SAMPLE QUESTIONS

TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Deonar, Mumbai 400 088
Written Test for Admission to
all the programs 2009-2011
PART I

Duration: 45 Hour Total Marks: 50

Instructions to Candidates:

Description of the Part I Test

Total marks allotted 50
No. of questions 50
Time allotted 45 minutes
Sectional time limit No
Sectional cut off No
Type of Question Multiple Choice
No negative marking
Try to attempt all the questions

Section A (Marks 20)

Language abitlity

Read the passage provided below and answer the questions that follow:

The Teacher Shobha Vajpayee divides her class into groups of five or six children,
and soon everyone is engrossed in measuring the length and breath of the classroom
to draw a map to scale. She took a moment to share with me her reflections on the
episode that had just taken place, and she was quick to acknowledge, “Had it not been
for the training I have received, I would certainly have interrupted the girl. The
training has helped me learn to respect what the children are saying and be receptive
to the why of it.” Shobha was referring to the trainings organised by the NGO as a
part of their Social Science Teaching Programme (SSTP). This is an educational
innovation that is being tried out in eight schools of Madhya Pradesh. She felt that
this exposure had greatly influenced her teaching not just in social science but in other
subjects too. “It has changed my entire way of looking at things she exclaimed,
saying that now she is able to look beyond rote learning and exams and understand
that in every subject there is a scope to discuss the social and attempt the practical.”

1.Who has given training to the teachers?

(a) Shobha
(b) The NGO
(c) The school board
(d) Madhya Pradesh government
2. What is the author referring to as an ‘educational innovation’?
(a) Children working in groups
(b) The teacher
(c) The teaching methodology.
(d) The social science programme of the NGO.

3. Which of the following sentences is not based upon information given in the
passage.
(a) Through this programme children achieve more.
(b) Through this programme teachers have begun to teach in a different manner.
(c) Through this programme social science is being taught differently.
(d) Through this programme other subject areas have been influenced.

4. In the sentence ‘It has changed my entire ways of looking at things’ she exclaimed
‘it’ refers to:
(a) Children working in groups
(b) The training programme
(c) The NGO
(d) The children

5. In the first sentence of this passage, the word closest in meaning to ‘engrossed’ is:
(a) focussed
(b) busy
(c) working
(d) enabled

6. According to the author, in what way has Shobha’s teaching changed?

(a) she worked harder
(b) she enjoys being with children more
(c) she is able to understand ways to handle the subjects better
(d) non of the above

7. Which of the following words does not belong to the set: (i) indifferent
(ii) involved, (iii) interested (iv) engrossed

(a) i
(b) iv
(c) iii
(d) ii

8. The word ‘terminally-ill’ refers to

(a) the condition of a person who is very ill.
(b) the condition of a person who needs to be hospitalised
(c) the condition of a person whose illness will definitely lead to death
(c) the condition of a person whose illness has been terminated.
9. .......... all countries in the world, India has the highest level of illiteracy.
(a) in
(b) of
(b) at
(d) on

10. “We are all ready to go, but we have not yet received our visas.”
This sentence can be rewritten as:
(a.) We can go there only if we receive our visa
(b) Although we are all ready to go, we are not yet able to as we have not received our
visa.
(c) Only if we receive our visa we can go.
(d) Unless we receive visa we cannot go.

Given below is a sentences with a word or phrase underlined. Pick an alternative that
can be used in its place, without altering the meaning of the original sentence:

11. On the other hand many parents feel that it is better to begin studying English
from Class I.
(a) However
(b) For this reason
(c) Despite this
(d) In any case

Fill in the appropriate choice to complete the sentence

12. For the first time CIDCO has ...........to implement the green building concept.
(a) decides
(b) decided
(c) decisive
(d) decision

13. Which of the following sentences has the same meaning as the sentence provided:

In spite of the fact that there has been an increase in the number of schools in rural
areas, still many children do not have access.
(a)Because there are too many children in rural areas, many of them are not able to
access schools.
(b)Although there are many more schools now, still there are children who are not
able to access schools.
(c)Because of the increase in the number of schools, children are not able to get
access.
(d)The biggest hurdle is giving children access to schools.

