SNAP 2016 Previous Year Question Paper

Passage

A shared currency is a promise that several economies will behave, in the ways that matter, like one. When the promise holds, trade is cheaper, prices are easier to compare and investors stop worrying about sudden devaluations. When it fails, the costs fall unevenly. A country whose wages have risen faster than its neighbours' cannot simply let its currency fall to regain competitiveness; it must instead cut wages and spending directly, a process that is slow, painful and politically explosive.

Economists have long argued that a currency union needs at least one of three shock absorbers: workers who move easily across borders, a common budget that transfers money to regions in trouble, or wages flexible enough to adjust without mass unemployment. A union that has none of these is not doomed, but it is fragile. It works in calm weather and leaks in storms.

1. According to the passage, why is a loss of competitiveness harder to fix inside a currency union?

   1. Because trade between members becomes more expensive
   2. Because a member cannot devalue its own currency and must cut wages and spending instead
   3. Because investors refuse to lend to members
   4. Because prices become impossible to compare
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: B (Because a member cannot devalue its own currency and must cut wages and spending instead)

   The first paragraph says such a country 'cannot simply let its currency fall' and must cut wages and spending directly. A and D contradict the stated benefits of a union, and C is not claimed.

2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a 'shock absorber' for a currency union?

   1. Easy movement of workers across borders
   2. A common central bank that sets separate interest rates for each member
   3. Flexible wages
   4. A common budget that transfers funds to troubled regions
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: B (A common central bank that sets separate interest rates for each member)

   The passage lists labour mobility, fiscal transfers and wage flexibility. Separate interest rates for each member are never mentioned, and they would not even be possible under a single monetary policy.

Verbal ability

3. Choose the word closest in meaning to CANDID.

   1. Cautious
   2. Frank
   3. Secretive
   4. Sweet
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: B (Frank)

   Candid means open and honest, that is, frank.

4. Choose the word most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to FRUGAL.

   1. Careful
   2. Thrifty
   3. Extravagant
   4. Modest
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: C (Extravagant)

   Frugal means economical with money. Its opposite is extravagant. Thrifty, modest and careful are all close to frugal.

5. Choose the meaning of the idiom 'a storm in a teacup'.

   1. A sudden disaster
   2. Great excitement or anger over a trivial matter
   3. A secret quarrel
   4. A problem that keeps returning
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: B (Great excitement or anger over a trivial matter)

   'A storm in a teacup' describes a lot of fuss about something unimportant.

6. Choose the option that best completes the sentence. The committee's decision was so ______ that even its own members could not explain the reasoning behind it.

   1. lucid
   2. arbitrary
   3. transparent
   4. methodical
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: B (arbitrary)

   A decision whose reasoning no one can explain is arbitrary (not based on reason). The other three words describe clear or orderly reasoning, which contradicts the sentence.

7. Which part of the sentence contains an error? (A) Neither the manager / (B) nor his assistants / (C) was present / (D) at the meeting.

   1. A
   2. B
   3. C
   4. D
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: C (C)

   With 'neither…nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject. 'Assistants' is plural, so it should be 'were present'.

Data interpretation

A passenger train starts empty at station A and runs through stations B, C and D to its last stop, E, where everyone gets off. The table shows how many passengers boarded and got off at each station.

8. How many passengers were on the train as it left station C?

   1. 135
   2. 145
   3. 155
   4. 165
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: B (145)

   After A: 120. After B: 120 + 45 − 30 = 135. After C: 135 + 60 − 50 = 145.

9. How many passengers got off at station E?

   1. 90
   2. 100
   3. 110
   4. None of these
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: B (100)

   After D: 145 + 25 − 70 = 100. All of them get off at E, so 100.

10. At which station did the number of passengers on board fall the most?

    1. B
    2. C
    3. D
    4. None of these
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (D)

    Net change: B +15, C +10, D 25 − 70 = −45. Station D shows the only fall, and the largest one.

Quantitative ability

11. A invests ₹40,000 for 12 months and B invests ₹60,000 for 8 months in a business. Out of a profit of ₹36,000, what is B's share?

    1. ₹14,400
    2. ₹18,000
    3. ₹21,600
    4. ₹24,000
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (₹18,000)

    Capital × time: A = 40,000 × 12 = 4,80,000; B = 60,000 × 8 = 4,80,000. The ratio is 1 : 1, so B gets ₹18,000.

12. In how many distinct ways can the letters of the word BANANA be arranged?

    1. 36
    2. 60
    3. 120
    4. 720
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (60)

    6 letters with A repeated 3 times and N twice: 6!/(3! × 2!) = 720/12 = 60.

13. A 240 m long train passes completely through a 360 m long platform in 30 seconds. What is its speed?

    1. 54 km/h
    2. 64 km/h
    3. 72 km/h
    4. 80 km/h
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (72 km/h)

    Distance = 240 + 360 = 600 m in 30 s, i.e. 20 m/s. In km/h: 20 × 18/5 = 72 km/h.

