English: Reading Comprehension Practice Paper Set 3 for Banking and Other Competitive Exams

Reading Comprehension Practice Paper Set 3

Directions: Read the Passage carefully and choose the best answers for questions

An organization must feel the need to change if it is to transform itself extensively. Typically the first people in the organization to senses this need are those who are in continuous contact with the external environment. They could be the company's front-line employees, working in the sales, marketing, or purchase functions. Or they could be senior executives involved in interacting with regulatory authorities.

     

     Whatever their functions these people are the harbingers of change. They communicate the message to the top management, either through formal structured meetings or unstructured personal encounters. This is a critical phase. The senior management team has to be convinced of the need to change. Very often, this process of building conviction is fraught with disagreements. Particularly if the  people concerned are not open to the signals they receive.

     It is easy to ignore the initial signals. most organizations start receiving these at the pre-pain stage, when their market shares and profits have not yet fallen. The organization can either opt for status quo, and break out into a rash of activities after its profits start falling or it can be proactive. An organization that opts for change enters the even more crucial second stage. The first requisite for implementing lasting change is a cross-functional and cross-hierarchical team which is empowered to lead the process of change. The second is that top managers must be prepared  to back that team's decisions. Large-scale organizational transformation is not possible without this.

Questions:

1) According to the passage, the people who sense the need for change in an organization are

1. front-line employees
2. marketing people
3. senior executives
4. All the above

2) The "Critical Phase", according to the passage, is

1. noticing change
2. bringing about change
   
3. communicating the message to change
4. interacting with the regulatory authorities

3) The words " External Environment" in the first para refers to

1. conditions of climate and weather
2. customers and others with whom the organization has contacts
3. other similar organizations
4. competition from abroad

4) The more crucial second stage for an organization is when

1. the top management keeps away from change
2. the people are open minded
3. an organization begins to implement change
4. it finds a cross functional and cross hierarchical team

5) "Pre-pain" stage in para 3 refers to the time.

1. when there is no need for change.
2. when the organization makes profit
3. when change becomes inevitable
4. when the organization does not suffer for not changing.

Computer Knowledge: Computer Architecture for Competitive Exam Preparation

Computer Architecture

In computer science, computer architecture is a set of disciplines that describes the part of computer system and their relations. Computer architecture deals with the functional behaviour of a computer system as viewed by a programmer. It can also be described as the logical structure of the system unit that housed electronic components. The computer architecture forms the back bone for building successful computer systems.

Components of a Computer:Input/Output (I/O) Unit

• ( i ) Central Processing Unit (CPU)
• ( ii ) Memory Unit

( i ) Input Unit: The computer accepts coded information through input unit by the user. It is a device that is used to give required information to the computer.Ex:- keyboard, mouse, etc.,

( i ) Output Unit: The output unit sends the processed results to the user. It is mainly used to display the desired result to the user as per input instruction. Ex:- video monitor, printer and plotter, etc.,

Central Processing Unit (CPU) :

The central processing unit consists of set of registers, arithmetic and control circuits, which together interpret and execute instructions in assembly language.

The primary functions of the CPU are:

• The CPU transfers instructions and input data from main memory to registers i.e., internal memory.
• The CPU executes the instructions in the stored sequence.
• When necessary, CPU transfers output data from registers to main memory.

The CPU consists of three main sub-systems; 

• ( i ) Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU). 
• ( ii ) Control Unit (CU).
• ( iii ) Registers.

( i ) Arithmetic Logic Unit(ALU):

It is used to perform all arithmetic calculations and logical calculation. Logical unit performs comparison of numbers, letters and special characters. ALU uses registers to hold the data that is being processed.

( ii ) Control Unit (CU):

Control unit coordinates with the input and output devices of a computer. It directs the computer to carry out stored program instructions by communicating with the ALU and the registers. It organises the processing of data and instructions. To maintain the proper sequence of processing data, the control unit uses clock inputs. The basic function of control unit is to fetch the instruction stored in the main memory, identify the operations and the devices involved in it and accordingly generate control signals.

( iii ) Registers:  

Registers are special purpose and high speed temporary memory units. Registers are not referenced by their address, but are directly accessed and manipulated by the CPU during execution. Essentially, they hold the information that the CPU is currently working on. Registers store data, instructions, address and intermediate results of processing. The number and sizes of registers vary from processor to processor.

Memory Unit:

Memory is that part of the computer, which holds data and instructions. Memory is an integral component of the CPU. 

The memory unit consists of ( i ) Primary memory and ( ii ) Secondary memory.

