HCL placement model paper of 2010 (12th January )
Hi… this is duke …from MCA …m selected in HCL Technology 2010-batch from VIT Vellore…
M sending some model questions…of HCL Technology pattern!!!
All the Best!!!
1. How many of the integers between 25 and 45 are even ?
(A)21
(B)20
(C)11
(D)10
(E)9
Ans:d)10
2. If taxi fares were Rs 1.00 for the first 1/5 mile and Rs 0.20 for each 1/5 miles thereafter. The taxi fare for a 3-mile ride was
(A)Rs 1.56
(B)Rs 2.40
(C)RS 3.00
(D)Rs 3.80
(E)Rs 4.20
Answer :d)Rs 3.80
3. A computer routine was developed to generate two numbers (x,y) the first being a random number between 0 and 100 inclusive, and the second being less than or equal to the square root of the first. Each of the following pair satisfies the routine EXCEPT
(A) (99.10)
(B) (85.9)
(C) (50.7)
(D) (1.1)
(E) (1.0)
Answer : A) (99.10)
4. A warehouse had a square floor with area 10,000 sq.meters. A rectangular addition was built along one entire side of the warehouse that increased the floor by one-half as much as the original floor. How many meters did the addition extend beyond the original buildings ?
(A)10
(B)20
(C)50
(D)200
(E)500
Ans: c)50
5. A digital wristwatch was set accurately at 8.30 a.m and then lost 2 seconds every 5 minutes. What time was indicated on the watch at 6.30 p.m of the same day if the watch operated continuously that time ?
(A)5:56
(B)5:58
(C)6.00
(D)6.23
(E)6.26
Ans :E) 6.26
6. A 5 litre jug contains 4 litres of a salt water solution that is 15 percent salt. If 1.5 litres of the solution spills out of the jug, and the jug is then filled to capacity with water, approximately what percent of the resulting solution in the jug is salt?
(A)7.5%
(B)9.5%
(C) 10.5%
(D)12%
(E)15%
Ans :A)7.5%
7. A plane travelled K miles in the first 96 miles of flight time. If it completed the remaining 300 miles of the trip in 1 minute, what was its average speed in miles per hour for the entire trip ?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Ans :(300+k)/97 * 60
8. A merchant sells an item at a 20 percent discount. but still makes a gross profit of 20 percent of the cost. What percent of cost would be gross profit on the item have been if it had been sold without the discount?
(A)20%
(B)40%
(C)50%
(D)60%
(E)66.6%
Ansr :c) 50%
9. A millionaire bought a job lot of hats 1/4 of which were brown. The millionaire sold 2/3 of the hats including 4/5 of the brown hats. What fraction of the unsold hats were brown.
(A)1/60
(B)1/15
(C)3/20
(D)3/5
(E)3/4
Ans :c)3/20
10. How many integers n greater than and less than 100 are there such that,if the digits of n are reversed, the resulting integer is n+9 ?
(A)5
(B)6
(C)7
(D)8
(E)9
Ans :D)8
11. An investor purchased a shares of stock at a certain price.If the stock increased in price Rs 0.25 per share and the total increase for the x shares was Rs 12.50, how many shares of stock had been purchased ?
(A)25
(B)50
(C)75
(D)100
(E)125
Ans :B)50
12 At a special sale, 5 tickets can be purchased for the price of 3 tickets. If 5 tickets are purchased at the sale, the amount saved will be What percent of the original price of the 5 tickets?
(A) 20%
(B) 33.3%
(C) 40%
(D) 60%
(E) 66.6%
Ans :c)40%
13. Working independently, Tina can do a certain job in 12 hours. Working independently, Ann can do the same job in 9 hours. If Tina Works independently at the job for 8 hours and then Ann works independently, how many hours will it take Ann to complete the remainder of the jobs?
