CSS 2017 Solved Papers, English Précis & Composition

 March 11, 2017  CSS Special, March 2017

SYNONYMS
Fudge: (v); adjust or manipulate, tamper

SYN: misreport, tinker with, doctor, juggle

Clever accountants fudge the numbers to evade taxes.

Levitate: (v); rise or cause to rise and hover in the air

SYN: float, hover, glide, waft, fly, soar up

The magician levitated the woman.

Nicety: (n); a fine or subtle detail or distinction

SYN: subtlety, nuance, refinement

Legal niceties are wasted on him.

Occult: (adj); hidden and difficult to see

SYN: veiled, recondite, cryptic, arcane, abstruse,

The book examines the occult elements of the propaganda.

Peroration: (n); The concluding part of a speech

SYN: conclusion, summation, recapitulation, epilogue

The peroration of the speech is particularly impressive.

Trice: (n); an instant (usually used as in a trice)

SYN: instant, jiff, jiffy

Ask for a service, and somebody will be there in a trice.

Wanton: (adj); sexually immodest or promiscuous

SYN: immoral, unchaste, lecherous, lascivious, salacious

She lives her life as a wanton woman.

Wilted: (adj): not firm

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SYN: diminished, dwindled, waned, weakened
The Valentine flowers are wilted and the candy is all gone.

Venial: (adj); (of a fault or offence) slight and pardonable

SYN: condonable, tolerable, all right

Of course, we’re all guilty of venial syntactical sins.

Nummary: (adj); of or relating to coins or money

SYN: nummular, coinage

The varieties of nummary denominations of different countries are reconciled by the par of exchange.

ANTONYMS
Awry: (adj); in the wrong position; askew.

ANT: straight, symmetrical

But, King George’s smile was a bit awry tonight.

Crass: (adj); showing no intelligence or sensitivity

ANT: canny, astute, intuitive, discerning

Movies must have a message, not be crass entertainers.

Condign: (adj); (of Punishment, etc,.) appropriate to the crime or wrongdoing, fitting
ANT: cruel, harsh, heavy, severe

In Pakistan, condign punishment is rare when the criminal is a man of high social standing.
Dastard: (n); a dishonourable or despicable man

ANT: cad, craven, poltroon, recreant

Her mind was filled with an intense hate for the dastards that abducted her crewmates.
Occlude: (v); close up, shut in

ANT: open (up); unblock, unclog,

The waterfront was occluded with a wall of buildings.

Buxom: (adj); (of a woman’s body); having a large bosom and pleasing curves
ANT: skinny, boney, scrawny

Men of a certain age woo blonde, buxom women.

Revile: (v); criticize abusively or angrily

ANT: praise, extol, eulogize, applaud

He was now reviled by the party that he had helped to lead.
Seedy: (adj); shabby and squalid

ANT: classy, superior, elegant

She felt weak and seedy.

Tortuous: (adj); Full of twists and turns

ANT: straight, direct, uncurving, unbending

The route is remote and tortuous

Vociferous: (adj); loud and forceful
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ANT: silent, quiet, soft,

He was a vociferous opponent of the takeover.

PRÉCIS
Most of the evil in the world is because of the energetic and busy people. The confusion and chaos that we
see in world is not due to the lazy people but because of the active people. The world is full of energetic

people but their energy is mostly misdirected. Such people only create confusion and mischief in the
world. If the important people like emperors, politicians, statesmen and generals in the past had been less

active; our world have been a far better place. Laziness is not a crime but a blessing in disguise in many
ways. The active and energetic people in the past did a great damage to the world. Even at present it

would be a great service to humanity, if half of the politicians and religious leaders abandon their activities
and take a long lazy break. In this way, the world will be saved from their activities; and they will get an

opportunity to restore their mental health.

Title: Laziness – a blessing in disguise

COMPREHENSION (Answers)
1. The author laments that element of beauty has been limited only to the works of artists and scientists,
who are supposed to possess a rare sense for appreciation of beauty. Art has disappeared from the lives

of ordinary people and workmen. It is unfortunate that common people and workmen are oblivious to the
fact that aesthetics is an essential part of life of every man, not just the prerogative of a few chosen

people. The fact is that aesthetic activity is activity of the spirit, and sense to appreciate beauty is common
to all human beings.

2. Artists are great lovers of life and they value beauty as a principle of life. It is not that they are endowed

with some exceptional quality. All human beings possess this capacity, but the difference is that the artists

use this ability with greater concentration and consistency. For the common man, beauty is only a
supplementary factor, but an artist values beauty for the sake of beauty.

3. We can make our lives beautiful and charming by realizing the importance of aesthetic aspects of every

activity of life. We must discover the principle of beauty in everything we do. It would add charm to life.

4. By this expression the writer wants to stress that beauty is not just a superficial decoration – a

discretionary choice. The writer believes that beauty is an integral part of life. He thinks that the

relationship between life and beauty is not optional but compulsory. It is not a mere decoration but the
very essence of life.