( i ) Primary Memory:

Primary Memory or main memory of the computer is used to store the data and instructions during execution of the instructions. The primary memory is of two types; Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read only Memory (ROM).

Random Access Memory(RAM) : It directly provides the required information to the processor. RAM is a volatile memory. It provides temporary storage for data and instructions. RAM is classified into two categories

• Static Random Access Memory (SRAM)
• Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)

Read Only Memory (ROM): It is used for storing standard processing programs that permanently reside in the computer. Generally, designers program ROM chips at the time of manufacturing circuits. ROM is a non-volatile memory. It can only be read not written. ROM is classified into three categories.

• Programmable ROM (PROM)
• Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM)
• Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM)

( ii ) Secondary Memory:

Secondary memory, also known as secondary storage or auxiliary memory, is used for storing data and instructions permanently Ex;- hard disks, CD's, DVD's etc.,

English: Reading Comprehension Practise Paper Set 2 for Banking and Competitive Exams

Reading Comprehension Practise Paper Set 2

Directions: Read the passage and choose the best answers for Questions

The internet has promoted the concept of electronic commerce. In principle, electronic commerce is no different from actual world commerce. The only difference is that electronic commerce uses the electronic medium, but the basic rules of commerce remain the same. It is true that the electronic environment has certain distinct requirement but they are merely procedural in nature and do not in any case impact the specific character of commercial transactions over the internet. Just as immovable property can be bought and sold in the actual world, so can immovable property be sold over the internet. This is evident from numerous examples that are available on the internet.

     Recently there were attempts to sell a town in California over the internet. The auction site e-Bay ended a month-long auction of the 150 acre Mojave desert town called Amboy. This town has seven residents and has a post office, motel, church, gas station, cafe, gift shop and two landing strips. The owners of the town - the celebrity photographer, Timothy White and his business partner Wilson - had put the town to action on e-Bay.Com. It is a different matter altogether that none of the bids could match the reserve selling price of the town. This example once again shows that immovable property can be bought and sold over the internet. However, this is the international position. 

     In India, we realize that the situation is dramatically different. In India, the Information Technology Act 2000 makes it clear that it does not apply to any contract for the sale or conveyance of immovable property or any interest in such property. This really means that no legal recognition is accorded to electronic transactions relating to the sale or conveyance of immovable property or any interest in such property.

Thus, legally speaking in India, you cannot bur or sell immovable property over the internet. The restriction is because of the inadequacy of the existing Indian law. The legislature may have excluded any contract for the sale or conveyance of immovable property from the ambit of the IT Act 2000 because it felt that the situation wasn't ripe for its inclusion as yet.

However, things are likely to change since India is in the process of coming up with laws relating to electronic fund transfer, etc, to further facilitate e-commerce and that includes sale of immovable property over the internet as well.

Questions:

1) The passage says that this has benefited from the growth of internet.

1. Photography
2. Commerce
3. Law
4. Education

2) The IT Act 2000

1. is the first act related to business.
2. has stopped all illegal internet transactions.
3. has legalized the property transactions over internet.
4. does not give legal recognition to electronic transactions of immovable property.

3) The word 'ambit' as used in the passage means

1. provision
2. territory
3. focus
4. scope

4) What is the notable difference between Indian and the US cyber law ?

1. The Indian cyber law is through unlike the US cyber low.
2. The US cyber law is fool proof unlike the Indian one.
3. Transaction related to immovable property are not legalized by Indian cyber law.
4. American cyber law was framed two decades ago whereas Indian cyber law was framed a few years ago.

5) The author's hope regarding e-commerce is that.

1. things are not likely to change in India.
2. the laws relating to fund transfer will be formulated in due course of time.
3. the internet laws will become more severe to tackle cyber crimes.
4. it will over take the real commerce in a few years

Mathematics: Tips for Solving Blood Relations Problems in Competitive Exams

Tips for Solving Blood Relations Problems

Blood relation test depends upon the knowledge of candidates towards the relations.

• Read the data quickly to get a "feel" of the question.
• Use special symbols for different relation while drawing family tree. Put a + sign before male and - sign before female. Use = sign to represent brother or sister relationships and <=> sign to represent marriages.
• Start with the last information and process backwords. For example, if it is given that her mother's son is the only son of my mother fathers, then we proceed with the last information; only son of my mother;s fathers.
• It is advisable to begin with a sentence that gives information about parent-child relation ship in complex questions.

