Infosys Verbal Questions

Verbal ability is an important component of Infosys written test. It includes questions from reading comprehension passages, sentence completion, sentence correction, fill in the blanks, etc. This section is aimed at checking the grammatical knowledge, vocabulary, and reading skills of the candidates. So, here we have given sample verbal questions based on Infosys placement tests:

DIRECTIONS for question 1: In each of these questions, a statement is followed by two assumptions numbered I and II. An assumption is something supposed or taken for granted. Mark answer as
1 if only Assumption II is implicit.
2 if only Assumption I is implicit.
3 if either Assumption I or II is implicit.
4 if neither Assumption I nor II is implicit.

Statement:
Who rises from the prayer a better man, his prayer is answered.
Assumptions:
1. Prayers make a man more human.
2. Prayers atone for all our misdeeds.
Answer: Option D.
What is implied in the statement is that a person who has learnt from his mistakes and thereby betters himself, is doing what God would have liked him to do. So neither of the two assumptions is implied. Hence D.

DIRECTIONS for question 2: In each of these questions, a statement is followed by two courses of action numbered I and II. Assume everything in the statement to be true. Decide which of the suggested course(s) of action logically follow(s) for pursuing. Mark answer as
1. if only Course of Action II follows.
2. if only Course of Action I follows.
3. if neither Course of Action I nor II follows.
4. if both Courses of Action I and II follow

Statement:
The government has decided not to provide financial support to voluntary organizations from the next Five Year Plan and has communicated that all such organizations should raise funds to meet their financial needs.
Courses of Action
1. Voluntary organizations should collaborate with foreign agencies.
2. They should explore other sources of financial support.
Answer: Option D.
Since the current sources of finance for the voluntary organisations is about to dry up, they should start looking for new sources. I and II are reasonable sources of new funds – and hence should be pursued. Option D.

DIRECTIONS for question 3-4: some of the sentences have errors and some have none. Find out which part of the sentence has an error.

Not only the bandits robbed(a) / the traveler of his purse(b) / but also wounded him grievously(c) / No error(d)
1. a
2. b
3. c
4. d
Answer: Option A.
The modifier 'not only' has been placed incorrectly; it should have been The bandits not only robbed..'
No less than twenty persons(a) / were killed in (b)/ the air crash. (c)/ No error(d)
1. a
2. b
3. c
4. d
Answer: Option A.
It should have been 'No less than twenty people (not persons)'

DIRECTIONS for questions 5 to 10: Read the passages given below and answer the questions that follow each passage..
One likes to think that one's attitudes, beliefs, and related behaviour form a consistent pattern. Incongruity that is detected results in a sense of imbalance or dissonance, which the person then seeks to correct. The motivating effects of the need to correct incongruity, imbalance, or dissonance has been the occasion for several theories. We may select for consideration the theory proposed by Festinger which treats cognitive dissonance and its reduction. The kind of disagreement or disharmony with, which Festinger has been chiefly concerned is that which occurs after a decision has been made, after one is committed to a course of action; under such circumstances, there is often some lack of harmony between what one does and what one believes, and there is pressure to change either one's behaviour or one's beliefs. For example, if a regular smoker reads about the relationship between smoking and lung cancer, the habitual action and the new information are dissonant. If the decision is made to continue smoking, the dissonance will be reduced by disbelieving the information about the relationship between smoking and lung cancer; if the decision is made to give up smoking, the information on the linkage between smoking and lung cancer will be accepted. The fact that this information also affected the decision is not important here. As Festinger and others have shown, the weighing of alternatives is more realistic prior to the decision; after the decision, the pressure is great to bring belief and action into balance. The theory goes on to make some non-obvious predictions; for example, in some cases, failure of expectations instead of destroying belief may strengthen it. This was illustrated by the study of a group of people who expected to be saved from a prophesied disastrous flood by the intervention of a heavenly being. The theory predicted that when the long-awaited day arrived and the prophecy failed (no flood), those who had the social support of the other believers would indeed proselyte for their beliefs with new enthusiasm; while those who had to face the crisis alone would have their faith weakened. These predicted results did indeed occur, the rationalization for the group of disappointed believers who faced failure together being that God had postponed his vengeance because of their faith. The tendency to be consistent is but one aspect of how self-perception influences motivation. Earlier illustrations of human motivation might also be reinterpreted in these terms. For example, the success motivation and the avoidance of failure are also concerned with how a person sees himself. R.W. White, for example, reinterprets many motives concerned with curiosity, and desire for knowledge and for achievement as though they are all concerned with one's sense of competence as a person who is effective in relation to the environment. In another sense, the person likes to develop his potentials to the full, to be as complete a person as he can. For such a pervasive type of motive, the expression self-actualization was coined, originally by Carl Jung, one of Freud's followers who later developed a system of his own. By self-actualization, he meant the development of full individuality, with all parts somehow in harmony. The term and closely related ones (productive orientation, creative becoming, etc.) have been used by man psychologists who criticize contemporary motivational theory as being too narrow concerned with short episodes of choice and behaviour rather than with the more profound and pervasive aspects of individual hopes and aspirations.

Which of the following situations is most likely to give rise to cognitive dissonance?
1. Cricket fans watching their team lose
2. An antique collector being told by an expert that the vase he has paid Rs. 3,000 for is worth Rs.100.
3. Student failing an exam
4. Man cutting himself shaving
Answer: Option B.
All the other options are a situation which a person has witnessed and has a proof to its occurence whereas in option B a person has to believe something he hasn't witnessed, hence, there is an ample scope for ambiguity.
In the case that one's expectations fail, belief
1. will be destroyed
2. will be shaken but not destroyed
3. will be strengthened
4. may be destroyed or strengthened
Answer: Option C.
As per sentence "The theory goes on to make some non-obvious predictions; for example, in some cases, failure of expectations instead of destroying belief may strengthen it." Option C is correct.
With which of the following statements would Jung be most likely to agree?
1. Parents should not allow their children to smoke
2. Parents should force their children to learn music
3. Parents should give their children complete freedom
4. Parents should encourage their children to pursue any interests the children might have
Answer: Option D.
Refer to the last paragraph- 2nd last line, ‘By self-actualisation ….harmony.’ Hence, [D].
The passage probably comes from
1. the introduction to a book
2. the first chapter of a book
3. middle of a text book
4. an article in a news weekly
Answer: Option D
The language used by the writer is simple and lucid enough for an average reader to understand the text, much like that of a magazine.In addition the other three options donot seem to be relevant in th given context. Hence, [D]
The best title for this passage would be
1. 'Self-actualization'
2. 'Self-reference in Human Motivation'
3. The Reduction of Cognitive Dissonance'
4. 'Cognitive Dissonance and the Self
Answer: Option D.
The main idea of the passage revolves around cognitive dissonance and the self. Hence, [D]

Which of the following statements would the author disagree with?
1. The tendency to be consistent is the only aspect of how self-perception influences motivation
2. The motivating effects of the need to correct incongruity have been the occasion for several theories
3. By self-actualization, Carl Jung meant the development of full individuality, with all parts somehow in harmony
4. None of the above
Answer: Option A.
As per the statement "The tendency to be consistent is but one aspect of how self-perception influences motivation." it is clear that option A is correct.