FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION FOR RECRUITMENT TO POSTS IN BPS-17, UNDER THE FEDERAL CI-WERNMENT, 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.
- CHRONICLE
(a) Daily ritual (b) Widely held belief
(c) Account of events
- FLUME
- Sea bird with a wing span four times its body length
- Narrow gorge with a stream running through it
- Warm summer wind
- EPITAPH
(a) Editorial (b) Clever head line
(c) Tomb stone inscription
- LACONIC
(a) Concise (b) Weekly (c) Circular
- SHINGLE
(a) Gravelly beach (b) Exposed sand bar (c) Group of dolphins
- 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
- 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.
- ANNIHILATE
(a) Supplement (b) Augment (c) Append (d) Contract
| 2. | CURB | |||
| (a) Bridle | (b) Encouragement | (c) Reproach | (d) Ameliorate | |
| 3. | BRUSQUE | |||
| (a) Gruff | (b) Curt | (c) Smooth | (d) Discourteous | |
| 4. | CONCORD | |||
| (a) Amity | (b) Accord | (c) Variance | (d) Unity | |
| 5. | CONSCIENTIOUS | |||
| (a) Uncorrupt | (b) Honourable | (c) Principled | (d) Profligate | |
| 6. | DIPLOMATIC | |||
| (a) Sagacious | (b) Shrewd | (c)Bungling | (d) Prudent | |
| 7. | HYPOCRISY | |||
| (a) Uprightness | (b) Pretence | (c) Cant | (d) Deceit | |
| 8. | ONEROUS | |||
| (a) Burdensome | (b) Wearing | (c) Difficult | (d) Fluent |
- 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 | 2. | Dog in the manger |
| 3. | A close shave | 4. | A Freudian slip |
| 5. | A Gordian knot | 6. | A cog in the machine |
| 7. | A sugar daddy | 8. | A wet blanket |
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- A Gordian knot
Meaning: an exceedingly complicated problem or deadlock
Use in sentence: Homelessness in the inner cities has become a real Gordian knot.
- 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.
- 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