneha: Yes, Ravi. I’m free now, please tell me.
Ravi: I need to reschedule our project meeting. Something urgent has come up.
Sneha: I understand. (2) _______________________________
Ravi: Instead of tomorrow morning, how about we have the meeting on Thursday at 2 PM? Sneha: Let me check... Yes, I’m available then. But we need to make sure everyone else can make it too.
Ravi: (3) _________________ I’ll send an email to confirm with the rest of the team.
Sneha: Sounds good. I’ll tentatively block my calendar for Thursday at 2 PM.
Ravi: Yes, Sneha. (4) ______________________________
Sneha: No problem, Ravi. Just let me know if the time works for everyone.
Ravi: (5) ______________________________
Q36MCQ1 Mark·Choose one optionFill in blank [1] with the appropriate option.
- ACould we discuss the upcoming meeting now?
- BWanna talk about the upcoming meeting?
- CWould you care enough to discuss the upcoming meeting?
- DThe upcoming meeting has been rescheduled
- Q37MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Fill in blank [2] with the appropriate option.
- AWhen do you want to send the reports?
- BWhen are you available for the meeting?
- CWhen do you want to meet the officer?
- DWhen do you want to take leave?
- Q38MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Fill in blank [3] with the appropriate option.
- ASure, whatever!
- BYeah, whatever!
- CYes, definitely.
- DOk!
- Q39MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Fill in blank [4] with the appropriate option.
- AThank you for understanding
- BI will attend the team dinner tonight
- CI will meet the team head
- DFine!
- Q40MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Fill in blank [5] with the appropriate option.
- AWow!
- BYeah, whatever!
- CNo!
- DSure, Sneha