List of top English Questions asked in CUET (UG)

Arrange the following headings of a formal letter in the correct order.
A. Sender's address
B. Salutation
C. Receiver's address
D. Subject
E. Date
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Match the words in List I with their appropriate Synonyms in List II

LIST I		LIST II
A	Mortuary	I	Home for the destitude
B	Cantonment	II	A place where money is coined
C	Mint	III	A place where dead bodies are temporarily kept
D	Asylum	IV	A place where soldiers are quartered

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Read the following poem given below and answer the question.
LOVE AND A QUESTION
A STRANGER came to the door at eve,
And he spoke the bridegroom fair.
He bore a green-white stick in his hand,
And, for all burden, care.
He asked with the eyes more than the lips
For a shelter for the night,
And he turned and looked at the road afar
Without a window light.
The bridegroom came forth into the porch
With "Let us look at the sky,
And question what of the night to be,
Stranger, you and I."
The woodbine leaves littered the yard,
The woodbine berries were blue,
Autumn, yes, winter was in the wind;
"Stranger, I wish I knew."
Within, the bride in the dusk alone
Bent over the open fire,
Her face rose-red with the glowing coal
And the thought of the heart's desire.
The bridegroom looked at the weary road,
Yet saw but her within,
And wished her heart in a case of gold
And pinned with a silver pin.
The bridegroom thought it little to give
a dole of bread, a purse,
A heartfelt prayer for the poor of God,
Or for the rich a curse,
But whether or not a man was asked
To mar the love of two
By harboring woe in the bridal house,
The bridegroom wished he knew.

Read the following passage given below and answer the question.
We humans walk with two legs (called 'bipedal') and use two hands. The evolution of bipedalism began in our ancestors, the primates, about 4 million years ago. The primates not only gave us our blood groups, but our two feet and two hands as well. Primates exhibit characteristics that distinguish them from less evolved mammals. These include adaptations to live in trees (as monkeys do), big brains, heightened sense of vision, opposable thumbs to grasp the four fingers in each hand, and more flexibility in shoulder movements.
Dr. Tetsuro Matsuzawa of the Kyoto University, Japan, writes that the shared ancestor primates moved into tree tops and developed four hands from the four legs possessed by the terrestrial ancestor. This was an adaptation to arboreal life; enabling the efficient grasping of branches and tree-trunks. Subsequently, early human ancestors left the trees to start walking long distances across the land, bipedally. Thus, we created two feet from four hands during the course of evolution from our primate ancestors.
The anthropologist Carol Ward of the University of Missouri, US points out that the way we humans get around the world is different from any other animal on earth. We move around on the ground, upright on two feet, but in a unique way: with one foot after the other; holding our body fully upright in a characteristic series of motions. So, it's a big deal to figure out how and why we walk the way we do, and how our lineage really diverged so much from ape like creatures.
The human brain is about three times as big as the brain of our closest living relative, the chimpanzee. Moreover, a part of our brain, called the cerebral cortex - which plays a key role in memory, attention, awareness and thought - contains twice as many cells as the same region in chimpanzees. We are, thus, smarter than apes.

Read the following passage given below and answer the question.
Off to the right we hear the distinct 'bleep-bleep' - the alarm call of the chital, or spotted deer, announcing the presence of a predator. Kuttapan and Gautam go off to investigate and we begin to drive around to intercept them on the other side of the forest. Not ten metres down the road, we hear a loud 'varoom' - the call of the tiger - and we slide to a halt on the dusty road. Walking directly towards us at a distance of 100 metres is a large male tiger. It is one of the three-year-old males known to share this territory with his brother.
The tiger continued his casual stroll directly towards us.
When the tiger is about 50 metres past us, our reverie is broken by a commotion in the forest across the road. Anil, our guide, whispers loudly, 'Wolves!' There, propped up like little statues in a clearing in the forest, are two Indian grey wolves. Rigid, alert, clearly in a state of alarm and agitation, they begin yelping at the tiger. The tiger spins around on the road and charges off into the forest after them.
This time the tiger turns round and glowers at the wolf, probably assessing the distance between them and the speed it would take to catch the wolf. The muscles of the tiger begin to twitch and off goes the wolf into the forest again. Finally, after one more of these encounters, the tiger moves some distance away and the wolf disappears into the forest for one last time. We can only assume that the aggressive and bold behaviour of the wolf meant he was protecting some cubs and wanted to be sure the tiger was driven out of his territory. The tiger, now left in peace, continues his stroll.

