CBSE Class 9 English IEO Olympiad MCQs with Answers Set J

WORD AND STRUCTURE KNOWLEDGE

FOR QUESTIONS 1 TO 24, CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD/PHRASE TO COMPLETE EACH SENTENCE.

1. After chasing its tail for some time, the cat bit _______ and everybody in the room laughed.
A. down on it
B. all around
C. those ones
D. itself
Answer : D

2. The window _______ broken late last night in the storm.
A. got
B. is
C. has been
D. had been
Answer : A

3. It’s amazing that my family are all so different but my sister looks just _______ our mother.
A. same
B. like
C. as
D. so
Answer : B

4. Our new house is big _______ , so we can all have a room each.
A. though
B. so
C. enough
D. as
Answer : C

5. I have far too _______ work to do before the end of the day.
A. any
B. much
C. a lot
D. some
Answer : B

6. Our teacher _______ us that there would be a big party at the end of term.
A. told
B. said
C. yelled
D. whispered
Answer : A

7. I am used to _______ on the left in Britain because I have been here for over a year.
A. drive
B. driving
C. drove
D. have been driven
Answer : B

8. I have been trying to fix the TV _______ now and can’t seem to get it working again.
A. after hours
B. in hours
C. for hours
D. just hours
Answer : C

9. It’s a real pity that the person_______ , car was stolen last night, is still at the police station.
A. whose
B. who
C. whom
D. who his
Answer : A

10. If I won the lottery, I _______ a big house in France.
A. will be buying
B. would buy
C. have bought
D. bought
Answer : B

11. We had _______ of courses to choose from, it was a very good college.
A. plenty
B. some
C. many
D. much
Answer : A

12. _______ it rained, we continued to play tennis.
A. However
B. Even
C. Although
D. But
Answer : C

13. I think we should _______ it a day because I’m tired and have to be up early tomorrow.
A. name
B. say
C. call
D. ask
Answer : C

14. Sorry if my presentation wasn’t great but I’m feeling _______ today.
A. over the hill
B. under the weather
C. between the sheets
D. along the road
Answer : B

15. I find this type of problem difficult, but I think it boils _______ understanding the formula properly.
A. down to
B. on the go
C. in the know
D. up a
Answer : A

16. It wasn’t a difficult task to carry _______ but many of my peers failed to complete it.
A. over
B. on
C. up
D. out
Answer : D

17. My whole plan has fallen into _______ before I could even start work.
A. disarray
B. redirect
C. unbelievable
D. ill-advised
Answer : A

18. He was so thirsty that he took a big _______ from the cup before looking what was in it!
A. slate
B. trouncing
C. glance
D. swig
Answer : D

19. I always try to _______ my opponent into a false sense of security.
A. like
B. lull
C. last
D. limp
Answer : B

20. The _______ of the ball is really difficult to judge once it gets past a certain speed.
A. mediocracy
B. tenacity
C. velocity
D. sacristy
Answer : C

21. Unfortunately, if you break the rules at this school, all your privileges are _______ instantly.
A. revoked
B. deranged
C. prearranged
D. discorded
Answer : A

22. The river is nearly blocked because of all the _______ that has built up over the years.
A. roadwork
B. trucker
C. badland
D. sediment
Answer : D

23. If she stopped _______ then more people might want to talk to her.
A. berated
B. yelling
C. accosted
D. reverts
Answer : B

24. My grandfather may be nearly 90, but he is certainly not _______ nor struggling with his memory.
A. crafty
B. marooned
C. edified
D. frail
Answer : D

FOR QUESTIONS 25 AND 26, CHOOSE THE CORRECT SYNONYM OF THE GIVEN WORD.

25. Acumen
A. Cleverness
B. Relativity
C. Imaginative
D. Rebellious
Answer : A

26. Gallant
A. Unrefined
B. Spirited
C. Backward
D. Revolutionary
Answer : B

FOR QUESTIONS 27 AND 28, CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANTONYM OF THE GIVEN WORD.

27. Brink
A. Rarity
B. Edge
C. Diverse
D. Focus
Answer : D

28. Bartered
A. Purchased
B. Redeemed
C. Gifted
D. Bargained
Answer : C

FOR QUESTIONS 29 AND 30, CHOOSE THE OPTION WITH CORRECT SPELLING.