14. What is the average of the first ten odd natural numbers?

    1. 9
    2. 11
    3. 12
    4. None of these
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (None of these)

    1 + 3 + … + 19 = 10² = 100, so the average is 100/10 = 10. That is not listed, so the answer is 'None of these'.

15. On 8 November 2016, the Government of India announced that banknotes of which denominations (Mahatma Gandhi series) would cease to be legal tender?

    1. ₹100 and ₹500
    2. ₹50 and ₹100
    3. ₹500 and ₹1000
    4. ₹1000 and ₹2000
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (₹500 and ₹1000)

    The 8 November 2016 announcement withdrew legal tender status from ₹500 and ₹1000 notes of the Mahatma Gandhi series. New ₹500 and ₹2000 notes were issued.

16. At the Rio 2016 Olympics, P.V. Sindhu won silver in women's singles badminton. Whom did she lose to in the final?

    1. Ratchanok Intanon
    2. Saina Nehwal
    3. Carolina Marin
    4. Nozomi Okuhara
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (Carolina Marin)

    Sindhu lost the final to Spain's Carolina Marin 21–19, 12–21, 15–21, becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver. She beat Nozomi Okuhara in the semi-final.

17. The 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to:

    1. Bob Dylan
    2. Haruki Murakami
    3. Kazuo Ishiguro
    4. Svetlana Alexievich
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (Bob Dylan)

    Bob Dylan won the 2016 prize 'for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition'. Alexievich won in 2015 and Ishiguro in 2017.

18. Who succeeded Raghuram Rajan as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India in September 2016?

    1. Shaktikanta Das
    2. Viral Acharya
    3. Urjit Patel
    4. Arvind Subramanian
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (Urjit Patel)

    Urjit Patel, until then a Deputy Governor, became the 24th RBI Governor in September 2016.

19. The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 paved the way for:

    1. the Goods and Services Tax, including the GST Council
    2. the National Judicial Appointments Commission
    3. the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh
    4. reservation for economically weaker sections
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (the Goods and Services Tax, including the GST Council)

    The 101st Amendment (assent 8 September 2016) introduced GST. It inserted Article 246A (concurrent power to levy GST), Article 269A (IGST) and Article 279A (GST Council).

Puzzle

Four employees, Kiran, Lalit, Meena and Nisha, work on floors 1 to 4 of a building, one on each floor (floor 1 is the lowest). Meena works on an even-numbered floor. Lalit works on the floor directly above Kiran. Kiran does not work on floor 1. Meena works on the floor directly above Nisha.

20. Who works on floor 4?

    1. Lalit
    2. Kiran
    3. Meena
    4. Nisha
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (Lalit)

    Kiran is not on 1 and Lalit is directly above Kiran, so (Kiran, Lalit) is (2, 3) or (3, 4). If it is (2, 3), Meena must be on 4 (the only even floor left), so Nisha must be on 3, which is taken. So Kiran is on 3 and Lalit on 4, which leaves Meena on 2 (even) and Nisha on 1, directly below Meena.

21. Who works on the floor directly below Kiran?

    1. No one
    2. Nisha
    3. Lalit
    4. Meena
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (Meena)

    From the arrangement Nisha 1, Meena 2, Kiran 3, Lalit 4, the person directly below Kiran (floor 3) is Meena (floor 2).

Miscellaneous

22. Find the next letter in the series: C, E, H, L, Q, ?

    1. U
    2. V
    3. W
    4. X
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (W)

    Positions 3, 5, 8, 12, 17 increase by 2, 3, 4, 5, so the next increase is 6: 17 + 6 = 23, which is W.

23. If TABLE is coded as ELBAT, how is CHAIR coded?

    1. CRIAH
    2. RIAHD
    3. RAIHC
    4. RIAHC
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (RIAHC)

    The code writes the word backwards. CHAIR reversed is RIAHC.

24. Ravi walks 8 km north, turns right and walks 6 km, then turns right again and walks 8 km, then turns left and walks 2 km. How far is he from his starting point?

    1. 8 km
    2. 12 km
    3. 6 km
    4. 10 km
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (8 km)

    North 8: (0, 8). Right means east, 6: (6, 8). Right again means south, 8: (6, 0). Facing south, a left turn means east, 2: (8, 0). His distance from the start (0, 0) is 8 km.

25. A is B's sister. C is B's mother. D is C's father. How is A related to D?

    1. Daughter
    2. Granddaughter
    3. Grandmother
    4. Niece
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (Granddaughter)

    A is B's sister, so C is also A's mother. D is C's father, so D is A's maternal grandfather and A is D's granddaughter.

26. Statement: 'Book early: only a few seats are left for the Diwali weekend flights,' says an airline advertisement. Assumptions: I. Many people want to travel over the Diwali weekend. II. The advertisement may persuade some people to book sooner. Which assumption(s) are implicit?

    1. Only I
    2. Only II
    3. Both I and II
    4. Neither I nor II
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (Both I and II)

    The advertisement assumes there is strong demand for the weekend (I) and that urging people to book will influence their timing (II); otherwise it would be pointless. Both are implicit.