KERALA INSTITUTE OF ENGLISH AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT

COMMUNICATION TEST

Terms of the exam

** Duration of the exam is 115 minutes

** All the 10 sections consists of 10 marks

** Total 10*10=100 marks

** Key will be sent to your mail in a week

** If your score is above 50 marks, you are eligible to get the certificate.

I. Sentence Completion

1. Today Wegener's theory is ____ ; however, he died an outsider treated with ____ by the scientific establishment.

A. unsupported - approval 

B. dismissed - contempt 

C. accepted - approbation 

D. unchallenged - disdain 

E. unrivalled - reverence

2. The revolution in art has not lost its steam; it ____ on as fiercely as ever.

A. trudges 

B. meanders 

C. edges 

D. ambles 

E. rages

3. Each occupation has its own ____ ; bankers, lawyers and computer professionals, for example, all use among themselves language which outsiders have difficulty following.

A. merits 

B. disadvantages 

C. rewards 

D. jargon 

E. problems

4. ____ by nature, Jones spoke very little even to his own family members.

A. garrulous 

B. equivocal 

C. taciturn 

D. arrogant 

E. gregarious

5. Biological clocks are of such ____ adaptive value to living organisms, that we would expect most organisms to ____ them.

A. clear - avoid 

B. meager - evolve 

C. significant - eschew 

D. obvious - possess 

E. ambivalent - develop

6. The peasants were the least ____ of all people, bound by tradition and ____ by superstitions.

A. free - fettered 

B. enfranchised - rejected 

C. enthralled - tied 

D. pinioned - limited 

E. conventional - encumbered

7. Many people at that time believed that spices help preserve food; however, Hall found that many marketed spices were ____ bacteria, moulds and yeasts.

A. devoid of 

B. teeming with 

C. improved by 

D. destroyed by 

E. active against

8. If there is nothing to absorb the energy of sound waves, they travel on ____ , but their intensity ____ as they travel further from their source.

A. erratically - mitigates 

B. eternally - alleviates 

C. forever - increases 

D. steadily - stabilizes 

E. indefinitely - diminishes

9. The two artists differed markedly in their temperaments; Palmer was reserved and courteous, Frazer ____ and boastful.

A. phlegmatic 

B. choleric 

C. constrained 

D. tractable 

E. stoic

10. The intellectual flexibility inherent in a multicultural nation has been ____ in classrooms where emphasis on British-American literature has not reflected the cultural ____ of our country.

A. eradicated - unanimity 

B. encouraged - aspirations 

C. stifled - diversity 

D. thwarted - uniformity 

E. inculcated - divide

II. Corporate Greetings

You are at work, your colleague come and greets you:'_____________________________'.1. You answer:'_____________________________'.2. You meet Mr. Foster, a business client, for the first time, you say:'_____________________________'.3. Mr. Foster answers:'_____________________________'.4. Mr. Foster is leaving, you say:'_____________________________'.5. It is 5 pm, you are leaving your office, you say to your colleague:' see you on Monday, _____________________________'6. He answers:'_____________________________'7. You meet your friend. You have not seen him for a long time. You say:'_____________________________'

8. He answers:'_____________________________'9. Your friend and you are both going home, he says:'_____________________________'

III.READING COMPREHENSION.

Should we really care for the greatest actors of the past could we have them before us? Should we find them too different from our accent of thought, of feeling, of speech, in a thousand minute particulars which are of the essence of all three? Dr. Doran's long and interesting records of the triumphs of Garrick, and other less familiar, but in their day hardly less astonishing, players, do not relieve one of the doubt. Garrick himself, as sometimes happens with people who have been the subject of much anecdote and other conversation, here as elsewhere, bears no very distinct figure. One hardly sees the wood for the trees. On the other hand, the account of Betterton, "perhaps the greatest of English actors," is delightfully fresh. That intimate friend of Dryden, Tillatson, Pope, who executed a copy of the actor's portrait by Kneller which is still extant, was worthy of their friendship; his career brings out the best elements in stage life. The stage in these volumes presents itself indeed not merely as a mirror of life, but as an illustration of the utmost intensity of life, in the fortunes and characters of the players. Ups and downs, generosity, dark fates, the most delicate goodness, have nowhere been more prominent than in the private existence of those devoted to the public mimicry of men and women. Contact with the stage, almost throughout its history, presents itself as a kind of touchstone, to bring out the bizarrerie, the theatrical tricks and contrasts, of the actual world.

