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English II · Quiz 1 · 26 Oct 2025 (Afternoon)

40 questions · 50 marks · 60 min

Answer key Take as mock

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

BS Degree Programme · Examination & Study Paper

English II

Quiz 1 · 26 Oct 2025 (Afternoon)

Official Paper

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–Q5
Read the speech segment given below and fill in the blanks with the appropriate discourse markers. Observe the tone and the punctuation of the passage and choose only the most fitting answer for every blank.
David Foster Wallace on Entertainment
Every year, the culture gets more and more hostile. Hostile, [i] _____, angry– just [that] it becomes more and more difficult to ask people to read or to look at a piece of art for an hour, or to listen to a piece of music that’s complicated and that takes work to understand because, [ii] _____, there are a lot of reasons, but [iii] _____ now, in computer and internet culture, everything is so fast and the faster things go, the more we feed that part of ourselves, but don’t feed the part of ourselves that likes…that likes quiet. It seems significant that we don’t want things to be quiet ever anymore. And that seems to me to have something to do with the fact that we feel like the purpose of our life is to gratify ourselves and to get things for ourselves and to be on the go all the time, [but] there’s this other part of us– a part that is [iv] _____ hungry for silence and quiet and thinking really hard about the same thing for [v] _____ half an hour instead of 30 seconds that doesn’t get fed at all. And it makes itself felt in the body in a kind of dread in here (touches chest).
Transcribed from: “David Foster Wallace on Entertainment.” YouTube, uploaded by
zoombockerman, 8 Dec. 2022.
Based on the above data, answer the given subquestions.
Q1MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Fill in blank [i] with the most fitting discourse marker among the options given below.
1. AApparently
2. BLike
3. CProspectively
4. DFor a start
Q2MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Fill in blank [ii] with the most fitting discourse marker among the options given below.
1. ASort of
2. BKind of
3. CWell
4. DIn conclusion
Q3MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Fill in blank [iii] with the most fitting discourse marker among the options given below.
1. AIn summary
2. BFurthermore
3. COn the one hand
4. DParticularly
Q4MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Fill in blank [iv] with the most fitting discourse marker among the options given below.
1. AAlmost
2. BSuch as
3. CFine
4. DAnyway
Q5MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Fill in blank [v] with the most fitting discourse marker among the options given below.
1. AFinally
2. BMaybe
3. CTruth be told
4. DConsequently
Read the passage below, then answer Q6–Q10
Given below is an excerpt from the essay “Gifts”, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Study the essay and answer the given subquestions.
He is a good man, who can receive a gift well. We are either glad or sorry at a gift, and both emotions are unbecoming. Some violence, I think, is done, some degradation borne, when I rejoice or grieve at a gift. I am sorry when my independence is invaded, or when a gift comes from such as do not know my spirit, and so the act is not supported; and if the gift pleases me overmuch, then I should be ashamed that the donor should read my heart, and see that I love his commodity, and not him. The gift, to be true, must be the flowing of the giver unto me, correspondent to my flowing unto him. When the waters are at level, then my goods pass to him, and his to me. All his are mine, all mine his. I say to him, How can you give me this pot of oil, or this flagon of wine, when all your oil and wine is mine, which belief of mine this gift seems to deny? Hence the fitness of beautiful, not useful things for gifts. This giving is flat usurpation, and therefore when the beneficiary is ungrateful, as all beneficiaries hate all Timons, not at all considering the value of the gift, but looking back to the greater store it was taken from, I rather sympathize with the beneficiary, than with the anger of my lord Timon. For, the expectation of gratitude is mean, and is continually punished by the total insensibility of the obliged person. It is a great happiness to get off without injury and heart-burning, from one who has had the ill luck to be served by you. It is a very onerous business, this of being served, and the debtor naturally wishes to give you a slap. A golden text for these gentlemen is that which I so admire in the Buddhist, who never thanks, and who says, "Do not flatter your benefactors."
The reason of these discords I conceive to be that there is no commensurability between a man and any gift. You cannot give anything to a magnanimous person. After you have served him, he at once puts you in debt by his magnanimity. The service a man renders his friend is trivial and selfish, compared with the service he knows his friend stood in readiness to yield him, alike before he had begun to serve his friend, and now also. Compared with that good-will I bear my friend, the benefit it is in my power to render him seems small. When I have attempted to join myself to others by services, it proved an intellectual trick-- no more. They eat your service like apples, and leave you out. But love them, and they feel you, and delight in you all the time.