14. One of the biggest problem we face in our country is our inability to work in
teams. The correct form of this sentence is:
(a)One of the big problems we face in our country is our inability to work in teams.
(b)One of the biggest problems we face in our country is our inability to work in
teams.
(c)One of the big problem we face in our country is our inability to work in teams.
(d)One of the problem we face in our country is our inability to work in teams.

15. ___ there a better way of getting this thing done?

(a) Is
(b) Are
(c) Of course
(d) Which of

16.When she learnt that she had been selected, she was the ................. person in the
colony
(a) happier
(b) happiest
(c) happy
(d) most happiest

Fill in the blanks with the correct word/phrase:

The Floor Space Index (FSI)—the permissible built up area on a plot— ___(17)
1.33 for most of Mumbai. The concept of FSI in Mumbai at present is scheme-
specific ___(18)___ area-specific.

17. (a) were

(b) be
(c) is
(d) being

18. (a) rather than

(b) rather
(c) instead
(d) than instead

19. ‘I am beginning to feel tired’.

a) She said she was beginning to feel tired.
b) She said I am feeling tired.
c) She said she is tired.
d) She said she feels tired.

20. “I did not prepare for this examination.’ This sentence is the answer to which of
the following questions?
a. Did you do this examination?
b. Why didn’t you prepare for this examination?
c. Did you prepare for this examination?
d. Didn’t you prepare for this examination?
Section B (Marks 15)
Analytical and numerical ability.

21. Study the following figures

Which of the following figures is the next in the sequence?

A B C D

22.

Which of the following figures is the next in the sequence?

A B C D

23.

Which of the following figures is the next in the sequence?

A B C D
24. After a discount of 11.11%, a trader still makes a gain of 14.28%. At how many
percent above the cost price does he mark his goods?
(a) 28.56% (b) 35% (c) 22.22% (d) None of these

25. A dealer buys dry fruit at Rs.100, Rs. 80 and Rs. 60 per kg. He mixes them in the
ratio 3: 4: 5 by weight, and sells them at a profit of 50%. At what price does he sell
the dry fruit?
(a) Rs. 80/kg (b) Rs. 100/kg (c) Rs. 95/kg (d) None of these

26. An express train travelling at 80 kmph overtakes a goods train, twice as long and
going at 40 kmph on a parallel track, in 54 seconds. How long will the express train
take to cross a station 400 m long?
(a) 36 sec (b) 45 sec (c) 27 sec (d) None of these

27. The average marks of a student in ten papers are 80. If the highest and the lowest
scores are not considered, the average is 81. If his highest score is 92, find the lowest.
(a) 55 (b) 60 (c) 62 (d) Cannot be determined.

28. A person starts from a point A and travels 3 km eastwards to B and then turns left
and travels thrice that distance to reach C. He again turns left and travels five times
the distance he covered between A and B and reaches his destination D. The shortest
distance between the starting point and destination is
(a) 18 km (b) 16 km (c) 15 km (d) 12 km

29. What is maximum number of pieces of 5 cm x 5 cm x 10 cm cake that can be cut

from a big ca ke of 5 cm x30 cm x 30 cm size?
(a) 10 (b) 15 (c) 18 (d) 30

30. A rectangular water tank measures 15 m x 6 m at top and is 10 m deep. It is full of

water. If water is drawn out lowering the level by 1 meter, how much of water has
been drawn out? ?
(a) 90,000 litres? (b) 45,000 litres? (c) 4,500 litres? (d) 900 litres

