ENGLISH (Précis & Composition)

TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS
PART-I(MCQS): MAXIMUM 30 MINUTES
PART-I (MCQS) MAXIMUM MARKS = 20
PART-II MAXIMUM MARKS = 80

NOTE: (i) Part-II is to be attempted on the separate Answer Book.
(ii) Attempt ALL questions from PART-II.
(iii) All the parts (if any) of each Question must be attempted at one place instead of at different places.
(iv) Write Q. No. in the Answer Book in accordance with Q. No. in the Q.Paper.
(v) No Page/Space be left blank between the answers. All the blank pages of Answer Book must be crossed.
(vi) Extra attempt of any question or any part of the question will not be considered.

                                                                                  PART-II

Q. 2. Write a précis of the following passage and also suggest a suitable title: (20)

Manto was a victim of some kind of social ambivalence that converged on self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and mental obtuseness.
His detractors branded him as vulgar and obscene and implicated him into a long-dawn legal battle questioning the moral validity
of his writings. Without being deterred by their negative tactics, he remained firm in his commitment to exploring the stark realities
of life offensive to the conservative taste of some self-styled purists. In the line of Freud, he sought to unravel the mysteries of sex
not in an abstract, non-earthly manner but in a palpable, fleshy permutation signifying his deep concern for the socially disabled
and depressed classes of society, like petty wage-earners, pimps, and prostitutes.
For Manto, man is neither an angel nor a devil, but a mix of both. His middle and lower middle class characters think, feel and act
like human beings. Without feigning virtuosity, he was able to strike a rapport with his readers on some of the most vital sociomoral issues concerning them. As a realist, he was fully conscious of the yawning gap between appearance and reality; in fact,
nothing vexed him more than a demonstrable duality in human behaviour at different levels of the social hierarchy. He had an
unjaundiced view of man’s faults and follies. As a literary artist, he treated vulgarity discreetly --- without ever sounding vulgar in
the process. Like Joyce, Lawrence, and Caldwell, in Manto’s work too, men and women of the age find their own restlessness
accurately mirrored. And like them, Manto was also ‘raised above his own self by his sombre enthusiasm’.


Q. 3. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given at the end. (20)


Globalization is viewed by its proponents as a process of cementing economic, cultural and political bonds between peoples of
different countries of the world. One may regard it as a process by which they are welded into a single world society, to be termed
as global society. It means internationalization of production and labour leading to integration of economies of developing and
developed countries into global economy. To quote Rosaberth M.Kanter, “The world is becoming a global shopping mall in which
ideas and products are available everywhere at the same time.”
Globalization is a natural outcome of computer networking and electronic mass communication. Information technology has made
it possible for nations of the world to contact one another beyond their national borders. Besides, globalization is also promoted
through the growth and proliferation of multinational companies and corporations that operate as transporter networks. Anyhow the
flow of capital technology and labour across the borders of countries has accentuated the process of globalization.
Deregulation, liberalism and privatization being assiduously pursued in the developing countries are some other manifestations of
globalization. These countries are opening their economies to follow these trends. The size of the public sector is shrinking for the
private sector to assume an increasingly important role in the economic development of the Third World countries. The downsizing
of the public sector is in line with the spirit of market economy. This is suggested as a measure to cover up their fiscal deficit.


Questions: (4 marks each)

1. Define globalization. 2. What is electronic mass communication?
3. What does the term Third World denote? 4. What is privatization?
5. Explain ‘liberalism’ in the above context.


Q. 4. Correct only FIVE of the following: (10)

(i) I won him in the race. (ii) He said that I am playing chess.
(iii) Unless you do not try, you will never succeed. (iv) He wrote with ink.
(v) What country he belongs to? (vi) When he reaches to manhood, he will visit to England.
(vii) The new session commences from February 1st, 2020. (viii) Please send this letter on my address.


Q. 5. (a) Punctuate the following text, where necessary. (5)

Letters between relatives and friends are called personal letters the most important thing in such letters is the content don’t
begin with a hackneyed phrase like I was delighted to get your letter received your letter or I have often thought of writing to
you use a vigorous clear chatty style
(b) Re-write the following sentences (ONLY FIVE) after filling in the blanks with appropriate Prepositions.(5)
(i) I was annoyed -------- him. (ii) This train is bound ------- Gujrat.
(iii) The pistol went ------- by accident. (iv) He kept ------- asking silly questions.
(v) He was knocked ------- by the bus. (vi) Do not meddle ------- my affairs.
(vii) The meeting was put -------- by the Chairman. (viii) He rounded -------- his speech with a quote from Ghalib.

Q. 6. Use ONLY FIVE of the following in sentences which illustrate their meanings. (10)

(i) To break the ice (ii) Nip in the bud (iii) See eye to eye with (iv) For good
(v) Tamper with (vi) The small hours (vii) Keep up appearances (viii) Prima facie

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TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS
PART-I(MCQS): MAXIMUM 30 MINUTES
PART-I (MCQS) MAXIMUM MARKS = 20
PART-II MAXIMUM MARKS = 80

NOTE:(i) Part-II is to be attempted on the separate Answer Book.

(ii) Attempt ALL questions from PART-II.
(iii) All the parts (if any) of each Question must be attempted at one place instead of at different places.
(iv) Candidate must write Q. No. in the Answer Book in accordance with Q. No. in the Q.Paper.
(v) No Page/Space be left blank between the answers. All the blank pages of Answer Book must be crossed.
(vi) Extra attempt of any question or any part of the attempted question will not be considered.

