The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) organizes Combined Defense Service (CDS) Examination. Through CDS Exam, candidates get admission to the courses at Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Officers Training Academy.
UPSC organizes CDS Exam twice in a year. The CDS Exam (I) 2017 was conducted in February 2017. While the notification for the CDS (II) 2017 will be released by the UPSC on 9 August 2017 and the exam will take place on 19 November 2017.
The exam will consist of three papers – Elementary Mathematics, English and General Knowledge. The three papers will be of 100 marks each.
For the benefit of CDS (II) Exam 2017 aspirants, Jagran Josh is providing you the CDS Exam (II) 2016 English Question Paper. It helps the aspirants in understanding the demand as well as the approach of the exam.
Directions for the following 25 (twenty- five) items: Look at the underlined part of each sentence. Below each sentence are given three possible substitutions for the underlined part. If one of them (a), (b) or (c) is better than the underlined part, indicate your response on the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter (a), (b) or (c). If none of the substitutions improves the sentence, indicate (d) as your response on the Answer Sheet. Thus a “No improvement” response will be signified by the letter (d).
Q1. Suppose if you are selected, will you give us a treat?
(a) Supposing if
(b) If suppose
(c) If
(d) No improvement
Q2. I would rather have a noble enemy than a mean friend.
(a) would more have
(b) would have
(c) will have
(d) No improvement
Q3. He decided to take the help of a guide lest he may miss the way.
(a) he should miss
(b) he will miss
(c) he might fail to see
(d) No improvement
Q4. He wanted my permission to taking part in sports.
(a) to take part in
(b) for to take part in
(c) for to taking part in
(d) No improvement
Q5. We are doing this in the interest of the poors.
(a) in the interests of the poors
(b) in the interests of the poor
(c) for the interests of the poor
(d) No improvement
Q6. He reached his destination at night.
(a) destination
(b) at his destination
(c) on his destination
(d) No improvement
Q7. One is often pleased with himself.
(a) with one’s self
(b) with themselves
(c) with oneself
(d) No improvement
Q8. Unless you are not very careful, you will run into debt.
(a) are very
(b) will be very
(c) may be
(d) No improvement
Q9. I am living in Bombay for the last ten years.
(a) had lived
(b) have been living
(c) lived
(d) No improvement
Q10. This scooter is not as efficient as it used to be; instead it is still a very useful machine.
(a) similarly
(b) furthermore
(c) nevertheless
(d) No improvement
Q11. The teacher as well as his wife were invited.
(a) was invited
(b) were also invited
(c) were being invited
(d) No improvement
Q12. I wish I can help you.
(a) may help
(b) could have helped
(c) could help
(d) No improvement
Q13. My brother is looking forward to meeting his employer tomorrow.
(a) to meet
(b) for meeting
(c) that he may meet
(d) No improvement
Q14. My father has given his ascent for my long tour.
(a) accent
(b) approof
(c) assent
(d) No improvement
Q15. Heavy work has been thrusted on me.
(a) has been thrust
(b) has thrusted
(c) has thrust down
(d) No improvement
Q16. No sooner had he completed his first novel than he fell seriously ill.
(a) he had completed
(b) could he completed
(c) he completed
(d) No improvement
Q17. There is many a slip between the cup and lip.
(a) cup and lip
(b) cups and lips
(c) the cup and the lip
(d) No improvement
Q18. We can go out whenever we choose to, isn’t it?
(a) can’t we
(b) are we not
(c) don’t we
(d) No improvement
Q19. He was too conscientious in the discharge of his duties that he could not serve that exploiter for long.
(a) that he would not serve
(b) for serving
(c) to serve
(d) No improvement
Q20. Decide one way or the other; you can’t be sitting on the fence forever.
(a) be seated on the fence
(b) be sitting and fencing
(c) be dancing on the fence
(d) No improvement
Q21. Raman wants to dispose off his house.
(a) to dispose of
(b) the disposal off
(c) the disposal off of
(d) No improvement
Q22. I regret for using objectionable words against a man so mighty.