(A) 2/3
(B) 3/4
(C) 1
(D) 2
(E) 3
Ans :E)3
14. A decorator bought a bolt of d m number of red chips in any one stack ?
(A) 7
(B) 6
(C) 5
(D) 4
(E) 3
Ans :C) 5
15. A sink has 12 lits of water some quantity of water is taken out. if the remainng water is 6 litres less then the water taken out then quantity of water taken out is.
a. 3
b. 6
c. 9
d. 1
16. which is the 4 digit number whose second digit is thrice the first digit and 3’rd digit is sum of 1’st and 2’nd and last digit is twice the second digit.
1.2674
2.1349.
3.3343
4.3678
17. In a straight highway 2 cars starts from the same point in opposite directions each travels for 8 Kms and take left turn then travel for 6 Kms what is the distance between them now.
1.16
2.20
3.25
4.10
1. A merchant sells an item at a 20 percent discount. but still makes a gross profit of 20 percent of the cost. What percent of cost would be gross profit on the item have been if it had been sold without the discount?
(A) 20% (B) 40% (C) 50% (D) 60% (E) 66.6%
Ans :c) 50%
2. A millionaire bought a job lot of hats 1/4 of which were brown. The millionaire sold 2/3 of the hats including 4/5 of the brown hats. What fraction of the unsold hats were brown.
(A)1/60 (B)1/15 (C)3/20 (D)3/5 (E)3/4 Answer :c)3/20
3. How many integers n greater than and less than 100 are there such that, if the digits of n are reversed, the resulting integer is n+9 ?
(A)5 (B)6 (C)7 (D)8 (E)9 Answer :D)8
4. An investor purchased a shares of stock at a certain price. If the stock increased in price Rs 0.25 per share and the total increase for the x shares was Rs 12.50, how many shares of stock had been purchased ?
(A)25 (B)50 (C)75 (D)100 (E)125
Answer :B)50
5. At a special sale, 5 tickets can be purchased for the price of 3 tickets. If 5 tickets are purchased at the sale, the amount saved will be what percent of the original price of the 5 tickets?
(A)20% (B)33.3% (C)40% (D)60% (E)66.6% Answer :c)40%
6. Working independently, Tina can do a certain job in 12 hours. Working independently, Ann can do the same job in 9 hours. If Tina works independently at the job for 8 hours and then Ann works independently, how many hours will it take Ann to complete the remainder of the jobs?
(A)2/3 (B)3/4 (C)1 (D)2 (E)3 Ans :E)3
7. A decorator bought a bolt of d m number of red chips in any one stack ?
(A)7 (B)6 (C)5 (D)4 (E)3 Answer :C) 5
Directions (1-7): Study the following arrangement and answer the questions given below:
R 4 T M 7 W % J 9 5 I # 1 P B 2 T A 3 D $ 6 E N F 8 U H @
1.) How many such vowels are there in the above arrangement, each of which is immediately preceded by a number and not immediately followed by a consonant?
1) None
2) One
3) Two
4) Three
5) Four
2.) What should come in place of the question mark (?) in the following series based on the above arrangement?
TM% 951 B23 ?
1) $EF
2) $6F
3) D$N
4) $E8
5) None of these
3.) How many such consonants are there in the above arrangement, each of which is neither preceded by a number nor followed by a consonants?
1) None
2) One
3) Two
4) Three
5) More than three
4.) Four of the following five are alike in a certain way based on their positions in the above arrangement and so from a group. Which is the one that does not belong to that group?
1) 5J1
2) 7TJ
3) 8N@
4) 32$
5) 6DF
5.) Which of the following is sixth to the right of the fourteenth from the right end?
1) 5
2) 6
3) I
4) $
5) None of these
6.) How many such consonants are there in the above arrangement, each of which is immediately followed by a symbol but not immediately preceded by another consonant?
1) None
2) One
3) Two
4) Three
5) None of these
7.) Which of the following is the eighth to the left of the sixteenth from the left end?