 PART-II

Q. 2. Write a précis of the following passage and also suggest a suitable title: (20)

I think modern educational theorists are inclined to attach too much importance to the negative virtue of not interfering
with children, and too little to the positive merit of enjoying their company. If you have the sort of liking for children
that many people have for horses or dogs, they will be apt to respond to your suggestions, and to accept prohibitions,
perhaps with some good-humoured grumbling, but without resentment. It is no use to have the sort of liking that
consists in regarding them as a field for valuable social endeavour, or what amounts to the same thing as an outlet for
power-impulses. No child will be grateful for an interest in him that springs from the thought that he will have a vote to
be secured for your party or a body to be sacrificed to king and country. The desirable sort of interest is that which
consists in spontaneous pleasure in the presence of children, without any ulterior purpose. Teachers who have this
quality will seldom need to interfere with children's freedom, but will be able to do so, when necessary, without causing
psychological damage.
Unfortunately, it is utterly impossible for over-worked teachers to preserve an instinctive liking for children; they are
bound to come to feel towards them as the proverbial confectioner's apprentice does towards macaroons. I do not think
that education ought to be anyone's whole profession: it should be undertaken for at most two hours a day by people
whose remaining hours are spent away from children. The society of the young is fatiguing, especially when strict
discipline is avoided. Fatigue, in the end, produces irritation, which is likely to express itself somehow, whatever
theories the harassed teacher may have taught himself or herself to believe. The necessary friendliness cannot be
preserved by self-control alone. But where it exists, it should be unnecessary to have rules in advance as to how
"naughty" children are to be treated, since impulse is likely to lead to the right decision, and almost any decision will be
right if the child feels that you like him. No rules, however wise, are a substitute for affection and tact.

Q. 3. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: (20)

When I returned to the common the sun was setting. The crowd about the pit had increased, and stood out black against
the lemon yellow of the sky-a couple of hundred people, perhaps. There were raised voices, and some sort of struggle
appeared to be going on about the pit. Strange imaginings passed through my mind. As I drew nearer I heard Stent's
voice: "Keep back! Keep back!" A boy came running towards me. "It's movin'," he said to me as he passed; "it’s
screwin' and screwin' out. I don't like it. I'm goin' home, I am." I went on to the crowd. There were really, I should
think, two or three hundred people elbowing and jostling one another, the one or two ladies there being by no means the
least active. "He's fallen in the pit!" cried someone. "Keep back!" said several. The crowd swayed a little, and I elbowed
my way through. Everyone seemed greatly excited. I heard a peculiar humming sound from the pit. "I say!" said
Ogilvy. "Help keep these idiots back. We don't know what's in the confounded thing, you know!" I saw a young man, a
shop assistant in Woking I believe he was, standing on the cylinder and trying to scramble out of the hole again. The
crowd had pushed him in. The end of the cylinder was being screwed out from within. Nearly two feet of shining screw
projected. Somebody blundered against me, and I narrowly missed being pitched onto the top of the screw. I turned,
and as I did so the screw must have come out, for the lid of the cylinder fell upon the gravel with a ringing concussion. I
stuck my elbow into the person behind me, and turned my head towards the Thing again. For a moment that circular
cavity seemed perfectly black. I had the sunset in my eyes. I think everyone expected to see a man emerge-possibly
something a little unlike us terrestrial men, but in all essentials a man. I know I did. But, looking, I presently saw
something stirring within the shadow: greyish billowy movements, one above another, and then two luminous
disks-like eyes. Then something resembling a little grey snake, about the thickness of a walking stick, coiled up out of
the writhing middle, and wriggled in the air towards me-and then another. A sudden chill came over me. There was a
loud shriek from a woman behind. I half turned, keeping my eyes fixed upon the cylinder still, from which other
tentacles were now projecting, and began pushing my way back from the edge of the pit. I saw astonishment giving
place to horror on the faces of the people about me. I heard inarticulate exclamations on all sides. There was a general
movement backwards. I saw the shopman struggling still on the edge of the pit. I found myself alone, and saw the
people on the other side of the pit running off, Stent among them. I looked again at the cylinder and ungovernable terror
gripped me. I stood petrified and staring. A big greyish rounded bulk, the size, perhaps, of a bear, was rising slowly and
painfully out of the cylinder. As it bulged up and caught the light, it glistened like wet leather. Two large dark-coloured
eyes were regarding me steadfastly. The mass that framed them, the head of the thing, was rounded, and had, one mightsay, a face. There was a mouth under the eyes, the lipless brim of which quivered and panted, and dropped saliva. The
whole creature heaved and pulsated convulsively. A lank tentacular appendage gripped the edge of the cylinder, another
swayed in the air. Those who have never seen a living Martian can scarcely imagine the strange horror of its
appearance. The peculiar V-shaped mouth with its pointed upper lip, the absence of brow ridges, the absence of a chin
beneath the wedge like lower lip, the incessant quivering of this mouth, the Gorgon groups of tentacles, the tumultuous
breathing of the lungs in a strange atmosphere, the evident heaviness and painfulness of movement due to the greater
gravitational energy of the earthabove all, the extraordinary intensity of the immense eyes-were at once vital, intense,
inhuman, crippled and monstrous. There was something fungoid in the oily brown skin, something in the clumsy
deliberation of the tedious movements unspeakably nasty. Even at this first encounter, this first glimpse, I was
overcome with disgust and dread.

Questions:

1. What leads us to believe that this passage is from a science fiction story? (4)
2. How was the crowd behaving? (4)
3. Why did the mood of the crowd alter? (4)
4. What was the narrator’s initial reaction to the “Thing”? (4)
5. Why did the writer feel disgusted? (4)

Q. 4.Correct only FIVE of the following: (10)

(i) He enjoyed during the holidays.
(ii) None of the boys had learnt their lesson.
(iii) He is abusing the money of his father.
(iv) I regret at the delay.
(v) I could not help but laugh.
(vi) I always have and always shall be your friend.
(vii) I was out walking when I saw the new moon in the garden.
(viii) He cried as if he was mad.

