TCS Interview Questions - Part 1

Verbal

ACUMEN a. exactness b. potential c. shrewdness d. bluntness e. None of these BEHEST a. behavior b. hold down c. hold up d. relieve e. condemn DISCRETION a. prudence b. consistency c. precipice d. disturbance e. distemper ORDAIN a. arrange b. command c. contribute d. establish e. control FLORID a. ornate b. thriving c. artistic d. elegant e. None of these PENITENCE a. liking b. insightful c. attractive d. penetrable e. compunction WHET a. stimulate b. humorous c. inculate d. dampen e. None of these INCENTIVE a. reflex b. amplitude c. inflection d. provocation e. escutcheon LATITUDE a. scope b. segment c. globule d. legislature e. lamentation

MORTIFY a. make a cavity b. displease c. humiliate d. relapse e. murder ADAGE a. advice b. proverb c. enlargement d. advantage e. usage TO DISPEL a. to dissipate b. to dissent c. to distort d. to disfigure e. to dissect ERRATIC a. unromantic b. free c. popular d. steady e. unknown TO MERIT a. to embrace b. to devote c. to deserve d. to combine e. to display RAPT a. lively b. concealed c. engrossed d. prototype e. None of these TO HEAP a. to pile b. to forbid c. to proceed d. to share e. to stoop CAJOLE a. coax b. motivate c. profound d. mollify e. evade OVULATE a. penury b. immunize c. fertilize d. reproduce e. incisions

ABODE a. clay b. obstacle c. dwelling d. bind e. to beguile POTENTIAL a. latent b. hysterical c. conventional d. symmetrical e. conscientious EXTRICATE a. terminate b. isolate c. liberate d. simplify e. frustrate DISPARITY a. inequality b. impartiality c. unfairness d. twist e. None of these TO CONFISCATE a. to harass b. to repulse c. to console d. to appropriate e. to congregate PIOUS a. historic b. devout c. multiple d. fortunate e. authoritative LETHARGY a. reminiscence b. category c. fallacy d. unanimity e. stupor CARGO a. cabbage b. camel c. lance d. freight e. flax OVATION a. oration b. gesture c. emulation d. applause e. nourish

Aptitude

1. A family, planning a weekend trip, decides to spend not more than a total of 8 hours driving. By leaving early in the morning, they can average 40 miles per hour on the way to their destination. Due to the heavy Sunday traffic, they can average only 30 miles per hour on the return trip. What is the farthest distance from home they can plan to go?
(a) 120 miles or less (b) Between 120and 140 miles (c) 140 miles
(d) Between 140 and 160 miles (e) 160 miles or more

2. A car is filled with four and half gallons of fuel for a round trip. If the amount of fuel taken while going is 1/4 more than the amount taken for coming, what is the amount of fuel consumed while coming back?
(a) Less than 2 gallons (b) 2 gallons (c) 2 1/2 gallons
(d) 3 gallons (e) More than 3 gallons

3. A 3-gallon mixture contains one part S and two parts R. In order to change it to a mixture containing 25% S, how much R should be added?
(a) 1/2 gallon (b) 2/3 gallon (c) 3/4 gallon (d) 1 gallon (e) 1 1/2 gallon

4. A tree grows only 3/5 as fast as the one beside it. In four years the combined growth of the two trees is eight feet.
How much does the shorter tree grow in two years?
(a) Less than 2 feet (b) 2 feet (c) 2 1/2 feet
(d) 3 feet (e) more than 3 feet.