Adapted from an essay by W H Pater

1. In the expression “One hardly sees the wood for the trees”, the author apparently intends the word trees to be analogous to

A. features of Doran’s language style 

B. details learned from oral sources 

C. personality of a famous actor 

D. detail’s of Garrick’s life 

E. stage triumphs of an astonishing player

2. The doubt referred to in line 7 concerns whether

A. the stage personalities of the past would appeal on a personal level to people like the author 

B. their contemporaries would have understood famous actors 

C. the acting of famous stage personalities would appeal to us today 

D. Garrick was as great as he is portrayed 

E. historical records can reveal personality

3. Information supplied in the passage is sufficient to answer which of the following questions?I Who did Doran think was probably the best English actor?II What did Doran think of Garrick?III Would the author give a definite answer to the first question posed in the passage?

A. I only 

B. II only 

C. I and III only 

D. II and III only 

E. I, II and III

A sanctuary may be defined as a place where Man is passive and the rest of Nature active. Till quite recently Nature had her own sanctuaries, where man either did not go at all or only as a tool-using animal in comparatively small numbers. But now, in   this machinery age, there is no place left where man cannot go with overwhelming forces at his command. He can strangle to death all the nobler wild life in the world to-day. To-morrow he certainly will have done so, unless he exercises due foresight and self-control in the mean time. There is not the slightest doubt that birds and mammals are now being killed off much faster than they can breed. And itis always the largest and noblest forms of life that suffer most. The whales and elephants, lions and eagles, go. The rats and flies, and all mean parasites, remain. This is inevitable in certain cases. But it is wanton killing off that I am speaking of to-night. Civilized man begins by destroying the very forms of wild life he learns to appreciate most when he becomes still more civilized. The obvious remedy is to begin conservation at an earlier stage, when it is easier and better in every way, by enforcing laws for close seasons, game preserves, the selective protection

of certain species, and sanctuaries. I have just defined a sanctuary as a place where man is passive and the rest of Nature active. But this general definition is too absolute for any special case. The mere fact that man has to protect a sanctuary does away with his purely passive attitude. Then, he can be beneficially active by destroying pests and parasites, like bot-flies or mosquitoes, and by finding antidotes for diseases like the epidemic which periodically kills off the rabbits and thus starves many of the carnivora to death. But, except in cases where experiment has proved his intervention to be beneficial, the less he upsets the balance of Nature the better, even when he tries to be an earthly Providence.

Adapted from: Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador, W Wood (1911)

4. The author implies that his first definition of a sanctuary is

A. totally wrong 

B. somewhat idealistic 

C. unhelpful 

D. indefensible 

E. immutable

5. The author’s argument that destroying bot-flies and mosquitoes would be a beneficial action is most weakened by all of the following except