Q. 5. (a) Punctuate the following text, where necessary. (5)

a hungry lion slipped out of the forest into a barnyard one evening when he saw a plump donkey his mouth
began to water but just as he was ready to jump on the donkey a rooster crowed he was frightened and so
turned away into the forest again hey look at that cowardly lion the donkey brayed to the rooster i am going
to chase him and the donkey ran after the lion wait the rooster shouted you dont know that but it was too late
the lion had turned and killed the donkey ah my poor stupid friend the rooster said as he watched the lion
eating the donkey the lion wasnt afraid of you but of my crowing
(b) Re-write the following sentences (ONLY FIVE) after filling in the blanks with appropriate
prepositions. (5)

(i) What time do we arrive ______our destination?
(ii) We are flying ______some rough weather; please fasten your seat belts.
(iii) It is warming up; ______noon we should be able to go swimming.
(iv) My parents are not responsible ______my actions.
(v) This pan is ______cooking omelettes.
(vi) ______ poor attendance, this course is being cancelled.
(vii) The police took the men in ______questioning.
(viii) The woman you gave the book ______is my aunt.

Q. 6. Use ONLY FIVE of the following in sentences which illustrate their meanings. (10)

(i) To cast pearls before swine (ii) To step into one’s shoes
(iii) Stuff and nonsense (iv) A wild goose chase
(v) To be ill at ease (vi) Sit on the fence
(vii) In a jiffy (viii) To preen oneself

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TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS
PART-I(MCQS): MAXIMUM 30 MINUTES
PART-I (MCQS) MAXIMUM MARKS = 20
PART-II MAXIMUM MARKS = 80

NOTE: (i) Part-II is to be attempted on the separate Answer Book.
(ii) Attempt ALL questions from PART-II.
(iii) All the parts (if any) of each Question must be attempted at one place instead of at different places.
(iv) Candidate must write Q. No. in the Answer Book in accordance with Q. No. in the Q.Paper.
(v) No Page/Space be left blank between the answers. All the blank pages of Answer Book must be crossed.
(vi) Extra attempt of any question or any part of the attempted question will not be considered.

                                                                           PART-II

Q. 2. Write a précis of the following passage in about 120 words and also suggest a suitable title: (20)

It is in the temperate countries of northern Europe that the beneficial effects of cold are most manifest. A cold climate
seems to stimulate energy by acting as an obstacle. In the face of an insuperable obstacle our energies are numbed by
despair; the total absence of obstacles, on the other hand leaves no room for the exercise and training of energy; but a
struggle against difficulties that we have a fair hope of over-coming, calls into active operation all our powers. In like
manner, while intense cold numbs human energies, and a hot climate affords little motive for exertion, moderate cold
seems to have a bracing effect on the human race. In a moderately cold climate man is engaged in an arduous, but no
hopeless struggles and with the inclemency of the weather. He has to build strong houses and procure thick clothes to
keep himself warm. To supply fuel for his fires, he must hew down trees and dig coal out of the earth. In the open air,
unless he moves quickly, he will suffer pain from the biting wind. Finally, in order to replenish the expenditure of
bodily tissue caused by his necessary exertions, he has to procure for himself plenty of nourishing food.
Quite different is the lot of man in the tropics. In the neighbourhood of the equator there is little need of clothes or fire,
and it is possible with perfect comfort and no danger to health, to pass the livelong day stretched out on the bare ground
beneath the shade of a tree. A very little fruit or vegetable food is required to sustain life under such circumstances, and
that little can be obtained without much exertion from the bounteous earth.
We may recognize must the same difference between ourselves at different seasons of the year, as there is between
human nature in the tropics and in temperate climes. In hot weather we are generally languid and inclined to take life
easily; but when the cold season comes, we find that we are more inclined to vigorous exertion of our minds and
bodies.

Q. 3. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: (20)

The third great defect of our civilization is that it does not know what to do with its knowledge. Science has given us
powers fit for the gods, yet we use them like small children. For example, we do not know how to manage our
machines. Machines were made to be man’s servants; yet he has grown so dependent on them that they are in a fair way
to become his master. Already most men spend most of their lives looking after and waiting upon machines. And the
machines are very stern masters. They must be fed with coal, and given petrol to drink, and oil to wash with, and they
must be kept at the right temperature. And if they do not get their meals when they expect them, they grow sulky and
refuse to work, or burst with rage, and blow up, and spread ruin and destruction all around them. So we have to wait
upon them very attentively and do all that we can to keep them in a good temper. Already we find it difficult either to
work or play without the machines, and a time may come when they will rule us altogether, just as we rule the animals.
And this brings me to the point at which I asked, “What do we do with all the time which the machines have saved for
us, and the new energy they have given us?” On the whole, it must be admitted, we do very little. For the most part we
use our time and energy to make more and better machines; but more and better machines will only give us still more
time and still more energy, and what are we to do with them? The answer, I think, is that we should try to become mere
civilized. For the machines themselves, and the power which the machines have given us, are not civilization but aids to
civilization. But you will remember that we agreed at the beginning that being civilized meant making and linking
beautiful things. Thinking freely, and living rightly and maintaining justice equally between man and man. Man has a
better chance today to do these things than he ever had before; he has more time, more energy, less to fear and less to
fight against. If he will give his time and energy which his machines have won for him to making more beautiful things,
to finding out more and more about the universe, to removing the causes of quarrels between nations, to discovering
how to prevent poverty, then I think our civilization would undoubtedly be the greater, as it would be the most lasing
that there has ever been.

