NDA (II) 2024 General Ability Test · Question 33 of 141

Correct — A, 'Q R P S'. The opener is the independent clause Q ('Antarctica is a continent'), which R ('nearly twice as large as Australia') modifies. The contrast word 'but' begins P ('but it is virtually covered by a dome-shaped'), and 'dome-shaped' is an adjective that must be completed by the noun it describes — S ('ice sheet nearly 2 miles thick'). Q R P S reads: 'Antarctica is a continent nearly twice as large as Australia but it is virtually covered by a dome-shaped ice sheet nearly 2 miles thick.'

• (b)S P R Q — Begins with the fragment 'ice sheet nearly 2 miles thick' (S), which has no subject, and pushes the defining clause 'Antarctica is a continent' (Q) to the very end.
• (c)Q S P R — Splits the adjective 'dome-shaped' (P) from the noun 'ice sheet' (S) it must modify and strands 'nearly twice as large as Australia' (R) at the end.
• (d)S Q R P — Opens with the incomplete noun fragment S and leaves the dangling adjective 'dome-shaped' (P) at the end with no noun to follow it.

In a sentence with a contrast ('but'), the main clause comes first; a dangling adjective such as 'dome-shaped' must be immediately followed by the noun it qualifies ('ice sheet').

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Rearrange to form a meaningful sentence: (P) but it receives / (Q) the Sahara is a vast desert / (R) in northern Africa / (S) almost no rainfall

  • (a)Q R P S
  • (b)S P R Q
  • (c)Q P S R
  • (d)R Q P S

  Answer(a) Q R P S — 'The Sahara is a vast desert in northern Africa but it receives almost no rainfall.'

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Rearrange to form a meaningful sentence: (P) Bhutan is a country / (Q) though small in size / (R) rich in biodiversity / (S) in the eastern Himalayas

  • (a)P Q R S
  • (b)Q P R S
  • (c)S P Q R
  • (d)Q R P S

  Answer(b) Q P R S — the leading concessive phrase gives 'Though small in size, Bhutan is a country rich in biodiversity in the eastern Himalayas.'