ENGLISH QUALIFIER EXAM

SET B

SECTION A
READING

Read the passage and answer the questions that follow (5 x 2 = 10 marks)

The Battle of Chancellorsville

The Battle of Chancellorsville, one of the most famous battles of the Civil War, took place in
Virginia in the spring of 1863. For months, the two armies had been staked out on opposite
banks of a narrow river. The Confederate troops were led by perhaps the most revered
military tactician in American history, General Robert E. Lee. The Union soldiers were led
by "Fighting" Joe Hooker. In appearance, personality, and lifestyle, these men were nearly
perfect opposites. Lee, an older man in poor health with a gray beard, had a somber,
measured demeanor. Hooker was a blond, strapping young man whose vanity over his
appearance was but one aspect of his egotism. Whereas Lee was devout and principled,
Hooker was known for his rollicking enjoyment of both women and whiskey. Despite the fact
that the Confederacy had won the last four major battles and the Union soldiers were
famished, exhausted, and demoralized, Hooker proclaimed, "My plans are perfect. And when
I start to carry them out, may God have mercy on Bobby Lee, for I shall have none." Why,
aside from a propensity for narcissism, was Hooker so confident? Hooker had used spies,
analysts, and even hot air balloons to compile a vast amount of intelligence about Lee‟s army.
He had discerned, for example, that Lee had only 61,000 men to Hooker‟s own 134,000.
Buoyed by his superior numbers, Hooker covertly moved 70,000 of his men fifteen miles up
and across the river, and then ordered them to sneak back down to position themselves behind
Lee‟s army. In effect, Hooker had cut off the Confederate soldiers in front and behind. They
were trapped. Satisfied with his advantage, Hooker became convinced that Lee‟s only option
was to retreat to Richmond, thus assuring a Union victory. Yet Lee, despite his disadvantages
of both numbers and position, did not retreat. Instead, he moved his troops into position to
attack. Union soldiers who tried to warn Hooker that Lee was on the offensive were
dismissed as cowards. Having become convinced that Lee had no choice but to retreat,
Hooker began to ignore reality. When Lee‟s army attacked the Union soldiers at 5:00 p.m.,
they were eating supper, completely unprepared for battle. They abandoned their rifles and
fled as Lee‟s troops came shrieking out of the brush, bayonets drawn. Against all odds, Lee
won the Battle of Chancellorsville, and Hooker‟s forces withdrew in defeat.

1. Choose the odd one out. (d)

a) Somber
b) Dull
 c) Dingy
d) Demeanor
Reason: Sombre, dull, and dingy are all adjectives and synonyms of each other
while „demeanour‟ is a noun that means countenance. Therefore, the correct
answer is (d)

2. The word that means “excessive interest in or admiration of oneself and one's physical
appearance”. (a)
a) Narcissism
b) Confederate
c) Demeanor
d) Retreat
Reason: As mentioned in the passage, Hooker had a propensity for narcissism, which is
an excessive interest in or admiration of oneself and one's physical appearance.
Therefore, the correct answer is (a)

3. A -------- person has deep religious beliefs and principles. (c)

a) Narcissist
b) Somber
c) Devout
d) Superior
Reason: „Devout‟ means a person who has deep religious beliefs and principles, as seen
in General Lee. Besides, Hooker „enjoyed women and whiskey‟, which is not considered
to be devout behaviour, as stated in the passage, Lee and Hooker were perfect opposites.
Therefore, the correct answer is (c)

4. Joe Hooker and Robert Lee have opposite personality traits. (a)
a) True
b) False
Reason: As mentioned in the passage, Hooker and Lee were the opposites of each other.
Therefore the statement is true and the correct answer is (a)

5. From the passages given above, it can be inferred that the bigger the size of the army,
the better the chances of victory. (b)
a) True
b) False
Reason: As Lee had the smaller army and yet managed to win the battle against
Hooker, the statement is false. Therefore, the correct answer is (b)
 SECTION B (5 x 2 = 10 marks)
LISTENING

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b32F-ZEr4wKUm2d-
QPRedvzVpwxCXjNw/view?usp=sharing

1. An item of property owned by a person is ----- . (c)

a) Income
b) Expenditure
c) Asset
d) Liability
Reason: As heard in the audio clip, income is salary, expenditure is expenses, assets are
the cash value of things owned such as property, vehicles, and jewellery, and liability is
the money owed. Therefore, the correct answer is (c)

2. A lifetime cash flow forecast is a calculation of the money that one can expect to have
in future. (True)
Reason: As heard in the audio clip, a lifetime cash flow forecast is a calculation
of the money that one can expect to have in future. Therefore, the statement is
true.