1) J
2) E
3) %
4) 6
5) None of these
Directions (8-12): In the following questions, the symbols @, ?, %, ?, and $ are used with the following meanings illustrated. ‘P % Q’ means ‘P is either greater than or equal to Q’. ‘P ? Q’ means ‘P is neither greater that nor smaller than Q’.
‘P $ Q’ means ‘P is smaller than Q’. ‘P @ Q’ means ‘P is either smaller than or equal to Q’. ‘P ? Q’ means ‘P is greater than Q’. In each of the following questions assuming the given statements to be true, find out which of the three conclusion I, II and III given below them is/are definitely true and mark your answer accordingly.
8.) Statements: M $ T, T@ K, K ? D
Conclusions: I. D % T II. K? M III. D ? M
1) Only I and II are true
2) Only I and III are true
3) Only II and III are true
4) All are true
5) None of these
9.) Statements: B ? H, H % A, A ? K
Conclusions: I.B % K II. K@ H III.A $ B
1) Only I and II are true
2) Only I and III are true
3) Only II and III are true
4) Only II is true.
5) None of these
10.) Statements: W % N, N? R, R @ F
Conclusions: I.F ? N II. W ? N III.R $ W
1) None is true
2) Only III is true
3) Only I and II are true
4) Only II and III are true
5) None of these
11.) Statements: F ? K, K ? M, M @ V
Conclusions: I. F % V II. V @ K III.M ? K
1) Only I is true
2) Only II is true
3) Only III is true
4) All are true
5) None of these
12.) Statements: N @ D, D $ T, T % J
Conclusions: I.J $ D II. N ? J III.T ? N
1) Only III is true
2) Only II is true
3) Only I and II are true
4) Only I is true
5) None of these
13.) 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 that group?
1) Building
2) Toy
3) Vehicle
4) Mountain
5) Machine
14.) In a certain code language ‘pik na ha’ means ‘who is there ‘, ‘na ta ka’ means ‘what is that’ and ‘ha ja pa’ means ‘here and there’. Which of the following means ‘here’ in that code language?
1) ha
2) pa
3) ja
4) pa or ja
5) None of these
15.) Four of the following five are alike in a certain way and so form a group. Which of the following does not belong to that group?
1) HR
2) PR
3) NP
4) BE
5) VX
Directions (Q. 16-22): In each of the following sentences there are two blank spaces. Below each sentence there are five pairs of words denoted by numbers 1), 2), 3), 4) and 5). Find out which pair of words can be filled up in the blanks in the sentence in the same sequence to make it meaningfully complete.
16.) The truth is that in a highly capital-intensive business _______ deep pockets, domestic civil aviation is _______ undercapitalized.
1) ascertaining, highly
2) requiring, woefully
3) sustaining, alarmingly
4) balancing, astonishingly
5) demanding, niggardly
17.) Time has now come for all agencies working in the development sector to launch a multi-pronged __________ to _________ malnutrition.
1) system, abjure
2) weapon, annihilate
3) policy, deviate
4) strategy, eradicate
5) fact, demolish
18.) A well- _________, physically and mentally active ________ alone can contribute to the speedier economic progress of a nation.
1) educated, subjects
2) organized, systems
3) advanced, brethren
4) formulated, citizens
5) nourished, populace
19.) We must develop _____ systems from the village upwards and up to the national level to constantly _______ the nutritional status of the people.
1) monitoring, review
2) machinery, tackle
3) efficient, emancipate
4) sound, harbour
5) inherent, inundate
20.) Democracy has taken a ______ in a system which promotes sycophancy and _____.
1) dive, bureaucracy
2) delve, dictatorship
3) beating, mediocrity
4) ride, heredity
5) privilege, intolerance
21.) People in power love to _______ the freedom of expression by the players because it might ______ their position.
1) suppress, undermine
2) counter, reveal
3) contradict, focus
4) exploit, hamper
5) violate, degrade
22.) Rituals play an important role in ____ growth and growth of our minds to its full _____.