Complete the sentence by Choosing the correct option :
The company wants the staff to be about the contract until everything is finalized.

The small village of Somnathpur contains an extraordinary temple, built around 1268 A.D. by the Hoyasalas of Karnataka-one of the most prolific templebuilders. Belur and Helebid are among their-better-known works. While these suffered during the invasions of the 14th century, the Somnathpur temple stands more or less intact in near-original condition. This small temple captivates with the beauty and vitality of its detailed sculpture,covering almost every inch of the walls, pillars, and even ceilings. It has three shikharas and stands on a star-shaped, raised platform with 24 edges. The outer walls have a profusion of detailed carvings: the entire surface run over by carved plaques of stone. There were vertical panels covered by exquiste figures of gods and goddesses. with many incarnations being depicted. There were nymphs too, some carrying an ear of maize a symbol of plenty and prosperity. The elaborate ornamentation, very characteristic of Hoyasala sculptures, is a remarkable feature. A closer look at the series of friezes on the outer walls reveal intricately carved caparisoned elephants, charging horsemen, stylized flowers,warriors, musicians crocodiles and swans.
The temple was actually commissioned by Soma Dandanayaka or Somnath (he named the village after himself), the minister of the Hoyasala king, Narasimha the Third. The temple was built to house three forms of Krishna. The inner center of the temple was the kalyanamandapa. Leading from here are three corridors, each ending in a shrine, one for each kind of Krishna-Venugopala, Janardana and Prasanna Keshava, though only two remain in their original form.

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow :-
I had never seen a house on fire before. So, one evening when I heard fire engines with loud alarm bells rushing past my house, I quickly ran out and, a few streets away, joined a large crowed of people, but we could see the fire only from a distance because the police would not allow anyone near the building on fire.
What a terrible scene I saw that day. Huge flames of fire were coming out of each floor, and black and thick smoke spread all around. Every now and then tongues of fire would shoot up almost sky-high, sending huge sparks of fire all around.
Three fire engines were busily engaged and the firemen in their dark uniforms were playing the hose on various parts of the building. Then the tall red ladders of the fire engine were stretched upwards and could see some firemen climbing up with hoses in their hands. On reaching almost the top of the ladder, they began to pour floods of water on the topmost part of the building. This continuous flooding brought the fire under control but the building was completely destroyed.
While fire is a blessing in many ways, it can also be a great danger to human life and property.

When I was a small child my grandparents would take me blackberry picking. It was usually late August when the blackberries had fully ripened. Grandad would drive us in his old van. Despite not being comfortable or particularly safe. Grandad's van had a character you would not find in a sleek new car, complete with the latest innovations and a silent engine. Being seven or eight at the time, I always enjoyed a trip as we bounced along to our destination.
My grandparents always chose the same spot. Wild blackberry bushes stretched along the roadside as far as the eye could see in both directions. The road overlooked a small pitch and putt course. On such sunny summer days it was always full. Golfers ambled sedately from hole and the crack of metal striking ball was a constant accompaniment.
Several hours of picking berries ensued. Nana warned me not to eat any until they had all been washed, but turned a knowing blind eye while I gorged anyway. I also helped myself to the occasional unripe red berry as I had particular taste for anything bitter. The fully immature green berries proved a step too far for even my palate and were merely unpleasant.
When at last we were finished the big scenery had turned to lengthy shadows and the afternoon had elapsed into evening. Grandad hauled a big bag half full of berries back to the van. Juice bed slowly onto the ground. Nana would later make apple and blackberry tarts and fill several jars with jam. When I reached the van my stomach hurt from too much fruit. My hands stung from constant thorn pricks and were stained dark purple. I always enjoyed those days.