Questions:

1. Instead of making machines our servants the author says they have become our masters. In what sense
has this come about? (4)
2. The use of machines has brought us more leisure and more energy. But the author says that this has
been a curse rather than a blessing. Why? (4)
3. What exactly is the meaning of ‘civilization’? Do you agree with the author’s views? (4)
4. ‘Making more beautiful things’ – what does this expression mean? Make a list of the beautiful things
that you would like to make and how you would make them. (4)
5. Mention some plans you may have to prevent poverty in the world. Who would receive your most
particular attention, and why?

Q. 4.(a) Correct only FIVE of the following: (5)

(i) They only work when they have no money.
(ii) They left the hotel here they had been staying in a motor-car.
(iii) I cannot by no means allow you to do so.
(iv) My friend said he never remembered having read a more enjoyable book.
(v) Going up the hill, an old temple was seen.
(vi) One day the bird did not perform certain tricks which had thought it to his satisfaction.
(vii) I was rather impressed by the manner of the orator than by his matter.
(viii) What an awful weather!
(b) Use punctuation marks where needed in the following sentences: (5)
(i) There is a slavery that no legislation can abolish the slavery of caste
(ii) All that I am all that I hope to be I owe to my angel mother.
(iii) Take away that bauble said Cromwell pointing to the mace which lay upon the table.
(iv) There is only one cure for the evils which newly acquired freedom produces and that cure is
freedom
(v) History it has been said is the essence of innumerable biographies.

Q. 5. (a) Fill the following blanks (any FIVE) appropriate preposition. (5)

(i) _____ a Ford he has a Fiat car
(a) in (b) before (c) besides (d) despite
(ii) I saw him felling a big tree _____ a hatchet.
(a) with (b) through (c) by (d) at
(iii) I must start _____ dawn to reach the station in time.
(a) on (b) at (c) by (d) after
(iv) I have known him _____ a long time.
(a) since (b) from (c) for (d) over
(v) “Will you walk _______ my parlour?”
(a) in (b) to (c) by (d) into
(vi) The public are cautioned ________ pickpockets.
(a) against (b) about (c) of (d) for
(b) Rewrite the following dialogue, written in direct speech, in a paragraph form. (5)
Jack: Hello, Swarup! Swatting away as usual. Come out, man; shut up your old books, and come and
have a game of tennis.
Swarup: I am sorry I cannot do that, Jack. The examination is drawing near, and I want every hour I can get
for study.
Jack: Oh! Hang all examinations! I do not worry about mine. What is the use of them, any way?
Swarup: Well, you can’t get a degree if you don’t pass the examination; and I have set my heart on being a
graduate.
Jack: And pray what good will graduation do you? You may get a clerkship in a government office; but
that’s all, and there are hundreds of fellows who have got their degrees, and are no nearer getting
jobs of any sort.
Swarup: That may be so; but I am not studying so much to pass my examination and obtain my degree, as to
store my mind with knowledge and develop my intellectual faculties.

Q. 6. (a) Explain the difference between the following word pairs (Any FIVE) by using each word in your
own sentences: (5)

(i) Callous, Callus (ii) Born, Borne (iii) Faint, Feint (iv) Dinghy, Dingy
(v) Lose, Loose (vi) Waiver, Waver (vii) Shear, Sheer (viii) Resister, Resistor
(b) Use ONLY FIVE of the following in sentences which illustrate their meaning: (5)
(i) Show and tell (ii) Helter-skelter (iii) To the death (iv) Tilt at windmil 

(v) Het up (vi) The whole ball of wax (vii) It’s about time (viii) Punch-up

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TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS
PART-I(MCQS): MAXIMUM 30 MINUTES
PART-I (MCQS) MAXIMUM MARKS = 20
PART-II MAXIMUM MARKS = 80

NOTE:(i) Part-II is to be attempted on the separate Answer Book.
(ii) Attempt ALL questions from PART-II.
(iii) All the parts (if any) of each Question must be attempted at one place instead of at different places.
(iv) Candidate must write Q. No. in the Answer Book in accordance with Q. No. in the Q.Paper.
(v) No Page/Space be left blank between the answers. All the blank pages of Answer Book must be crossed.
(vi) Extra attempt of any question or any part of the attempted question will not be considered.

                                                                                       PART-II

Q. 2. Write a précis of the following passage and also suggest a suitable title: (20)

All the evils in this world are brought about by the persons who are always up and doing, but do not know when they
ought to be up nor what they ought to be doing. The devil, I take it, is still the busiest creature in the universe, and I can
quite imagine him denouncing laziness and becoming angry at the smallest waste of time. In his kingdom, I will wager,
nobody is allowed to do nothing, not even for a single afternoon. The world, we all freely admit, is in a muddle but I for
one do not think that it is laziness that has brought it to such a pass. It is not the active virtues that it lacks but the
passive ones; it is capable of anything but kindness and a little steady thought. There is still plenty of energy in the
world (there never were more fussy people about), but most of it is simply misdirected. If, for example, in July 1914,
when there was some capital idling weather, everybody, emperors, Kings, arch dukes, statesmen, generals, journalists,
had been suddenly smitten with an intense desire to do nothing, just to hang about in the sunshine and consume
tobacco, then we should all have been much better off than we are now. But no, the doctrine of the strenuous life still
went unchallenged; there must be no time wasted; something must be done. Again, suppose our statesmen, instead of
rushing off to Versailles with a bundle of ill-digested notions and great deal of energy to dissipate had all taken a
fortnight off, away from all correspondence and interviews and what not, and had simply lounged about on some
hillside or other apparently doing nothing for the first time in their energetic lives, then they might have gone to their
so-called peace conference and come away again with their reputations still unsoiled and the affairs of the world in
good trim. Even at the present time, if half of the politicians in Europe would relinquish the notion that laziness is crime
and go away and do nothing for a little space, we should certainly gain by it. Other examples come crowding into mind.
Thus, every now and then, certain religious sects hold conferences; but though there are evils abroad that are mountains
high, though the fate of civilization is still doubtful, the members who attend these conferences spend their time
condemning the length of ladies’ skirts and the noisiness of dance bands. They would all be better employed lying flat
on their backs somewhere, staring at the sky and recovering their mental health.

