CUET 2023 English Question Paper with Answers & Solutions

Correct answer: B

The closing line of the passage has the man address the girl directly by name, telling her to keep the boat out because the tide runs strong, which identifies her as Lizzie.

Correct answer: A

The passage states the boat carried no cushion, no fishing net and no compass, but did have a rusty boat-hook (B) and a coil of rope (D). So only B and D were on the boat.

Correct answer: B

Intensity means extreme and forceful (III); slime is an unpleasant thick liquid substance (I); gaze means to look steadily for a long time (IV); dread means to be very afraid of something (II).

Correct answer: D

The passage notes the girl resembled the man enough to be recognised as his daughter, and he directs his daughter while rowing, confirming a father-daughter relationship.

Correct answer: A

In the passage the boat is described as sodden due to the slime, ooze and water covering it, so sodden means soaked through or extremely wet.

Correct answer: C

The passage states the author was originally named Dhanpat Rai and that Prem Chand was a pen-name he later adopted after discarding the earlier pseudonym Nawab Rai.

Correct answer: C

Ajaib Lal was Premchand's father (II); Nawab Rai was the pen-name used for short stories (IV); Lamahi was his birthplace (I); his grandfather was Gur Sahai Lal (III).

Correct answer: B

The passage links Premchand's mother Anandi Devi to 'Barhe Ghar ki Beti' and notes the heroine of that story is called Anandi.

Correct answer: A

The passage describes Kazaki as a postal messenger who travelled long distances and inspired the story 'Kazaki'.

Correct answer: C

The passage says Premchand picked up some Urdu and Persian from a Maulvi Sahib during his early schooling at Lamahi.

Correct answer: C

From the passage: Persuasive Speech 'changes mindsets' (A-III); Entertaining Speech 'makes the speaker and the listener feel good' (B-IV); Informative Speech 'transfers knowledge' (C-I); Anecdote gives a realistic/relatable touch, i.e. 'gives a touch of reality' (D-II). This matches A-III, B-IV, C-I, D-II.

Correct answer: B

The passage states an Entertaining Speech 'needs a good opening' with 'humorous anecdotes' (B) and is 'preferably spoken in the first person and told in the present tense' (D). Statements A (forever), C (third person) and E (knowledge based) contradict the passage. Hence B and D only.

Correct answer: C

'Gratitude' means the quality of being thankful; its synonym is 'thankfulness'. 'Greatfulness' is a misspelling/non-word, so option C is correct.

Correct answer: C

The passage says ideas should be 'quick on the set-up and quicker on the punch' (pace) and 'several voice modulations should be part of the delivery style'. Hence 'pace and modulation' is the feature to be taken care of for effective outreach.

Correct answer: D

The passage lists toasts, roasts, stand-ups and after-dinner chats as entertaining speeches. Stand-ups, a Best Man's speech and a welcome toast all fit. A valedictory at a seminar is a formal/informative address, not an entertaining speech, so it is the exception.

Correct answer: C

Active: 'This book will change your life.' Object 'your life' becomes subject; future tense passive uses 'will be + past participle': 'Your life will be changed by this book.'

Correct answer: D

Active is present continuous: 'You are teasing them.' Present continuous passive = 'is/are being + past participle': 'They are being teased by you.'

Correct answer: B

'Exclaimed sadly' indicates an exclamation of sorrow, expressed with 'Alas!'. 'He was undone' becomes 'I am undone.' Hence: He said, 'Alas! I am undone.'

Correct answer: A

An imperative is reported with a verb of command/request + 'to'-infinitive. 'Go away' is a polite/neutral imperative reported as 'Rakesh asked Mahesh to go away.' (Standard textbook answer for the imperative reporting form.)

Correct answer: D

Correct order: 'In 1895, Wilhelm Rontgen (B) discovered a new (D) type of ray that could (A) penetrate objects, including human tissue (C).' This is B, D, A, C.

Correct answer: B

The natural superlative-degree sentence is 'Iron is the most useful of all the metals.' (Subject + verb + superlative + 'of all' phrase.)

Correct answer: B

'Vive la France' is a French expression meaning 'Long live France'.

Correct answer: A

'Tour de force' is a French phrase meaning an impressive feat or a skillful, masterly performance or achievement.

Correct answer: A

A 'chauvinist' is someone who has an aggressive, blind, and unreasonable devotion to a cause, nation or idea. Hence 'a person who is blindly devoted to an idea'.

Correct answer: A

Oracle = the advice given by Gods (IV); Linguist = a person skilled in foreign languages (I); Indolent = lazy (II); Gullible = one who can be fooled easily (III). Hence A-IV, B-I, C-II, D-III.

Correct answer: A

A 'unreasonably' begins with a vowel sound /ʌ/ so needs 'an' (III). B 'The BBC' is a named organisation taking 'the' (IV). C 'a universal problem' ('universal' starts with /juː/ consonant sound) takes 'a' (II). D 'only select volunteers' takes no article (I). Thus A-III, B-IV, C-II, D-I.

