FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION FOR RECRUITMENT TO POSTS IN BPS-17, UNDER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, 2015
ENGLISH (PRECIS &COMPOSITION)
- Choose the word that is nearly similar in meaning to the word in capital letters.
1. | FLAGRANT | |||
(a) Expensive | (b) Common | (c) Clerical | (d) Glaring | |
2. | IMMINENT | |||
(a) Important | (b) Historical | (c) Impending | (d) Inopportune | |
3. | ASTUTE | |||
(a) Tedious | (b) Illogical | (c) Aggressive | (d) Shrewd | |
4. | AVERSE | |||
(a) Eager | (b) Reluctant | (c) Willing | (d) Unresponsive | |
5. | PROGNOSIS | |||
(a) Offering | (b) Prediction | (c) Warning | (d) Advance | |
6. | PUNGENT | |||
(a) am | (b) Disagreeable | (c) Smoky | (d) Anesthetizing | |
7. | FIDUCIARY | |||
(a) Trustee | (b) Assistant | (c) Notary | (d) Attorney | |
8. | PHILANDERING | |||
(a) Spending | (b) Exaggerating | (c) Wandering | (d) None of these | |
9. | POIGNANT | |||
(a) Precious | (b) Tender | (c) Intense | (d) Sorrowful | |
10. | CONTINGENT | |||
(a) Conditional | (b) Questionable | (c) Argued | (d) Rejected |
- Choose the works.that is nearly most opposite in meaning to the word in capital
1. | VETERAN | |||
(a) Niarice | (b) Pious | (c) Intellectual | (d) Debutante | |
2. | IMPORTANT | |||
(a) Trivial | (b) Clear | (c) Turning | (d) Wavy | |
3. | IRREGULAR | |||
(a) Erratic | (b) Prevailing | (c) Difficult | (d) Enticing | |
4. | SPENDING | |||
(a) Sober | (b) Mute | (c) Revenue | (d) Spendthrift |
5. | CLUMSY | |||
(a) Foolish | (b) Inept | (c) Infer | (d) Dexterous | |
6. | LAUDED | |||
(a) Disparage | (b) Applaud | (cl Settle | (d) Hesitate | |
7. | COWARDLY | |||
(a) Brave | (b) Poor | (c) Master | (d) Ignorant | |
8. | PRAISE | |||
(a) Censure | (b) Tickle | (c) Acclaim | (d) Skip | |
9. | CONFUSE | |||
(a) Lucid | (b) Extraordinary | (c) Dirty . | (d) Muddle | |
10. | NEGLECT | |||
(a) Omit | (b) Destroy | (c) Mistake | (d) Nourish |
CI Correct the following sentences
- Have either of you seen my pen?
- On attempting to restore the picture to its original condition, almost irreparable change was
- This child is the prettiest of the two.
- I was annoyed arriving late, also his rather insolent manner put me out of temper.
- He is anxious not only to acquire knowledge, but also eager to display it.
- If he was here now, we should have no difficulty.
- Due to unforeseen environments, we shall have to leave early.
- People have and still do disagree on this matter.
Solution:
- Has either of you seen my pen?
- Upon attempting to restore the picture to its original condition, almost irreparable change was
- This child is the prettier of the two.
- I was annoyed at his arriving late, furthermore his rather insolent manner put me out of temper.
- He is not only anxious to acquire knowledge, but also eager to display it.
- If he were here now, we would have no difficulty.
- Due to unforeseen circumstances, we will have to leave early.
- People have been disagreeing on this matter.
CI Use the following idioms in sentences to make their meaning clear:
1. | Itching palm | 2. | The primrose path |
3. | Break one’s fall | 4. | Wash one’s hands of |
5. | To become reconcile to | 6. | To militate against |
7. | To be cognizant of | 8. | Wages of sin |
- Itching palm –
Meaning: a desire for money; greed; avarice
Use in sentence: Whenever he sees expensive luggage, the hotel doorman gets an itching palm.
- The primrose path
Meaning: an easy and pleasant life; a self-indulgent or hedonistic life
Use in sentence: Unaware of his doom, he continued down his primrose path.
- Break one’s fall
Meaning: interrupt a tumble or descent
Use in sentence: When old lady slipped on the ice, a snow bank broke her fall otherwise she might get more injuries.
- Wash one’s hands of
Meaning: disclaim responsibility for
Use in sentence: The prime minister cannot wash hands of the Panama Leaks scandal.
- To become reconcile to
Meaning: to accept or be resigned to something not desired
Use in sentence: Afzal became reconciled to Safdar.
- To militate against
Meaning: to make it difficult for something to happen
Use in sentence: These fundamental differences will militate against the two communities coming together.
- To be cognizant of
Meaning: having knowledge or awareness
Use in sentence: Statesmen must be cognizant of the political boundaries within which they work.
- Wages of sin — (21 Keel
Meaning: the results or consequences of evildoing
Use in sentence: Disasters are the wages of sin.
❑ Use five of the following pairs of words in sentences: (i) plaintiff, plaintive (ii) valet, varlet
(iii) monitor, mentor (iv) complacent, complaisant
(v) penitence, penance (vi) crevice, crevasse
(vii) beneficent, beneficial
(i) Plaintive:
Meaning: expressive of suffering or woe
Use in sentence: We could hear the plaintive cry of a wounded animal in the woods.
Plaintiff:
Meaning: a person who brings a legal action
Use in sentence: The judge decided against the plaintiff.
- Valet:
Meaning: a man’s male servant who performs personal services (as taking care of clothing) Use in sentence: The valet opened the door, and he dropped into the passenger seat. Varlet:
Meaning: an attendant or servant; a king’s personal male attendant
Use in sentence: At one time he took service with a minstrel and was his varlet.
- Monitor:
Meaning: observer
Use in sentence: The monitor in November reported that more than 10 percent of the population uses Facebook in 51 countries.
Mentor:
Meaning: adviser
Use in sentence: Bad publicity surrounding Hasan’s mentor may rebound to Saleh’sembarrassment.
- Complacent:
Meaning: pleased, especially with oneself or one’s merits, advantages, situation, etc.
Use in sentence: The unofficial rules that had kept Democrats in the majority with a complacent Republican minority were changing.
Complaisant:
Meaning: inclined or disposed to please; obliging; agreeable or gracious; compliant Use in sentence: The most complaisant child I’ve ever met.
- Penitence:
Meaning: the action of feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong
Use in sentence: The penitent sinner asked for forgiveness during his confessional statement. Penance
Meaning: self-inflicted punishment for a misdeed
Use in sentence: The man gave away all of his money to charity as penance for his greed.
- Crevice:
Meaning: a tight opening or gap
Use in sentence: The vacuum cleaner attachment is the perfect tool for cleaning the crevice between the front car seats.
Crevasse:
Meaning: a deep open crack, especially one in a glacier
Use in sentence: Once more an Alaskan snow machine rider has plummeted into a glacier crevasse.
(vii) Beneficent
Meaning: (of a person) generous or doing good.
Use in sentence: Doctors without Borders is a beneficent organization that travels around the world providing free healthcare to Third World countries.
Beneficial:
Meaning: resulting in good; favourable or advantageous.
Use in sentence: Some doctors suggest that taking vitamin pills is not really very beneficial to our health.