5. Art and aesthetics deeply influence our lives. These are not just a source of sensuous pleasure but give

us spiritual satisfaction. Discovery of relationship in all things, made by man or nature, is a spiritual

activity. Life without beauty will be spiritually barren. Such work will be dangerous and immoral. It is


interesting to note that in ancient Greek language, there was the same word for beauty and goodness. I

tend to agree with John Keats who rightly said that beauty is truth and truth beauty.

Correction
(i) In the accident one of my arms was broken and legs bruised.

(ii) The people who had been raising slogans against the government for many hours wanted increase in

their salaries.
(iii) You have been working very hard for the last two years. Haven’t you?

(iv) John could hardly do better than having taught a bass of such dimensions.

(v) I, having no chance to meet him, would rather go with you instead of sitting at home.

(vi) He comes there not only for swimming but also for coaching new swimmers.
(vii) When he visited the fair last time, he bought no fewer than twenty school bags.

(viii) Ten cattle were grazing in the field

FILL IN THE BLANKS

(i) I cannot buy this car for this price.
(ii) Send these books to my home address.

(iii) Monkeys live in trees.

(iv) I said it to his face.

(v) The manager acknowledged the receipt of my letter promptly.

(vi) Most foreign students don’t like American coffee, and neither do I.

(vii) We ought to take care of our parents when they are old.

(viii) Yousaf dug in the garden the whole of yesterday.

ANALOGIES
(i) LION : ROAR         (b) Goat : Bleat

(ii) SHADOW : LIGHT    (b) Image : Object

(iii) CLOT : BLOOD    (b) Curdle : Milk

(iv) FEARFUL: COWER     (c) Arrogant : Strut     

(v) EXPEDITE : HASTEN    (c) Facilitate : Make easiest    

(vi) WOOD : FURNITURE      (d) Stone : Sculpture

(vii) SURGEON : DEXTEROUS (d)  Acrobat : Agile

 (viii) LECHER : LUST     (b) Glutton : Greed

Punctuation
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 agreed on receiving the purse. The quaker at once held the pistol at the robber’s 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.”

Pairs of Words
WRATH (intense anger): He hid his pipe for fear of incurring his father’s wrath
WROTH (angry): It was plain to see that Ali was now extremely wroth.

VERACITY: (accuracy, truthfulness): Officials expressed doubts concerning the veracity of the story.

VORACITY (avarice, rapacity): There is a higher thirst and voracity for a variety of pertinent content.
SUBTLER (elusive, knotty): Graham Taylor’s approach at Watford was far subtler than the critics

portrayed.

SUTLER (victualer, a supplier of victuals or supplies to an army): Essentially a sutler was a camp

follower who sold provisions to the soldiers, part of early logistics.

RETENUE (Restraint, Self-control): She smiled and some of her natural retenue melted.

RETINUE (Suite, Entourage): And then his retinue of friends arrived, and he floated away.

MINUTE (Extremely small): He will have no more than a minute chance of exercising influence.
MINUET (A slow, stately ballroom dance): Louie, who dances a shaky minuet if properly guided, was a

shoo-in.

FUROR (fury; rage; madness): The killing was captured on cameras and caused an Internet furor.

FURORE (frenzy, uproar, commotion, turmoil): He always follows the latest furores.
DINGHY (A small inflatable rubber boat): Take a bulk spool of line and a dinghy with you on the beach.

DINGY (Gloomy and drab): A dark, dingy little shop that always smelt faintly of cigarettes.

BONY (Of or like bone): The head contains bony plates with short spines at the tip of the snout

BONNY (Attractive or beautiful): Aleeha is my niece and a bonny little thing she is.

IDIOMS
Spirit away (to sneak away to another place): The police spirited the prisoner away before the crowd

assembled.

Plough back (to put profits made by a business back into it): All the money we raise is ploughed back
into our work.

Eager beaver (An alert and energetic person): New volunteers are always eager beavers.

Ring a bell (Sound vaguely familiar): I’ve never met Asad, but his name rings a bell.
Be left holding the baby (Be left with an unwelcome responsibility): Yes, we are interested in helping,

but we don’t want to be left holding the baby.

Cap in hand (Humbly asking for a favour): We have to go cap in hand begging for funds.

Hold out a carrot (Entice by offering an advantage): The parents held out the carrot of a new bicycle to
make their son study harder.

Over the moon (Extremely happy; delighted): They’re going on holiday; so they’re all over the moon.

TRANSLATION 
In order to be aware of our hidden flaws, it is imperative that we know what our enemies say about us. It

is because our friends often praise us as we want them to and they either don’t find a fault with our flaws

or they do us a heart good and cover up or ignore them to make us not feel hurt. On the contrary, our

enemy keeps fishing for finding our weaknesses and foibles. Although he tries to make a mountain out of
a molehill, yet there is always some reality in that. A friend always promotes his friend’s goods but an

enemy highlights the flaws. So, we should be more indebted to our enemy because he makes us aware of

our shortcomings. If seen in this context, an enemy is better than a friend.