Q. 3. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: (20)

Education ought to teach us how to be in love and what to be in love with. The great things of history have been done
by the great lovers, by the saints and men of science, and artists, and the problem of civilization is to give every man a
chance of being a saint, a man of science, or an artist. But this problem cannot be attempted, much less solved, unless
men desire to be saints, men of science, and artists. And if they are to desire that continuously and consciously they
must be taught what it means to be these. We think of the man of science or the artist, if not of the saint, as a being with
peculiar gifts, not as one who exercises, more precisely and incessantly perhaps, activities which we all ought to
exercise. It is a commonplace now that art has ebbed away out of our ordinary life, out of all the things which we use,
and that it is practiced no longer by workmen but only by a few painters and sculptors. That has happened because we
no longer recognize the aesthetic activity of the spirit, so common to all men. We do not know that when a man makes
anything he ought to make it beautiful for the sake of doing so, and that when a man buys anything he ought to demand
beauty in it, for the sake of beauty. We think of beauty if we think of it at all as a mere source of pleasure, and therefore
it means to us ornament, added to things for which we can pay extra as we choose. But beauty is not an ornament to
life, or to the things made by man. It is an essential part of both. The aesthetic activity, when it reveals itself in things
made by men, reveals itself in design, just as it reveals itself in the design of all natural things. It shapes objects as the
moral activity shapes actions, and we ought to recognize it in the objects and value it, as we recognize and value moral
activity in actions. And as actions empty of the moral activity are distasteful to us, so should objects be that are empty
of the aesthetic activity. But this is not so with most of us. We do not value it; do not even recognize it, or the lack of it,
in the work of others. The artist, of whatever kind, is a man so much aware of the beauty of the universe that he must
impart the same beauty to whatever he makes. He has exercised his aesthetic activity in the discovery of the beauty in
the universe before he exercises it in imparting beauty to that which he makes. He has seen things in that relation in his
own work, whatever it may be. And just as he sees that relation for its own sake, so he produces it for its own sake and
satisfies the desire of his spirit in doing so. And we should value his work; we should desire that relation in all things
made by man, if we too have the habit of seeing that relation in the universe, and if we knew that, when we see it, we
are exercising an activity of the spirit and satisfying a spiritual desire. And we should also know that work without
beauty means unsatisfied spiritual desire in the worker; that it is waste of life and common evil and danger, like thought
without truth, or action without righteousness.

Questions:

1. What has been lamented in the text? (4)
2. What is the difference between ordinary man and an artist? (4)
3. How can we make our lives beautiful and charming? (4)
4. What does the writer actually mean when he says, “Beauty is not an ornament to life”? (4)
5. Do art and beauty affect our practical life and morals? Justify whether you agree or disagree. (4)Q. 4.


(a) Correct only FIVE of the following: (5)

(i) In the accident one of my arms was broken and my legs bruised.
(ii) The people who had been raising slogans against the government for many hours they wanted increase
in their salaries.
(iii) You have been working very hard for the last two years. Isn’t it?
(iv) John could hardly do no better than to have caught a bass of such dimensions.
(v) I who have no chance to meet him would rather go with you instead of sitting at home.
(vi) He not only comes there for swimming but also for coaching new swimmers.
(vii) When he visited the fair last time, he bought no less than twenty school bags.
(viii) Ten cattles were grazing in the field.

(b) Re-write the following sentences (Only FIVE) after filling in the blanks appropriately: (5)

(i) I cannot buy this car _____ this price.
(a) for (b) in (c) at (d) on
(ii) Send these books _____ my home address.
(a) on (b) at (c) in (d) to
(iii) Monkeys live _____ trees.
(a) in (b) at (c) upon (d) on
(iv) I said it _____ his face.
(a) at (b) on (c) to (d) upon
(v) The manager _______the receipt of my letter promptly.
(a) accepted (b) realized (c) recognized (d) acknowledged
(vi) Most foreign students don’t like American coffee, and ________ .
(a) I don’t too (b) either don’t (c) neither don’t I (d) neither do I
(vii) We________ take care of our parents when they are old.
(a) could (b) would (c) might (d) ought to
(viii) Yousaf ________in the garden the whole of yesterday.
(a) has dug (b) was digging (c) dug (d) had dug