Q6MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Arrange the given hints in the correct order to form a synopsis of the essay. i. The unpleasantness of being obligated ii. Love as the most delightful gift iii. The reason why beautiful things make the best gifts iv. The conflict between the beneficiary and the benefactor with an allusion to Timon of Athens v. The thoughts we have upon receiving a gift vi. Comparison between goodwill and gifts vii. The true meaning of a gift
1. Av-vii-iii-iv-i-vi-ii
2. Bvi-v-iii-ii-iv-i-vii
3. Ciii-i-vii-iv-vi-ii-v
4. Dii-vi-i-iii-v-iv-vii
Q7MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Why does the essayist refer to lord Timon?
1. ALord Timon once gave the essayist a gift which he disliked
2. BLord Timon is used here as an example, denoting gift-givers in general; it is implied that he was famous for giving gifts
3. CLord Timon commissioned this essay, so this essay is Emerson’s gift to Timon
Q8MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Which of the following is NOT true?
1. AThe excerpt argues that man’s goodwill is greater than any gift
2. BThe excerpt states that it is not noble to expect gratitude
3. CThe excerpt states that only useful things are acceptable as gifts
4. DThe excerpt states that you cannot give anything to a magnanimous person
Q9MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Study the nouns given below. On the basis of your reading of the passage, choose the option that correctly matches the noun to its fitting adjective. i. Usurpation ii. Person iii. Business iv. Trick
1. Ai-Unbecoming, ii-Trivial, iii-Flat, iv-Obliged
2. Bi-Complete, ii-Magnanimous, iii-Heart-burning, iv-Ungrateful
3. Ci-Onerous, ii-Intellectual, iii-Flat, iv-Complete
4. Di-Flat, ii-Obliged, iii-Onerous, iv-Intellectual
Q10MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
He is a good man, who can receive a gift well. Which of the following options can replace the word in italics without greatly altering the sense of the statement?
1. ABegrudgingly
2. BGraciously
3. CCautiously
4. DWhimsically
Q11MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 6 times Key ↓
“Waking dream” is an example of oxymoron. This statement is ____.
1. ATrue
2. BFalse
Q12MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 6 times Key ↓
“Cool as a cucumber” is an example of ____.
1. AMetaphor
2. BSimile
3. CPersonification
4. DParadox
Q13MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 6 times Key ↓
“Time is money” is an example of a metaphor. This statement is _____.
1. ATrue
2. BFalse
Q14MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
Which of the following discourse markers is used to emphasis a stronger ‘yes’?
1. AAbsolutely
2. BTruly
3. CHonestly
4. DActually
Q15MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 6 times Key ↓
'The city never sleeps' is an example of personification. This statement is
1. ATrue
2. BFalse
Q16MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 3 times Key ↓
Spot the viewpoint adverb in the given sentence. “Historically, the great Indian patriarchy, or the paradigm of gendered labour woven into the country’s socio-cultural DNA, has demanded women’s unpaid domestic labour and caregiving duties.”
1. AUnpaid
2. BWoven
3. CHistorically
4. DCaregiving
Q17MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
“He is definitely a peculiar character.” The word in italics in the given sentence is:
1. AFocus adverb
2. BComment adverb
3. CDegree adverb
4. DViewpoint adverb
Q18MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
Consider the italicised phrases in the following sentences: i. Put the book there. ii. Order the carriage around. iii. She often talks to me. They are adverbs of _____, _____, and _____ respectively.
1. AManner, manner, frequency
2. BManner, time, degree
3. CDegree, place, time
4. DPlace, place, frequency
Q19MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
Identify the adverbs/adverbial phrases in the given sentence. Ram’s daughter is never early to class in the morning.
1. ATo class
2. BIn the morning
3. CEarly
4. DAll of these
Q20MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
Identify the adverbs/adverbial phrases in the given sentence. My cousin has been my friend since childhood.
1. ASince childhood
2. BMy cousin
3. CMy
4. DAll of these
Q21MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
Sekhar slept early yesterday. Here, the adverb appears in the ____.
1. ASubject
2. BPredicate
3. CNo adverb
4. DBoth Subject and Predicate
Q22MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 2 times Key ↓
Identify the degree adverb in the given sentence. “The cellar is nearly filled up, never having been either wide or deep, and the fruit of a few mossy apple−trees drops ungathered to the ground.”
1. AFew
2. BFilled
3. CMossy
4. DNearly
Q23MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 3 times Key ↓
‘Very’ and ‘very much’ can be used interchangeably. This statement is ___.
1. ATrue
2. BFalse
Q24MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