5. Wind flows at 160 miles in 330 minutes, for traveling 80 miles how much time does it require?
(a) 1 hour 30 minutes (b) 1 hour 45 minutes (c) 2 hours
(d) 2 hours 45 minutes (e) 3 hours

6. A stationary engine has enough fuel to run 12 hours when its tank is 4/5 full. How long will it run when the tank is 1/3 full?
(a) Less than 2 hours (b) 2 hours (c) 3 hours
(d) 4 hours (e) 5 hours

7. If A is traveling at 72 km per hour on a highway. B is traveling at a speed of 25 meters per second on a highway. What is the difference in their speeds in meters per second?
(a) 1/2 m/sec (b) 1 m/sec (c) 1 1/2 m/sec
(d) 2 m/sec (e) 3 m/sec

8. A salesperson by mistake multiplied a number and got the answer as 3, instead of dividing the number by 3. What is the answer he should have actually got?
(a) 0 (b) 1/3 (c) 1 (d) 2 (e) 3

9. If the length of a rectangle is increased by 30% and the width is decreased by 20%, then the area is increased by...
(a) 10% (b) 5% (c) 4% (d) 20% (e) 25%

10. In the class of 40 students, 30 speak Hindi and 20 speak English. What is the lowest possible number of students who speak both the languages?
(a) 5 (b) 20 (c) 15 (d) 10 (e) 30

11. The most economical prices among the following prices is:
(a) 10 kilo for Rs.160 (b) 2 kilo for Rs.30 (c) 4 kilo for Rs.70
(d) 20 kilo for Rs.340 (e) 8 kilo for Rs.130

12. A truck contains 150 small packages, some weighing 1 kg each and some weighing 2 kg each. how many packages weighing 2 kg each are in the truck if the total weight of all the packages is 264 kg?
(a) 36 (b) 52 (c) 88 (d) 124 (e) 114

13. A man was arrested for exceeding the speed limit by 10 miles an hour. A second man was charged with exceeding the same limit by twice as much. The second man was driving 35 miles per hour. What was the speed limit?
(a) 10 miles per hour (b) 15 miles per hour (c) 20 miles per hour
(d) 25 miles per hour (e) 30 miles per hour

14. One year ago Pandit was three times his sister's age. Next year he will be only twice her age. How old will Pandit be after five years?
(a) 8 (b) 12 (c) 11 (d) 13 (e) 15

15. If two pencils cost 8 cents, then how much do 5 pencils cost?
(a) 18 cents (b) 20 cents (c) 22 cents (d) 23 cents (e) 24 cents

Passage

All the questions are of multiple choice type. You have to answer the questions based on the preceding paragraph. All the questions have the same answer choice. The choices are as given below:
(a) True.
(b) False.
(c) Cannot Say.

Consider the following paragraph:
Researchers in Mumbai have found that certain types of gallstones can be dissolved by injecting them with a gasoline additive in the form of ether. The ether is injected through a tube directly into the gall bladder. The one-day treatment works only on cholesterol-based stones, not those composed largely of calcium. However, as the cholesterol stones are by far the most common type, for millions of gallstone sufferers the treatment should offer a welcome alternative to surgery, the commonest option in most hospitals.

# "It takes more than one day for ether to dissolve a calcium-based gallstone".

# "Gallstones can only be dissolved by injections".

# "Gallstones can quickly be cured with surgery".

# "Ether is largely used for dissolving gallstones".

# "Calcium stones can be cured in one day".

# "Hundreds of people contains calcium stones".

Consider the following paragraph:
My father had no brothers, but his three sisters are all married and each has two children. My grandfather has two sons.

# "My father was the only child".

# "I have only one uncle".

# "One of my aunts is a spinster".

# "I have six cousins on my father's side".

# "My grandfather was the only son".

Consider the following paragraph:
In the Totalitarian days, the words have very much devalued. In the present day, they are becoming domestic, that is, the words will be much more devalued. In that days, the words will be very much effected in political area. But at present, the words came very cheap. We can say they come free at cost.

# "In Totalitarian society, words are devalued".

# "Totalitarians will have to come much about words".

# "In the Totalitarian society the words are used for the political speeches".

Consider the following paragraph:
In past helicopters were forced to ground or crash because of the formation of the ice on the rotors and engines. A new electronic device has been developed which can detect the water content in the atmosphere and warns the pilot, if the temperature is below freezing temperature; about the formation of ice on the rotors and wings.

