Critical Thinking – Know Thyself

Email inviting private bank CEOs to a seminar

To: ceos@privatebanks.example From: ceo@rbb.example Subject: Invitation to a seminar on 23 May, 2023

Dear Sir/Madam,

Greetings from Rastriya Banijya Bank. I am pleased to invite you to a one-day seminar on "Strengthening Cooperation in Nepal's Banking Sector", which we are organising at our central office, Singha Durbar Plaza, Kathmandu, on 23 May, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The seminar aims to bring the leaders of commercial banks together to discuss pressing issues such as digital banking and cyber security, lending to small businesses and agriculture, managing non-performing loans, and following the guidelines of Nepal Rastra Bank. Senior officials of Nepal Rastra Bank and experts from the finance sector will present papers, and there will be an open discussion session. We believe that sharing experiences will help all of us serve customers better and make the national economy stronger.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided. If you are unable to attend yourself, we request you to send a senior representative in your place. Kindly confirm your participation by 15 May, 2023, by replying to this email or calling our office on 01-4200000.

We would be honoured by your presence and look forward to a fruitful exchange of ideas.

With best regards,

Ramesh Sharma Chief Executive Officer Rastriya Banijya Bank

(b) caretaker

"Cosmopolitan" begins with the /k/ sound, and so does "caretaker". "Chimney" begins with /tʃ/, and "citrus" and "cinematography" begin with /s/.

(d) redeem

Alphabetically, "rectangle" and "reconsider" come before "rectify", while "referee" comes after "redial". "Redeem" falls between them, since "rec-" < "red-" and "rede-" < "redi-".

(c) -y

The adjective "colloquial" (informal, used in everyday speech) forms its adverb by adding "-ly", giving "colloquially", and "-y" is the only option that matches this ending. "-hood", "-ic" and "-ion" do not combine with "colloquial" to make a word.

(d) filled

"Brushed", "glanced" and "looked" end in the /t/ sound, while "filled" ends in /d/.

(b) fertile

"Pure", "moral" and "proper" take "im-" (impure, immoral, improper), but "fertile" takes "in-" to make "infertile".

(a) excavate

In dictionary order "examine" comes before "example", and "excite" and "exclude" come after "exchange". "Excavate" falls between them.

(b) call off

"Call off" means to cancel or stop. The administration asked the employees to end their demonstration.

(d) care, pair

Both words have the vowel /eə/ (care /keə/, pair /peə/). In the other pairs the vowels differ: beer /ɪə/ and bear /eə/, hear /ɪə/ and hare /eə/, near /ɪə/ and there /eə/.

(c) deep

"Deepen" (to make deeper) fits the sentence: keeping away from learning will deepen one's complexities. Brighten and shorten also exist, but "brighten" and "shorten" make no sense with "complexities", and "gold" does not form a verb with -en.

(d) delayed

"Prompt" means quick or done without delay. Its opposite is "delayed"; immediate, timely and instant are all synonyms.

(a) heart (also (d) hectic)

Alphabetically "heart" comes before "heated" (r comes before t), so it lies outside the guidewords. "Heater" and "heaven" fall between heated and hectare. Note that "hectic" also falls after "hectare" (i comes after a), so the question has two words outside the range; the clearest answer is "heart".

(b) met the stranger accidentally

The phrasal verb "fall in with" means to meet or come across someone by chance, and often to join them.

(c) price

Eyes /aɪz/, rise /raɪz/ and dies /daɪz/ all end in the voiced sound /z/. "Price" /praɪs/ ends in the voiceless /s/.

(b) foreign

The correct spelling is f-o-r-e-i-g-n. The other options misplace the letters.

(a) cease

"Cease" means to stop. "Commence" is the opposite, and eliminate and commend mean something else.

(d) miniseries

In dictionary order: minimart, minimize, minimum, miniseries, minister, minstrel. "Miniseries" comes after "minimum" (m before s) and before "minister" (e before t).

(c) scored high grades

"Pass with flying colours" means to succeed very well, here by getting high marks.

(a) bridge

Rise, please and cause all end in /z/. "Bridge" ends in /dʒ/.

(b) accommodate

The word is spelt with double c and double m: ac-com-mo-date.

(c) district

Disown, disqualified and dissatisfied are formed with the prefix dis-. In "district" the letters "dis" are part of the root, so it has no prefix.

(b) benefit

In alphabetical order: benediction, benefactor, benefice, beneficial, benefit, benevolent. "Benefit" falls between beneficial and benevolent.

(a) worked very hard

"Burn the midnight oil" means to work or study late into the night.

(c) chide

Chide (chid-) comes before choice (choi-). Choose, chord and chrome all come after it.

(a) looked after

"Look after" means to take care of, which is what a babysitter does.

(c) legal

The prefix il- is added before words beginning with l: legal becomes illegal.

(b) chemical

"Chaos" begins with /k/, as does "chemical". Chance begins with /tʃ/ and circus and cinema with /s/.

(b) mere

"Mere" has /ɪə/. Hare, stare and pair all have /eə/.

(c) study

Study becomes "studious" (y changes to i before -ous). The other words do not take this suffix.

(d) similar

"Identical" means exactly alike, which is close in meaning to "similar".

(c) minimum

Military and millennium come before "million", and "minstrel" comes after "minister". "Minimum" falls between them.

(d) talking unnecessarily

"Beat around the bush" means to avoid the main point by talking about unimportant things.

(d) nanny

Naive comes before "name", and narcissus and narcosis come after "narcissism". "Nanny" falls between name and narcissism.

(d) not to panic and do it well

"Break a leg" is an idiom meaning good luck. It is said to encourage someone before a performance or test.

(b) perfect

"Impaired" means damaged or weakened, so its opposite is "perfect".

(a) all, saw

Both have the vowel /ɔː/. In the other pairs the vowels differ, for example taste /eɪ/ and ten /e/.

(a) satisfy "Attended", "cultured" and "civilized" form unattended, uncultured and uncivilized. "Satisfy" takes the prefix "dis-" (dissatisfy), not "un-".

(a) writing Verbs ending in silent -e drop the e before -ing (write, writing). The others are misspelt: the correct forms are coming, putting and running.

(b) perfect "Deficient" means lacking or inadequate. Faulty, short and scarce are close in meaning to it, so "perfect" (complete, without lack) is the best opposite among the options.

(a) sew, so Both words are pronounced with the same vowel sound /əʊ/. In the other pairs the vowels differ: cat /æ/ and men /e/, kite /aɪ/ and rate /eɪ/, pan /æ/ and pen /e/.

(c) should "Should" has the short vowel /ʊ/, while shoot, to and food all have the long vowel /uː/.

(d) to experience "Undergo" means to go through or experience something, usually unpleasant. So children who undergo poverty are those who experience it.

(b) median/medicinal Guide words show the first and last entries on a dictionary page, and the headword must fall between them alphabetically. "Median" comes before "medicine" (a before c) and "medicinal" comes after it, so the word fits between them.

(c) penalized "To bring someone to book" is an idiom meaning to hold them accountable and punish them for wrongdoing, so the burglar was penalized.