(Husband) (The relationship of husband and wife)

                         + A <=> B - (wife)

                             ↓              ↓

        (Daughter) - C   =   D +  (Son)

(The relationship of brother and sister)

Blood Relation Chart

Chart of Relations
1	The father of father	Grandfather
2	The mother of father	Grandmother
3	The brother of father	Uncle
4	The sister of father	Aunt
5	The son and daughter of sister	Nephew/Niece
6	Uncle’s children	Cousin
7	Mother or father’s son	Brother
8	Mother’s father’s daughter	Sister
9	Mother’s brother	Maternal uncle
10	Mother’s sister	Aunt
11	Mother’s mother	Grandmother
12	Maternal Uncle’ children	Cousin
13	Mother’s father	Grandfather
14	Son’s wife	Daughter-in-law
15	Daughter’s husband	Son-in-law
16	Husband’s brother	Brother-in-law
17	Wife’s brother	Brother-in-law
18	Husband’s sister	Sister-in-law
19	Wife’s sister	Sister-in-law
20	Brother’s daughter	Niece
21	Brother’s son	Nephew
22	Sister’s husband	Brother-in-law
23	Brother’s wife	Sister-in-law

Sample Problems:

1) What will be the daughter of the woman who is the mother of the husband of my mother to me ?

(A) Granddaughter   (B) Mother  (C) Aunt   (D) Daughter

Solution: The husband of my mother will be my father; his mother will be my grandmother; her daughter will be my aunt. 

Hence Solution is Aunt

2) A women sees the photograph of a man and says. "This man's sister is my mother-in-law." How is the woman's husband related to the man in the photograph ?

Solution: The man's sister is the woman's mother-in-law; therefore the man in the photograph is the brother of the woman's husband's mother 

Hence Solution is Uncle.

3) Pointing to a man in photograph, a woman said, "His mother's son is my father." Then, how is the woman related to that man ?

(A) Daughter   (B) Niece    (C) Uncle         (D) Data Inadequate

Solution: "His mother's son" means either the person himself or his brother. So, the woman is either daughter or niece of the man in the photograph.

Hence, Solution is Inadequate.

Mathematics: Tips for Solving Series Problems in Competitive Exams

Tips for Solving Series Problem 

Series: The well arranged ordered of number/letter placed in a sequence group is called series.

A special group of numbers/letters is given in the arranged order. A particular place is left blank in the series. Students are expected to choose out the correct option and fill the blank. By these questions, the motive is to check out the ability of candidates to calculate fastly. It is also examined that how fastly a candidate establishes relationship among given elements of the series.

The questions asked from this chapter can be classified in three groups:

1. Number Series
2. Alphabet Series
3. Letter Series

1. Number Series: In number series, the given series can be based on sum, subtraction, multiplication, division, square, square root, cube, cube root etc.,

While solving the questions based on number series, these following points should always be kept in mind.

• ( i ) If the number of the given series are increasing equally, then definitely addition is taking place there.
• ( ii ) If the number of the given series decreases consecutively, then definitely subtraction is taking place there.
• ( iii ) If the number of the given series increases rapidly, then multiplication is in action there.
• ( iv ) If the number of the given series decreases rapidly, then definitely division is in action there.
• ( v ) If the series increases rapidly and then it decreases rapidly, then multiplication and division is taking place one by one.
• ( vi ) It is necessary to know about the 1 to 13 number cubes, 1 to 20 number squares and prime numbers.

Types of Question were asked in Number Series:

( i ) Completing the Given Series: In the question of this type a special place in the series is left blank and students have to fill the appropriate option in the blank by finding out the order of the numbers of series.

( ii ) Picking the Wrong Element out of the Series: In the question of this type, a series is given of which one element is placed wrong. Students have to choose out the wrong element from the series.

2. Alphabet Series: In this type of series, a series consisting of letters of alphabet is given. One or two letters of the series kept hidden and that place becomes blank or it is denoted by " ? ". Students have to fill up the appropriate letter from the options by observing the series carefully.

3. Letter Series: In letter Series, a set of letters is written four or five times with blank spaces in between. The series follows a specific pattern and the candidate is required to find out the letters which should come in place of the blank spaces.

Sample Problem: 

1) Which of the following number of the given options will come in place of question in the series ?

            1, 8, 27, 64, ?

Solution: The series is increased by 1³, 2³, 3³, 4³..........

Hence, the next number will be 5³ or 125.

2) In the series given below, only one element is wrong, find the wrong element.