31. The average weight of a class of 24 students is 36 years. When the weight of the
teacher is also included, the average weight increases by 1 kg. What is the weight of
the teacher?
(A) 60 kg
(B) 61 kg
(C) 37 kg
(D) 40 kg
 Directions (For the next FOUR items): Based on the information given below,
answer the four items which follow it :
Gopal, Harsh, Inder, Jai and Krishnan live in one of these cities: Ahmedabad, Bhopal,
Cuttack, Delhi and Ernakulam (Not necessarily in that order).
They' keep only one of the following pets at home: Horse, Rat, Elephant, Dog and cat.
(Not necessarily in that order).
None of the five children likes the same thing, but each of them likes one of the
following: Ice-cream, kebab, Soda, Biryani, Curdrice
Further, it is given that:
I. Gopal's lives in Ernakulam and likes Ice-cream
II. Harsh does not live in Cuttack or Bhopal. .
III. The person in Bhopal keeps a rat.
IV. lnder's lives in Cuttack.
V. Krishnan likes biryani and does not live in Ahmedabad.
VI. Jai lives in Delhi and likes curd-rice.
VII. There are no dogs or cats in Cuttack, Bhopal or Delhi
Based on the information given above answer the next FOUR items:
32. What is Krishnan’s pet?
(a) Rat (b) Horse
(c) Elephant (d) Cannot be determined

33. Which is in Inder’s pet?

(a) Elephant (b) Horse
(c) Rat (d) Cannot be determined

34. Who likes Soda?

(a) Inder (b) Harsh
(c) Harsh or Inder (d) Cannot be determined

35. Which one of the following is the not a possible combination of Person –
Hometown - Pet?
(a) Gopal - Ernakulam- Dog
(b) Jai - Delhi - Elephant
(c) Inder - Cuttack - Elephant
(d) None of the above
Section C (Marks 15)
Awareness on Social Issues

36. Which of the following is mismatched

a. Godavari - Maharashtra
b. Cauvery – Karnataka
c. Ganga – Himachal Pradesh
d. Haldia - Bihar
37. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) act of 1958 is in force in
a. Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram
b. Assam, Tripura and Mehalaya
c. All of the above
d. None of the above
38. Who among the following has not won the ‘Bharat Ratna’?
a. Lata Mangeshkar
b. Marudhur Gopalan Ramachandran
c. Dr. Nelson Rohilhlahla Mandela
d. Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao

39. The National programme of Nutritional Support to Primary education was

launched
a. 1995
b. 1996
c. 2004
d. 2005

40. The constitution has

a. 12 schedules, 395 articles, 22 parts
b. 12 schedules, 375 articles, 20 parts
c. 12 schedules, 394 articles, 22 parts
d. 12 schedules, 395 articles, 21 parts

41. Which of the following is incorrectly matched?

a. Bhakranangal – Haryana
b. Srisailam – Andhrapradesh
c. Gandhisagar – Madhya Pradesh
d. Sardar Sarovar - Gujarat

42. Which of the following is not one of the socio – demographic goals of the
National Population Policy - 2000
a. Make school education up to age 14 free and compulsory, and reduce drop
outs at primary and secondary school levels to below 20 percent for both boys
and girls.
b. Achieve universal immunization of children against all vaccine preventable
diseases.
c. Promote delayed marriage for girls, not earlier than age 18 and preferably after
20 years of age.
d. None of the above
43. Which among this has not won the nobel prize
a. C.V.Raman
b. R.K.Pachauri
c. Abdul Kalam
d. Amartya sen

44. The current contribution of Nucleur power to total energy production in India is
a. > 20 %
b. 15-20 %
c. >15%
d. < 5%

45. The literacy rate for females in India according to the census of 2001 is
a. 50-55%
b. 45-55%
c. 40-45%
d. 55-60%

46. Which of the following is not a poet

a. M.F. Hussain
b. Kaifi Azmi
c. Makhdoom Mohiuddin
d. Sahir Ludhianvi

47. Gitanjali was written originally written in

a. Hindi
b. Sanskrit
c. Bengali
d. English

48. P.C.Mahalanobis is associated with

a. Agriculture
b. Statistics
c. Medicine
d. Geology

49. Which of the following does mosquito not spread

a. Dengue
b. Malaria
c. Filaria
d. Cholera

50. I.C.D.S provides

a. financial support to mothers
b. nutrition to children
c. subsidies to B.P.L. families
d. micro credit