# "The electronic device can avoid the formation of ice on the wings".

# "There will be malfunction of rotor and engine because of formation of ice".

# "The helicopters were to be crashed or grounded".

# "There is only one device that warns about the formation of ice".

Consider the following paragraph:
Human existence is not susceptible of arbitrary division between consciousness and unconsciousness. The conscious world invaders and shapes the activities of the unconscious, while many of the great achievements of humanity's waking hours where wholly or partly inspired by dreams. Even if it could argued that dreams precede experience such a dichotomy could not be drawn, as the influence of the dreaming on the waking state would remain unclear, but as yet no common vocabulary exists to record the substance of prenatal dreaming.

# "Sleep can be a creative state".

Consider the following paragraph:
FLORA 3-piece sofa-set is at the top of our upholstery range. This high-backed quality sofa-set boasts an impressive specification which starts with a hardwood frame in teak and a padded front edge ensuring really deep, long-lasting comfort. Seat cushions are of high resilience foam and back cushions of softest hollow fill. The whole set is carefully upholstered throughout in a choice of superb fabrics ranging from cotton print to velvet.

# "The padding is there to ensure that the furniture will last for a long time".

# "The firm sells other upholstery furniture".

Consider the following paragraph:
Hacking is a crime made possible by a relatively new technology, which is one of the reasons it is often poorly understood and reported. Many computers, but by no means all, are now linked together in networks which allow users on one computer to communicate with others on the same network. If a computer is not networked, no manipulation of its data from another machine possible. So long as users are authorized, networking is just a way of making work easier more productive. Hacking, on the other hand is the unauthorized use of networks or unauthorized entry into the computers themselves. Most people do not break into the networks they use, since they are already accredited users.

# "Hackers do not work for the firms whose networks they break into".

# "Hacking is the only vulnerability of the computers for the usage of the data".

# "Hacking is done mostly due to the lack of computer knowledge".

Consider the following paragraph:
Polycythemia often occurs in people who have chronic lung disease, but can appear spontaneously in healthy individuals. Excessive numbers of red blood cells manufactured by the body and the individual then develops a very healthy-looking, ruddy complexion. The blood becomes thicker and is liable to clot and block major blood vessels. High blood pressure is another frequent complication. Treatment involves venesection, in which a liter or so of blood is removed from the body. Medication may also be given to reduce the numbers of red blood cells manufactured in the body.

# "Lung disease frequently precedes polycythemia".

Consider the following paragraph:
Bindweed is only effectively controlled by applying a solution of brushwood-killer to the growing tips. It is necessary to unwind a suitable length from the host plant before treatment, but this is not so very difficult, and it does not seem essential to find and treat every leader on the same weed. The solution should be made up in a can which is carried in one hand, while the other, in a rubber glove, inserts the leaders in the can. If the the leaders can be laid out on the the ground , they can easily be wetted with a small brush. As long as the weather is calm, there is no real risk of damage to adjacent plants, and in two or three weeks the weeds should have disappeared.

# "Brushwood-killer can pose a threat to other plants in the garden".

Consider the following paragraph:
Senior managers in a leading company said that new Japanese investment in India was transforming the car industry, and warned that jobs were under threat from Japanese competition. They stated that increasing competition would be coupled with an inevitable downturn in the car market and the recent rise interest rates which has already hit demand.

# "The managers issued their warning after a rise in the interest rates".

# "According to the senior managers, the Japanese investment in India will lead to a glut in the car market".

# "Some senior managers said that more people will want to by new cars in the future".

# "The perception of the senior managers is the new Japanese investment in India is leading to more automation of the car industry".

# "The increased rate of interest will mean that Japanese firms will cease to operate in this country".

# "The increase in loan interest will adversely affect car sales".

# "Japanese workers are taking over the jobs of Indian industry".

# "Managers said that interests in car will go down after seeing the raise in interest rates".

# "People are very interested to buy the cars".

Consider the following paragraph:
The new Starfire has an advanced four-cylinder engine with catalytic converter and uses only unleaded petrol. Versatility is a major feature of the range and the 1500 and 1800 models have the same high level of specification inside and out. The only obvious visual difference, internally and externally, is the use of alloy wheels on the 1800 version, together with a discreet change in badging. The StarFire 2000 is distinguished by its tailgate spoiler and the rectangular fog and driving lamps integrated into the front bumper which are also included in the specification.