29. How do you spell the word that means ‘a place where trees are planted’?
A. Arboratoreum
B. Arboretum
C. Arbaitrium
D. Arboriotrium
Answer : B

30. How do you spell the word that means ‘a type of medical specialist’?
A. Anaesthetist
B. Anaestatist
C. Aneastatist
D. Anaethatist
Answer : A

READING

FOR QUESTIONS 31 TO 35, READ THE PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW.

Untied shoelaces are one of the persistent problems for people worldwide. The pesky knots magically appear to come apart at the worst of times, e.g. in the final part of a long run or just before a crucial point in a game. However, while there has been a lot of research conducted into when the problems happen to the various types of knots, nobody has ever investigated the basic question – why do laces come undone? Now, thanks to a team of researchers at the University of California, there is finally a scientific explanation to this problem, which affects both young and old alike.
If you do an online search about how to tie lace you may find thousands or more pages about how to tie the ‘perfect knot’. But until recently, there has been very little information available about why they always come undone. Scientists have begun to research this problem and have come up with some interesting ideas that suggest there is no solution to the problem and it is just something we will have to continue to live with, no matter how good we think we are at tying knots.
The study required over 100 hours of testing various ways that could loosen the knot. A keen runner and engineering professor spent hours jogging on a treadmill, allowing her colleagues to film her shoes in slow motion so they could capture detailed images of the shoelaces loosening, and, eventually, coming completely undone.
The results of the research, published in the journal Proceedings of The Royal Society, reveals the invisible forces that help untie laces during an activity. According to the engineers, when you run or walk, your foot hits the ground with quite a large amount of force. This impact makes the knots in your laces to stretch and loosen. The laces’ free ends then swing as the leg moves upwards, and this causes them to slip further. It is the combined action that eventually leads to the untangling of even the tightest of knots. So, no matter how well you tie them, they will eventually come undone.
Interestingly this problem doesn’t seem to happen for people who ride bicycles because the forces at play are very different. When a team of researchers then tried to copy the forces by sitting at a table and swinging their legs for half an hour, and then stomping on the ground for the same period of time, their shoelaces remained firmly tied each time. This is because the forces needed to untie a lace need to happen simultaneously and this really only happens when we are either walking or running. This means that we all need to stop walking and running or perhaps a better solution is to just create a different way of fastening our shoes.
While the study has finally solved the intriguing mystery, its implications go beyond that one researcher, “When you talk about knotted structures, if you can start to understand the shoelace, then you can apply it to other things, like DNA or microstructures that fail under dynamic forces. This is the first step toward understanding why certain knots are better than others, which no one has really done.” Who knew solving the mystery of loosening shoelaces could one day lead to further significant scientific discoveries.

31. Choose the best title or heading for the passage.
A. New Shoes are Best
B. Walking Won’t Help
C. Nature Playing Games
D. Why it Comes Undone
Answer : D

32. Who researched the problem?
A. Scientists in California
B. Every mother in the world
C. Sportsmen and women
D. Bicyclists in America
Answer : A

33. What causes laces to come untied?
A. Bad knot tying
B. Forces you can’t see
C. Poor shoelaces
D. Badly made shoes
Answer : B

34. What is the solution to the problem?
A. Don’t wear shoes anymore.
B. Bicycle to school instead of walking.
C. Find new ways to fasten shoes.
D. Learn to tie a better knot.
Answer : C

35. What does the word ‘dynamic’ mean in final
paragraph?
A. Running
B. Active
C. Different
D. Clever
Answer : B

FOR QUESTIONS 36 TO 40, READ THE PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW.