Read the following poem. Answer the question that follow :
At the Museum
But is 2500 B.C. Harappa,
who cast in bronze a servant girl?
No one keeps records
of soldiers and slaves,
The sculptor knew this,
polishing the ache
off her fingers stiff
from washing the walls
and scrubbing the floors,
from stirring the meat
and the crushed asafoetida
in the bitter gourd.
But I'm grateful she smiled
at the sculptor,
as she smiles at me
in bronze,
a child who had to play women
to her lord
when the warm June rains
came to Harappa.

“Arjun, I have brought your favourite thing. It is kept inside the refrigerator.” My mother brought the earthen pot out and held it before me. I counted and looked for the biggest one from the shinning, round figures of India's most desired sweet item. "Don't eat it in one go. Here take one. Why don't you bite it and eat slowly? Why do you gulp everything down without chewing?
I avoided sleeping during the day and sneaked out of my mother's room. As I saw everyone is asleep, my mind turned into the devil's workshop in search of the prized item. I ran to the kitchen and pulled at the door of the refrigerator. I ran my hand over the eatables, mindlessly changing their places and dashed the door carelessly when I could not find the soft and syrupy sponges. I left, accidently making a mess and leaving the water tap open.
In the evening, when my misdeeds were discovered, a visibly livid father dragged me to the center of our drawing room. To escape the beating, I feigned weeping. Hearing my sobs, my grandparents would invariably snatch me out of my father's hands. I broke free from their arms and threw my body on the bed with a thud. I did not listen to anyone's voice and pretended to be asleep.
Hands tugged me at dinner time. I refused to listen to the request of taking food. Then my parents and grandparents would coax me with various offers. My grandfather hugged me and asked, “Arjun, what will make youn feel better?”
“Rasgulla! Give me at least tea.”

No species lasts forever. Our species has been in existence for at least 200,000 years and is not old in evolutionary terms. Consequently, we should persists for hundreds of thousands of years yet there are no indications that Homo Sapiens is in decline. However, whether we have the capacity for total destruction-through nuclear annhilation or such-remains debated. Some experts argue that humans are so numerous, widespread and suited to survive catastrophe that no event would result in extinction. A collapse of global ecosystems resulting from climate change and overpopulation has also been predicted as a cause for our extinction but, again, it is difficult to accept that such events could cause human die-off everywhere. Ultimately, it is impossible to predict what might happen in coming centuries. But, more so than any other species, humanity is able to control its evolution via the use of technology, genetic modification and the control of resources these factors make it likely that we will persist for longer that has been typical for mammal species before us.

Then one day there passed by that way a Pashupata ascetic. And he said to the Brahman: My son, what are you doing here? So he replied. "Reverend Sir, I am performing penance, for the expiation of sin, on the banks of the Ganges. Then the ascetic said: "What has this miserable puddle to do with the Ganges. And the Brahman said: "Is this then, not the Ganges?" And the ascetic laughed in his face, and said: "Truly, old as I am, I did not think that there had been folly like this in the world. Wretched man, who has deluded you? The Ganges is hundreds of miles away, and resembles this contemptible brook no more than Mount Meru resembles an ant-hill." Then the Brahman said: "Reverend Sir, I am much obliged to you." And taking his pot and staff, he went forward, till at length he came to a broad river. And he rejoiced greatly, saying; "This must be the sacred Ganges. So he settled on its banks and remained there for five years, bathing every day in its waters. Then one day there came by a Kapalika, who said to him. "Why do you remain here, wasting precious time over a river of no account or sanctity, instead of going to the Ganges?" But the Brahman was amazed, and said: "And is this, then not the Ganges?" Then the Kapalika replied: "This is the Ganges! Is a jackal, lion or a Chandala a Brahman? Sir, you are dreaming. "Then the Brahman sighed deeply. And he said, "Sir, I am enlightened by you". And he took his pot and staff, and went forward.
But he was now very old and feeble. And long penance had weakened his frame and exhausted his energies. And as he tailed on in the heat of the day over the burning earth, the sun beat on his head like the thunderbolt of Indra, and struck him with fever. Still he gathered himself together and struggled on, growing weaker and weaker day by day, till at last he got no further, but fell down and lay dying on the ground. But collecting all his remaining strength, with a last desperate effort he dragged himself up a low hill in front of him. And lo! there before him rolled the mighty stream of Ganges, with countless numbers of pilgrims doing penance on its banks and bathing in its stream. And in his agony he cried aloud: "O Mother Ganges alas! alas! I have pursued you all my life and now I die here helpless in sight of you." So his heart broke, and he never reached its shore.

