English (Precis and Composition) CSS-2011

ENGLISH (PRÉCIS & COMPOSITION)

Choose the word that is nearly similar in meaning to the word in Capital letters. (Do only Five) Extra attempt of any Part of the question shall not be considered.

1. CHRONICLE

(a) Daily ritual                                                                (b) Widely held belief

(c) Account of events

2. FLUME

• Sea bird with a wing span four times its body length
• Narrow gorge with a stream running through it
• Warm summer wind

3. EPITAPH

(a) Editorial                                                                     (b) Clever head line

(c) Tomb stone inscription

4. LACONIC

(a) Concise                        (b) Weekly                           (c) Circular

5. SHINGLE

(a) Gravelly beach (b) Exposed sand bar (c) Group of dolphins

6. FILIAL

(a) Related by marriage                                                  (b) Of sons and daughters

(c) Of brothers

MISOPEDIA

(a) A hatred for children                                              (b) Middle age

(c) Family history

8. MENAGE

(a) Marriage vow              (b) Household                    (c) Golden years

J Choose the word that is nearly most opposite in meaning to the Capitalized words. (Do only Five) Extra attempt of any Part of the question shall not be considered.

1. ANNIHILATE

(a) Supplement                 (b) Augment                     (c) Append                        (d) Contract

• Correct the following sentences:
• Please speak to the concerned clerk.
• You have got time too short for that.
• Not only he was a thief, but he was also a murderer.
• They thought that the plan would be succeeded.
• It is unlikely that he wins the race. (1) My uncle has told me something about it yesterday.
• I hoped that by the time I would have got there it would have stopped raining
• They prevented the driver to stop. Solution:
• Please speak to the clerk concerned.
• You have got too short a time for that.
• He was not only a thief, but also a murderer.
• They thought that the plan would succeed.
• It is unlikely that he win the race.
• My uncle told me something about it yesterday.
• I hope that by the time I got there it would have stopped raining.
• They prevented the driver from stopping.
• Use the following idioms in sentences to make their meaning clear:

1. To eat one’s words

Meaning: to retract what one has said

Use in sentence: He accused him of dishonesty without any proof. Later, he had to eat his words.

2. Dog in the manger —

Meaning: a person who stops other people from enjoying what he cannot use or does not want Use in sentence: We asked our neighbour for the fence posts he had left over, but, like a dog in the manger, he threw them out rather than give them to us.

3. A close shave —

Meaning: a narrow escape from danger

Use in sentence: Our car collided with a tree but all of us were miraculously unhurt. It was a close shave.

4. Freudian slip —

Meaning: unintentional error that seems to reveal subconscious feelings

Use in sentence: In an unguarded moment I told him the secret of her marriage. It was a Freudian slip.

5. A Gordian knot

Meaning: an exceedingly complicated problem or deadlock

Use in sentence: Homelessness in the inner cities has become a real Gordian knot.

6. A cog in the machine

Meaning: a small or insignificant member of a larger organization or system

Use in sentence: This warehouse is an important cog in our distribution machine.

A sugar daddy

Meaning: a rich, older, man who supports or spends lavishly on a usually much younger girlfriend

Use in sentence: When you tell him that he’s a sugar daddy, he gets very angry.

8. A wet blanket

Meaning: a dull or depressing person who spoils other people’s enjoyment

Use in sentence: Instead of being a help, the new manager has become a wet blanket for the staff.

Use five of the following pairs of words in sentences: (i)   Capital, Capitol                  (ii) Assay, Essay

(iii) Envelop, envelope                                             (iv) Decree, Degree

(v)                 Desolate, Dissolute                                      (vi) Species, Specie

(vii) Tortuous, Torturous                                     (viii) Wet, Whet

• Capital:
  Meaning: a city which is the centre of government of a country or smaller political area

Use in sentence: Australia’s capital city is Canberra.

Capitol:

Meaning: the building in which a state legislature meets

Use in sentence: A state legislature will meet in a capitol building.

• Assay: Meaning: an examination or testing

Use in sentence: A positive result has been obtained in a mouse lymphoma assay.

Essay:

Meaning: attempt a short piece of writing on a particular subject

Use in sentence: The Diploma is assessed by three essays of 3,000 words each.

• Envelop: Meaning: to coyer or surround something completely

Use in sentence: The graveyard looked ghostly, enveloped in mist.

Envelope:

Meaning: a flat, usually square or rectangular, paper container for a letter

Use in sentence: A stamped, addressed envelope should be enclosed for reply.

• Decree: Meaning: en official statement that something must happen

Use in sentence: More than 200 people were freed by military decree.

Degree:

Meaning: amount or level of something

Use in sentence: This job demands a high degree of skill.

• Desolate: Meaning: describes a place that is empty and not attractive

Use in sentence: The house stood in a bleak and desolate landscape.

Dissolute: Meaning: immoral

Use in sentence: He led a dissolute life.

• Species: Meaning: a set of animals or plants in which the members have similar characteristics to eac other

Use in sentence: Over a hundred species of insect are found in this area.

Specie:

Meaning: coined money

Use in sentence: The next insinuation is that the Bank has refused specie payments.

evii) Tortuous:

Meaning: not direct or simple

Use in sentence: He took a tortuous route through back streets.

Torturous:

Meaning: causing torture

Use in sentence: It was torturous to think that he could have stopped the boy from running into the road.

• .iii) Wet:

Meaning: covered in water or another liquid Use in sentence: My bike got wet in the rain.

Whet:

Meaning: to increase someone’s interest in and wish for something

Use in sentence: I’ve read an excerpt of the book on the Web and it’s whetted my appetite