A. parasites have an important role to play in the regulation of populations 

B. the elimination of any species can have unpredictable effects on the balance of nature 

C. the pests themselves are part of the food chain 

D. these insects have been introduced to the area by human activities 

E. elimination of these insects would require the use of insecticides that kill a wide range of insects

6. It can be inferred that the passage is

A. part of an article in a scientific journal 

B. extracted from the minutes of a nature club 

C. part of a speech delivered to an educated audience 

D. a speech delivered in a court of law 

E. from a polemical article published in a magazine

7. The purpose of the final paragraph is

A. to sum up the main points of the author’s argument 

B. to urge a solution to an increasingly pressing problem 

C. to qualify the author’s definition of an important term 

D. to propose a program 

E. to suggest that man should not intervene in natural environments

IV.ANTONYMS

1. Periphrastic is most nearly opposite in meaning to

A. Concise 

B. Circular 

C. Comprehensive 

D. Ardent 

E. Junior

2. Sprightly is most nearly opposite in meaning to

A. Voluble 

B. Nimble 

C. Sluggish 

D. Hurried 

E. Genuine

3. Taciturn is most nearly opposite in meaning to

A. Spoken 

B. Placatory 

C. Leisurely 

D. Talkative 

E. Confident

4. Prolix is most nearly opposite in meaning to

A. Antediluvian 

B. Terse 

C. Awkward 

D. Belligerent 

E. Forward

5. Revere is most nearly opposite in meaning to

A. Accept 

B. Convert 

C. Accelerate 

D. Consider 

E. Vilify

6. Plaudit is most nearly opposite in meaning to

A. Denunciation 

B. Pleasure 

C. Honorary 

D. Disgrace 

E. Diffidence

7. Desultory is most nearly opposite in meaning to

A. Salacious 

B. Cursory 

C. Assiduous 

D. Asinine 

E. Jovial

8. Blundering is most nearly opposite in meaning to

A. Arousing 

B. Shocking 

C. Disgraceful 

D. Nimble 

E. Nonchalant

9. Castigate is most nearly opposite in meaning to

A. Incarcerate 

B. Extol 

C. Remit 

D. Flatten 

E. Change

10. Salute is most nearly opposite in meaning to

A. Acquire 

B. Cogitate 

C. Espy 

D. Plant 

E. Defame

V. SYNONYMS

1. Sedentary is most similar in meaning to

A. Juvenile 

B. Disgraced 

C. Tranquil 

D. Treacherous 

E. Inactive

2. Entrenched is most similar in meaning to

A. Established 

B. Disinterred 

C. Conflicting 

D. Loud 

E. Relevant

3. Resolute is most similar in meaning to

A. Praiseworthy 

B. Firm 

C. Controlled 

D. Justified 

E. Complete

4. Mollify is most similar in meaning to

A. Stretch 

B. Convert 

C. Pacify 

D. Appraise 

E. Unite

5. Virtuoso is most similar in meaning to

A. Talented 

B. Inept 

C. Upright 

D. Silent 

E. Verdant

6. Ambivalent is most similar in meaning to

A. Double 

B. Fearsome 

C. Broad 

D. Uncertain 

E. Adult

7. Irrevocable is most similar in meaning to

A. Mocking 

B. Vicious 

C. Puerile 

D. Ineffable 

E. Permanent

8. Pernicious is most similar in meaning to

A. Avaricious 

B. Quarrelsome 

C. Dangerous 

D. Infinite 

E. Fussy

9. Trounce is most similar in meaning to

A. Terrorize 

B. Defeat 

C. Vibrate 

D. Hypnotize 

E. Deafen

10. Variegated is most similar in meaning to

A. Dishonest 

B. Decorous 

C. Monotonous 

D. Multicolored 

E. Patterned

VI.ONE WORD SUBSTITUTES

1. The general act of forgiveness on a national occasion.

a.) Benedictionb.) Amnestyc.) Emancipationd.) Gratification

2. Something which is short lived.

a.) Interimb.) Epicuriousc.) Ephemerald.) Diadem

3. Study of birds.

a.) Ornithologyb.) Aviologyc.) Supersonicd.) Birdology

4. He can not live in a closed apartment. He is _____

a.) Claustrophobicb.) Congested

c.) Acrophobicd.) Coprastasophobic

5. The new sales man talks a lot, often about stuff that only he thinks is interesting. No one likes a _______man like him.

a.) Loquaciousb.) Garrulousc.) Verbosed.) Tacit

6. Study of stamps and postal history

a.) Philatelyb.) Numismaticsc.) Postaticsd.) Stampics

7. God is present everywhere. He is __________.

a.) Omniscientb.) Omnipresentc.) Omnipotentd.) Convalescent

8. A Government by the nobles

a.) Monarchyb.) Aristocracyc.) Autocracyd.) Plutocracy

9. Something which can not be avoided

a.) Unavoidableb.) Inimitablec.) Inevitabled.) Unevitable

10. A handwriting that can not be read

a.) Caliphb.) Caligraphyc.) Illegibled.) Unreadable

VII. TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING TELUGU STORY TO ENGLISH STORYఒక రాజ్యంలో ఇద్దరు సామంత రాజుల మధ్య సరిహదు్ద తగాదాలుండేవి. ఆ సరిహదు్ద ప్రా� ంత వాసులు ఎవరికి పను#లు కట్టా% లో తెలీక కట%డం మానేశారు. ఆదాయాం తగ్గి/పోవడంతో సామంతరాజులు ఇద్దరూ మహారాజుని ఆశ్రయించారు. ఇలాంటి చిన# చిన# తగాదాలు నా దాకు తీసుకురాకండి, మీరే సామరస్యంగా పరిష్కరించుకోండి అని మహారాజుగారు తేల్చేHశారు.

