Deloitte Verbal Ability: Practice Questions & Worked Solutions

Identify the error in the given sentence:

"I'm literally melting because it's the hottest month of June; it's 47 degrees out here."

Parts of the given sentence have been given as options. One of them contains a grammatical error. Select the option that has the error:

"Negotiations have reached such a state as management and union leaders are apprehensive that their differences can no longer be reconciled."

Each sentence in the given paragraph contains four phrases. Three of these phrases have been correctly used and one has been incorrectly used. Select the phrase from among the following options that best replaces the INCORRECT phrase in the sentence:

"The ability of the Sherpas to brave the vagaries of high altitudes has helped them to prosper and they have come along the way from being just porters to becoming mountaineers."

Select the most appropriate options to fill in the blanks in the given passage:

"The capacity of art (1) ________ a strong source of its contemporary appeal. We are conscious that, individually and collectively, we (2) ________; art can be valuable when it disrupts or astonishes us."

In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank:

"We lit the candles, and (A) ________ in our hands and knees. We went about two hundred yards, and then the cave opened up. Tom soon (B) ________ under a wall where there was a hole. We went along a narrow passage and got into a kind of room, all damp and sweaty and cold, and there we stopped. Tom said, 'Now, we'll start this (C) ________ of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer's gang. Everybody that wants to join has got to take an oath, and write his name in blood.' Everybody was (D) ________. So, Tom got out a sheet of paper he had written the oath on and read it."

In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank:

"Babies and young children are sponges that soak in practically everything in their environments. It's true! Even during story time, their minds are at work, (1) ________ all the language they hear and lessons the characters learn. (2) ________ to your child — at any age — will boost their brain development, and your bond, and so much more. And all it takes is a few books, motivation and (3) ________ time. Reading provides a wonderful opportunity for you and your child to (4) ________. It's a nice way to spend time together and slow down during an otherwise hectic day."

Select the option in which the idiom "penny-wise, pound-foolish" has been used appropriately:

Four idioms are given below. Choose their sequence that would fill in the blanks and complete the text given below:

"My boss was caught red-handed while engaging in fraudulent activities and it's time for him to (1) ________ for the upcoming inquisition by the board members. In the past, he has taken credit for my presentations, and now unbeknown to him, I am going to quietly (2) ________ in the next board meeting. There is no chance of him escaping the truth and he will have to (3) ________; it's time that he gets his (4) ________."

Idioms:

• A. Face the music
• B. Batten down the hatches
• C. Comeuppance
• D. Even the score

Select the most appropriate set of idioms/phrases that would fill in the blanks and complete the given passage:

"According to the report released by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, global warming has killed 14% of the world's coral reefs in a decade and more will be (1) ________ if oceans keep rising in temperature. 'Climate change is the biggest threat to the world's reefs,' says Paul Hardisty, CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science. 'These are clearly (2) ________ toward coral loss and we can expect these to continue if we (3) ________ and do nothing to reverse the change.' As per the report, corals in many parts of South Asia and the Gulf are amongst the (4) ________."

Sentences of a paragraph are given below in jumbled order. Arrange the sentences in the correct order to form a meaningful and coherent paragraph:

1. While firms have always had significant market power over their workers, what has changed recently is the weakening of collective bargaining which allows workers to challenge powerful firms in wage negotiations.
2. Some ascribe continued low industrial wages to the concentration of power in the hands of a few firms, but this is only part of the story.
3. Since the 1980s, politicians have been freeing one side of the labor market in the name of competition — by restricting the power of trade unions — but doing very little about the power of firms.
4. Wages are also affected by firms colluding tacitly: an estimated one in five jobs in the US is now covered by a "non-compete" clause, which restricts workers from moving to rival firms.

Sentences of a paragraph are given below in jumbled order. Arrange the sentences in the correct order to form a meaningful and coherent paragraph:

1. In some places in China, the loss of insects is so great that armies of people have to fan out to pollinate crops by hand, in the absence of insects doing these jobs.
2. Insect populations worldwide are under threat: an estimated 40% of all species are declining and one-third of them are endangered.
3. Habitat loss often implies the destruction of rainforests, but the processes can be more mundane; the conversion of a field of wildflowers into a mall would have the same effect for insects.
4. The decline in the world's insect populations is bad news as they play critical roles in pollinating plants, breaking down waste in forest soil and forming the base of a food chain we rely upon.

For the four-sentence paragraph below, sentences S1 and S4 are given. From P, Q, R, and S, select the appropriate sentences for S2 and S3 respectively:

• S1: Just last week, the Victorian Court of Appeal significantly reduced the sentence given to Akon Guode, a mother who killed three of her children.
• S4: Surveys have shown that almost half of Australian prison entrants report being affected by a mental disorder.

