LOYOLA COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), CHENNAI – 600 034

B.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION – ENGLISH LITERATURE

SIXTH SEMESTER – APRIL 2012

EL 6604 – ENGLISH FOR CAREER EXAMS

Date : 20-04-2012              Dept. No.                                        Max. : 100 Marks

Time : 1:00 – 4:00

I  Choose the word which is nearest in meaning to the key word:                                   (10×1=10)

A                     B                     C                     D

1. Penchant disability         like                  eagerness         dislike
2. Incensed incited             affected           encouraged      inspired
3. Fiasco strength           success                        failure              hope
4. Myriad bright               imaginary        great number   variety
5. Helm edge                head                handle             corner
6. Nascent initial               unpleasant       latest                crude
7. Attrition attraction         suffering          decline             friction
8. Incessant irritated           overflowing     extreme           co-operative
9. Prowess understanding keenness          eagerness         bravery
10. Expertise experience       skill                  smartness         art of expressing

II Pick out the word opposite in meaning to the key word:                                              (10×1=10)

A                     B                     C                     D

11. Genuine rotten bogus               unsound          impure
12. Dull pale wise                 shining             colorful
13. Unruly curious obedient          intelligent        indifferent
14. Outwit laugh victory             defeat              win
15. Transparent translucent vague               blind                opaque
16. Urban rustic rural                 civil                 domestic
17. Wealthy wicked famous                        ill                     poor
18. Mundane excellent superior           heavenly          extraordinary
19. Copious plentiful little                 different          abundant
20. Prim formal prior                 informal           private

III Out of the given alternatives, choose the one which can be substituted  for the given phrase or sentence:                                                                                                 (10×1=10)

A                     B                     C                     D

21. A thing kept

  in memory of

  a person               memento         epitaph                        elegy                gift

22. Physical features

      of an area             geography       sociology         contour            topography

23. A plant or animal

      living on another parasite            hydra               creeper             bush

24. A place for

      keeping bees         aviary              apiary              cage                 nest

25. One who lives

      among strangers recluse             alien                 stoic                 rustic

26. A person who

      opposes another   soldier             fighter             antagonist        prophet

27. A job without

      salary                    free service      honorary          voluntary         amateur

28. The story of

      a man written

      by himself             biography        autobiography life history       history

29. A book written

      by hand                handwritten     manuscript       edition             draft

30. That which

      cannot be heard   inaudible         audible                        unheard           ineffaceable

IV Choose the exact meaning of the idioms/phrases:                                                         (10×1=10)

A                     B                     C                     D

31. All at Sea out of reach     very happy      puzzled            drowning
32. Above board simple decent             open                friendly
33. Leaps and boundsirregularly gradually rapidly             systematically
34. 34. Let on reveal               quarrel             give                 fight
35. In a jiffy suddenly outstanding     in a fix             appropriate
36. Make up get about         leave                reveal               reconcile
37. Stem from ruin originate          induce                         kill
38. Of his own accordforcibly helplessly half-heartedly  willingly
39. In a jam bad in trouble         hindrance        eatable
40. To get at to reach           to advance       to proceed       to escape

V  Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word or phrase:                                              (10x 1=10)

In all compositions..1.. is the most..2.. virtue. You should write in a simple and..3.. manner. The words chosen should be..4.. in meaning. Try not to use..5..words merely because they are..6..Do not allow poetic images or..7..to spoil the grace of good style.It is no longer..8..to stuff your composition with too many ..9..or proverbs especially if their relevance is..10..

                        A                     B                     C                     D

1. complexity flourish            simplicity         reserve
2. hidden described         depicted          admired
3. straightforward showy              ornate              decorative
4. haphazard quick               discriminating clear
5. difficult short                appropriate      small
6. familiar literary             distant             admired
7. pictures stories              similes             examples
8. disliked uncommon      difficult           fashionable
9. philosophies writers             quotations       systems
10. good observed          clear                 doubtful

VI        SPOTTING ERROR                                                                                               (10×1=10)

In this question, a number of sentences are given. The sentences are in three separate parts and each one is called (A), (B) and (C). Read each sentence to find out whether there is an error in any part. No sentence has more than one error. When you find an error in any one of the parts (A), (B) or (C), indicate your response. If you feel there is no error in a sentence then write (D) to signify ‘No error’.

1. In no case (A) we can measure the learner’s achievement by a single test (B) / however skillfully designed. (C) / No error. (D)
2. His radical proposals for reform faced a lot of opposition and (A) / high handed dealings produced so much hostility (B) / that the whole project was killed in the bud. (C) / No error. (D)
3. No sooner did the thief see the policemen (A) / that he jumped over the wall, (B) / and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. (C) / No error. (D)
4. His circumstance (A) / did not allow him to continue his studies (B) / when he was young. (C) / No error. (D)
5. The minister was (A) / pleased being invited to inaugurate (B) / the world conference of religious leaders. (C) / No error. (D)
6. The teacher asked him to write the answer ten times, (A) / as he has again committed mistakes in answering it, (B) / in spite of repeated corrections. (C) / No error. (D)
7. It never occurred to me (A) / that I should have sent my application (B) / through the proper channel. (C) / No error. (D)
8. I am one of those (A) / that cannot describe (B) / what I have not seen. (C) / No error.  (D)
9. Before men came, there were only animals; (A) / and before the animals, there was a time when (B) / no kind of life existed on the earth. (C) / No error. (D)
10. The students who were involved in communal disturbances (A) / were asked to leave the hostel (B) / with bag and baggage. (C) / No error. (D)

