FEDERAL PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION – 2017 FOR RECRUITMENT TO POSTS IN BS-17 UNDER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ENGLISH (PRECIS & COMPOSITION)
-
TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS
-
PART-I(MCQS): MAXIMUM 30 MINUTES
-
PART-I (MCQS) MAXIMUM MARKS = 20
-
PART-II MAXIMUM MARKS = 80
-
NOTE:(i) Part-II is to be attempted on the separate Answer Book.
-
(ii) Attempt ALL questions from PART-II.
-
(iii) All the parts (if any) of each Question must be attempted at one place instead of at different places.
-
(iv) Candidate must write Q. No. in the Answer Book in accordance with Q. No. in the Q.Paper.
-
(v) No Page/Space be left blank between the answers. All the blank pages of Answer Book must be crossed.
-
(vi) Extra attempt of any question or any part of the attempted question will not be considered.
Table of Contents
PART-II
Q. 2. Write a précis of the following passage and also suggest a suitable title: (20)
All the evils in this world are brought about by the persons who are always up and doing but do not know when they ought to be up nor what they ought to be doing. The devil, I take it, is still the busiest creature in the universe, and I can quite imagine him denouncing laziness and becoming angry at the smallest waste of time. In his kingdom, I will wager, nobody is allowed to do nothing, not even for a single afternoon. The world, we all freely admit, is in a muddle but I for one do not think that it is laziness that has brought it to such a pass. It is not the active virtues that it lacks but the passive ones; it is capable of anything but kindness and a little steady thought. There is still plenty of energy in the world (there never were more fussy people about), but most of it is simply misdirected. If, for example, in July 1914, when there was some capital idling weather, everybody, emperors, Kings, archdukes, statesmen, generals, journalists, had been suddenly smitten with an intense desire to do nothing, just to hang about in the sunshine and consume tobacco, then we should all have been much better off than we are now. But no, the doctrine of the strenuous life still went unchallenged; there must be no time wasted; something must be done. Again, suppose our statesmen, instead of rushing off to Versailles with a bundle of ill-digested notions and great deal of energy to dissipate had all taken a fortnight off, away from all correspondence and interviews and whatnot, and had simply lounged about on some hillside or other apparently doing nothing for the first time in their energetic lives, then they might have gone to their so-called peace conference and come away again with their reputations still unspoiled and the affairs of the world in good trim. Even at the present time, if half of the politicians in Europe would relinquish the notion that laziness is a crime and go away and do nothing for a little space, we should certainly gain by it. Other examples come crowding into mind. Thus, every now and then, certain religious sects hold conferences; but though there are evils abroad that are mountains high, though the fate of civilization is still doubtful, the members who attend these conferences spend their time condemning the length of ladies’ skirts and the noisiness of dance bands. They would all be better employed lying flat on their backs somewhere, staring at the sky and recovering their mental health.
Q. 3. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: (20)
Education ought to teach us how to be in love and what to be in love with. The great things of history have been done by the great lovers, by the saints and men of science, and artists, and the problem of civilization is to give every man a chance of being a saint, a man of science, or an artist. But this problem cannot be attempted, much less solved, unless men desire to be saints, men of science, and artists. And if they are to desire that continuously and consciously they must be taught what it means to be these. We think of the man of science or the artist, if not of the saint, as a being with peculiar gifts, not as one who exercises, more precisely and incessantly perhaps, activities which we all ought to exercise. It is a commonplace now that art has ebbed away out of our ordinary life, out of all the things which we use, and that it is practiced no longer by workmen but only by a few painters and sculptors. That has happened because we no longer recognize the aesthetic activity of the spirit, so common to all men. We do not know that when a man makes anything he ought to make it beautiful for the sake of doing so, and that when a man buys anything he ought to demand beauty in it, for the sake of beauty. We think of beauty if we think of it at all as a mere source of pleasure, and therefore it means to us ornament, added to things for which we can pay extra as we choose. But beauty is not an ornament to life, or to the things made by man. It is an essential part of both. The aesthetic activity, when it reveals itself in things made by men, reveals itself in design, just as it reveals itself in the design of all natural things. It shapes objects as the moral activity shapes actions, and we ought to recognize it in the objects and value it, as we recognize and value moral activity in actions. And as actions empty of the moral activity are distasteful to us, so should objects be that are empty of the aesthetic activity. But this is not so with most of us. We do not value it; do not even recognize it, or the lack of it, in the work of others. The artist, of whatever kind, is a man so much aware of the beauty of the universe that he must impart the same beauty to whatever he makes. He has exercised his aesthetic activity in the discovery of the beauty in the universe before he exercises it in imparting beauty to that which he makes. He has seen things in that relation in his own work, whatever it may be. And just as he sees that relation for its own sake, so he produces it for its own sake and satisfies the desire of his spirit in doing so. And we should value his work; we should desire that relation in all things made by man, if we too have the habit of seeing that relation in the universe, and if we knew that, when we see it, we are exercising an activity of the spirit and satisfying a spiritual desire. And we should also know that work without beauty means unsatisfied spiritual desire in the worker; that it is a waste of life and common evil and danger, like thought without truth, or action without righteousness.