(a) repent for
(b) sorry for
(c) regret
(d) No improvement
Q23. Ramesh is working in this factory for the past three months.
(a) has been working
(b) has been worked
(c) had worked
(d) No improvement
Q24. I am waiting for three-quarters of an hour.
(a) I am waiting since
(b) I have waited since
(c) I have been waiting for
(d) No improvement
Q25. This book is the more interesting of the three.
(a) the interesting
(b) the most interesting
(c) most interesting
(d) No improvement
Directions for the following 11 (eleven) items: Each of the following items in this section consists of a sentence the part of which have been jumbled. These parts have been labelled P, Q, R and S. Given below each sentence are four sequences namely (a), (b), (c) and (d). You are required to rearrange the jumbled parts of the sentence and mark your response accordingly.
The correct sequence should be
(a) PQRS
(b) QRSP
(c) QPSR
(d) QRPS
The correct sequence should be
(a) PSQR
(b) PQRS
(c) QPRS
(d) PRQS
The correct sequence should be
(a) PSRQ
(b) QSRP
(c) RSQP
(d) SPRQ
The correct sequence should be
(a) PRQS
(b) RPQS
(c) RQSP
(d) SQRP
The correct sequence should be
(a) QRSP
(b) PSQR
(c) SPQR
(d) QRPS
The correct sequence should be
(a) QRSP
(b) SQRP
(c) RSPQ
(d) PRQS
The correct sequence should be
(a) RSPQ
(b) PQSR
(c) RPQS
(d) RQSP
The correct sequence should be
(a) PQRS
(b) PRSQ
(c) QRSP
(d) QRPS
The correct sequence should be
(a) SQPR
(b) QRSP
(c) RQPS
(d) QPSR
The correct sequence should be
(a) SQRP
(b) PQRS
(c) RPSQ
(d) QPSR
The correct sequence should be
(a) PRSQ
(b) RSPQ
(c) SRQP
(d) RQSP
Directions for the following 20 (twenty) items: In this section, you have five short passages. After each passage, you will find some questions based on the passage. First, read a passage and answer the questions based on it. You are required to select your answers based on the contents of the passage and opinion of the author only.
Passage – 1
One of the most important things to notice about the power of art is the way in which great works continue to exert their influence through the ages. Scientific discoveries which are of major importance at the time when they are made are superseded. Thus, Newton’s theory of gravitation has been superseded by Einstein’s theory of relativity. Hence the work of great scientists has value in stages on the way to a goal which supersedes them. Broadly speaking, the achievements of generals, politicians, and statesmen have an importance only in their own time. Hence these people and their acts, great as they may have been are like milestones which mankind passes on its way to something else. But with works of art it is not so. The place which they occupy in the estimation of succeeding ages and the power which they exercise over men’s spirits are as great as they were in the age which produced them; indeed, their power tends to increase with time, as they came to be better understood.
Q37. The power of art can be judged through
(a) its influence on a few individuals.
(b) its influence on the people over the year.
(c) the greatness of great artists.
(d) the opinions of great thinkers.
Q38. The statement “Newton’s theory of gravitation has been superseded by Einstein’s theory of relativity” suggests that
(a) the theory of relativity has nothing to do with the theory of gravitation.
(b) the theory of relativity is new in comparison to the theory of gravitation.
(c) the theory of relativity is an improvement over the theory of gravitation.
(d) the theory of relativity has suppressed the theory of gravitation.
Q39. The achievements of generals, politicians and statesmen have been compared to milestones by the author because
(a) they are inscribed on the milestones.
(b) they have contemporary relevance.
(c) they have topical and historical interest.
(d) they are strong and lasting stones.
Q40. How is a work of art different from the work of a scientist?
(a) A work of art is as permanent as the work of a scientist.
(b) The influence of a work of art increases from age to age unlike the work of a scientist which diminishes in course of time.
(c) A work of art has no material value like the work of a scientist.
(d) A work of art is an expression of creative power while the work of a scientist is not.