3. Neil lives in bliss, having a fair idea of how big his debts are. (False)
Reason: As heard in the audio clip, Neil lives in blissful ignorance as he has no
idea of how big his debts are. Therefore the statement is false.

4. Financial organisation is not significant for young people. (False)

Reason: As heard in the audio clip, financial organisation is not just for old
people. Young people want to become financially organised in order to be able to
look forward to see what will happen to them. Therefore, the statement is false.

5. The word „millionaire‟ first appeared in French. (True)

Reason: As heard in the audio clip, the word „millionaire‟ was first used in
English in the 1800s, but first used in the 1700s in French. Therefore, the
statement is true.

SECTION C
GRAMMAR AND USAGE

3.1: Fill in the blanks from the options given below. (15 X 1 = 15 marks)

(https://inspirationalife.com/inspiring-moral-stories-for-adults/)

1.--------- marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank during a research
experiment and then released several small 2. --------- fish into the tank. As you would
3. ----------, the shark quickly swam around the tank, attacked and ate the smaller fish.
The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear fibreglass 4. -------- the tank,
creating two separate partitions. She then put the shark on one side of the fibreglass
and a new baitfish set on the 5.--------. Again, the shark quickly attacked. This time,
 6.---------, the shark slammed into the fibreglass divider and bounced off. 7.--------, the
shark kept repeating this behaviour every few minutes to no avail.
Meanwhile, the baitfish swam around unharmed in the second partition. Eventually,
about an hour into the experiment, the shark gave 8.-------. This experiment was
repeated several dozen times over the next few 9.----------. Each time, the shark got
less aggressive and made 10. ---------- attempts to attack the baitfish, 11. -------
eventually, the shark got tired of hitting the fibreglass divider and simply stopped
attacking altogether. The marine biologist then removed the fibreglass divider, but the
shark did not attack. The shark was trained to 12.---------a barrier existed between it
and the baitfish, so the baitfish swam wherever they wished, free 13. ------ harm.
The Moral of the story: Most people tend to give up after facing a series of setbacks
and failures. But do not let these setbacks keep you 14. ----- trying again. Think of
each setback as an opportunity to learn. Do not let the 15. ------- that you set for
yourself in your mind keep you from achieving your goals. Remember, nothing is
impossible if you set your mind to it.

1. a) a b) an c) the (a)
2. a) bate b) bait c) bite (b)
3. a) accept b) expect c) excerpt (b)
4. a) on b) inside c) at (b)
5. a) former b)latter c)other (c)
6. a) however b) but c) howsoever (a)
7. a) Dettered b) Undettered (b)
8. a) up b) over c) with (a)
9. a) weak b) week c) weeks (c)
10. a) fewest b) fewer c) weakest (b)
11. a) until b) over c) because (a)
12. a) beleive b) believe c)beleave (b)
13. a) from b) off c) over (a)
14. a) from b) out of c) over (a)
15. a) barriers b) dreams (a)

Reasons
1. As the marine biologist is not a specific marine biologist as elaborated on later on
in the passage, the correct answer is „a‟, not „an‟ or „the‟.
2. „Bait‟ is an adjective here that means „something used to lure fish‟. As small fish
were used as bait, the correct answer is „bait‟, not bite or bate.
3. To expect something is to regard something as likely to happen. To accept
something is to receive something, and an excerpt is a noun that means a portion
of something. Therefore, the correct answer is „expect‟
4. The glass cannot be inserted „on‟ the tank or „at‟ the tank. Therefore, the correct
answer is „inside‟.
5. As there is no reference to previous phrases which could conceivably be mapped
onto the „former‟ and „letter‟, the shark was placed on one side of the glass and
 the baitfish were placed on the „other‟ side of the glass. Therefore, the correct
answer is „other‟.
6. „But‟ and „howsoever‟ are usually used as conjunctions, and here, „however‟ is
the correct answer.
7. As the shark kept repeating the behaviour, it was not put off by the fibreglass
and deterred, therefore the correct answer is „undeterred‟.
8. The phrase used is „give up‟, not „give over‟ or „give with‟.
9. „Few‟ indicates more than one, and as an adjective, it needs to modify a noun.
Therefore the correct answer is „weeks‟, as „week‟ is singular and „weak‟ is an
adjective.
10. The word in the blank must be an adjective that modifies the noun „attempts‟.
Fewest cannot be used as the superlative cannot be used here. Therefore, the
correct answer is „fewer‟, as it is in comparison to the attempts made by the
shark in the preceding weeks.
11. „_eventually...altogether‟: the blank before eventually needs an adverb of time
preceding the result of the shark ceasing to attack the glass. Therefore, the
correct answer is „until‟, not „over‟ or „because‟.
12. The correct answer is „believe‟ as this is the correct spelling of the word.
13. The fish were free „from‟ harm, not „free of harm‟ or „free over harm‟.
Therefore, the correct answer is „from‟
14. The correct preposition is “ „from‟ trying again”, not „of trying again‟ or „over
trying again‟.
15. As dreams are things to aspire towards, they cannot keep one from achieving
their goals. Rather, they are meant to be worked towards. It is „barriers‟ that
keep people from realising their dreams, therefore, the correct answer is
„barriers‟.

