Alagappa University 2009 B.A English / (Addl) , FOR COMPETITIVE S - Question Paper

            

DISTANCE EDUCATION

B.A. (English)/B.A. (English) (Addl. Degree) DEGREE EXAMINATION, MAY 2009.

ENGLISH FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS

Time : Three hours Maximum : 100 marks

PART A (5 8 = 40 marks)

Answer any FIVE questions.

All questions carry equal marks.

1. (a) Answer the following accordingly : (4 1 = 4)

             (i) I went to Madurai yesterday.

             The pattern of the sentence is .

             (SV/SVO/SVA/SVAA)

             (ii) Shut the door.

             This is an .

             (declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, imperative sentence)

             (iii) He has passed the exam.

             (Add a question tag)

             (iv) India scored 280 runs.

             (Frame a question to this answer)

             (b) Insert suitable articles. If no article is needed,
put X : (8 = 4)

             shortest of short stories may be no more than page or two in length;
longest, like D.H. Lawrences St. Mawr for example, may run to over hundred pages. Obviously, there comes point at which it is impossible to draw line between
long short story and short novel.

2. (a) Make notes of the following passage : (4)

             Research on solar energy is as sophisticated and intensive in India as anywhere else in the world. For ten months of the year, six to eight hours a day, much of India receives high intensity, fairly uniform sunshine. The Indian government has therefore given priority to six projects in the development of solar energy. The most important of these is the solar-energised water pump. The other five are solar power stations, solar distillation and desalination plants, solar air-conditioning units, solar water heaters, solar agricultural dryers.

             (b) Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with the correct tense forms of the verbs given in brackets :
(8 = 4)

             (i) I (buy) a pen last week.

             (ii) She (read) a book now.

             (iii) Generally, he (speak) in Tamil.

             (iv) We (live) in this house since 1990.

             (v) I (see) this film before.

             (vi) The journey (take) six hours.

             (vii) When the police arrived, the car
(go).

             (viii) The Chief Minister (visit) our town next week.

3. Write a paragraph of 250 words on any ONE of the following topics : (8)

             (a) The festival I like most.

             (b) Recent developments in electronics.

4. Answer any ONE of the following : (8)

             (a) Write a letter to the Principal of your college explaining some of the difficulties you and other students have experienced in the college.

             (b) You have received a letter from a friend abroad asking you to tell him something about your family. Draft a suitable reply.

5. Answer any ONE of the following : (8)

             (a) Write a report to the local police superintendent giving details of the accident you have witnessed.

             (b) You have been sent by the Managing Director of your company to find a site in a distant town for housing its branch office. Make a report on the site you have selected.

6. Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the TWO given in brackets : (8)

             (a) His (affection, affectation) for his mother is great.

             (b) We should (adapt, adopt) to the situations.

             (c) The bag is made of (canvas, canvass)

             (d) Ravi is my (confidant, confident)

             (e) She obtained a (draft, draught) from a bank.

             (f) Nehru is an (eminent, imminent) leader.

             (g) Raja is (social, sociable)

             (h) What is your (vocation, vacation)

7. Answer the following : (8)

             (a) (i) A doctor who is a specialist in treating the skin diseases. Cardiologist, dermatologist, dentist, ophthalmologist.

             (ii) A sports field surrounded by a large building with rows of seats auditorium, stadium, aquarium, gymnasium.

             (b) Choose the letter of the correctly spelt word :

             (i) Communique

             (ii) Communiqe

             (iii) Comunique

             (iv) Communike.

             (c) Form opposites of the following words by adding suitable prefixes :

             (i) Responsible

             (ii) Connect

             (iii) Polite

             (iv) Pleasant.

             (d) Form negatives of the following words by adding suitable suffixes :

             (i) Kind

             (ii) Power.

             (e) Rewrite the following in proper word order to form a meaningful sentence :

             it certain will he the race win is that.

             (f) Form negative of the following sentence :

             They know Hindi.

8. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions : (8 1 = 8)

             (a) I will meet you Monday.

             (b) Please wait a minute.

             (c) This poem is written Wordsworth.

             (d) We talked politics.

             (e) The train leaves 7 am.

             (f) He has been ill the past few days.

             (g) Sweets are distributed the four children.

             (h) One the boys was punished.

PART B (4 15 = 60 marks)

Answer any FOUR of the following.

All questions carry equal marks.

9. (a) Rewrite the following sentences in the passive
voice : (4)

             (i) I gave him my pen.

             (ii) Dispatch the letter.

             (iii) They built this bridge in 1950.

             (iv) She is writing a letter.

             (b) Rewrite the following sentences in the active
voice : (4)

             (i) My watch was stolen.

             (ii) The thief has been arrested.

             (iii) You are requested to give me for your book.

             (iv) Let the door be shut.

             (c) Change the following as directed : (4)

             (i) Rahim is the tallest boy in the class.

             (into comparative and positive degrees)

             (ii) Rajan is one of the richest men in the town.

             (into comparative and positive degrees)

             (d) Do the following transformation : (3)

             (i) We had reached the village before the Sun set.

