Model Test Paper for IAS Set-1

Model Test Paper for IAS-1

Choose the correct answer:

1.     Who is associated with “Mandarin” as a nickname?

        (1)  Korean official       (2)  Chinese official

        (3)  French soldier        (4)  Spanish soldier

        Hint: It is spoken by the largest number of people in the world- surpassing the English, French, Spanish, Arabic languages.

2.     Lagos was the former capital of

        (1)  Ethiopia                 (2)  Kenya

        (3)  Nigeria                   (4)  Tunisia

        Hint: All the countries are in the African continent. The capitals of Ethiopia, Kenya and Tunisia are Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Tunis respectively. The new capital of Nigeria is Abuja.

3.     Where did Gautam Buddha deliver his first Sermon?

        (1)  Kapilvastu              (2)  Sarnath

        (3)  Sanchi                    (4)  Bodh Gaya

        Hint: Gautam Buddha was born at Lumbini in Kapilvastu (Nepal), attained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya (Bihar), died or attained Nirvana in Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh); Sanchi is in Madhya Pradesh famous for the great stupa built by Ashoka. It’s a holy pilgrimage shrine of Buddhists.

4.     The gold mines at Kolar are situated in

        (1)  Kerala                    (2)  Karnataka

        (3)  Tamil Nadu            (4)  Andhra Pradesh

        Hint: Kolar mines are almost extinct. New gold mines are at Hutti (Karnataka).

5.     “Namibia” is the new name of

        (1)  Zaire

        (2)  South-West Africa

        (3)  Cambodia

        (4)  Rhodesia (South)

        Hint: Zaire is now known as the Republic of Congo, Rhodesia’s new name is Zimbabwe. Zaire, Namibia and Zimbabwe are in Africa while Cambodia which was called Kampuchea previously is in Asia. North Rhodesia is now called Zambia.

6.     Kathakali is the dance of

        (1)  Kerala

        (2)  Tamil Nadu

        (3)  Andhra Pradesh

        (4)  Karnataka

        Hint: It’s a male dance drama with masks and very popular in South India. Bharat Natyam is the outstanding dance of Tamil Nadu; Kuchipudi is the main dance-drama of Andhra Pradesh.

7.     The longest river flowing entirely in India is

        (1)  Narmada

        (2)  Ganga

        (3)  Godavari

        (4)  Krishna

        Hint: Godavari is the longest river of Peninsular India (South India).

8.     Railways started working in India in

        (1)  1850

        (2)  1853

        (3)  1860

        (4)  1867

        Hint: Railways first started working during the times of Lord Dalhousie– from Bombay to Thane
(a distance of about 30 miles).

9.     “Das Kapital” is written by

        (1)  Karl Marx

        (2)  Boris Pasternak

        (3)  Lenin

        (4)  Dostoevsky

        Hint: Das Kapital is called the ‘Bible of Communism’. Boris Pasternak, a famous dissident Russian writer and the Nobel Prize winner in Literature, is the author of ‘Doctor Zhivago’; Lenin, the father of Bolshevik (Communist) Revolution of 1917 in Russia and the founder of the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.), was the author of ‘State and Revolution’ and Dostoevsky, an eminent Russian writer, was the author of the world famous novel ‘Crime and Punishment’.

10.   ‘Workshipping False Gods’ is a book written by 

        (1)  Ram Jethmalani     (2)  Amrita Pritam

        (3)  Arun Shourie         (4)  Bhisham Sahni

        Hint: Arun Shourie is the former Cabinet Minister for Communications, Information Technology and Disinvestment in the previous NDA Government. He is an eminent but controversial journalist and a prolific writer. He has also written the  book ‘A Secular Agenda’and ‘Courts and their Judgements’. Amrita Pritam, is the most outstanding figure in Punjabi literature and poetry. Her famous works are– ‘Fortynine Days’, ‘Revenue Stamp’, ‘Thirteenth Sun’; Ram Jethmalani is an eminent lawyer and former Cabinet Minister for Law and Justice in the Union Govt;  Bhisham Sahni is a famous writer. His work ‘Tamas’ has become very popular– notable for portraying communal conflict in partition days and pleading for communal harmony and universal brotherhood.