Students will be taught at a young age the importance of "doing what's right", and will be giverra logical framework for making ethical decisions. In later years, this would then be expanded along themes of cheating, violence, plagiarism, littering tolerance, equality, empathy, etc., with a view to enabling children to embrace moral/ethical values in conducting one's life, formulate a position/argument about an ethical issue from multiple perspectives, and use ethical practices in all work. As consequences of such basic ethical reasoning, traditional Indian values and all basic human and Constitutional values (such as sera, alimsa, suchchinta, satyo, mishkam karma, shumti sacrifice, tolerance, diversity, pluralism, righteous conduct, gender sensitivity, respect for elders respect for all people and their inherent capabilities regardless of background, respect for environment, helpfulness, courtesy, patience, forgiveness, empathy, compassion, patriotism democratic outlook, integrity, responsibility, justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity) will be developed in all students. Children will have the opportunity to read and learn from the original stories of the Panchatantra, Jataka, Hitopadesh, and other fun fables and inspiring tales from the Indian tradition and learn about their influences on global literature. Excerpts from the Indian Constitution will also be considered essential reading for all students. Basic training in health, including preventive health, mental health, good nutrition, personal and public hygiene, disaster response and First-aid will also be included in the curriculum, as well as scientific explanations of the detrimental and damaging effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
All curriculum and pedagogy, from the foundational stage onwards, will be redesinged to be strongly rooted in the Indian and local context and ethos in terms of culture, traditions, heritage, customs, language, philosophy, geography, ancient and contemporary knowledge, societal and scientific needs, indigenous and traditional ways of learning etc.-in order to ensure that education is maximally relatable, relevant, interesting, and effective for our students Stories, arts, games, sports, examples, problems, etc. will be chosen as much as possible to be rooted in the Indian and local geographic context. Ideas, abstractions, and creativity will indeed best flourish when learning is thus rooted.

Addition or presence of undesirable substances in water is called water pollution.
Water pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems. Water pollution is caused by a variety of human activities such as industrial, agricultural and domestic. Agricultural run off laden with excess fertilizers and pesticides, industrial effluents with toxic substances and sewage water with human and animal wastes pollute our water thoroughly, Natural sources of pollution of water are soil erosion, leaching of minerals from rocks and decaying of organic matter. Rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, estuaries and ground water sources may be polluted by point or non-point sources. When pollutants are discharged from a specific location such as a drain pipe carrying industrial effluents dischaged directly into a water body it represents point source pollution. In contrast non-point sources include discharge of pollutants from diffused sources or from a larger area such as a run off from agricultural fields, grazing lands, construction sites, abandoned mines and pits, roads and streets.

Unquestionably a literary life is for the most part an unhappy life: because, if you have genius, you must suffer the penalty of genius; and if you have only talent, there are so many cares and worries incidental to the circumstances of men of letters, as to make life exceedingly miserable. Besides the pangs of composition, and the continuous disappointment which a trues artist feels at his inability to reveal himself, there is the ever- recurring difficulty of gaining the public ear. Young writers are buoyed up by the hope and the belief that they have only to print to be acknowledged at once as a new light in literature. You can never convince a young author that the editors of magazines and the publishers of books are a practical body of men, who are by no means frantically anxious about placing the best literature before the public. Nay, that for the most part they are mere brokers, who conduct their business on the hardest lines of a Profit and Loss account. But supposing your book fairly launches, its perils, are only beginning. You have to run the gauntlet of the critics. To a young author, again, this seems to be as terrible on ordeal as passing down the files of Sioux or Comanche Indians, each one of whom is thirsting for your scalp. When you are a little older, you will find that criticism is not much more serious that the bye-play of clowns in a circus, when they beat around the ring the victim with bladders slung at the end of long poles. A time comes in the life of every author when he regards critics as comical rather than formidable, and goes his way unheeding. But there are sensitive souls that yield under the chastisement and. perhaps after suffering much silent torture, abandon the profession of the pen for ever. Keats, perhaps, is the saddest example of a fine spirit hounded to death by savage criticism; because, whatever his biographers may aver, that furious attack of Gifford and Terry undoubtedly expediated his death. But no doubt there are hundreds who suffer keenly hostile and unscrupulous criticism, and who have to bear that suffering in silence, because it is a cardinal principle in literature that the most unwise thing in the world for an author is to take public notice of criticism in the way of defending himself. Silence is the only safeguard, as it is the only dignified protest against insult and offence.