1) cultural, measure
2) religious, maximum
3) mystical, exposure
4) traditional, limits
5) spiritual, potential
23.) If it is possible to make only one meaningful English word with the first, the fifth, the seventh and the eighth letters of the word ORGANISED, which of the following will be the third of that word? If no such word can be made give ‘X’ as the answer and if more than one such word can be made, give ‘Y’ as the answer.
1) N
2) D
3) S
4) X
5) Y
24.) The position (s) of how many letters in the word PRODUCT will remain unchanged, when the letters within the word are rearranged alphabetically?
1) None
2) One
3) Two
4) Three
5) More than three
25.) Mohan walked 25 metres towards South, took a right turn and walked 15 metres. He then took a left turn and walked 25 metres. Which direction is he now from his starting point?
1) South-East
2) South
3) South-West
4) North-West
5) None of these
ANSWERS : 1. (2) 2. (2) 3. (5) 4. (4) 5. (2) 6. (4) 7. (1) 8. (4) 9. (3) 10. (2) 11. (5) 12. (1) 13. (4) 14. (4) 15. (4) 16. (2) 17. (4) 18. (5) 19. (1) 20. (3) 21. (1) 22. (5) 23. (3) 24. (2) 25. (3)
1) In a murder case there are four suspects P,Q,R,S. Each of them makes a statement. They are
p: “I had gone to the theatre with S at the time of the murder”.
q: “I was playing cards with P at the time of the murder”.
r: “Q didn’t commit the murder”.
s: “R is not the murderer”.
Assuming the only one of the above statement is false and that one of
them is the murderer, who is the murderer?
a) P
b) Q
c) R
d) Cann’t be concluded
e) S
and: E.) r and s are true as first two statements are contradictory. thus either P or S is murderer. as q is not murderer, he is telling truth that P was with him. hence S is murderer.
2) Mohan earned twice as much as Deep. Yogesh earned rs.3/- more than half as much as deep. If the amounts earned by Mohan,Deep,Yogesh are M,D,Y respectively, Which of the following is the correct ordering of these amounts?
a) M < D < Y
b) M < Y < D
c) D < M < Y
d) It cann’t be determined from the information given
e) D < Y < M
ans d)
3) Statistics indicate that men drivers are involved in more accidents than women drivers. Hence it may be concluded that
a) sufficiently information is not there to conclude anything
b) Men are actually better drivers but drive more frequently
c) Women Certainly drive more cautiously than Men
d) Men chauvinists are wrong about women’s abilities.
e) Statistics sometimes present a wrong picture of things
4) What does the hex number E78 correspond to in radix 7 ?
a) 12455
b) 14153
c) 14256
d) 13541
e) 13112
Ans :d
5)Given that A,B,C,D,E each represent one of the digits between 1 and 9 and that the following multiplication holds:
A B C D E
X 4
E D C B A
what digit does E represent ?
a) 4
b) 6
c) 8
d) 7
Ans: c
6) HCL prototyping machine can make 10 copies every 4
seconds. At this
rate, How many copies can the machine make in 6 min.?
a) 900
b) 600
c) 360
d) 240
e) 150
Ans: a
7) if a=2,b=4,c=5 then
a+b c
c a+b
a) 1
b) 11/30
c) 0
d) -11/30
e) -1
ans: b
8) 10^2(10^8+10^8) =
10^4
a) 2(10)^4
b) 2(10)^6
c) 10^8
d) 2(10)^8
e) 10^10
Ans: b
9) Worker W produces n units in 5 hours. Workers V and W, workers independently but at the same time, produce n units in 2 hours. how long would it take V alone to produce n units?
a) 1 hr 26 min
b) 1 hr 53 min
c) 2 hr 30 min
d) 3 hr 30 min
e) 3 hr 20 min
Ans: d (e)
10) if q 0 and k = qr/2 -s, then what is r in terms of k,q,s?