Sentences:

• P. With that in mind, how are mental health issues taken into account during the criminal justice process?
• Q. The main reason for the $8\frac{1}{2}$-year sentence reduction was that the judge had not sufficiently taken Guode's major depression into account.
• R. It is common for offenders to have mental health problems.
• S. Each of these principles is mitigating; they point towards a more lenient sentence being given.

Select the most appropriate meaning of the underlined idiom in the following sentence:

"The financial year closing has all of us snowed under."

Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blanks in the given passage:

"A large number of industries (1) ________ post-independence India in the private, public, and joint sectors. Bhilai, Bokaro, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Rourkela, etc., (2) ________ during the first one and a half decades of independence."

Given below is a paragraph with five sentences presented in a jumbled order. Select the best order which forms a meaningful, unified, and coherent paragraph:

• A. Extreme ghosting can be considered gaslighting — the practice of manipulating somebody psychologically so that they doubt their sanity or understanding of a situation.
• B. The practice of ending a relationship without explaining to the partner and avoiding any communication attempts is named ghosting.
• C. Orbiting is identical to ghosting but the disengager still visibly follows the former partner on social media.
• D. The psychological and behavioral reactions to ghosting and orbiting pass through different stages of reactions before closure happens in the form of acceptance.
• E. Whether you've been gaslit, ghosted, orbited or (insert the latest damaging trend here), a therapist says having a name for the behavior you're experiencing can be beneficial for understanding what happened to you and figuring out a way to move past it.

For the four-sentence paragraph below, sentences S1 and S4 are given. From P, Q, R, and S, select the appropriate sentences for S2 and S3 respectively:

• S1: One Kashmiri morning in the early spring of 1915, my grandfather hit his nose against a frost-hardened tussock of earth while attempting to pray.
• S4: At that moment, he resolved never again to kiss earth for any god or man.

Sentences:

• P. Three drops of blood plopped out of his left nostril, hardened instantly in the brittle air, and lay before his eyes on the prayer mat, transformed into rubies.
• Q. This decision, however, made a hole in him, a vacancy in a vital inner chamber, leaving him vulnerable to women and history.
• R. Lurching back until he knelt with his head once more upright, he found that the tears which had solidified too, and at that moment, as he brushed diamonds contemptuously from his lashes...
• S. Unaware of this at first, despite his recently completed medical training.

Identify the error in the following sentence:

"She has been working here since three years."

Choose the word that is opposite in meaning (antonym) to the given word:

"Diligent"

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word:

"The teacher emphasized the importance of ________ the rules."

Read the passage below and answer the following question:

"Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth's climate system observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities. This is primarily caused by fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels."

Question: What is the primary cause of global warming?

Rearrange the following sentences to form a meaningful and coherent paragraph:

• A. A better solution might be available.
• B. The current method is flawed.
• C. Many scientists agree on this point.
• D. Research is being conducted to find alternatives.

What does the idiom "Beat around the bush" mean?

Convert the following sentence into the passive voice:

"The chef prepared a delicious meal."

Convert the following sentence into indirect (reported) speech:

"She said, 'I am going to the market.'"

Find the part of the sentence that contains a grammatical error:

"The students was excited for the trip to the museum."

Complete the passage with the most appropriate pair of words:

"During the pandemic, people started ________ their health more seriously. Many began to ________ exercise into their daily routines."

Choose the correct word to complete the sentence:

"He was ________ by the performance and decided to join the class."

Rearrange the following sentences to form a coherent paragraph:

• A. This leads to better decision-making.
• B. Critical thinking is an essential skill.
• C. It allows individuals to analyze situations effectively.
• D. Developing this skill takes time and practice.

Choose the correct one-word substitution:

"A person who speaks many languages"

Choose the correctly spelled word:

Fill in the blank with the correct preposition:

"She was delighted ________ the gift she received."

Choose the best replacement for the underlined part of the sentence:

"If he was knowing the truth, he would have spoken up."

Choose the correct word to fill the blank:

"The scientist's discovery was a ________ breakthrough in the field of medicine."

Choose the synonym of the word:

"Eloquent"

Choose the antonym of the word:

"Prosperity"

Complete the sentence with the most appropriate word:

"The manager asked the team to stay ________ the project deadlines."

Identify the correct homonym to fill the blank:

"He will ________ the new position of the manager."

Find the part of the sentence with an error:

"The committee have decided to postpone the meeting."

Choose the most suitable word to fill the blank:

"The project was successfully ________ within the given timeframe."

Read the passage and answer the question:

"The introduction of electric vehicles is expected to reduce air pollution significantly. Governments worldwide are encouraging the use of electric cars by offering incentives and building infrastructure."

Question: Why are governments encouraging electric vehicle usage?

What does the phrase "Bite the bullet" mean?

Convert the sentence into the passive voice:

"The team completed the project on time."

Select the most appropriate meaning of the underlined word in the sentence:

"The manager tried to placate the angry customer by offering a refund."

Choose the correct option to fill in the blank:

"She felt ________ after completing her first marathon."