In the following sentences, which one has the word "care" in the role of an adjective?
1. AShe says we are part of the care economy.
2. BThey care for their family.
3. CHe does not care.
4. DRam won't care for his child.
Q25MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
In the following sentence, identify the nature of the adjective. The adjectives are underlined. Racewalking is faster than normal walking.
1. AAdjunctive, imaginative
2. BInnovative, attributive
3. CPredicative, attributive
4. DPredicative, indicative
Q26MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 3 times Key ↓
Identify the adjectival clause in the following sentence and the noun it modifies. After finishing her homework, which took several hours, she rewarded herself with a relaxing bubble bath.
1. AAdjectival clause: she rewarded herself with a relaxing bubble bath, Noun: bath
2. BAdjectival clause: which took several hours, Noun: homework
3. CAdjectival clause: she rewarded herself with a relaxing bubble bath, Noun: bubble
4. DNone of these
Q27MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
In the sentence The dress looks expensive, ‘expensive’ is a predicative adjective.
1. ATrue
2. BFalse
Q28MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 5 times Key ↓
They are playing football. The passive form will be ___.
1. AFootball is being played by them
2. BFootball was played by them
3. CFootball has been playing by them
4. DFootball will be played by them
Q29MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
Identify the agent in the sentence “Adult mantises eat more or less everything that breathes and is small enough to capture.”
1. AEverything that breathes
2. BIs small enough to capture
3. CAdult mantises
4. DNone of these
Q30MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 5 times Key ↓
Choose the correct passive form of the following sentence. “My friends saved an apple for me.”
1. AThe apple my friends saved is for me
2. BAn apple saved by my friends was for me
3. CAn apple was saved for me by my friends
4. DMy friends saved me an apple
Q31MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
Identify the adjunct in the following sentence. In the afternoons, we have a tea break.
1. ATea break
2. BWe have a tea break
3. CIn the afternoons
4. DNo adjunct
Q32MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 3 times Key ↓
John’s teacher is the person whom we spoke to at the PTA meeting. Here the subordinate clause is ___ in nature.
1. ANominal
2. BAdjectival
3. CAdverbial
4. DNo Subordinate Clause
Q33MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 3 times Key ↓
The magic show that mesmerized people will be staged here next week. Here the relative pronoun is ____.
1. AThat
2. BWill
3. CHere
4. DPeople
Q34MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
"He studied hard for the test, so he scored well." This sentence is of the type:
1. ASimple
2. BCompound
3. CComplex
Q35MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
The sky, which is generally blue, is grey now. The independent clause is _______.
1. AThe sky, which is
2. BWhich is generally blue
3. CIs grey now
4. DThe sky is grey now
Q36MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
State true or false. There is no dependent clause in the sentence “Since the cat is meowing, the dog is barking.”
1. ATrue
2. BFalse
Q37MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 9 times Key ↓
Choose the correct modal verb to fill in the blank. See the hint or context provided and choose only the most appropriate option to fill the blank. Why _____ I concede my seat to her? Hint: A wh-question that denies the relevance of a social requirement
1. AWould
2. BCould
3. CShould
Q38MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 9 times Key ↓
In the following sentence, fill in the blank with the most appropriate modal verb. The land is so dry, there _________ have been a drought.
1. AMust
2. BMust not
3. CShall
4. DShould
Q39MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Asked 9 times Key ↓
Choose the correct modal verb to fill in the blank. See the hint or context provided and choose only the most appropriate option to fill the blank. If the candidates or their agents have any specific complaint or problem regarding the conduct of elections they _____ bring the same to the notice of the Observer appointed by the Election Commission at the polling booth. Hint: To show that an authoritative body is granting formal permission to someone to do something
1. AShould
2. BMust
3. CWill
4. DMay
Q40MCQ1 Mark·Choose one option
Key ↓
Choose the most appropriate form of asking for permission in a formal situation from the following.
1. AMay I borrow your pen please?
2. BCan I borrow your pen?
3. CBoth May I borrow your pen please? and Can I borrow your pen?
4. DI might borrow your pen

Official Key

Master Answer Key & Explanations

Official answer keys from IIT Madras BS past papers. Click any question to review.

Reveal Key

Q1B

Q2C

Q3D

Q4A

Q5B

Q6A

Q7B

Q8C

Q9D

Q10B

Q11A

Q12B

Q13A

Q14A

Q15A

Q16C

Q17B

Q18D

Q19D

Q20A

Q21B

Q22D

Q23B

Q24A

Q25C

Q26B

Q27A

Q28A

Q29C

Q30C

Q31C

Q32B

Q33A

Q34B

Q35D

Q36B

Q37C

Q38A

Q39D

Q40A

Questions and answer keys are reproduced from the official IIT Madras BS papers. BTechi is not affiliated with IIT Madras.