a) 2k+s
q
b) 2sk
q
c) 2(k-s)
q
d) 2k+sq
q
e) 2(k+s)
q
Ans: e
Six knights – P,Q,R,S,T and U – assemble for a long journey in two traveling parties. For security, each travelingparty consists of at least two knights. The two parties travel by separate routes, northern and southern. After one month, the routes of the northern and southern groups converge for a brief time and at that point theknights can, if they wish, rearrange their traveling parties before continuing, again in two parties along separatenorthern and southern routes. Throughout the entire trip, the composition of traveling parties must be in accord with the following conditions
P and R are deadly enemies and, although they may meet briefly, can never travel together. p must travel in the same party with S Q can’t travel by the southern route U can’t change routes
11) If one of the two parties of knights consists of P and U and two other knights and travels by the southern route, the other members of this party besides P and U must be
a) Q and S
b) Q and T
c) R and S
d) R and T
e) S and T
Ans: e
12) If each of the two parties of knights consists of exactly three members, which of the following is not a possible traveling party and route?
a) P,S,U by the northern route
b) P,S,T by the northern route
c) P,S,T by the southern route
d) P,S,U by the southern route
e) Q,R,T by the southern route
Ans: b
13) If one of the two parties of knights consists of U and two other knights and travels by the northern route, the other members of this party besides U must be
a) P and S
b) P and T
c) Q and R
d) Q and T
e) R and T
Ans: c
14) If each of the two parties of knights consists of exactly three members of different pX-Mozilla-Status: 0009by the northern route, then T must travel by the
a) southern route with P and S
b) southern route with Q and R
c) southern route with R and U
d) northern route with Q and R
e) northern route with R and U
Ans: a
15) If, when the two parties of knights encounter one another after a month, exactly one knight changes from one traveling party to the other traveling party, that knight must be
a) P
b) Q
c) R
d) S
e) T
Ans: e
1. How many of the integers between 25 and 45 are even ?
(A)21
(B)20
(C)11
(D)10
(E)9
Ans:d)10
2. If taxi fares were Rs 1.00 for the first 1/5 mile and Rs 0.20 for each 1/5 miles thereafter. The taxi fare for a 3-mile ride was
(A)Rs 1.56
(B)Rs 2.40
(C)RS 3.00
(D)Rs 3.80
(E)Rs 4.20
Answer :d)Rs 3.80
3. A computer routine was developed to generate two numbers (x,y) the first being a random number between 0 and 100 inclusive, and the second being less than or equal to the square root of the first. Each of the following pair satisfies the routine EXCEPT
(A) (99.10)
(B) (85.9)
(C) (50.7)
(D) (1.1)
(E) (1.0)
Answer : A) (99.10)
4. A warehouse had a square floor with area 10,000 sq.meters. A rectangular addition was built along one entire side of the warehouse that increased the floor by one-half as much as the original floor. How many meters did the addition extend beyond the original buildings ?
(A)10
(B)20
(C)50
(D)200
(E)500
Ans: c)50
5. A digital wristwatch was set accurately at 8.30 a.m and then lost 2 seconds every 5 minutes. What time was indicated on the watch at 6.30 p.m of the same day if the watch operated continuously that time ?
(A)5:56
(B)5:58
(C)6.00
(D)6.23
(E)6.26
Ans :E) 6.26
6. A 5 litre jug contains 4 litres of a salt water solution that is 15 percent salt. If 1.5 litres of the solution spills out of the jug, and the jug is then filled to capacity with water, approximately what percent of the resulting solution in the jug is salt?
(A)7.5%
(B)9.5%
(C) 10.5%
(D)12%
(E)15%
Ans :A)7.5%
7. A plane travelled K miles in the first 96 miles of flight time. If it completed the remaining 300 miles of the trip in 1 minute, what was its average speed in miles per hour for the entire trip ?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Ans :(300+k)/97 * 60
8. A merchant sells an item at a 20 percent discount. but still makes a gross profit of 20 percent of the cost. What percent of cost would be gross profit on the item have been if it had been sold without the discount?