# "Internally, the Starfire 2000 looks like the 1500 model".

Consider the following paragraph:
Pierre Claude Jean Allouez explored lake superior from 1665 to 1667. At his little mission station near the western end of the lake, he heard from the Indians of a great river to the west. Pierre Jacques Marquette determined to investigate. In 1673, accompanied by Louis Jolliet and five others, he left St. Ignace mission and ascended the fox river, which flows into green bay crossed over to Wisconsin river and followed it to the upper Mississippi. The party then descended the Mississippi to the mouth of Arkansas. These Frenchmen were not first Europeans to sight or travel the Mississippi. De Soto and Moscoso had done so a century and a half before. The report of the exploration was rushed back to Quebec, where, in 1672, Count Frontenac had arrived as Governor of the province. He and his friend, the remarkable La Salle-who earlier may have penetrated the Ohio river valley-listened with deep interest.

# "Allouez explored the western end of lake superior".

# "Marquette and his party were not the first French men to travel the Mississippi river".

# "La Salle listened with deep interest- the report of exploration of De Soto and Moscoso".

# "La Salle explored the Mississippi river valley".

Consider the following paragraph:
Dr. Goddard was the first to fire a rocket that reached a speed faster than the speed of sound. He was the first to develop a gyroscopic steering apparatus for rockets. He was the first to use vanes in the jet stream for rocket stabilization during the initial phase of a rocket flight. And he was the first to patent the idea of step rockets. After proving on paper and in actual tests that a rocket can travel in vacuum, he developed the mathematical theory of rocket propulsion and rocket flight, including basic designs for long-range rockets. All of this information was available to our military men before World War II, but evidently its immediate use didn't seem applicable. Near the end of World War II we started intense work on rocket-powered guided missiles, using the experiments and developments of Dr. Goddard and the American Rocket Society.

# "The stabilization problem of rockets in the initial phase was solved by Dr. Goddard."

# "Rockets can travel faster than sound, thanks to gyroscopic steering."

# "Goddard lived before World War II".

# "After careful mathematical calculations, Dr. Goddard proved that rockets can travel in vacuum".

Consider the following paragraph:
In March 1513, de Leon sailed off confidently from Peuto Rico for the Bahamas. Landing briefly at San Salvador, Bahamas, he wound through unchartered islands until he sighted an extensive coastline. He had no reason to suspect that it is anything more than an island, but he followed the coast for a day without rounding its end or finding a suitable landing place. He named the "island" La Florida. This name came to be applied by the Spanish to the entire Southeastern United States and beyond. Then, near the 30th parallel, de Leon landed at the mouth of the St. Johns river. Determined to be the first to circumnavigate the "island", he turned south, traced the coast around the tip of the peninsula, moved to the west, perhaps reaching Tampa bay. After 7 weeks, he gave up hope of circling the northern tip of this "island"; it was incredibly large and he may have suspected that he had discovered the long sought mainland. If so, it all belonged to his King, for he had earlier planted the Spanish flag and claimed Florida for Ferdinand.

# "de Leon is from Spain, ruled by Ferdinand".

# "de Leon is very patriotic".

# "de Leon discovered part of US during his journey".

Consider the following paragraph:
James Madison understood that interests groups will inevitably develop within a free political system. The problem, as Madison saw it, was to prevent any single interest group from becoming so strong that it was able to dominate the political system. This could be accomplished by legislating restrictions on political behavior, but that solution meant a sacrifice of some of the freedom that Madison prized so highly. A better solution, he thought, was to extend the territorial scope of the government. This would allow for greater diversity of interests in the nation, and a greater number of groups competing for power. Each interest group would thereby find it more difficult to appeal to a majority of the people, and to dominate the political process.