VII      Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.                                                                                                                                  (10×1=10)

Passage – I

One of the most mysterious, best preserved, least known and most remarkable archaeological spectacles in the world is the immense complex of geometrical symbols, giant ground-drawings of birds and animals, and hundreds of long, ruler-straight lines, some right across mountains, which stretch over 1200 square miles of the tablelands at Nazca. It was first revealed to modern eyes in 1926 when three explorers looked down on the desert from a hillside at dusk and briefly saw a Nazca line highlighted by the low slanting rays of the sun. But it was not until the Peruvian Air force took aerial photographs in the 1940s that the full magnificence of the panorama was apparent. It was as if a dozen deserted airports were spread out across the plains. Hundreds of what looked like ‘landing strips’ for aircraft were revealed. Among the many abstract patterns were a giant spider, a monkey, a shark, reptiles and flowers, all drawn on the ground on a huge scale.

1. The ‘remarkable archaeological spectacles’ described in the passage are
2. a) geometrical symbols b) huge ground drawings
3. c) Nazca tablelands d) deserted airports.
4. The initial view of the spectacle was not clear because
5. a) it was seen from a hill side b) it was seen from aircrafts
6. c) it was seen in the evening d) it was offset by rays of the sun
7. The aerial photographs
8. a) failed to reveal anything significant about the spectacle
9. b) revealed a distorted view of the spectacle
10. c) revealed as much as was already known about the spectacle
11. d) revealed the full magnificence of the spectacle
12. In the passage, the spectacle has been compared with
13. a) out of use airports b) animals and flowers
14. c) table lands d) hills and mountains
15. The spectacle presented abstract images of
16. a) human beings b) hills and mountains
17. c) landing strips d) birds, animals and flowers

Passage – II

At a time when we are enjoying longer, more healthful lives, ominous headlines announce: ‘Researchers Tie Aluminium to Alzheimer’s Disease’ and ‘Coffee Linked to Cholestrol Rise’. As a result of alarming and sometimes ambiguous bulletins, minor health worries often become manor threats, and speculations about disease prevention become ‘proven’ cures. Part of the problem is that the media often trumpet questionable research findings as major medical breakthroughs. In 1985, three French scientists told reporters at a press conference that the drug Cyclosporine appeared to halt the growth of the AIDS virus. They based the announcement on their observation of two AIDS patients treated for eight days. Never mind that no actual study had been done; for the media, the announcement was enough, and the story became front-page news around the world. Unfortunately, one of the patients died within days, Cyclosporine was no miracle cure.

6. According to the writer, a lot of present day medical research is
7. a) sound and dependable b) utterly unconvincing
8. c) of questionable merit d) of no value at all
9. The undue publicity given to such research
10. a) has no impact on people’s lives in general
11. b) adds to people’s worries and gives them false hopes
12. c) fills people’s lives with death and destruction
13. d) makes people aware of the diseases
14. The role of the media has been
15. a) to make people aware of possible health hazards
16. b) to give publicity to questionable research findings
17. c) to dispel people’s fears about unknown diseases
18. d) to report major medical discoveries
19. According to some of the research findings, coffee is responsible for the rise in
20. a) Cyclosporine b) Alzheimer’s disease
21. c) AIDS d) Cholesterol level
22. The drug Cyclosporine was reported
23. a) as a treatment for AIDS
24. b) as having no effect on the treatment of AIDS
25. c) as accelerating the growth of AIDS
26. d) as being responsible for the death of two AIDS patients.

VIII Write a précis of the following passage.                                                                     (10 marks)

When you sit in our local cinema enjoying the film that is flashing on the screen in front of you, do you ever think of how films are made? Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people may have spent a year or even longer, working very hard to produce a film which lasts a mere hour or two. Film making is nowadays a very big and complicated industry, involving large sums of money and occupying many hundreds of skilled technicians as well as actors and actresses. What happens when a film company decides to shoot a film? There must, of course, be a story. This may be based on a novel or a play, or it may be specially written for the film. From the story, whatever it is, a shooting script has to be prepared, which shows all the scenes, the order in which they are to be photographed or shot, the way the actors are to speak and move, the position of the cameras for each scene, and so on. Then the producer and a director are appointed. The producer engages the actors and actresses, decides which scenes are to be taken in the studio and which outside or on ‘location’, and makes all the preliminary preparations. The director is the man who tells the actors what to do, and shows them how to act each scene. It is his job to interpret the script and translate the author’s words and instructions into a series of living scenes.

IX Write an essay in about 400 words.                                                                               (20 marks)

1. The threat of nuclear weapons maintains world peace. Nuclear power provides cheap and clean energy. The benefits of nuclear technology far overweigh the disadvantages. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer.

(OR)

15. b) Education is recognized as vital to the future of any society in today’s world. Governments throughout the world should make education compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 15. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

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