(A)20%
(B)40%
(C)50%
(D)60%
(E)66.6%
Ansr :c) 50%
9. A millionaire bought a job lot of hats 1/4 of which were brown. The millionaire sold 2/3 of the hats including 4/5 of the brown hats. What fraction of the unsold hats were brown.
(A)1/60
(B)1/15
(C)3/20
(D)3/5
(E)3/4
Ans :c)3/20
10. How many integers n greater than and less than 100 are there such that,if the digits of n are reversed, the resulting integer is n+9 ?
(A)5
(B)6
(C)7
(D)8
(E)9
Ans :D)8
11. An investor purchased a shares of stock at a certain price.If the stock increased in price Rs 0.25 per share and the total increase for the x shares was Rs 12.50, how many shares of stock had been purchased ?
(A)25
(B)50
(C)75
(D)100
(E)125
Ans :B)50
12 At a special sale, 5 tickets can be purchased for the price of 3 tickets. If 5 tickets are purchased at the sale, the amount saved will be What percent of the original price of the 5 tickets?
(A) 20%
(B) 33.3%
(C) 40%
(D) 60%
(E) 66.6%
Ans :c)40%
13. Working independently, Tina can do a certain job in 12 hours. Working independently, Ann can do the same job in 9 hours. If Tina Works independently at the job for 8 hours and then Ann works independently, how many hours will it take Ann to complete the remainder of the jobs?
(A) 2/3
(B) 3/4
(C) 1
(D) 2
(E) 3
Ans :E)3
14. A decorator bought a bolt of d m number of red chips in any one stack ?
(A) 7
(B) 6
(C) 5
(D) 4
(E) 3
Ans :C) 5
15. A sink has 12 lits of water some quantity of water is taken out. if the remainng water is 6 litres less then the water taken out then quantity of water taken out is.
a. 3
b. 6
c. 9
d. 1
16. which is the 4 digit number whose second digit is thrice the first digit and 3’rd digit is sum of 1’st and 2’nd and last digit is twice the second digit.
1.2674
2.1349.
3.3343
4.3678
17. In a straight highway 2 cars starts from the same point in opposite directions each travels for 8 Kms and take left turn then travel for 6 Kms what is the distance between them now.
1.16
2.20
3.25
4.10
Directions (Q. 1-5): In each of the following number series one of the given numbers is wrong. Find out the wrong number.
1. 8 34 207 1661 16617 199417
1) 8
2) 34
3) 207
4) 1661
5) None of these
2. 7 75 395 2379 11879 47541
1) 7
2) 75
3) 395
4) 2379
5) None of these
3. 420 70 75 300 197 148.5
1) 70
2) 75
3) 300
4) 197
5) None of these
4. 9 21 51 155 540 2163
1) 9
2) 21
3) 51
4) 2163
5) None of these
5. 22 37 59 97 155 251
1) 37
2) 59
3) 97
4) 155
5) None of these
6. An angry Arjun carried some arrows for fighting with Bheeshm. With half the arrows, he cut down the arrows thrown by Bheeshm on him and with six other arrows he killed the Chariot driver of Bheeshm. With one arrow each he knocked down respectively the Chariot, the flag and the bow of Bheeshm. Finally, with one more than four times the square root of arrows he laid Bheeshm unconscious on an arrow bed. Find the total number of arrows Arjun had.