# "The more interest groups there are in a political system, the less freedom there is for everyone."

# "Legislating restrictions on political behavior is sometimes the only method of preserving political freedom."

# "Increasing the territorial scope of a government can help to preserve freedom."

# "According to Madison, in a free political system, interest groups are undesirable."

Consider the following paragraph:
The regulations and expenses to invent, patent and market new ideas and products imposes a heavy burden on inventors. The cost is often absorbed by large corporations with research and development facilities they provide. Corporations also help creative people contribute to society without suffering the loss of income or security of the private inventor. The realities of this arrangement are that many good ideas are never brought into the marketplace and the cost of products on the market is high because of the development cost. However, protection provided by the patents and the safety to the public to avoid placing harmful products on the market is important to maintain. Thus, as is often the case, rules and regulations have their favorable and unfavorable consequences.

# "The regulations and expenses to invent, patent and market new ideas is an expensive proposition to the inventors".

# "Good ideas are never brought into the marketplace because of the costs involved in inventing, patenting marketing them".

# "Corporations steal the individual inventor of their inventions".

Consider the following paragraph:
Being born female and black were two handicaps Gwendolyn Brooks states that she faced from her birth, in 1917, in Kansas. Brooks was determined to succeed. Despite the lack of encouragement she received from her teachers and others, she was determined to write and found the first publisher for one of her poems when she was 11. In 1945, she marketed and sold her first book; national recognition ensued. She applied for and received grants and fellowships from such organizations as the AAAL and the Guggenheim Foundation. Later she received the Pulitzer prize for poetry; she was the first black woman to receive such an honor. Brooks' reaction to fame is atypical. She continues to work and work hard. She writes, travels, and helps many who are interested in writing. Especially important for her is increasing her knowledge of her black heritage and encouraging other people to do the same. She encourages dedication to the art to would-be writers.

# "Brooks' story illustrates the power of strong determination".

# "She became the author of a book in her teens".

# "Gwendolyn received the Pulitzer prize for her first poetry".

Consider the following paragraph:
A cave is a natural opening in the ground extending beyond the zone of light and large enough to permit the entry of man. Occurring in a wide variety of rock types and caused by widely differing geological processes, caves range in size from single small rooms to interconnecting passages many miles long. The scientific study of caves is called speleology. It is a composite science based on geology, hydrology, biology and archeology, and thus holds special interest for earth scientists. Caves have been natural attractions since prehistoric times. Prolific evidence of early man's interest has been discovered in caves scattered throughout the world. Skeletons of some of the earliest manlike creatures (Australopithecines) have been discovered in cave deposit in South Africa, and the first evidence of primitive Neanderthal man was found in Germany. Cro-Magnon man created his remarkable murals on the walls of caves in France.

# "Primitive human form originated in Germany".

# "Study of caves is the study of earth, water, life and early man".

# "Cro-Magnon man was more intelligent than Neanderthal man".

# "Caves are a natural attraction because they reveal information about the early man".

Consider the following paragraph:
Although invaders represent the threat to the conservation of flora and fauna, there are two special cases in which invasion have been deliberately brought about. One is the desire to control pests by natural predators, which may have to be brought from other countries. The second is releasing organisms into the wild (or on to farms, from which they might escape) that are completely novel, because they have been genetically engineered. There is nothing intrinsically sinister about engineered organisms, but any novelty must be regarded as potential invader.

# "Pests are more dangerous than their natural predators".

Consider the following paragraph:
Life in colonial times was harsh, and the refinements of the mother country were ordinarily lacking. The colonists, however, soon began to mold their English culture into the fresh environment of new land. The influence of religion permeated the entire way of life. In most Southern colonies, the Anglican church was the legally established church. In New England, the Puritans were dominant; and in Pennsylvania, the Quakers. Especially in the New England colonies, the local or village church was the hub of community life; the authorities strictly enforced the Sabbath and sometimes banished non-believers. Unfortunately, the same sort of religious intolerance, bigotry and superstition associated with the age of Reformation in Europe also prevailed in some of the colonies, though on a lesser scale. In the last half of the 17th century, during sporadic outbreak of religious fanaticism and hysteria, Connecticut authorities tried and hanged several women as "witches". Early in the 17th century, some other witchcraft persecution occurred in Virginia. As the decades passed, however, religious tolerance developed in colonies.