(a) 3     (b) 5   (c) 9  (d) 11

Solution: The series consists of consecutive prime numbers. But the element 9 is wrong in the series because 9 is not a prime number.

3) In the following question, a series of letters has been given, a letter has been kept hidden. Find the appropriate letter from the given options by studying the series carefully.

           A, C, F, H, ?, M

Solution: In the series, the first letter increases by 2 places, while the second letter increases by 3 places and this is repeated further.

    H + 3 places = K.

4) In the series given below some of the letters are missing which are given in that order as one of the alternative below it.

a_bbc_aab_cca_bbcc

Solution: In the series, the pattern aabbcc is repeated. Hence, the series is

aabbccaabbccaabbcc

Mathematics: You Must Know the Important Facts about Statistics for Competitive Exam Preparation

Important Facts about Statistics

Collection of Data

Collection of data is the first step in statistics towards achieving the goal on conclusion. There are different sources of collection of data.

There are three main type of data on the basis of collection are as follows

• ( i ) Primary Data: The data collected actually in the process of investigation by the investigator is known as primary data.
• ( ii ) Secondary Data: Data which is already collected by other persons is called as secondary data

Ex:- As investigator collects data related to industries through the government publication.

• ( iii ) Raw Data: It is ungrouped data. If the data is large, the need is to condense the data according to the need of the user. It could be presented into classes of groups. The rules in setting up classes are

• a) Classes should be without gaps in between and also should be non-overlapping.

• b) Classes, normally, should be of the same size.

• c) Normally, open-ended classes should not be formulated.

• d) Each class must have a lower limit and upper limit. The difference between both the limits is called the class interval.

Methods of Classification of Data:

( i ) Exclusive Method:

When the class intervals are so fixed that the upper limit of one class is the lower limit of the next class, it is known as the exclusive methods of classification. In this method, the upper limit of a class is not included in the class. Thus, in the class 0-10 of marks obtained by students, a student who has obtained 10 marks is not included in the class. He is counted in the next class of 10-20.

( ii ) Inclusive Method:

In this method, the classes are so formed that the upper limit of a class is included in the class. 

Important Definitions:

• 1. Frequency: The number of times a particular observation occurs is called frequency of that observation.

• 2. Class Frequency: The frequency of a class in a continuous frequency distribution is called as class frequency.

• 3. Class Mark: It is the mind value of the class interval.

                         

                        Lower limit of class + Upper limit of class

Class Mark =   ---------------------------------------------

                                         2

• 4. Range: It is the difference between the highest and the lowest values of the observation.

                  Range = Maximum observation -  Minimum observation

Ex:- Range of the observations 4, 7, 8, 10, 12

                    = 12 - 4 = 8

• 5. Cumulative Frequency: The cumulative frequency of a class interval is the sum of frequencies of all classes up to that class including the frequency of that particular class.

Banking Awareness: Monetary Standards and Important Bank Terms for coming IBPS Exams and Interviews

Monetary Standards and Important Bank Terms

Monetary Standards:

It refers to the commodity that fixes the value of the standard money used in a country. Monetary standard, on the other hand, relates to the commodity by which the standard money unit is determined.

A sound monetary standard aims at the following.

• Stability in the internal value of the currency through internal price stability.
• Stability of the external value of the currency through exchange rate stability.

Monetary Standards in India

These are classified in to two parts

i) Gold Exchange Standards:

I year 1898, Fowler Committee 1898 was appointed and on their recommendations, gold standard was established in India. At that time, 15 Indian rupee were rural to 1 British sovereign. Gold standard was there till 1914-15, as after First World War was ended.

ii) Paper Currency in India:

Reserve Bank of India was established in 1935 as Central Bank of India and controller of credit. British Government had given right of issuing of currency notes to Bank of Bengal, but from 1st April, 1935, the only right of issue currency was given to India.

Frequently Asking  Bank Terms in Interviews

Important Bank Terms
1) Money Market:	It refers to the market for short-term requirements and deployment of funds.
2) Call Money:	Money lent for 1 day
3) Notice Money:	Money sent for a period exceeding 1 day
4) Term Money:	Money lent for 15 days or more in inter-bank market.
5) Held Till Maturity:	Securities, which are not meant for sale and shall be kept till mature.
6) Yield to Maturity:	Expected rate of return on an existing security purchased from the market.
7) Coupon Rate:	Specified interest rate on a fixed maturity, security fixed at the time of issue.
8) Treasury Operations	Trading in government securities in the market. An investor bank can purchase these securities in the primary market. Tracking takes place in the secondary market.