Punjab Cooperative Bank Exam 2013 - Paper 1 ( Part II)

Directions (56-61): Read the fol­lowing passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

            Today, with a Nobel Prize to its credit, Grameen is one of- the largest microfinance organisations in the, world. It started out lending some all sums to poor entrepreneurs in Bangladesh to help them grow from a subsistence living to a livelihood. The great discovery its founders made, was that even with few assets, these entrepreneurs repaid on time. Grameen and microfinance have since become financial staples of the developing world. Grameen's approach, unlike other micro financers uses the, group-lending model. Costs are kept down by having borrowers vet one another, ty­ing together their financial fates and elimi­nating expensive loan officers entirely. The ultimate promise of Grameen is to use busi­ness lending as a way for people to lift them­selves out of poverty.

            Recently-Grameen has taken on a I different challenge - by setting up opera­tions in the United States’ Money may be tight in, the waning recession, but it is still a nation of 1,00,000 bank branches. Globally, the working micro finance equation consists of borrowing funds cheaply and keeping loan defaults and overhead expense's sufficiently low. Micro lenders, including Grameen, do this by charging colossal interest rates - as high as 60% or 70% - which is necessary to compensate for the 'risk and attract bank funding. But loans at rates much above the standard 15% would most likely be attacked as usurious in. America.

            So, the question is whether there is a role for a Third World lender in the world's largest economy? Grameen America be lives that in a few years it will be success­ful and turn a profit, thanks to.9 million United States households untouched by mainstream banks and 21 million using the likes of payday loans and pawn shops for financing. But enticing the unbanked won't be easy. After all, profit has long eluded United States micro financiers and if it is not lucrative, it is not micro lending but charity. When Grameen first went to the United States, in the late 1980s, it tripped up. Under Grameen tutelage, Banks started micro loans to entrepreneurs with a shocking 30% loss. But Grameen America says that this time results will be different because Grameen employees themselves Will be making the loans, not training an American bank to do it. More often than not, the borrowers, Grameen finds in the United States already have jobs (as fac­tory workers for example) or side busi­nesses - selling toys-cleaning houses etc, The loans from Grameen, by and large, provide a steadier source of funding, but they don't create businesses out of noth­ing. But money isn't everything. More im­portantly for many entrepreneurs, group members are tremendous sources of sup­port to one another. So even if studies are yet to determine if Grameen is a clear-cut pathway out of poverty, it still achieves something useful.

56.       What has adversely affected the success of microfinance institutions in the United States?

            (1) The focus of these institutions is on making a profit at any cost instead of being charitable to the needy.

            (2) American* banks engaged in micro lending we're the most-severely hit during the recession.

            (3) Widespread, perception among bankers that these institutions are better suited to developing countries.

            (4) Their failure to attract those out­side the formal banking system as customers.

            (5) Americans are too proud to ac­cept aid from third world coun­tries.

57.       Why has Grameen Made a second attempt to launch itself in the United States?

            (1) The willingness of U. S. banks to provide the necessary staff and­ funds to facilitate the spread of microfinance.

            (2) The rates of interest on loans in the U. S. are exorbitant making it easier to recover capital

            (3) The realisation that a large per­centage of the American popula­tion not reached by mainstream banks can be tapped.

            (4) Recognition of the fact that dis­bursing credit in developing coun­tries during the recession is too risky

            (5) None of these

58.       Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

            (1) Microfinance has been success­ful only in Asian countries.

            (2) Microfinance makes individual borrowers dependent rather than independent.

            (3) America has the largest number of banks in the world.

            (4) There is scope for microfinance institutions to be profitable in developed countries

            (5) There are no informal sources of credit in developed countries

59.       According to the author, what has enhanced the likelihood of success for Grameen America at present?     

            (1) Its success in Bangladesh and other developing countries.

            (2) Absence of other microfinance ­institutions for competition.

            (3) The fact that America is current in the midst of recession.

            (4) It provides loans at nominal rates of interest i.e. below 15 percent.                               (5) None of these

60.       Which of the following is most simi­lar in meaning to the word "ELUDED" as used in the passage?

            (1) Avoided       (2) Duped                    (3) Abandoned            (4) Intangible          (5) Betrayed

61.       Which of the following is most op­posite in meaning to the word "CO­LOSSAL"? As used in the passage?

            (1) Short            (2) Lavish                   (3) Minority                (4) Frugal                (5) Insignificant

Directions (62-64): Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical mistake/error in it. The error if any will be in one part of the sentence. Mark the number of the part with error as your answer. If there is 'No error', mark (5).