Questions:
-
1. What has been lamented in the text? (4)
-
2. What is the difference between an ordinary man and an artist? (4)
-
3. How can we make our lives beautiful and charming? (4)
-
4. What does the writer actually mean when he says, “Beauty is not an ornament to life”? (4)
-
5. Do art and beauty affect our practical life and morals? Justify whether you agree or disagree. (4)
Q. 4.
(a) Correct only FIVE of the following: (5)
-
(i) In the accident, one of my arms was broken and my legs bruised.
-
(ii) The people who had been raising slogans against the government for many hours they wanted increase in their salaries.
-
(iii) You have been working very hard for the last two years. Isn’t it?
-
(iv) John could hardly do no better than to have caught a bass of such dimensions.
-
(v) I who have no chance to meet him would rather go with you instead of sitting at home.
-
(vi) He not only comes there for swimming but also for coaching new swimmers.
-
(vii) When he visited the fair last time, he bought no less than twenty school bags.
-
(viii) Ten cattles were grazing in the field.
(b) Rewrite the following sentences (Only FIVE) after filling in the blanks appropriately: (5)
-
(i) I cannot buy this car _ this price. (a) for (b) in (c ) at (d) on
-
(ii) Send these books _ my home address. (a) on (b) at (c ) in (d) to
-
(iii) Monkeys live _ trees. (a) in (b) at (c ) upon (d) on
-
(iv) I said it _ his face. (a) at (b) on (c ) to (d) upon
-
(v) The manager — the receipt of my letter promptly. (a) accepted (b) realized (c ) recognized (d) acknowledged
-
(vi) Most foreign students don’t like American coffee, and — (a) I don’t too (b) either don’t (c ) neither don’t I (d) neither do I
-
(vii) We — take care of our parents when they are old. (a) could (b) would (c ) might (d) ought to
-
(viii) Yousaf — in the garden the whole of yesterday. (a) has dug (b) was digging (c ) dug (d) had dug
Q. 5.
(a) Choose the ANALOGY of words written in capital letters. Attempt any FIVE. (5)
-
(i) LION: ROAR (a) Snake: Slither (b) Goat: Bleat (c ) Lizard : Crawl (d) Elephant : Tusk
-
(ii) SHADOW : LIGHT (a) Flood : Rain (b) Image : Object (c ) Reaction : Action (d) House : Bricks
-
(iii) CLOT: BLOOD (a) Ink: Water (b) Curdle: Milk (c ) Vaporize : Camphor (d) Brew : Coffee
-
(iv) FEARFUL: COWER (a) Humble: Boast (b) Weak : Exercise (c ) Arrogant : Strut (d) Wise : Dispute
-
(v) EXPEDITE: HASTEN (a) Conscript: Write down (b) Diver: Make harder (c ) Facilitate: Make easiest (d) Satirize: Praise
-
(vi) WOOD: FURNITURE (a) Father : Child (b) Tree : Seedling (c ) Soil : Clay (d) Stone : Sculpture
-
(vii) SURGEON: DEXTEROUS (a) Clown : Fat (b) Actress : Beautiful (c ) Athlete : Tall (d) Acrobat : Agile
-
(viii)LECHER: LUST (a) Pith: Herb (b) Glutton: Greed (c ) Business: Profit (d) Showbiz: Fame
(b) Punctuate the following text, where necessary. (5)
a quaker was one day walking on country road he was suddenly met by a highwayman pointing a pistol the man exclaimed your money or your life my friend said the quaker I cannot deliver my money for i should be helping thee in evildoing however exchange is lawful and i will give thee my purse for the pistol the robber agree on receiving the purse the quaker at once held the pistol at the robbers head and said now friend my purse back or the weapon may go off fire said the robber there is no powder in the pistol
Q. 6.
(a) Explain the difference between the following word pairs (Any FIVE) by using each word in your own sentences: (5)
-
(i) Wrath, Wroth (ii) Veracity, Voracity (iii) Subtler, Sutler (iv) Retenue, Retinue (v) Minute, Minuet (vi) Furor, Furore
-
(vii) Dinghy, dingy (viii) Bony, Bonny
(b) Use ONLY FIVE of the following in sentences which illustrate their meaning: (5)
-
(i) Spirit away (ii) Plough back (iii) Eager beaver (iv) Ring a bell (v) Be left holding the baby (vi) Cap in hand (vii) Hold out a carrot (viii) Over the moon