1. B


To aggravate a problem is to make it worse. Because of the advancement in health care, the percentage of infantile deaths has reduced thereby enhancing human life span. And this has led to overpopulation.

2. B


A story depicting how a man turns into a psychopath can definitely keep one absorbed.

3. B


If Toni has written fewer books than Bernice, then by definition Toni is the less prolific (productive) writer.

4. C


By definition, someone cynical finds it difficult to accept or believe in the fact that people’s actions spring from unselfishness.

5. B


In the investment field the buyer always looks for long term gains.

6. C


Drive means to possess the desire or the urge to achieve one's target.

7. B


For a young mother, life at home is quite different from life in the outside world.

8. A


Only commitment to a cause can bear fruitful results. Outlook, supervision etc. are secondary things.

9. C

   
   Death of a popular person can prompt (evoke) a general response of sorrow.

10. E

As a person grows older he may become wiser. As a person nears retirement, he may have more time to engage in activities.

11. A


The nose is a part of the head, and the hand a part of the arm.

12. B


A goldfish and a guppy are two different sorts of fish. A parrot and a sparrow are two different sorts of birds.

13. C


A manger is a feeding bin for cattle, a trough is a feeding bin for pigs.

14. B


Pepper is added to food to season it and sugar is added to sweeten it.

15. C

    
    To smash something is to do much greater damage than merely to crack it. To scream is to make a much greater noise than to whisper.

16. B

    
    To be arid is to lack rain. To be bald is to lack hair.

17. E


To upset someone’s equilibrium is to disturb or trouble his balance. To ruffle someone’s composure is to disturb or trouble his self-possesion.

18. A


A spelunker is a person who explores a cave. An astronaut is one who explores space.

19. A


The first public viewing of a movie is its premiere and the first public display of a statue can be termed its unveiling.

20. B


Things or persons that/who are estranged need reconciliation. Similarly, something decrepit needs renovation. Choice E is a trap: hemoglobin is not an abstract noun like reconciliation and renovation.

21. B


Disagreement is characterized by a lack of concord (harmony). Similarly, impartiality is characterized by a lack of bias (prejudice).

22. B


A visionary (dreamer) is not practical, a braggart (boaster) is not modest.

23. E


A potboiler is a trivial or inferior literary work produced by a novelist. A doggerel is trivial verse produced by a poet.

24. D


A "fast track" trade bill is the one conducive for rapidity of progress in trade.

Remember, when answering a vocabulary in context question, test each answer choice by substituting it in the sentence for the word in quotes.

25. A


Latin America is flourishing now, but it has had a bad experience of sharp rises and falls in the economy.

B, C, D and E Incorrect. If we test each answer choice by substituting it in the sentence for the phrase in quotes, it does not make sense.

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