For more than a generation, people have been trying to make machines, all machines, automated. That is to say, machines that can do their tasks without the help of people to guide them. Nowadays, we are entering a period of near madness when it comes to self-driving cars. Companies ranging from car manufacturers like General Motors and Toyota to private-hire taxi companies like Uber, and even Internet search giant Google, are all desperately trying to be the first to bring them to market. The efforts are so intense that the University of Michigan has even established a 23-acre town to help the cause. Dubbed Mcity, it allows manufacturers to safely test their autonomous cars using human props.
However, while the pretend city can be used to simulate many real-life road conditions, it cannot help test the way drivers use their hands and faces to communicate their intent to fellow drivers, pedestrians or bicyclists. These include gestures like waving a car into a lane or nodding at a person walking or on a bike, to indicate they can cross the road safely.
To try to come up with a solution for these everyday issues that self-driving vehicles would face, US car manufacturer Ford, teamed up with researchers from a university in Virginia. The team originally thought of using text as a way to communicate the car’s intention but decided it would probably not work universally given that people would have to be able to read and understand the same language. The option of using symbols was also discarded, because research shows that a majority of people do not have a good understanding of what they mean.
After some thought, the researchers settled on light signals, that are understood by people worldwide. A solid white light served as a warning that there were no humans in the car. A slow blinking one indicated that the car was coming to a stop, while a rapidly flashing light cautioned passersby that the car was about to accelerate.
Then came the big challenge – testing the signals on real roads. They really needed to try the light system out on regular roads but where and how could they do that. Should they go somewhere with a small population like Alaska or should they test out the system in big cities like New York. The problem was really that they needed to test the system on roads where there were real people doing real things and it would be too dangerous to actually use driverless cars, so they came up with a genius idea.
Taking inspiration from a similar study conducted two years ago, the team designed a car seat costume that the driver would wear to over their face and upper body. The drivers could see very clearly through a plastic mask, which was concealed by a thin reflective fabric making them invisible to people looking in.
The researchers then added the light system to a Ford van with cameras all over it to capture human reactions to a light bar at the front, which flashed one of the three signals when appropriate. Six drivers, all keeping their hands low on the wheel so as not to be seen, took turns test driving the van through the busy streets of northern Virginia in August. They drove for 1,500 hours, covered 1,800 miles and tested the light cues at more than 1,650 locations, including intersections, car parks, and airport roads.
Although final details of the study have not been revealed, Ford have said that the overall reaction to the flashing lights was very encouraging. The car manufacturer plans on sharing the information with 11 other companies and collaborating with them in further research. The aim of this is that they all work together to design a signaling system that would be understood by everybody.

36. Choose the best title or heading for the passage.
A. People Drive Driverless Cars
B. Lights, Camera, Action
C. Americans Make New Cars
D. New City for Machines
Answer : A

37. Where is the new ‘Mcity’?
A. Virginia
B. Michigan
C. Alaska
D. New York
Answer : B

38. What did the drivers wear in the experiment?
A. Regular clothes
B. Glasses
C. Disguises
D. Light systems
Answer : C

39. The test drivers took turns _______________.
A. parking the cars
B. flashing their lights at people
C. trying to create problems
D. driving around Virginia
Answer : D

40. What is the meaning of the word ‘collaborate’ in the final paragraph?
A. Ally
B. Revamp
C. Model
D. Triumph
Answer : A

SPOKEN AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION

FOR QUESTIONS 41 TO 45, CHOOSE THE MOST SUITABLE OPTION TO COMPLETE EACH CONVERSATION.

41. Patrick : I _______ my haircut yesterday. Do you like it?
Sileas : Hmm, it looks a bit weird.
A. am getting
B. was getting
C. have got
D. got
Answer : D

42. Steve : The sound of that bird all day is really starting to _______ on my nerves!
A. grave
B. grind
C. grate
D. groan
Answer : C

43. Alidina : I’ll easily _______ with all my homework by the time you get home tonight.
A. be finished
B. to finish
C. had finished
D. finished
Answer : A

44. Beth : How’s your mum doing?
Jenny : She’s great, she just got a job at the bank as an _______
A. advisable
B. advisor
C. advisory
D. advised
Answer : B

45. Stone : You really need some practise and the quicker the _______ as far as I can tell.
A. better
B. slower
C. easiest
D. most careful
Answer : A

ACHIEVERS SECTION

FOR QUESTIONS 46 AND 47, CHOOSE THE CORRECT OPTION TO FILL IN THE BLANK.

46. It is impossible to truly be a hard worker, we all need to _______ and relax sometimes.
A. run over
B. pick up
C. back in
D. kick back
Answer : D

47. It is difficult to _______ with ideas to impress our teacher, isn’t it?
A. stop doing away
B. keep coming up
C. return on
D. return to being 
Answer : B

48. Choose the correct synonym ofthe given word.
Aberration
A. Disavow
B. Retract
C. Oddity
D. Entrench
Answer : C

49. Choose the correct antonym of the given word.
Coax
A. Pester
B. Repel
C. Sooth
D. Influence
Answer : B

50. Choose the most suitable option to complete the conversation.
Edmund : I wasn’t expecting any kind of _______ from the audience during my talk.
A. come back
B. go forward
C. move away
D. stay there
Answer : A