Organisms change over time. Some of these changes make no difference to the success or failure of the organism that inherit them; other changes do. Take a group of antelopes in which one individual has longer legs than its siblings. Those longer legs make the individual better at escaping from predators, hence giving it an advantage in the survival stakes. Its descendants inherit this feature and are better able to survive as a consequence. Those longer legs have thus become an 'adaptation' Their evolution means that this particular lineage of ante lopes has adapted to its conditions, thanks to its development of this features. Their evolution means that this particular lineage of ante lopes
Over the generations, the individual components of the genetic code within a species change, or mutate. So far as we know, mutations mny provide no evolutionary advantage at all. They may be disadvantageous, in which case they are weeded out via natural selection; or they may be advantageous, in which case they persist through the generations.

Supposing you have to make a payment of Rs.100, you can do so in rupees-coins; but it would be cumbersome to pay in nickel or copper coins, because they are heavy to carry and also because it takes much time to count them. The government therefore permits you to make the payment in rupee-notes. What are these rupee notes really? They are kind of money, right enough, although they are made of paper instead of metal. You can use them in just the same way that you use ordinary money. The reason why they are made of paper and used is that they save the trouble of carrying metal coins about-of course, paper is lighter than metal-and they also save using silver and other metals when they are scarce.
What makes these mere pieces of of paper bear the value of the number of rupees that is printed upon them? Why should a piece of paper, with "100" printed on it be worth twenty times as much as apiece of paper with "five" printed on it-and also worth a hundred times as much as a silver rupee-coin? The reason is that Government guarantees that the piece of paper is worth the amount printed an it and promised to pay that amount to any body who wishes to exchange this paper for the rupee-coins. Also, if you think about it you can easily realize that crores and crores more of rupee-coins would have to be minted, if all paper-money were abolished.
Perhaps you may ask, "Then why not have paper money only?" Why use silver and Nickle and copper at all? The answer is-because money must, as we have already said, be something so useful that everyone wants. Also because the metals are the best form of money, and thirdly because it would be impossible to print just the right amount of paper money that would keep prices at their proper natural level. It any Government prints too much paper money, then prices go up at once. The supply of money is increased and therefore its value (in food, clothes, books, houses, land, tools and everything else) goes down.
You may think at first that it is queer to talk of having too much paper money and the money is so nice and useful that you cannot have too much of it. But if you think that, I an afraid you are forgetting that money is only useful for what it will buy; so it is no good at all having more money if there are no more things to buy with it. The more money there is, the higher will be the prices of everything. The same thing happens with rupee-coins as with paper money. But it is not likely to happen, for this reason: it is very easy to print a great deal of paper money, but not at all easy to increase the amount there is if it keeps very steady and changes very little. In fact that is one of the chief reasons why it was chosen to make coins of.

Match the phrasal words with most appropriate meaning

List-I		List-II
(A)	draw up	(I)	make someone sad or depressed
(B)	drag out	(II)	prepare and write something
(C)	drag down	(III)	use a resource to do something
(D)	draw on	(IV)	make something longer than necessary

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Match the idioms with most appropriate meaning

List-I		List-II
(A)	fish out of water	(I)	good luck
(B)	break a leg	(II)	someone about whom very little is known
(C)	leave in the lunch	(III)	to be put in an unfamiliar situation
(D)	dark horse	(IV)	abandon someone in a difficult situation

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Match List I with List II Antonyms

List-I		List-II
(A)	luminous	(I)	initially
(B)	eventually	(II)	supercilious
(C)	subservient	(III)	unholy
(D)	sacrosant	(IV)	dark

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Choose the most appropriate antonym of the given word: UPROARIOUS