             (into simple sentence)

             (ii) Everybody will accept your offer.

             (Rewrite the affirmative as negative without changing the meaning)

             (iii) Only the Mahatama can save us again.

             (Replace only by None but).

10. Make a precis of the following passage and give a suitable title : (15)

             Newspapers, especially of the popular variety, aim to do two things : to inform and to entertain. Entertainment may be principally found in the centre pages of the newspaper, in some of the feature articles and in some local news stories. The principal aim of the short news report on the front pages is to inform.

             Most newspapers are published daily, and the news reporters must make sure that they have up-to-the minute news. In their news reports they will aim to create a sense of immediacy, to convey the impression that they have rushed the news to the reader and that the information contained is the very latest.

             Reporters also wish to create a sense of authenticity, that is, that their news is accurate or genuine. They may thus refer to their sources, to the spokemen who informed them, perhaps quoting their very words, to show that what has been produced is the real news.

11. Write an essay of 400 words on any ONE of the
following : (15)

             (a) Road safety and the prevention of accidents.

             (b) India : Unity in diversity.

12. Read the following passage and answer the questions given below : (15)

             Until recently, the environment has been largely taken for grantedthat it will continue, as it always has, to support our life and livelihood, providing the air that we breathe, the water that we drink, the food that we eat, and much of our industrial raw material. This is our biological capital, the basic apparatus on which our total productivity depends. If we destroy it, our most advanced technology will come to naught and any economic and political system which depends on it will founder. Yet, the major threat to the integrity of this biological capitals technology itself.

             Technology is widely credited with many of the good things in modern life. Technology has magnified the wealth that is produced by human labour; it has lengthened our lives and sweetened the fruits of living. All this has encouraged a firm faith that technology is an undiluted good.

             There is now at least one strong reason to question this faith : the phenomenon that has finally begun to capture the public attention that it meritsenvironmental pollution. It is beginning to be clear that this assault on the integrity as the environment is the price that we pay for many of the benefits of modern technology. For the advantages of automotive transportation.

             (a) What do people think about environment?

             (b) What is referred to as biological capital?

             (c) When will our technology come to nothingness?

             (d) Which is the major threat to environment?

             (e) Give two examples of the good things brought about by modern technology.

             (f) What is the firm faith spoken of?

             (g) Why do we question this faith?

             (h) What is the price we pay for the benefits of modern technology?

             (i) What is the bad effect of automotive transportation?

             (j) Give a suitable title to the passage.

13. (a) Give a one word substitute for the following : (10)

             (i) The story of a persons life written by another person.

             (ii) A building where an audience sits.

             (iii) Person who eats human flesh.

             (iv) A room in a hospital where dead bodies are kept.

             (v) A person who studies the science of the earths history.

             (vi) A hall with apparatus for physical training.

             (vii) All the plants of a particular area.

             (viii) A song of sorrow for the dead.

             (ix) Something kept as a reminder of a person, place or event.

             (b) Match the words in column A with their meanings in column B and rewrite : (10 = 5)

             Column A Column B

             (i) Abandon (1) Lonely

             (ii) Bliss (2) Odd

             (iii) Cordial (3) Make free

             (iv) Emancipate (4) Misfortune

             (v) Eccentric (5) Regret

             (vi) Adversity (6) Frank

             (vii) Remorse (7) Leave

             (viii) Candid (8) Peace

             (ix) Solitary (9) Friendly

             (x) Extravagant (10) Wasteful

14. Read each sentence to find out whether there is error in any underlined part. If any, write the alphabet of your choice next to the question number. If there is no error, then put E :
(10 1= 15)

             (a) Between you and I, we are most reluctant to grant

             A B
any further concessions to the workers. No Error.
C D E

             (b) Take it from me, I couldnt hardly believe that
A B C
anyone of them had said so. No Error.

             D E

             (c) They were quarrelling between themselves when all

             A B
on a sudden it occurred to them that someone was watching all
C D
the five of them. No Error.

             E

             (d) I do all the cooking and cleaning and beside that I
A B
help my husband with his homework. No Error

             C D E

             (e) The Ganges has overflowed its banks and each of
A B                         C
the four villages are flooded. No Error

             D E

             (f) A class of penguins have been known to survive in
A
climates very dissimilar to those in the coldest regions of the
B C D
world. No Error

             E

             (g) Because of the harsh winter which had seemingly
A B
overstayed, there were scarcely some flowers in the garden.
C D
No Error

E

             (h) I had finished cooking before the guests arrived.
A B C                                 D
No Error

E

             (i) No sooner the bell rang than the students A B C
rushed out of the classroom. No Error

             D               E

             (j) When he is nine years old, his mother died.
A B C D

No Error

E

15. Use any TEN of the following in sentences of your own :
(10 1= 15)

             (a) ask for (b) depend on

             (c) deal with (d) carry out

             (e) bring about (f) cope with

             (g) give up (h) make out

             (i) bring up (j) give away

             (k) call upon (l) take over

             (m) turn down (n) set up

             (o) wind

,