(Papers) : IIT Madras HSEE Papers-2021
(English and Comprehension Skill)

Read the given passage and answer the following questions (Subsequent 5 questions are based on the passage).

A game of strategy, as currently conceived in game theory, is a situation in which two or more 'players' make choices among available alternatives (moves). The totality of choices determines the outcomes of the game, and  
it is assumed that the rank order of preferences for the outcomes is different for different players. Thus the 'interests' of the players are generally in conflict.

Whether these interests are diametrically opposed or only partially opposed depends on the type of the game. Psychologically, most interesting situations arise when the interests of the players are partly coincident and 
partly opposed, because then one can postulate not only a conflict among the players but also inner conflicts within the players.

Internal conflicts are always psychologically interesting. What we vaguely call 'interesting' psychology is in very great measure the psychology of inner conflict. Inner conflict is also held to be an important component of serious literature as distinguished from less serious genres. The classical tragedy, as well as the serious novel, reveals the inner conflict of central figures. The superficial adventure story, on the other hand, depicts only external conflict; that is, the threats to the person with whom the reader identifies them in these stories are exclusively from external obstacles and from the adversaries who create them. On the most primitive level this sort of external conflict is psychologically empty. In the fisticuffs between the protagonists of good and evil, no psychological problems are involved or, at any rate, none are depicted in juvenile representations of conflict. The detective story, the 'adult' analogue of a juvenile adventure tale, has at times been described as a glorification of intellectualized conflict. But the conflict is psychologically interesting only to the extent that it contains irrational components such as tactical error on the criminal's part or the detective's insight into some psychological quirk of the criminal. Conflict conducted in a perfectly rational manner is psychologically not very interesting. In short, a pure conflict of interest although it offers a wealth of interesting conceptual problems, is not interesting psychologically, except to the extent that its conduct departs from rational norms.

1. What determines the outcome of the game according to game theory?
1. Sum of choices
2. Psychology of individual players
3. External impediments
4. Internal irresolutions
2. When is the situation most interesting psychologically, according to game theory?
1. The sparring between good and evil
2. Engaging in adventure story
3. Simultaneous situation of partial coincidence as well as opposition
4. Psychologicalliquidation
3. What genres of literature reveal inner conflict according to game theory?
1. Modern tragedy and adventure story
2. Classical tragedy and serious novel
3. Psychological drama and conflict literature
4. Detective story and juvenile adventure
4. What sub-genre in literature exemplifies cerebral confusion?
1. Adult literature
2. Adventure tale
3. Adolescent literature
4. Detective story
5. What do irrational components contribute to conflict?
1. Departure from tension
2. Pscyhological interest
3. Anticlimax in action
4. Conceptual confusion

Read the following extract and answer the questions given below (Subsequent 5 questions are based on the passage)
The winter evening settles down
With smell of steaks in passageways,
Six o'clock.
The burnt-out ends of smoky days.
And now a gusty shower wraps
The grimy scraps
Of withered leaves about your feet
And newspapers from vacant lot
The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimney-pots
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps
And then the lighting of the lamps.
6. What kind of mood is depicted in the extract above?
1. Derogatory
2. Celebratory
3. Carnivalesque
4. Gloomy
7. What isthe figure ofspeech used in "the burnt-out ends ofsmoky days"?
1. Metaphysical wit
2. Conceit
3. Dead metaphor
4. Metonymy
8. What does the clock time in the passage indicate symbolically?
1. Twilight
2. Punctuality
3. Exhaustion
4. Productivity
9. What does the "lonely cab-horse" indicate symbolically?
1. Alienation and immobility
2. Vigour and velocity
3. Strength and superiority
4. Beauty and symmetry
10. Choose the most appropriate option that can act as antonym of the underlined word. 

She knew it was that that had given her the palpitations.
1. Nervousness
2. Hysteria
3. Calmness
4. Trepidation
11. Choose the most appropriate option that can act as antonym of the underlined word.

He talked with her paternally, and dogmatically, with a touch of arbitrariness.
1. Wantonness
2. Capriciousness
3. Absurdity
4. Sequentiality
12. Choose the most appropriate option that can act as synonym of the underlined word.