62.       We are yet starting (1)/ offering this facility to (2)/ our customers as we are (3)/ awaiting approval from the Board. (4)/ No error (5)

63.       The Chairmen of all large (1)/ public sector banks met with (2)/ senior RBI officials to give its (3)/ suggestions about implementing the new policy. (4)/ No error (5)

64.       They have not fully considered (1)/ the impact that relaxing (2)/ these guidelines is likely (3)/ to have with the economy. (4)/ No error (5)

Directions (65-67): Each question below has two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Choose the set of words for each blank that best fits the mean­ing of the sentence as a whole.

65.       Many teachers ________ the lack of professional freedom as the __________ for leaving the job.

            (1) cited, reason                                     (2) explained, force                                    

            (3) claimed, understanding                   (4) argued, culprit                                       (5) believe, ground

66.       Skeptics would not ________ that the earth actually moves, let alone that it __________ around the sun.

            (1) permit, orbits                                                                       (2) accept, revolves                            (3) experience, circles

            (4) assume, went                                                                       (5) challenge, spins

67.       A public servant who is guilty will not __________ punishment and no ____________ person will be punished.

            (1) be, sincere    (2) flee, guilty            (3) defend. Common  (4) avoid, uninformed               (5) escape, innocent

Directions (68-70): Rear­range the following sentences (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F) to make a mean­ingful paragraph and answer the ques­tions which follow:

               (A) However while reading they would not know when to pause and what to empha­size.

               (B) Since then their use has been regularized and the punctua­tion rules have been followed by all.

               (C) In earlier days, people learnt by reading out loud.

               (D) But not everybody used the same punctuations for the same thing.

               (E) To address this problem, var­ious signs depicting various punctuations were introduced.

               (F) Thus firmer guidelines regard­ing punctuations were framed so that everyone used them in similar way.

68.          Which of the following sentences should be the SECOND after re­arrangement?

               (1) A                         (2) B                                    (3) D                                    (4) E                                 (5) F

69.          Which of the following sentences should be the THIRD after rear­rangement?

               (1) A                         (2) E                                    (3) D                                    (4) F                                 (5) C                              

70.          Which of the following sentences should be the FIFTH after rear­rangement?

               (1) B                         (2) C                                    (3) A                                    (4) E                                 (5) F

71. In a certain code SOUTHERN is written as UVPTMQDG. How is MARIGOLD written in that code?
(A) JSBCNFKS                (B) JSBNHPME               (C) JSBNCKNF              (D) NBSKCJNF              (E) None of these

72. Four of the following five are alike in a certain way and so form a group. Which is the one that does not belong to the group ?
(A) Tornado                     (B) Volcano                     (C) Storm                        (D) Hurricane                 (E) Cyclone

73. How many such pairs of letters are there in the word EVAPORATE each of which has as many letters between them in the word as in the English alphabet ?
(A) One                             (B) Two                             (C) Three                        (D) Four                          (E) More than four

74. How many meaningful four letter English words can be formed with the letters ITED using each letter only once in each word ?
(A) None                           (B) One                             (C) Two                           (D) Three                        (E) More than three

Directions—(Q. 75–76) Study the following information carefully to answer these questions.

           A vehicle starts from point P and runs 10 kms. towards North. It takes a right turn and runs 15 kms. It now runs 6 kms. after taking a left turn. It finally takes a left turn, runs 15 kms. and stops at point Q.

75. How far is point Q with respect to point P ?
(A) 16 km                         (B) 25 km                         (C) 4 km                          (D) 0 km                          (E) None of these

76. Towards which direction was the vehicle moving before it stopped at point Q ?
(A) North                          (B) East                             (C) South                        (D) West                         (E) North-West

77. Asha ranks 16th from the top and 15th from the bottom in an examination. How many students are there in the class ?
(A) 30                                (B) 31                                (C) 32                              (D) Cannot be determined                                           (E) None of these

78. Five students participated in an examination and each scored different marks. Nidhi scored higher than Mamta. Kavita scored lower than Prashant but higher than Nidhi. Anil’s score was between Mamta and Nidhi. Which of the following pairs represents the highest and the lowest scorers respectively ?
(A) Nidhi, Kavita              (B) Kavita, Mamta            (C) Anil, Kavita  (D) Prashant, Mamta         (E) None of these

 

 ANS KEY :-

56	57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64	65	66	67
1	3	4	5	1	4	1	3	4	1	2	5
68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78
1	2	5	3	2	5	5	1	4	1	4