Q. 5. (a) Choose the ANALOGY of words written in capital letters. Attempt any FIVE. (5)

(i) LION: ROAR
(a) Snake : Slither (b) Goat: Bleat
(c) Lizard : Crawl (d) Elephant : Tusk
(iii) CLOT : BLOOD
(a) Ink: Water (b) Curdle : Milk
(c) Vaporize : Camphor (d) Brew : Coffee
(v) EXPEDITE : HASTEN
(a) Conscript : Write down
(b) Diver : Make harder
(c) Facilitate : Make easiest
(d) Satirize : Praise
(vii) SURGEON : DEXTEROUS
(a) Clown : Fat (b) Actress : Beautiful
(c) Athlete : Tall (d) Acrobat : Agile
(ii) SHADOW : LIGHT
(a) Flood : Rain (b) Image : Object
(c) Reaction : Action (d) House : Bricks
(iv) FEARFUL: COWER
(a) Humble: Boast (b) Weak : Exercise
(c) Arrogant : Strut (d) Wise : Dispute
(vi) WOOD: FURNITURE
(a) Father : Child (b) Tree : Seedling
(c) Soil : Clay (d) Stone : Sculpture
(viii)LECHER : LUST
(a) Pith : Herb (b) Glutton : Greed
(c) Business : Profit (d) Showbiz : Fame

(b) Punctuate the following text, where necessary. (5)

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 agree on receiving
the purse the quaker at once held the pistol at the robbers 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

Q. 6. (a) Explain the difference between the following word pairs (Any FIVE) by using each word in your
own sentences: (5)

(i) Wrath, Wroth (ii) Veracity, Voracity (iii) Subtler, Sutler (iv) Retenue, Retinue
(v) Minute, Minuet (vi) Furor, Furore (vii) Dinghy, dingy (viii) Bony, Bonny
(b) Use ONLY FIVE of the following in sentences which illustrate their meaning: (5)
(i) Spirit away (ii) Plough back (iii) Eager beaver (iv) Ring a bell
(v) Be left holding the baby (vi) Cap in hand (vii) Hold out a carrot (viii) Over the moon

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ENGLISH (Précis & Composition)

TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS
PART-I(MCQS): MAXIMUM 30 MINUTES
PART-I (MCQS) MAXIMUM MARKS = 20
PART-II MAXIMUM MARKS = 80

NOTE:(i) Part-II is to be attempted on the separate Answer Book.
(ii) Attempt ALL questions from PART-II.
(iii) All the parts (if any) of each Question must be attempted at one place instead of at different places.
(iv) Candidate must write Q. No. in the Answer Book in accordance with Q. No. in the Q.Paper.
(v) No Page/Space be left blank between the answers. All the blank pages of Answer Book must be crossed.
(vi) Extra attempt of any question or any part of the attempted question will not be considered.

                                                                                       PART-II

Q. 2. Write a précis of the following passage in about 120 words and suggest a suitable title: (20)

During my vacation last May, I had a hard time choosing a tour. Flights to Japan, Hong Kong and Australia are just too
common. What I wanted was somewhere exciting and exotic, a place where I could be spared from the holiday tour
crowds. I was so happy when John called up, suggesting a trip to Cherokee, a county in the state of Oklahoma. I agreed
and went off with the preparation immediately.
We took a flight to Cherokee and visited a town called Qualla Boundary surrounded by magnificent mountain scenery,
the town painted a paradise before us. With its Oconaluftee Indian Village reproducing tribal crafts and lifestyles of the
18th century and the outdoor historical pageant Unto These Hills playing six times weekly in the summer nights, Qualla
Boundary tries to present a brief image of the Cherokee past to the tourists.
Despite the language barrier, we managed to find our way to the souvenir shops with the help of the natives. The shops
were filled with rubber tomahawks and colorful traditional war bonnets, made of dyed turkey feathers. Tepees, coneshaped tents made from animal skin, were also pitched near the shops. "Welcome! Want to get anything?" We looked
up and saw a middle-aged man smiling at us. We were very surprised by his fluent English. He introduced himself as
George and we ended up chatting till lunch time when he invited us for lunch at a nearby coffee shop.
"Sometimes, I've to work from morning to sunset during the tour season. Anyway, this is still better off than being a
woodcutter ..." Remembrance weighed heavy on George's mind and he went on to tell us that he used to cut firewood
for a living but could hardly make ends meet. We learnt from him that the Cherokees do not depend solely on trade for
survival. During the tour off-peak period, the tribe would have to try out other means for income. One of the successful
ways is the "Bingo Weekend". On the Friday afternoons of the Bingo weekends, a large bingo hall was opened,
attracting huge crowds of people to the various kinds of games like the Super Jackpot and the Warrior Game Special.
According to George, these forms of entertainment fetch them great returns.
Our final stop in Qualla Boundary was at the museum where arts, ranging from the simple hand-woven oak baskets to
wood and stone carvings of wolves, ravens and other symbols of Cherokee cosmology are displayed.
Back at home, I really missed the place and I would of course look forward to the next trip to another exotic place.