The officer seats himself in the sleigh, and brandishes it.
1. Conceals
2. Wields
3. Consumes
4. Abandons
13. Which of the following words can most appropriately act as synonym of the word 'despondence'.
1. Euphoria
2. Melancholia
3. Uncanny
4. Tyranny
14. Identify the figure of speech used in this sentence.
 "Soft language issued from their spitless lips as they swished".
1. Assonance
2. Malapropism
3. Litotes
4. Chiasmus
15. Identify the figure of speech used in this sentence.
 "It is not that they did not know the outcome of the event but still chose to proceed".
1. Tautology
2. Anticlimax
3. Litotes
4. Asyndeton
16. Identify the figure of speech used in this sentence.
 "Ten thousand saw I at a glance".
1. Polysyndeton
2. Climax
3. Alliteration
4. Hyperbole
17. Choose the sentence with the correct use of punctuation among the following options.
1. Turning she saw the amusement in my eyes, her own lit up, with rare and lovely laughter.
2. Turning she saw; the amusement in my eyes: her own lit up with rare and lovely laughter.
3. Turning, she saw the amusement in my eyes; her own lit up with rare and lovely laughter.
4. Turning she saw the amusement: in my eyes; her own lit up with rare and lovely laughter.
18. Choose the most appropriate question tag for the following:
 You will still be there after I come back from work, ______
1. won't you?
2. will you?
3. haven't you?
4. would you?
19. Choose the most appropriate question tag for the following:
 Let us have another go at it, ______
1. will we?
2. won't we?
3. haven't we?
4. shall we?
20. Choose the correct spelling from the given options.
1. Locqacous
2. Loquicous
3. Loqasious
4. Loquacious
21. Choose the correct spelling from the given options.
1. Annahilition
2. Annihilation
3. Anihilation
4. Annihalation
22. Pick the most appropriate option from the following and fill in the blanks:
 They used to be very good friends but now they have fallen ________.
1. in
2. over
3. out
4. under
23. Pick the most appropriate option from the following and fill in the blanks:
 He fought his opponent for as long as he could but in the end he had to give ______.
1. around
2. away
3. in
4. over
24. Pick the most appropriate sequence of articles from the following options and fill in the blanks:
 ____ next door boy found ____ two-rupee note while playing in ____ neighbourhood park.
1. a, a, the
2. the, an, a
3. the, a, the
4. the, an, the
25. Pick the most appropriate sequence of articles from the following options and fill in the blanks:
 She became ____ Principal of ____ one-year old college in ____ year 1981.
1. the, a, the
2. the, an, an
3. a, the, the
4. a, the, an
26. In the given sentence, pick the most appropriate meaning of the underlined idiom from the following options:
The two teams have been playing against each other across all formats of the game and there is no love lost
between the players.
1. No love is lost
2. There is no love
3. There is endless love
4. There is great love for the game
27. In the given sentence, pick the most appropriate meaning of the underlined idiom from the following options:
She was a specialist in making low-cost candles but she burnt her fingers by botching up a big order.
1. Her fingers got burnt
2. She burnt the candles while making those
3. She burnt the order documents
4. She got into trouble while engaging with this business
28. Pick the most appropriate form of Indirect Speech of the given sentence from the following options:
Our parents said to us, "Were you at home last night?"
1. Our parents ordered us to be at home last night.
2. Our parents asked us if we were at home the night before.
3. Our parents had requested us to stay at home the night before.
4. Our parents figured out that we were not at home the night before.
29. Pick the most appropriate Passive form for the sentence provided below:
 When will you return the borrowed bat?
1. Will you return the bat you borrowed?
2. You will not return the bat you borrowed.
3. When the borrowed bat will be returned?
4. When will the borrowed bat be returned?
30. Pick the most appropriate Passive form for the sentence provided below:
 Why did your cousin write such a story?
1. Why was such a story written by your cousin?
2. Why was your cousin writing such a story?
3. Was such a story written by your cousin?
4. Did your cousin write such a story?
31. Identify the correct part of speech of the underlined word from the following sentence:
Our team went away after the closing song was sung.
1. Adverb
2. Preposition
3. Conjunction
4. Adjective
32. Identify the correct part of speech of the underlined word from the following sentence:
The horse was standing all alone when we finally spotted it.
1. Preposition
2. Adverb
3. Adjective
4. Pronoun
33. Identify the correct part of speech of the underlined word from the following sentence:
Despite being tired, we ran as quickly as we could.
1. Adverb
2. Conjunction
3. Preposition
4. Adjective
34. Choose the most grammatically correct sentence from the following options.
1. If I was a superhero I could get rid of all poverty in the world.
2. If I were a superhero I would get rid of all poverty in the world.
3. If I became a superhero I would get rid of all poverty in the world.
4. If I am a superhero I will get rid of all poverty in the world.
35. Choose the most grammatically correct sentence from the following options.
1. The team started with a lot of energy but they are running out of steam.
2. The team started with a lot of energy but they are running into steam.
3. The team started with a lot of energy but they are running on steam.
4. Because the team started with a lot of energy they are running into steam.
36. Which of the following prefixes can be added to the word "done"?
1. no
2. be
3. un
4. mis

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