Passage – 2
Most disputes about whether or not men are stronger than women are meaningless because the word ‘strong’ may mean many things. Most men can surpass most women in lifting heavy weights, in striking an object, in running, jumping or doing heavy physical labour. But most women live longer than most men, they have a better chance of resisting disease, they can beat men at operations requiring finger dexterity and the ability to work accurately under monotonous conditions. So it would be legitimate to argue that women are stronger than men. The truth is that each gender can surpass the other in certain kinds of activities. To say that one is stronger than the other is to indulge in futile arguments.
Q41. Which one of the following statements best reflects the main contention of the author?
(a) In most cases men are stronger than women.
(b) Since women are healthier than men they are also stronger.
(c) In some activities men are stronger than women and in some others women are stronger than men.
(d) Men and women are equally strong.
Q42. The author says that any dispute about whether or not men are stronger than women is meaningless, because
(a) it is an already established fact that men are stronger than women.
(b) the word ‘stronger’ can be interpreted in various ways.
(c) it is difficult to assess the comparative strength of men and women.
(d) it is a dispute that might harm the man-woman relationship in our society.
Q43. The author says it would be legitimate to argue that women are stronger than men, because
(a) the author believes in the superior strength of women.
(b) the author is not committed to any opinion.
(c) in some of the activities women do give an impression that they are stronger than men.
(d) in fact women are inferior to men in every respect.
Q44. From the passage, which of the following statements is most likely to be correct?
(a) Women live longer than men because they can resist diseases better than men.
(b) Monotonous living conditions make women stronger than men.
(c) All women are incapable of running, jumping and doing physical labour because they are not strong.
(d) Statistically speaking, most women live longer than most men.
Passage – 3
In national no less than in individual life there are no watertight compartments. No sharp lines can be drawn to mark off the political from the moral, the social from the economic regions of life. Politicians often talk as though one has only to introduce certain political and economic changes for paradise to descend on earth, forgetful of the fact that the efficiency of an institution depends on the way it is worked, which itself is determined by the character and wisdom of the men who work it.
Q45. Which one of the following statements most clearly suggests the central theme of the passage?
(a) Political and economic changes can solve all the problems facing the nation.
(b) There is no difference between the political, moral, social and economic regions of life.
(c) It is not the institutions that are important but the character and wisdom of the people who manage them.
(d) National progress depends solely on the efficient running of our institutions.
Q46. Which one of the following phrases best helps to bring out the precise contextual meaning of “watertight compartments”?
(a) Activities of life unaffected by public opinion.
(b) Spheres of life where no liberty of opinion is tolerated.
(c) Ways of life peculiar to each nation and each section of society.
(d) Spheres of life which are independent and unconnected with one another.
Q47. Which one of the following statements most correctly reflects the attitude of the author towards politicians’ opinions?
(a) The author totally disbelieves what the politicians say.
(b) The author believes what the politicians say.
(c) The author is skeptical about the claims of the politicians.
(d) The author thinks that the opinions of the politicians are contradictory.
Q48. Which one of the following statements most correctly indicates the implication of the phrase ‘paradise to descend on earth’?
(a) A world of perfect economic, political and social well-being.
(b) A world ruled by religious persons.
(c) A world of total liberty and equality.
(d) A world in which nobody needs to labour.
Passage – 4
Just as some men like to play football or cricket, so some men like to climb mountains. This is often very difficult to do, for mountains are not just big hills. Paths are usually very steep. Some mountainsides are straight up and down, so that it may take many hours to climb as little as one hundred feet. These is always the danger that you may fall off and be killed or injured. Men talk about conquering a mountain. It is a wonderful feeling to reach the top of a mountain after climbing for hours and may be even for days. You look down and see the whole country below you. You feel God-like. Two Italian prisoners of war escaped from a prison camp in Kenya during the war. They did not try to get back to their own country, for they knew that was impossible. Instead they climbed to the top of Mount Kenya, and then they came down again and gave themselves up. They had wanted to get that feeling of freedom that one has, after climbing a difficult mountain.
