FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION FOR RECRUITMENT TO POSTS IN BPS-17, UNDER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, 2005
ENGLISH (PRECIS & COMPOSITION)
Choose the word that is nearly similar in meaning to the word in capital letters.
1.ANATHEMA | |||
(a) Curse | (b) Cure | (c) Anaemia | (d) Asthma |
2.TORPOR (a) Fever | (b) Lethargy | (c) Taciturn | (d) Torrid |
3.TOUCHSTONE (a) Criterion | (b) Gold | (c) Character | (d) Characteristics |
4.SEQUESTER (a) Eliminate | (b) Finalize | (c) Sedate | (d) Isolate |
5.DENOUEMENT (a) Denunciation | (b) Dormancy | (c) Termination | (d) Explanation |
Pick the most nearly opposite in meaning to the capitalized word:
1.DELETERIOUS | |||
(a) Nourishing | (b) Injurious | (c) Vital | (d) Fatal |
2.VALEDICTORY (a) Farewell | (b) Final | (c) Hopeful | (d) Parting |
3.SEDENTARY (a) Afraid | (b) Loyal | (c) Active | (d) Torpid |
4.TURBID (a) Muddy | (b) Clear | (c) Invariable | (d) Improbable |
5.PHLEGMATIC (a) Dull | (b) Active | (c) Lymphatic | (d) Frigid |
D Correct the following sentences:
- What does a patient tell a doctor it is confidential?
- It is a fact that I almost drowned makes me very careful about water safety whenever I go
- Did they not consider this as quite convincing?
- Peter’s at Rome is the largest of all other churches.
- The amount they receive in wages is greater than twenty years ago.
- They succeeded without hardly making any effort.
- Whatever have you done!
- The officers were given places according to their respective ranks. Solution:
- What a patient tell a doctor is confidential.
- The fact that I almost drowned makes me very careful about water safety, whenever, I go swimming.
- Did they not consider this quite convincing?
- Peter’s at Rome is the largest of all churches.
- The amount they receive in wages is greater than that of twenty years ago. (1) They succeeded hardly making any effort.
- What have you done?
- The officers were given places according to their ranks.
❑ Use the following idioms in sentences to make their meaning clear:
- Keep one’s nose to the grindstone
- Knock someone for a loop / throw someone for a loop
- Letter perfect Off the wall
- Out to lunch 6. Salt something away
- Take someone to the cleaners 8. Wear the pants
- Keep one’s nose to the grindstone –
Meaning: to work hard for a long period of time without stopping
Use in sentence: We expect Rashid to get good grades again, since he really keeps his nose to the grindstone.
- Knock someone for a loop / throw someone for a loop – 4)
Meaning: to sock or surprise someone
Use in sentence: The news of his death knocked me for a loop. Being, fired without any warning threw me for a loop.
- Letter perfect
Meaning: correct in all detail
Use in sentence: His story was letter perfect.
- Off the wall
Meaning: unusual and amusing
Use in sentence: This book is strange. It’s really off the wall.
- Out to lunch
Meaning: crazy or out of touch
Use in sentence: He is considered as ‘out-to-lunch’ by the group.
- Salt something away –
Meaning: save something for future, secretly and usually dishonestly Use in sentence: He salted away most of his earnings in a bank account.
Take someone to the cleaners
Meaning: to defeat someone completely
Use in sentence: Our team got taken to the cleaners.
S..Wear the pants
Meaning: be dominant partner in relationship
Use in sentence: Grandfather wears the pants at our house.
Use five of the following pairs of words in sentences:
(i) Counsel, Council (ii) Distinct, Distinctive
(iii) Apposite, Opposite (iv) Deprecate, Depreciate
(v) Punctual, Punctilious (vi) Judicial, Judicious
(vii) Salutary, Salubrious: (viii) Canvas, Canvass:
1i) Counsel:
Meaning: to give advice, especially on social or personal problems Use in sentence: He did not accept my counsel.
Council:
Meaning: a body of persons specially designated or selected to act in an advisory, administrative, or legislative capacity
Use in sentence: You will meet the council this evening.
Iii) Distinct:
Meaning: clearly noticeable; that certainly exists
Use in sentence: There’s a distinct smell of cigarettes in here.
Distinctive:
Meaning: something that is distinctive is easy to recognize because it is different from other things
Use in sentence: She’s got a very distinctive voice.
iii) Apposite:
Meaning: suitable and right for the occasion
Use in sentence: It is, however, apposite to note that this process will continue in the year ahead.
Opposite:
Meaning: completely different
Use in sentence: You’d never know they’re sisters – they’re completely opposite to each other in every way.
- Deprecate:
Meaning: to not approve of something
Use in sentence: We deprecate this use of corripaily funds for political purposes.
Depreciate:
Meaning: to (cause something to) lose value, especially over time
Use in sentence: If the value of our currency continues to depreciate, it will soon be worthless abroad.
- Punctual:
Meaning: arriving, doing something or happening at the expected, correct time Use in sentence: He’s fairly punctual.
Punctilious:
Meaning: very careful to behave correctly or to give attention to details Use in sentence: He was always punctilious in his manners.
- Judicial:
Meaning: involving a court of law
Use in sentence: The defence team will seek a judicial review of the sentence.
Judicious:
Meaning: having or showing reason and good judgment in making decisions Use in sentence: We should make judicious use of the resources available to us.
- Salutary:
Meaning: producing good benefits
Use in sentence: The vitamins have had a salutary influence on Junaid by giving him more energy.
Salubrious:
Meaning: describes a place that is pleasant, clean and healthy to live in Use in sentence: He doesn’t live in a very salubrious part of town.
- Canvas:
Meaning: a piece of cloth used by artists for painting on, usually with oil paints or the painting itself
Use in sentence: He spotted the canvas and smiled, shaking his head in disbelief.
Canvass:
Meaning: to try to get political support or votes, especially by visiting all the houses in an area Use in sentence: The younger activists were excited to canvass door-to-door for Bilawal.