CSS-2000

ENGLISH (PRÉCIS & COMPOSITION)

Correct the following sentences:

• The lake froze rapidly.
• The firm was unwilling to forego its usual commission.
• We watched the lambs gamble on the green.
• He belonged to the gild of carpenters.
• He had not ought not have spoken.

(1)          Is this his half-brother.

• Hay! Watch out for the car!
• This is the historical spot where he was shot dead.
• We bought a Japanese print.
• Fresh flowers smell sweetly.

Solution:

• The lake froze rapidly.
• The firm was disinclined to forego its usual commission.
• We watched the lambs gambol on the green.
• He belonged to the guild of carpenters.
• He ought not to have spoken. (1) Is he his step-brother?
• Hay! Watch out the car.
• This is the historic spot where he was shot dead.
• We bought Japanese print.
• Fresh flowers smell sweet.

❑ Use the following idioms in sentences to make their meaning clear:

14

1. Blow one’s top / blow one’s stack

Meaning: to set very angry

Use in sentence: He is’ volatile and likely to blow his top if his demands are not met.

2. A cock-and-bull story

Meaning: a fanciful and unbelievable tale

Use in sentence: That was really cock and bull story you just said.

3. Find one’s feet

Meaning: to grow in confidence in a new situation as one gains experience

Use in sentence: If you ask for help when you need it, you will soon find your feet.

4. Call it a night

Meaning: to go to bed to sleep

Use in sentence: We left the party and I wanted to call it a night, but Waseem invited people back for coffee.

5. The tip of the iceberg —

Meaning: only a small part of a much larger problem

Use in sentence: This is just the tip of iceberg, with many missing but not reported.

6. Below par / under par —

Meaning: average or normal amount, degree, health or condition

Use in sentence: I am feeling below par today, but I am sure I will recover by tomorrow.

7. From pillar to post —

Meaning: to and fro

Use in sentence: The youth needs somewhere to go because at the moment they moved from pillar to post.

8. Hang up on —

Meaning: to end a telephone call

Use in sentence: Do not hang up on me – we must talk.

9. Turn someone on —

Meaning: to create feeling of excitement, interest, lust, pleasure, etc. Use in sentence: Jazz has never really turned me on.

10 Turn someone off

Meaning: to create feelings of dislike, repulsion, disgust etc.

Use in sentence: People had been turned off by both candidates in the election.

11. By and by —

Meaning: after a while, soon

Use in sentence: She’ll be along by and by.

❑ Use five of the following pairs of words in sentenc:s:

(i)                           Knead, Need:                                                    (ii)                  Queue, Cue:

(iii)                        Quarts, Quartz:                                                 (iv)                Choral, Coral:

(v)                      Discrete, Discreet:                                    (vi)               Epoch, Epic:

(vii) Libel, Liable:                                                     (viii) Male, Mail:

(ix) Banned, Band:                                                   (x)        Barred, Bared:

• Knead: Meaning: massage of muscles

Use in sentence: The doctor kneaded the affected muscles of the player so that he could play the final match.

Need:

Meaning: urgent want, time of difficulty

Use in sentence: A friend in need is a friend indeed.

• Queue: Meaning: a line of persons waiting their turn

Use in sentence: Please, wait at the end of the queue.

Cue:

Meaning: a signal

Use in sentence: This is my cue, I must now go on the stage.

• Quarts: Meaning: quarter of a gallon

Use in sentence: The buffaloes of the Punjab give six quarts of milk daily.

Quartz:

Meaning: silica in various mineral forms

Use in sentence: Quartz crystals are used to make watches.

• Choral: Meaning: sung by or together with a choir

Use in sentence: The French choir sang the classical chorals excellently.

Coral:

Meaning: stone like red or white substance

Use in sentence: Corals are built on the sea bed by small sea creatures.

• Discrete: Meaning: separate

Use in sentence: A mixture is usually composed of discrete parts.

Discreet:

Meaning: tactful in what one says and does

Use in sentence: Being discreet personality, he soon became a successful businessman.

• Epoch:

Meaning: period of history marked by special events

Use in sentence: Creation of Pakistan made a new epoch in the Muslim world.

Epic:

Meaning: continuous poetic narrative of the deeds of hero

Use in sentence: “The Rape of the Lock” by Alexander Pope is a mock epic poem.

• Libel:

Meaning: printed defamation):

Use in sentence: Publishers never publishes a libel material against national interests.

Liable:

Meaning: legally responsible

Use in sentence: The principal warned the students that they would be liable for any damage caused by them during the strike.

• Male:

Meaning: masculine, opposed to female

Use in sentence: This book is recommended to our male readers.

Mail:

Meaning: post, the carriage which brings the mail

Use in sentence: The mail train arrives at this station in the evening.

• Banned:

Meaning: order forbidding something

Use in sentence: The government has banned any kind of political activities during the martial law.

Band:

Meaning: group of persons playing music together

Use in sentence: The police band won first prize in All-Pakistan Band Competition.

• Barred:

Meaning: Something that stops progress

Use in sentence: The police barred the main boulevard during the strike, so that the procession could not reach the airport

Bared:

Meaning: un-covered

Use in sentence: The mountains were completely bared when we visited the area.