Correct answer: C

'Letter' is a singular countable noun beginning with a consonant sound, and it is being introduced (one particular letter that he forgot to post). The indefinite article 'a' fits: 'Vikram wrote a letter'. 'an' is wrong (letter starts with consonant), 'many' needs a plural noun, 'the' implies prior reference.

Correct answer: C

An expression of a wish ('I wish that I were young again') is best converted to the exclamatory form using an interjection plus the wish clause: 'Ah! that I were young again!' This preserves the longing/wish sense, unlike 'Alas'/'Hurrah' which change the emotion or 'Oh! if I were young!' which alters the structure.

Correct answer: B

The exclamatory 'What a delicious meal!' corresponds to the assertive 'The meal is very delicious.' (What a + adjective + noun = The noun is very + adjective). Options A, C, D are ungrammatical.

Correct answer: A

The verb 'overwhelmed' collocates with the preposition 'with' when expressing emotion: 'overwhelmed with joy'. Hence 'with' is correct.

Correct answer: D

'There is a cattle into the field' is incorrect: 'cattle' is a plural noun (cannot take 'a' and singular 'is'), and 'into' (motion) should be 'in' (location). The other sentences are grammatically correct.

Correct answer: B

Obeying one's parents is a strong moral/social obligation, so the modal expressing strong obligation/necessity 'Must' best fits: 'You must obey your parents.' While 'should'/'ought to' express advisability, 'must' conveys the stronger duty intended here.

Correct answer: D

The passive structure requires 'be allowed to + verb': 'I was allowed to give my side of the story.' 'allowed to' lacks the auxiliary 'was', and 'allowed for' is the wrong preposition.

Correct answer: B

In the standard format of a formal letter, the sender's address is written first (at the top), followed by the date, then the receiver's address, subject, salutation and body. Hence 'Sender's Address' comes first.

Correct answer: C

An informal letter contains the sender's address, date, salutation/greeting, body, closing and signature. An 'invoice' is a commercial billing document and is not a part of an informal letter.

Correct answer: C

The correct spelling is 'Phenomenology' (Phe-nom-e-nol-o-gy). The other options misspell the vowels.

Correct answer: C

Past Perfect Tense uses 'had + past participle' to show an action completed before another past action. 'I had many opportunities to swim in the past' uses 'had' as a main verb (possession) in the simple past, not as the past perfect auxiliary, so it is NOT an example of Past Perfect Tense. The others have had + past participle (gone, retired, stepped).

Correct answer: C

'stand up for' = support (III); 'struck off' = removed (I); 'tell against' = prove unfavourable (IV); 'turn against' = become hostile (II). Thus A-III, B-I, C-IV, D-II.

Correct answer: B

The phrasal verb 'polish off' means to finish/consume something quickly, especially food. 'My brother polished off all the cake that was in the box' uses it correctly. The other sentences misuse it for cleaning, delivering or reading.

Correct answer: C

Petrol = fuel/liquid used in vehicles (III); Patrol = go around checking for safety (IV); Cite = to quote words from a book (I); Site = place where a building is situated (II). Thus A-III, B-IV, C-I, D-II.

Correct answer: A

The meaningful sentence is 'Farmers fear (B) large scale (C) special (D) displacements from (A) economic zones (E).' i.e. 'Farmers fear large scale special displacements from economic zones.' So order is B, C, D, A, E.

Correct answer: C

'Spurious' means false, fake or not genuine. Its opposite (antonym) is 'genuine'.

Correct answer: D

'Insipid' means lacking flavour/dull/tasteless. Its antonym is 'delicious' (full of flavour). 'tasteless' is a synonym, so the opposite is 'delicious'.

Correct answer: B

A 'He will pay dearly for his mistake' (III). B 'I do not remember ever having met him' (I). C 'Only Raj succeeded in scoring a century' (IV). D 'Scarcely anyone believes in ghost stories these days' (II). Thus A-III, B-I, C-IV, D-II.

Correct answer: D

The clause expresses purpose (the reason he stayed at work). The conjunction 'so that' introduces a clause of purpose: 'Sanjeev stayed at work so that he could complete the pending work.'

Correct answer: A

'Rarely' is a negative adverb, making the statement negative in meaning, so the question tag must be positive and agree with the subject and tense: 'does she'. Hence 'She rarely attends the class, does she?'

Correct answer: C

The grammatically correct and idiomatic arrangement is 'Nothing ever happens by chance.' (E-A-B-C-D). The other orderings are awkward or unidiomatic.

Correct answer: A

The idiom 'a feather in one's cap' means an achievement or honour that one can be proud of. Hence option A is correct.

Correct answer: B

'Have very little in common' is the idiomatic expression, meaning to share few similar interests or characteristics. The others are literal phrases.

Correct answer: A

An adjective (relative) clause modifies a noun and usually begins with a relative pronoun. 'whom you see bowling' modifies the noun 'boy' and begins with the relative pronoun 'whom', so it is the adjective clause.