# "New England was part of the Southern colonies".

# "During the mid 17th century there was significant improvement in religious tolerance and superstition".

# "Life in colonial times was harsh due to the strong influence of religion".

# "The Anglican church used to govern the people in most Southern colonies".

Consider the following paragraph:
Confucius said that to know the future we have to understand the past. in his time, transport, communications and scientific knowledge were less developed than they are today. news took weeks to travel whereas today satellite links connect the continents virtually instantaneously, but our technological advances in the field of communications seem not to improved our capacity to understand one another.

# "We understand each other better now than in Confucius' time because we can travel more quickly".

# "In Confucius' day people were more intelligent".

# "We have made great improvements in transport since Confucius' day".

# "Technological advances in communication and human capacity to understand one another are directly proportional".

# "In Confucius' day time news took months to travel".

# "According to Confucius the past has a linkage to the future".

# "Even with the fast developments of the technology we can't live happily".

Consider the following paragraph:
Every form of art is protected by copyright, upon the expiration of which the property passes to the public domain and becomes freely available to anyone wishing to exploit it commercially. the time has come when all treasures should pass to the control of a trust, and by this be made readily available to anyone on payment of a fee or royalty. The income from the works Van Gogh would alone be enormous. Those who now gain financial benefit from his genius should make some contribution to the welfare of the arts in general.

# "Instead of buying a ticket, museum goers should pay a fee to a trust for the benefit of arts".

# "It is not desirable to pass the control of treasures to a trust".

# "Van Gogh's paintings are not protected by copyright".

# "All artworks must be managed by a trust, so that the income generated can be used for the welfare of the arts".

# "Copyright in art is valid only for a limited period of time".

# "Van Gogh's descendants should be asked to make some contribution to the arts".

# "Van Gogh's works are under this copy right rule".

# "People are free to go to the public because of the copy right rule".

# "People gives to theater and collect the money for development".

# "We have asked the Van Gogh descendants to help for the developments of art".

Consider the following paragraph:
Organizing the home can be perceived as conferring power, so large numbers of women are unwilling to let go of chores, even when they have careers. A survey found that, out of 65 new marriages, not one single wife expected her husband to share work equally. According to the Family Policy Studies Center, 81% of working wives return home to do all the cooking. The average male has nearly half as much as more free time at weekends than his wife, and the typical new father spends just 37 seconds a day talking to his baby.

# "Only career women perceive organizing the home as conferring power".

# "The average wife has half as much free time at weekends as her husband".

# "The family planning studies center shows that 81% working wives do all the cooking at home".

# "19% working wives do not want to do the cooking at home".

# "Housewives want the husbands to take part equally in the household".

# "Wives have half as much leisure time as the husbands have".

# "39% of the men will work equally in the house in cleaning and washing".

Consider the following paragraph:
Statistics show that millions of vehicles have been carried by shuttle over the past 30 years through Alpine tunnels without one ever catching fire. In the Alpine tunnels, drivers and passengers sit in their vehicles on the shuttle trains. Only one vehicle has ever caught fire on the busy French motorail equivalent system. This sort of accident is not possible in a closed shuttle. Assertion that a vehicle fire will lead to catastrophe have no basis. Since the resources exist to detect, control and extinguish a fire, and to remove any persons present safely to an adjoining wagon, leaving any surviving fire facing rapid extinction within a wagon built to contain fire for 30 minutes, catastrophe seems very unlikely.

# " It is theoretically possible for a vehicle to catch fire even in a closed wagon".

# " The French motorail system is inferior to the shuttle train system."

# "No accident can occur in the closed tunnels".

# "Fire is allowed to live for 30 min".

# "All the cars that travel in the tunnels will be carried by rail shutters".