Q49. Some men like to climb mountains because
(a) they do not like to play football or cricket.
(b) they know the trick of climbing.
(c) they want to have a wonderful feeling.
(d) they like to face danger.
Q50. To climb a mountain is often difficult because
(a) mountains are big hills.
(b) it consumes more time.
(c) prisoners often escape from camps and settle there.
(d) paths are steep and uneven.
Q51. It is a wonderful feeling ……. ‘It’ refers to
(a) the steep path
(b) the prisoner
(c) the mountain
(d) mountaineering
Q52. Two Italian prisoners escaped the camp and climbed to the top of Mount Kenya to
(a) escape to Italy.
(b) come down and give up.
(c) gain fame as mountaineers.
(d) get the feeling of freedom.
Passage – 5
Most of the people who appear most often and most gloriously in the history books are great conquerors and generals and soldiers, whereas the people who really helped civilization forward are often never mentioned at all. We do not know who first set a broken leg, or launched a seaworthy boat, or calculated the length of the year, or manoeuvred a field; but we know all about the killers and destroyers. People think a great deal of them, so much so that on all the highest pillars in the great cities of the world you will find the figure of a conqueror or a general or a soldier. And I think most people believed that the greatest countries are those that have beaten in battle the greatest number of other countries and ruled over them as conquerors.
Q53. People who are glorified often in history books are those
(a) who contributed to the public health.
(b) who contributed to the technical knowledge of man.
(c) who made calendars.
(d) who fought and won wars.
Q54. The words “the people who really helped civilization forward” suggest that conquerors, generals, and soldiers
(a) contributed a great deal to civilization.
(b) contributed only towards civilization.
(c) were least interested in the progress of civilization.
(d) contributed little to civilization.
Q55. We will find the figure of a conqueror or a general or a soldier on all the highest pillars in great cities because
(a) they sacrificed their lives for the benefit of humanity.
(b) people have exaggerated notions about their achievements.
(c) they had a deep concern for the welfare of humanity.
(d) they built most cities.
Q56. The passage implies that the greatest countries are those that
(a) have conquered many countries and ruled over them.
(b) are very large in their size.
(c) have the largest population.
(d) are civilized.
Directions for the following 20 (twenty) items: Each question in this section has a sentence with three underlined parts labelled (a), (b) and (c). Read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in any underlined part and indicate your response in the Answer Sheet against the corresponding letter i.e., (a) or (b) or (c). If you find no error, your response should be indicated as (d).
Directions for the following 14 (fourteen) items: In the following items, each passage consists of six sentences. The first and the sixth sentence are given in the beginning as S1 and S6. The middle four sentences in each have been removed and jumbled up. These are labelled P, Q, R and S. You are required to find out the proper sequence of the four sentences and mark your response accordingly on the Answer Sheet.
Q77. S1: History shows that the growth of civilization depends upon the gifts of nature, particularly the wealth yielded by the soil.
S6: In fact, most of the wars in the beginning of humanity’s history were fought for the gain of territory.
P: The more land they had, the more they were satisfied.
Q: The nature and the quality of the land they possessed were of great importance to them.
R: All ancient communities worked hard to produce food.
S: There was also a great desire among them to possess as much land as possible.
The proper sequence should be
(a) RQSP
(b) QRSP
(c) SQRP
(d) PRQS
Q78. S1: There were shots as I ran.
S6: Staying submerged was only too easy with so much clothing and my army boots.
P: The water was icy, but I stayed until I thought my lungs would burst.
Q: I tripped at the edge and went in with a splash.
R: The minute I came up I took a breath and plunged down again.
S: I ducked down, pushed between two men and ran for the river.
The proper sequence should be
(a) SQPR
(b) PRQS
(c) SQRP
(d) QSPR
Q79. S1: Why do the English travel?
S6: For here, in cosmopolitan England, one is always exposed to the danger of meeting all sorts of peculiar aliens.