పెద్దల సహకారంలో ఇద్దరు సామంత రాజులు ఒక అంగీకారానికి వచ్చేHరు.

ఇరువైపు రాజ్యా్యలనుంచి ఇద్దరు బలశాలురు కోడి కూతతో బయలుదేరి సూరా్యస్తమం దాక ఎంత దూరం పరిగెడతారో అంత ప్రా� ంతం వాళ్ళది అని నిర్ణయించుకునా#రు. మంచి రోజు నిరా[ రించుకునా#రు. రెండు రాజ్యా్యల వళ్ళూ్ళ తమ తమ బలశాలులని యెంచుకునా#రు.

పందెం ముందు రాత్రిa ఒక రాజ్యం వారు రహస్యంగా రెండొవ రాజ్యం కోడిని బాగా మేపేరు. త్రిని, త్రినీ ఆ కోడి బద్దకంతో బాగా నిద్రపోయి పొదు్ద న# ల్చేవల్చేదు, కూత పెట%ల్చేదు. ఆ రాజ్యం వాళ్ళు్ళ నిద్రల్చేచి, కోడిని ల్చేపి, కూత పెటి%ంచ్చే లోపు వేరే రాజ్యం బలశాలి చాలా దూరం వచ్చేHసాడు. పొరుగు రాజ్యం పొలిమేరల దాక పరిగెట్టా% డు.

అతని# బ్రత్రిమాలుకుంటే, నను# ఎతు్త కుని ఎంత దూరం పరిగెడితే ఆ ప్రా� ంతం నీకే అనా#డు. ఈ రాజ్యం బలశాలి అతని# ఎతు్త కుని నడవడం మొదలెతా్త డు కానీ ఎంతో దూరం వెళ్ళకుండానే తెలాv రిపోయింది.

రెండు రాజ్యా్యల మధ్యలో గొడవ మొదలయి్యంది. విషయం తెలిసిన పెద్దలు పందెం రదు్ద చ్చేసారు.

ఆ ప్రా� ంతం ఎవరిదో ఇప్పత్రికి తేలల్చేదు. ఆ ప�దేశాని# ఇప్పటికీ “పందెం ప్రాలెం” అంట్టారు.

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VIII. Essay writing

Topic: What Is Within Me

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IX.DEGREES OF COMPARISION

Question 1How is your father today? Is he any ———————–?a) goodb) betterc) bestQuestion 2The climate of Chennai is …………………………………… than the climate of Bangalore.a) hotb) hotterc) hottestQuestion 3She is ……………………………………….. than her sister.a) prettyb) prettierc) more prettyQuestion 4Jane is the ……………………………………….. student in the class.a) brightest

b) brightc) brighterQuestion 5He is the ………………………………………… man in the town.a) richb) richerc) richestQuestion 6James is two years ………………………………………. than me.a) oldb) olderc) oldestQuestion 7Annie is the ………………………………………. friend I have.a) goodb) betterc) bestQuestion 8Mount Everest is the ……………………………………… peak of the Himalayas.a) highb) higherc) highestQuestion 9He is the ………………………………………… of the two.a) tallb) tallerc) tallestQuestion 10The pen is ———————– than the sword.a) mightb) mightierc) mightiest

X.PREPOSITION FILLING

1.Will you be ________ home today?

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2. He is never late. He always comes ________ time.

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3. How many students are ________ your class?

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4. The teacher wrote something ________ the board.

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5. Many people work ________ this building.

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6. I will meet you ________ 7:00 PM.

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7. Let's meet ________ Wednesday.

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8. I am going to Japan ________ seven days.

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9. I met John ________ my friend's party.

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10. She was sitting ________ her car.

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