IIFT 2015 Question Paper

The sentence intends to convey that the British failed to gauge the level of resistance that will be offered by the local rulers and the difference in the terrain.

Let us try to fill the second blank first.

The preposition 'from' has been used after the blank.

'Similar' will take the preposition 'to'.  Therefore, we can eliminate option C.

Before the first blank, the term 'grossly' has been used. 'Understood' and 'misrepresented' cannot be used to fill the blank since the term 'grossly' intends to convey that the British were way off the mark. Therefore, 'underestimated' is the correct term to be used. Option B is the correct answer.

Let us try to infer what the author intends to convey through the sentence.

The meaningless complicated processes forced the author to find methods to skip the processes. 

'Defied' is the correct term to be used in the first blank since the first part should convey that the processes were meaningless. 

Also, work 'around' something means to bypass something. From the sentence, we can infer that the author found a way to skip the complex meaningless processes. Therefore, option C is the right answer. 

A milieu is a term used to describe the social environment. The word is obtained by the combination of the terms mi (from) +lieu (place). Therefore, option C is the right answer.

'Gaffe' is a term used to describe a blunder. Therefore, option A is the right answer.

Emancipate means to become free from political restrictions. 
Enunciate means to pronounce clearly.
Elevated means to raise something.
Emaciated means to become thin and weak. 

During winter, the deers become thin and weak and die as a result. 
Therefore, 'emaciated' is the correct term to be used and hence, option D is the right answer. 

The author intends to convey that though the story is fictional, it is not detached from reality. 
'From' is the correct preposition to be used in this context. 
Therefore, option C is the right answer. 

'Qualm' is a term used to describe the feeling of uneasiness regarding something. 'Misgiving' also means the same. 
Concavity: Quality of being concave.

Amplitude: Maximum extent of vibrations.

Repute: reputation, opinion generally held.
Therefore, option B is the right answer. 

The sentence intends to convey that pipes are not safer than cigarettes since pipe smokers are exposed to a heightened risk of acquiring lung and mouth cancer. 

Let us try to fill the second blank first.

Pipe smokers are not responsible for higher rates of cancer. Therefore, we can eliminate option B.
'Likely to' cannot be used to fill the blank since the sentence will lack structure. If 'likely to' is used, then some other word such as 'acquire' should be used after the blank. We can eliminate option A as well. 
'Involved with cancer' is an incorrect expression. Therefore, we can eliminate option D as well. 

Option C captures both the points that pipes are not an alternative to cigarettes since pipe smokers are also subject to a higher risk of cancer than non-smokers. Therefore, option C is the right answer. 

The term 'conspirators' has been used in the first part of the sentence. A conspirator is someone who plots a conspiracy i.e, secretly plot to overthrow the government. 'Clandestine' means to do something secretly. 'A referendum' is a term used to describe a plebiscite.Therefore, 'plot a plebiscite' is an incorrect expression. We can eliminate option A.

'Wittily' cannot be used to fill the first blank. The sentence talks about a serious event. Therefore, we can eliminate option C as well. 

Among met 'clandestinely' and 'wickedly', clandestinely is a better option since it captures the nature in which a conspiracy is carried out. Therefore, option B is the right answer.

An oxymoron is a term which contains conflicting ideas or statements. 
We have to find the option that contains conflicting ideas. 

Behave properly, Drive slowly, and Speak honestly do not have any conflicting meanings in them. 

Act naturally - Act means to behave in an artificial way. Therefore, 'act naturally' is an oxymoron and hence, option B is the right answer.