P: Besides, they are taught that travel broadens the mind.
Q: They do so mainly because their neighbour does this and they have caught the bug from him.
R: Although they have now discovered the sad truth that whatever travel may do to the mind, it certainly broadens other parts of the body.
S: But, and perhaps mainly, they travel to avoid foreigners.
The proper sequence should be
(a) RSQP
(b) PRSQ
(c) SQPR
(d) QPRS
Q80. S1: Jumbo, the famous 3.3 metre elephant was born in Africa over a hundred years ago.
S6: Before his death in September 1882, he had been seen by over 20 million Americans.
P: After disembarkation in New York, he was taken in a procession to the place where he was to be kept.
Q: Another admirer was the famous American showman Barnum who bought it for a huge sum in February 1882.
R: Transported from his native land to London Zoo, he became a favourite of Queen Victoria.
S: He made his transatlantic voyage aboard SS Assyrian Monarch.
The proper sequence should be
(a) PQRS
(b) SRQP
(c) PSRQ
(d) RQSP
Q81. S1: The bureaucrat and the social worker are men of totally different orientations and styles of functioning.
S6: The world will be a better place to live in if they learn a little from each other.
P: The other is considered to be a man ever on the move.
Q: He is portrayed as a man fond of rules above all other things.
R: The one is regarded as given to sedentary habits, doing a lot of paper work.
S: Driven by an urge to help others he is impatient with red tape and unnecessary delays.
The proper sequence should be
(a) PQRS
(b) RQPS
(c) SRQP
(d) QPSR
Q82. S1: Universities are peculiar institutions.
S6: It is the most important institution in the complex process of knowledge creation and distribution.
P: Traditionally elite institutions, the modern university has provided social mobility to previously disfranchised groups.
Q: The contemporary university stands at the centre of its society.
R: They have common historical roots yet are deeply embedded in their societies.
S: Established in the medieval period to transmit established knowledge and provide training for a few key professions, universities have become a primary creator of new knowledge through basic research.
The proper sequence should be
(a) PSQR
(b) SQRP
(c ) SPRQ
(d) RPSQ
Q83. S1: At the age of eighteen Gandhi went to college, but remained for only part of the year.
S6: This was against his religion, and most of his relatives were against his going.
P: Soon after this, he was advised to go to England to study to be a lawyer.
Q: Studies did not interest him and he did not do well.
R: It was difficult for him to leave India and go to a foreign land where he would have to eat and drink with foreigners.
S: This would not be easy.
The proper sequence should be
(a) PSRQ
(b) SQPR
(c) PRQS
(d) QPSR
Q84. S1: Helen graduated in 1904 with special honours in English.
S6: Her dress was torn and roses were snatched from her hat.
P: She was twenty-four years old.
Q: She was invited to the St. Louis Exposition in 1904 to awaken worldwide interest in the education of the deaf-blind.
R: But on Helen Keller Day the crowds got out of hand.
S: Requests were already flowing in for appearances and for magazine articles.
The proper sequence should be
(a) QPSR
(b) SPRQ
(c) PSQR
(d) SQRP
Q85. S1: One of the many young scientists who chose to throw in their lot with Rutherford was an Oxford physical chemist, Frederick Soddy.
S6: We now know that Gamma rays are a particularly fierce form of X-rays.
P: His association with Rutherford lasted only two years, but that was long enough to change the whole face of physics.
Q: He was just 23.
R: They found that thorium changed into a new element, thorium X, and in the process gave off what was apparently a gas and at the same time a third type of ray, which they named after the Greek letter ‘Gamma’.
S: When he teamed up with Rutherford, they investigated thorium which, as Marie Curie had shown, was radioactive.
The proper sequence should be
(a) PQSR
(b) QPSR
(c) QPRS
(d) QSRP
Q86. S1: The boy felt his way up the creaking stairs through thick darkness.
S6: He was just telling himself he was safe when the door was flung open and the gaunt old man grabbed his shoulder.
P: All he had to do was just get past the central door on the landing.
