Read the following passage and answer the given subquestions.

I had been puzzled too when I first discovered how much deference Robi commanded in college. It was hard to understand, for he did not excel particularly in any of the spheres which were held to confer distinction in that milieu: he was not unusually good at sports, just about good enough to keep a place in the college cricket eleven; he was good at his studies but not brilliant; he was not clever, not well dressed, not talented, nor in any way unlike a dozen others in our college, and yet, without asking for it, barely seeming to notice, he commanded a respect immeasurably greater than the best sportsmen and the most brilliant students.

It took me time to see that this respect was really a tribute to the superhuman simplicity of his view of the world: to the fact that he had no hesitation in making judgements – because there were whole domains of conduct within which he would not admit the possibility of argument – and no fear of defending them, because of his abundant physical courage. Once, for example, there was a great uproar in our college because a student had been expelled for some minor misdemeanour – for asking a girl up to his room for a cup of tea or some such thing. The students’ union was unanimous in calling for a strike. But Robi, alone in the whole college, refused to go along with everyone else: he didn’t argue or make speeches, he merely refused to attend the union meetings. And when some of the union’s leaders threatened to give him a beating, they found to their surprise that he was relieved at the prospect of settling the issue by a

straightforward physical contest. Such was his standing in the college that eventually the leaders gave in and the strike was called off.

Later, I asked him: Why wouldn’t you join the strike? Tell me, just as a matter of interest. He wouldn’t answer, so I asked him again, and then reluctantly he said: Because a rule’s a rule; if you break one you have to be willing to pay the price.

Extract from: The Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh

Read the following exchange between an interviewer and an interviewee and answer the given subquestions:

Candidate: Good afternoon, sir.

Interviewer 1: Good afternoon. Please take your seat.

Candidate: Thank you, sir. (Takes his seat in a calm and dignified manner, and smiles slightly and respectfully at the interview panel. The candidate’s demeanour is welcoming and he appears as if he is ready to communicate.)

Interviewer 1: _____

Candidate: I hail from Bishnoi district in Madhya Pradesh. I did my primary education at Aligarh Muslim University City School. I moved to Noida and graduated in Electronics and Electrical Engineering. Currently, I work as a project engineer in Tata Motors. I was also a part of the team that developed the Tata Nano within record time and for minimum price.

Interviewer 2: What would you identify as your biggest weakness?

Candidate: Sir, I am very insistent on ensuring that my work is perfect. So I tend to spend a little too much time going through the minutest aspects of my work to check whether my expectations of quality have been met. I have found out through experience that working as a team and delegating responsibilities where necessary can be extremely helpful in both balancing my own idiosyncrasies and in producing output of the best quality.

Interviewer 1: What would you then identify as your greatest strength? Because you seem to think of your biggest weakness as an enabling rather than a disabling quality.

Candidate: (Smiles) That is true, sir. I do indeed think of my weakness as a quality that can be leveraged and managed to enable the best results. I am careful not to let perfectionism get the better of me. My greatest strength, I believe, is my ability to meticulously organise my work. _____ I can easily assume a bird’s eye view of the project at hand and focus on how resources may be optimally utilised within a stipulated time frame to guide the project to a fruitful end. I can therefore effectively analyse the constructibility of a product under design and execute the product into being. An old quote I once heard spoke of execution as the three-dimensional expression of meaning. In that sense, I would say that my greatest strength is my ability to express three-dimensional meanings succinctly and effectively.

Interviewer 2: Very good. What can you tell us about your current job? _____

Candidate: I greatly enjoy working with the people in my current company. We share an easy camaraderie and I also appreciate the fact that the management takes the effort to know their employees well and to build personal connections with the employees. _____ I think of it as a wonderful entry level opportunity for someone seeking a door of access into the corporate world, and I have benefitted immensely from it, but I would like to explore avenues for further advancement as I go ahead in my career. It is the conviction that your company will recognise my capabilities and allow me opportunities for growth that motivated me to appear for this interview. Interviewer 2: I see. _____ How can an engineer help tackle it?

Candidate: Sir, in my opinion, the most pressing issue facing our country at the moment is self- sufficiency in food, or lack thereof. It is a problem that lies at the root of several other problems like unemployment and the urban-rural income disparity. We, as a nation, are yet to find a way to make our agricultural sector reap the full benefits of our industrial advancement. I think that an engineer can play a pivotal role in harnessing scientific techniques to give a fillip to the agricultural sector and thus, not only to improve the farmers’ quality of life, but also help the nation attain self- sufficiency in food production. An engineer can provide a crucial connecting link between an agriculturalist and an industrialist.

Interviewer 1: _____

Candidate: If I am selected, I shall have to serve a notice period of one month, and I will thereafter be able to join your company with no further delay.

Interviewer 2: Thank you, Mr. Tabraz. That will be all for now. _____ Have a good day. Candidate: Thank you. Wish you a good day ahead too. (Exits after righting the position of the chair that he has vacated.)

Read the following email and answer the given subquestions.

From: David Anderson david.anderson@gmail.com

To: Jennifer Brown jennifer.brown@gmail.com

Subject: ________________________

____________________,

I trust this message finds you in good health. My name is David Anderson and I am reaching out to introduce myself. I specialise in Digital Marketing and I am keen on exploring potential collaboration opportunities with your organisation. To offer you a more comprehensive view of my background and qualifications, I have attached my resume for your perusal.

___________________,

David Anderson

Digital Marketing Strategist

David.anderson@gmail.com

Match the following and answer the given subquestions

Fill in the blanks with appropriate options for the given subquestions:

Vinod wasn't sure what his manager meant when she called him 'not the (1)_____ tool in the shed'. When he asked her, she replied that her 8 year old daughter is (2)_____ than him. This really worried Vinod who has always been called a (3)_____ boy growing up. He thought that his manager is likely (4)_____ at him for something he did. One of his colleagues suggested that she might be under stress from (5)_____ officials.

Study the conversation given below and answer the given subquestions that follow by filling in the blanks with the most contextually appropriate expressions.

Student: Excuse me, Professor Tate. (i) _____

Teacher: Yes, Sarah, please come in.

Student: Good morning, ma’am.

Teacher: Good morning. (ii) _____

Student: I was wondering if I may work on the theme of existentialism in Thornton Wilder’s plays for my term-end research paper. Will that be a suitable topic? (iii) _____

Teacher: That sounds like a very promising topic. (iv) _____ so that it does not become too ambitious of a project to be completed within the limited time that you have.

Student: I would like to work on The Skin of Our Teeth in that case, ma’am.

Teacher: Excellent choice! I’ll mail you the list of suggested readings by the end of the week. All the best for your paper. (v) _____

Student: Certainly, ma’am. Thank you.