11.   Who, among the following, has been unanimously elected as the Speaker of 15th Lok Sabha?

        (1)  Somnath Chatterjee

        (2)  G.M.C. Balayogi

        (3)  Meira Kumar

        (4)  Manohar Joshi

        Hint: G.M.C. Balayogi was re-elected unanimously as the Speaker of 13th Lok Sabha. He was also holding this post previously. He belonged to Telugu Desam Party. Unfortunately, he died in a helicopter crash. Manohar Joshi is the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Speaker of Lok Sabha. He belongs to Shiv Sena. Meira Kumar belongs to Congress Party and is the daughter of famous dalit leader of Indian National Congress and an astute parliamentarian and administrator, Babu Jagjivan Ram.

12.   Who, among the following, is the author of the book “Amitabh Bachchan: The Legend”?

        (1)  Bachi Karkaria

        (2)  Bhavna Somaiya

        (3)  Shobha De

        (4)  Jhumpa Lahiri

        Hint: Amitabh Bachchan popularly known as ‘Big B’, the superstar of the Indian film industry, was voted the greatest ever star of stage or screen by an international poll of users on the BBC’s internet news online service– he was named as the “Star of the Millennium”. Shobha De is an eminent columnist and writer. Her books ‘Starry Nights’ and ‘Speedpost’ have become very famous and popular.

13.   Who amongst the following is the author of the book ‘Dreams From My Father : A story of Race and Inheritance’?

        (1)  Nelson Mandela

        (2)  Danny Boyle

        (3)  Cassius Clay

        (4)  Barack Obama

14.   ‘Vande Mataram’ was first published in

        (1)  Kesari

        (2)  Harijan

        (3)  Gitanjali

        (4)  Anandmath

        Hint: ‘Kesari’ was the name of the newspaper edited and published by Bal Gangadhar Tilak; ‘Harijan’ was Mahatma Gandhi’s most famous journal; Gitanjali is the world - renowned book written by Gurudev R.N. Tagore for which he got the coveted Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, the first Indian who got this prestigious Prize. Anandmath is a novel written in Bengali language by the great nationalist and revolutionary writer, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.

15.   Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was given to how many eminent sportspersons in 2009?

        (1)  One                        (2)  Two

        (3)  Three                      (4)  Four

        Hint: Women’s world boxing champion Mangte Chungneijang Marykom, Beijing Olympic bronze medalist in boxing Vijender Singh and bronze medalist in wrestling Sushil Kumar was awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Saina Nehwal was awarded this prestigious prize in 2010. Gagan Narang is the recipient of this prestigious award in 2011. Vijay Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt were awarded this prize in 2012.

16.   By what name is the disease, Varicella, more commonly known?

        (1)  Small Pox               (2)  Chicken Pox

        (3)  Malaria                   (4)  Tuberculosis

17.   Dronacharya Award is given for excellence in

        (1)  Literary work         (2)  Journalism

        (3)  Coaching in sports (4)  Education

18.   When Paul C. Lautenberg was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine?

        (1)  2002                       (2)  2003

        (3)  2004                       (4)  2005

        Hint: Paul C. Lautenberg, US scientist, and Peter Mansfield, British scientist, were awarded the Noble Prize in Medicine for their discoveries on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a painless diagnostic method used by doctors to look inside the bodies of millions of patients every year.

19.   ‘Oral-B’ is the brand name of which of the following products?

        (1)  Contraceptive pills (2)  Software

        (3)  Mouth freshener    (4)  Tooth brush

20.   “Business at the Speed of Thought” is the title of a book written by

        (1)  Henry Ford           

        (2)  Rahul Bajaj

        (3)  Bill Gates              

        (4)  Bill Clinton

Hint: Bill Gates, the Microsoft– Moghul and Czar of Information Technology, is one of the richest persons in the world. Henry Ford of General Motors of USA was named as “the businessman of the century” by the famous American Magazine, Fortune; Rahul Bajaj, a very prominent Indian industrialist, was the former Chairman of CII (Confederation of Indian Industries), he is an elected member of Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra; Bill Clinton is the former President of USA.

ANSWER: Model Test Paper for IAS-1

1.         (2)        2.         (3)        3.         (2)        4.         (2)        5.         (2)

6.         (1)        7.         (2)        8.         (2)        9.         (1)        10.       (3)

11.       (3)        12.       (2)        13.       (4)        14.       (4)        15.       (3)

16.       (2)        17.       (3)        18.       (2)        19.       (4)        20.       (3)