Q. 3. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: (20)

The New Year is the time for resolution. Mentally, at least most of us could compile formidable lists of ‘do’s and
‘don’ts’. The same old favorites recur year in and year out with the children, do a thousand and one job about the
house, be nice to people we don’t like, drive carefully, and take the dog for a walk every day. Past experience has
taught us that certain accomplishments are beyond attainment. If we remain deep rooted liars, it is only because we
have so often experienced the frustration that results from failure.
Most of us fail in our efforts at self-improvement because our schemes are too ambitious and we never have time to
carry them out. We also make the fundamental error of announcing our resolution to everybody so that we look even
more foolish when we slip back into our bad old ways. Aware of these pitfalls, this year I attempted to keep my
resolution to myself. I limited myself to two modest ambitions, to do physical exercise every morning and to read more
in the evening. An overnight party on New Year’s Eve provided me with a good excuse for not carrying out either of
these new resolutions on the first day of the year, but on the second, I applied myself assiduously to the task.
The daily exercise lasted only eleven minutes and I proposed to do them early in the morning before anyone had got up.
The self-discipline required to drag myself out of bed eleven minutes earlier than usual was considerable. Nevertheless,
I managed to creep down into the living room for two days before anyone found me out. After jumping about in the
carpet and twisted the human frame into uncomfortable positions. I sat down at the breakfast table in an exhausted
condition. It was this that betrayed me. The next morning the whole family trooped into watch the performance. That
was really unsettling but I fended off the taunts and jibes of the family good humoredly and soon everybody got used to
the idea. However, my enthusiasm waned, the time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. Little by little the eleven
minutes fell to zero. By January10th I was back to where I had started from. I argued that if I spent less time exhausting
myself at exercises in the morning. I would keep my mind fresh for reading when I got home from work. Resisting the
hypnotizing effect of television, I sat in my room for a few evenings with my eyes glued to a book. One night, however,
feeling cold and lonely, I went downstairs and sat in front of the television pretending to read. That proved to be my
undoing, for I soon got back to the old bad habit of dozing off in front of the screen. I still haven’t given up my
resolution to do more reading. In fact, I have just bought a book entitled ‘How to Read a Thousand Words a Minute’.
Perhaps it will solve my problem, but I just have not had time to read it.
Questions: 1. Why most of us fail in our efforts for self-improvement? (5)
2. Why is it a basic mistake to announce our resolution to everybody? (5)
3. Why did the writer not carry out his resolution on New Year’s Day? (5)
4. Find out the words in the above passage which convey the similar meaning to the following:
(1) intimidating (2) peril (3) dwindle (4) repel (5) barb 

Q. 4.(a) Correct only FIVE of the following: (5)

(i) We were staying at my sister’s cape’s code vacation home.
(ii) She recommended me that I take a few days off from work.
(iii) I tried to explain him the problem, but he had difficulty understanding me.
(iv) I’ll do the grocery shopping for you grandma, Lucy said.
(v) We took a tent, a cooler, and a sleeping bag.
(vi) I don’t know why you didn’t go. If I were you, I should have gone.
(vii) Kevin says he stopped to travel internationally because of his family.
(viii) Don’t run! Mr. Salman shouted.
(b) Choose the punctuation mark that is needed in each of the following sentences: (5)
(i) “It isn’t fair!” shouted Martin. Coach Lewis never lets me start the game!”
(ii) Maureen’s three sisters, Molly, Shannon, and Patricia are all spending the summer at their grandmother’s
beach house.
(iii) For the centrepieces, the florist recommended the following flowers daisies, tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths.
(iv) Lily is an accomplished gymnast she won three medals in her last competition.
(v) Everyone was shocked when Max Smithfield – a studious, extremely bright high school senior decided that
college was not for him.

Q. 5. (a) Choose the analogy of the words written in capital letters (Any five). (5)

(i) SLAPSTICK : LAUGHTER
(a) Fallacy : Dismay (b) Genre : Mystery
(c) Satire : Anger (d) Horror : Fear
(iii) PROFESSOR : ERUDITE
(a) Aviator : Licensed
(b) Inventor : Imaginative
(c) Procrastinator : Conscientious
(d) Overseer : Wealthy
(v) SPY : CLANDESTINE
(a) Accountant : Meticulous
(b) Furrier : Rambunctious
(c) Lawyer : Ironic
(d) Shepherd : Garrulous
(vii) DELTOID : MUSCLE
(a) Radius : Bone (b) Brain : Nerve
(c) Tissue : Organ (d) Blood : Vein
(ii) CONVICTION : INCARCERATION
(a) Reduction : Diminution
(b) Induction : Amelioration
(c) Radicalization : Estimation
(d) Marginalization : Intimidation
(iv) METAPHOR : SYMBOL
(a) Pentameter : Poem (b) Rhythm : Melody
(c) Nuance : Song (d) Analogy : Comparison
(vi) VERVE : ENTHUSIASM
(a) Loyalty : Duplicity (b) Devotion : Reverence
(c) Intensity : Colour (d) Eminence : Anonymity
(viii)DEPENDABLE : CAPRICIOUS
(a) Fallible : Cantankerous
(b) Erasable : Obtuse
(c) Malleable : Limpid
(d) Capable : Inept
(b) Rewrite the following dialogue, written in indirect speech, in a paragraph form. (5)
Helen: Mr West, what's happened to John?
Mr West: He's left the company
Helen: Why has he done that?
Mr West: He asked me for a rise but I didn't give it to him.
Helen: Why didn't you give him a rise?
Mr West: Because he was lazy.
Helen: Has he found another job?
Mr West: Yes, he is working in a film company.
Helen: What is his salary like?
Mr West: I think he earns quite a lot.
Helen: Does he like the new job?
Mr West: I don't know.

Q. 6. (a) Explain the difference between the following word pairs by using each word in your own sentences
(Any five): (5)

(i) Adverse, averse (ii) altogether, all together (iii) allude, elude (iv) braise, braze
(v) curb, kerb (vi) faze, phase (vii) maybe, may be (viii) moat, mote
(b) Use any FIVE of the following in sentences which illustrate their meaning: (5)
(i) Smash hit (ii) Murphy’s law (iii) Place in the Sun (iv) Wooden spoon
(v) Go bananas (vi) Beard the Lion in his den (vii) Groan inwardly (viii) Chicken out

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One month to prove it

EDITORIAL: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given the Right-Sizing Committee one month to complete its remaining recommendations on eliminating unnecessary posts and restructuring federal institutions, setting the government a clear and measurable deadline. That matters because announcements about cutting waste, abolishing redundant posts and improving administrative efficiency have emerged from Islamabad many times before only to disappear into the same bureaucracy they were meant to reform.