Q: He stopped as the great clock below whined for a few seconds and gave out a single, solemn stroke.
R: His eyes were raised to the faint moonlight that shone above the landing.
S: He hesitated as the sound died down and then crept on, thinking that if they could sleep through that, they would sleep through any noise he could make.
The proper sequence should be
(a) PQSR
(b) RQSP
(c) PRQS
(d) RQPS
Q87. S1: Don’t you think that the housefly is a nuisance?
S6: When you see a fly rubbing its legs together, it is just cleaning itself, and scraping off some of the material that has gathered there.
P: For ages that’s what man considered the fly to be – just a nuisance.
Q: It was discovered that these flies carried disease germs that cause the death of millions of people every year.
R: But now we know that the innocent-looking housefly is one of man’s worst enemies.
S: It makes an irritating buzzing sound; it annoys you when it crawls on your skin; and so on.
The proper sequence should be
(a) RQPS
(b) PQSR
(c) QPRS
(d) SPRQ
Q88. S1: Iguanodon was one of the first dinosaurs to be scientifically described.
S6: This quadrupedal dinosaur lived about 70 million years ago and its fossils are found in many parts of England, Europe, Asia and North Africa.
P: These teeth formed a dental battery in which replacing teeth were constantly growing.
Q: The fore limbs were slightly larger than other members of its group known as Ornithischia.
R: It had numerous teeth in the sides of the jaws, arranged in rows.
S: It was about 40 feet in length.
The proper sequence should be
(a) QSRP
(b) SRPQ
(c) RQPS
(d) PQSR
Q89. S1: A single device can heat fluids without requiring an electrical element.
S6: Because there is no electrical element, there is no risk of fire, so the system is suitable for dangerous environments.
P: A heat exchanger transfers heat from the central cavity to an air heater, a water heater or an industrial processor.
Q: It has a container like the crank case of a car’s engine, which contains the fluid to be heated.
R: Compression and friction at the nozzles heat the fluid so that the temperature in the central cavity rises steadily.
S: A motor and pulley inside the container turn a rotor wheel, which in turn forces the fluid again and again through narrow nozzles into a central cavity.
The proper sequence should be
(a) RPSQ
(b) SPQR
(c) QSRP
(d) SRPQ
Q90. S1: There is no doubt that the rules governing imports, manufacture and the use of pesticides need to be further tightened up.
S6: At the same time, better pollution control measures are needed to check the discharge of poisonous gases and chemicals by a host of other industries which are equally responsible for poisoning our world.
P: But a more practical and feasible approach is required to tackle this problem.
Q: No one can deny the importance of pesticides in our agriculture.
R: The proposed amendment is an attempt at doing this, but in the process it seems to have gone overboard in most cases.
S: Even today, nearly a fourth of our crop is lost due to pests and weeds.
The proper sequence should be
(a) RPSQ
(b) RQSP
(c) QSPR
(d) PRSQ
Directions for the following 30 (thirty) items: In the following passages, at certain points you are given a choice of three words marked (a), (b) and (c), one of which fits the meaning of the passage. Choose the best word out of the three. Mark the letter, viz., (a), (b) or (c), relating to this word on your Answer Sheet. Examples K and L have been solved for you.
Explanation: Out of the list given in item K, only, ‘boy’ is the correct answer because usually, a boy, and not a horse or a dog, attends school. So ‘(a)’ is to be marked on the Answer Sheet for item K. A boy is usually referred to as ‘he’, so for item L, ‘(c)’ is the correct answer. Notice that to solve the first item K, you have to read the rest of the sentence and then see what fits best.
119.
(a) have been fashion by this process break more easily than those made by hammering. When
(b) have been fashioned
(c) are in fashion
120.
(a) those metals are melted they can be mixed together. The mixture is called an alloy.
(b) two
(c) all
CDS (II) 2016 Exam: General Knowledge Question Paper
CDS (II) 2016 Exam: Elementary Mathematics Question Paper
For All the CDS Exam Previous Year Question Papers, click here