1) 100
2) 121
3) 144
4) 169
5) None of these
Directions (Q. 7-11): Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given below:
Total population of a village is 64000. Out of this 65% is literate. 60% of the total population is male. Out of the total illiterate population, males and female are in the ratio 3:4
7. What is the ratio of illiterate females to literate ones?
1) 1:1
2) 1:2
3) 4:7
4) Data inadequate
5) None of these
8. Among the males what is the ratio of literate ones to illiterate ones?
1) 3:1
2) 1:3
3) 9:4
4) Data inadequate
5) None of these
9. What is the ratio of literate males to literate females?
1) 4:9
2) 9:4
3) 9:13
4) Data inadequate
5) None of these
10. What is the total number of illiterate males?
1) 6400
2) 12800
3) 9600
4) 3200
5) None of these
11. What is the total number of literate females?
1) 6400
2) 12800
3) 9600
4) 3200
5) None of these
Directions (Q.12-16): Study the following table and answer the questions given below:
Following table shows the rural population and the percentage of total population living in the rural areas of the country X.
Cences Population(in million) Percentage
1901 213 89.2
1911 246 89.7
1921 223 88.8
1931 246 88.0
1941 275 86.1
1951 299 82.7
1961 360 82.0
1971 439 80.1
1981 524 76.7
1991 629 74.2
2001 743 72.3
12. Approximately what was the urban population of country X in the census year 1981?1) 109 million
2) 129 million
3) 159 million
4) 218 million
5) 155 million
13. In which of the following census years was the population of the urban area 79 million?
1) 1951
2) 1961
3) 1971
4) 1981
5) 1991
14. Approximately what was total population of the country X in the census year 2001?
1) 1050 million
2) 1129 million
3) 1000 million
4) 743 million
5) 1029 million
15. The total population of the country X was approximately how much more in the census year 1931 with respect to the same in the census year 1921?
1) 23 million
2) 29 million
3) 25 million
4) 32 million
5) 34 million
16. The population of urban area in the census year 1941 was approximately what percent of the same in the census year 1951?
1) 55%
2) 60%
3) 62%
4) 65%
5) 70%
Passage(Questions From 17-21):
A spate of soul-searching is guaranteed by two major anniversaries that loom this year: the abolition of the slave trade in the British empire in 1807, and the Act of Union of England and Scotland in 1707. Both will feed into Britain’s nagging sense of self-doubt: who are we? As the debates around integrated and multi-culturalism show no sign of flagging, both anniversaries will be mind for their contemporary relevance.
Television programmes, books, ceremonies, conferences, and newspaper supplements have been in the planning for months.
Some might regard this self-referentialism as tedious; they might advocate an apology for the slave trade and let’s be done with 2007’s anniversaries. But our reckoning with British history has been so limited that these two anniversaries provide us with a good opportunity for an overdue reality check.
Any chance of reinventing a plausible national identity now (as many are keen to do) is only possible if we develop a much better understanding of how our nation behaved in the past and how nationalisms (English, Scottish, and British) were elaborately created over the past few hundred years — and how incomplete and fragile that process always was.
The coincidence of these two anniversaries is fortuitous. The abolition of the slave trade is a painful reminder of British imperial history, which we have, incredible, managed to largely forget. Who remembers the Bengal famine or Hola camp, the empire’s opium trade with China or our invention of concentration camps in the Boer war? We too easily overlook how empire was a linchpin to British national identity, vital to welding Scotland and England together. Indeed, historian Linda Colley suggests three ingredients for British identity: “Great Britain is an invented nation that was not founded on the suppression of older loyalties so much as superimposed on them, and that was heavily dependent for its raison d’etre on a broadly Protestant culture, on the treat and tonic of recurrent war, especially war with France, and on the triumphs, profits and Otherness represented by a massive overseas empire.”
These three props for Britishness have collapsed: Protestant Christianity has declined sharply, war with France is the pastime only of a few drunken football fans, and the empire is no more. No wonder Britishness is no the decline; over the past couple of decades, people have become increasingly likely to define themselves in polls as English or Scottish rather than British.
This is the social trend in defining identity that politicians such as Gordon Brown watch closely. Could this re-emergence of the older loyalties to which Ms Colley refers have political consequences? Could the Scottish National Party translate that into significant electoral gains in the Scottish elections only a few days after the official commemoration of the Act of Union in May?