SECTION D
SOUNDS, WORDS AND SENTENCES

4.1. Choose the right answer from the options given. (15 x 1 = 15 marks)

1. The word „split‟ is monosyllabic.

a. True
b. False
Answer: a
Reason: As the word has just one syllable „split‟, the statement is true and the correct
answer is (a).

2. 'The' is a definite determiner.

a. True
b. False
Answer: a
Reason: „A‟ and „an‟ are not definite determiners, but „the‟ is a definite determiner.
Therefore, the statement is true and the correct answer is (a).

3.In the phrase, 'to the school', 'to' is (a/an) --------.

a. Preposition
b. Adverb
Answer: a
Reason: „To‟ is a preposition, therefore the correct answer is (a).

4. In the word 'scream', /k/ is a non-aspirated sound.

a. True
b. False
Answer: a
Reason: As the sound /k/ is not aspirated in „scream‟, the statement is true and the
correct answer is (a)

5. The word 'bring' is monosyllabic.

a. True
b. False
Answer: a
Reason: As the word has just one syllable „bring‟, the statement is true and the correct
answer is (a).

6. 'Please come' is a request.

a. True
b. False
Answer: a
Reason: „Please‟ generally indicates a request, and therefore, the statement is true and
the correct answer is (a)

7. The phrase „hang up‟ (in the context of phone conversations) means to wait for a short
time.
a. True
b. False
Answer: b
Reason: As the expression „hang up‟ means to end a phone conversation by cutting the
connection, the statement is false and the correct answer is (b)

8. In the sentence, „I can hear you on and off‟, the phrase „on and off‟ means
a. The voice is clear and audible
b. The voice is unclear and gets cut off from time to time.
Answer: b
Reason: As „on and off‟ means from time to time, the correct answer is (b)

9. Mark the correct one.

a. loot- /lut/
b. loot- /lu:t/
Answer: b
Reason: The „oo‟ in „loot‟ is a long „uu‟, represented by /u:/ phonetically. Therefore the
correct answer is (b)

10. In the phrase, 'the king', 'The' is a determiner and 'king' is a -------.
a. Verb
b. Noun
c. Adjective
d. Adverb
Answer: b
Reason: „King‟ is a noun, not a verb, adjective, or an adverb. Therefore, the correct
answer is (b)

11. They -----like ice-creams.

a. do not
b. does not
Answer: a
Reason: „They‟ is a plural subject and needs a plural verb „do not‟. Therefore, the
correct answer is (a)

12. 'He was a good player.' This sentence is an indicator of..... tense.
a. Present
b. Past
Answer: b
Reason: „Was‟ indicates the past tense, therefore the sentence does alos. Therefore, the
correct answer is (b)

13. Do you mind/coming tomorrow at the same time sir // The phrasal pause marked is
a. Appropriate
b. Inappropriate
Answer: b
Reason: To be spoken accurately, there should be no phrasal pause in this sentence
apart from after „time‟. Therefore, the given sentence with the pause is inappropriate
and the correct answer is (b)

14. If you ask someone to „hang on‟, you ask them to wait or stop what they are doing or
saying for a moment.
a. True
b. False
Answer: a
Reason: To „hang on‟ means to „wait a moment‟. To ask someone to „hang on‟ is to ask
them to wait a moment until you, the speaker, are able to finish what you are doing
before being able to get back to them. It also means that you, the speaker, are asking
them to wait a moment or stop what they are doing or saying. Therefore, the statement
is true and the correct answer is (a)

15. In the word „creeper‟, the sound /k/ is aspirated. (a)

a. True
b. False
Reason: The /k/ sound in creeper is aspirated, therefore, the statement is true and the
correct answer is (a).