It’s not just the Scots who could decide they’ve had enough of the English — the feeling could become mutual. The grumbles are getting louder about Scottish MPs who vote on legislation affecting the English and the disproportionate amount of public spending swallowed up by the Scots.
Mr Brown clearly has a vested interest in stilling such complaints. He’s been at the forefront of an establishment attempt to redefine Britishness on the grounds of “common values” such as fair play and tolerance.
Who is going to define Englishness? Julian Baggini has a stab at it in a book to be published in March, Welcome to Every town: A Journey into the English Mind. He spent six months living in Rotherham to get beyond the metropolitan, liberal elite’s perceptions of Englishness and establish what most people (that is, the white working class) understand by their Englishness.
Parochial, tightly knit, focused on family and local communities; nostalgic, fearful of the future and insecure; a dogged belief in common sense: these are his conclusions. Mr Baggini confesses to feeling that his six months in Rotherham was like visiting a foreign country, and no doubt many of the people he met would regard six months in London as profoundly alienating. How do you weld national identities out of global metropolises disconnected from hinterland? Englishness is riven with huge regional and class divides. The stakes are high — for example, a rising British National Party vote, a fear of asylum, and hostility to Islam. The anniversary of the Act of union will provide a stage for all this to be played out. It’s just as painful a commemoration for the English as for the Scottish. It required one nation to lose its sovereignty and the other its identity.
17. According to the passage, the two major anniversaries will
1) give an impetus to the questioning of British national identity.
2) set the Britons thinking who they really are.
3) be just another occasion to raise the issue of British national identity.
4) be just another occasion to give rise to a debate on multiculturalism.
5) not be celebrated because of the shame attached with slave trade.
18. According to Linda Colley, Great Britain owes its nation-state concept to
1) ceding of its territory by Scotland to England.
2) a shared relation of race, religion and economy.
3) what can today be seen as a concept of free trade area.
4) the perpetuation of slave trade.
5) commonality of interest between its constituents.
19. Going by the passage, which of the following may instill a sense of national identity among the Britons?
1) The return of Catholics to the Protestant fold
2) Britain going to war with Germany
3) Britain going to war as an Allied force
4) Regular football matches between British and French clubs
5) Any of the above
20. According to the facts stated in the passage, if England and Scotland decide to split,
1) it is the former that stands to gain.
2) it is the latter that stands to gain.
3) it will be a win-win situation.
4) it will be a lose-lose situation.
5) both the parties will lose their face but gain materially
21. According to the passage, the post-modern mind views imperialism as
1) something that was necessary in the context of the times.
2) a thing of the past which need not be mentioned further.
3) a blot on the history of mankind.
4) the white man’s burden.
5) a concept relevant even in the present times, given the inability of the developing countries to catch up with the West.
22. Oranges are bought at 7 for Rs.3. At what rate per hundred must they be sold to gain 33%?
(1) Rs.56
(2) Rs.60
(3) Rs.58
(4) Rs.57
23.The cost price of 36 books is equal to the selling price of 30 books. The gain is :
(1) 20%
(2) 16%
(3) 18%
(4) 82%
24.A person sells two machines at Rs.396 each. On one he gains 10% and on the other he loses 10% .His profit or loss in the whole transaction is :
(1) No gain, no loss
(2) 1% loss
(3) 1% profit
(4) 8% profit
25.A trader bought 10kg of apples for Rs.405 out of which 1kg of apples were found to be rotten. If he wishes to make a profit of 10%, at what rate should he sell the remaining apples per kg?
(1) Rs.45
(2) Rs.49.50
(3) Rs.50
(4) Rs. 51
ANSWERS: 1. (5) 2. (2) 3. (4) 4. (1) 5. (3) 6. (1) 7. (1) 8. (1) 9. (2) 10. (3) 11. (2) 12.(3) 13. (2) 14. (5) 15. (2) 16. (5) 17. (1) 18. (5) 19. (2) 20. (1) 21. (3) 22.(4) 23.(1) 24(2) 25(2)