The latest directive will therefore be judged less by its language than by what the government places before the public when that month expires.

The case for right-sizing is compelling. Pakistan’s federal government carries layers of departments, autonomous bodies, vacant posts, overlapping mandates and administrative structures that absorb scarce public money without delivering corresponding value.

At a time when taxpayers face repeated increases in levies and development spending remains constrained, every unnecessary position becomes harder to defend. A government that constantly asks citizens to make sacrifices cannot continue financing institutional excess merely because reform is politically or administratively inconvenient.

Some steps have already been taken. The Utility Stores Corporation, Pakistan Public Works Department and Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation have been closed, while vacant posts across ministries and departments have also reportedly been abolished.

The government also claims that these measures have reduced federal civilian expenditure as a proportion of GDP. Those developments deserve acknowledgement, but they also require proper verification. Savings announced in meetings often look different once severance costs, pension liabilities, transferred functions and replacement arrangements are fully accounted for.

The prime minister’s order for a third-party audit is therefore important. Such an audit should establish how many posts have actually been eliminated, how much recurring expenditure has been removed, what liabilities remain and whether the abolished institutions’ functions have merely shifted elsewhere.

Without this level of detail, right-sizing can easily become an accounting exercise in which departments disappear from one column while their costs reappear in another. Transparency is the only safeguard against that familiar outcome.

There is also the question of performance. Cutting posts indiscriminately can weaken institutions that are already struggling, while preserving politically protected positions would defeat the entire purpose of the exercise. The review must therefore distinguish between genuine redundancy and essential capacity.

Modern technology and better training can improve productivity, as the prime minister noted, but digital systems cannot compensate for poor design, unclear authority or unqualified appointments. Reform must examine what each institution does, whether that function remains necessary and how it can be delivered at lower cost without reducing public service quality.

The government’s record gives reason for caution, of course. Similar declarations have repeatedly promised leaner administration, better-performing state-owned enterprises and lower fiscal waste.

Follow-through has usually been partial, delayed or obscured by the absence of publicly available results. Bureaucratic resistance, political patronage and weak accountability have repeatedly diluted reform once the initial announcement faded from attention. That history is precisely why the one-month deadline should now be treated as a public commitment.

When the deadline expires, the Prime Minister’s Office should release the committee’s recommendations in full, along with a ministry-wise list of posts abolished, institutions restructured, projected annual savings and implementation dates.

The third-party audit should also be published once completed. Any exclusions should be explained rather than hidden behind vague references to administrative sensitivity.

Citizens are entitled to know whether the government has actually reduced its own cost before asking them to bear further fiscal adjustment.

Right-sizing can become a meaningful reform if it is implemented consistently and protected from political interference. It can also become another headline that produces a meeting, a committee and little else.

The prime minister has chosen the deadline himself. One month from now, transparency demands that he show exactly what has been achieved.

ENGLISH (Précis & Composition)

TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS
PART-I(MCQs) : MAXIMUM 30 MINUTES
(PART-I MCQs): MARKS: 20(PART-II): MARKS: 80

NOTE:(i) Part-II is to be attempted on the separate Answer Book.
(ii) Attempt ALL questions from PART-II.
(iii) Candidate must write Q. No. in the Answer Book in accordance with Q. No. in the Q. Paper.
(iv) All the parts(if any) of each question must be attempted at One Place instead of at different places.
(v) No Page/Space be left blank between the answers. All the blank pages of Answer Book must be crossed.
(vi) Extra attempt of any question or any part of the attempted question will not be considered.

                                                                      PART-II

Q. 2. Make a précis of the following text and suggest a suitable title. (20)

In studying the breakdowns of civilizations, the writer has subscribed to the conclusion – no new discovery! – that war
has proved to have been the proximate cause of the breakdown of every civilization which is known for certain to havebroken down, in so far as it has been possible to analyze the nature of these breakdowns and to account for their
occurrence. Like other evils, war has an insidious way of appearing not intolerable until it has secured such astranglehold upon the lives of its addicts that they no longer have the power to escape from its grip when its deadlinesshas become manifest. In the early stages of a civilization’s growth, the cost of wars in suffering and destruction might
seem to be exceeded by the benefits accruing from the winning of wealth and power and the cultivation of the “militaryvirtues”; and, in this phase of history, states have often found themselves able to indulge in war with one another withsomething like impunity even for the defeated party. War does not begin to reveal its malignity till the war-makingsociety has begun to increase its economic ability to exploit physical nature and its political ability to organize man- power; but, as soon as this happens, the god of war to which the growing society has long since been dedicated proveshimself a Moloch by devouring an ever larger share of the increasing fruits of man’s industry and intelligence in theprocess of taking an ever larger toll of life and happiness; and, when the society’s growth in efficiency reaches a point
at which it becomes capable of mobilizing a lethal quantum of its energies and resources for military use, then war
reveals itself as being a cancer which is bound to prove fatal to its victim unless he can cut it out and cast it from him,
since its malignant tissues have now learnt to grow faster that the healthy tissues on which they feed.
In the past, when this danger-point in the history of the relations between war and civilization has been reached andrecognized, serious efforts have sometimes been made to get rid of war in time to save society, and these endeavourshave been apt to take one or other of two alternative directions. Salvation cannot, of course, be sought anywhere except
in the working of the consciences of individual human beings; but individuals have a choice between trying to achievetheir aims through direct action as private citizens and trying to achieve them through indirect action as citizens of
states. A personal refusal to lend himself in any way to any war waged by his state for any purpose and in anycircumstances is a line of attack against the institution of war that is likely to appeal to an ardent and self-sacrificingnature; by comparison, the alternative peace strategy of seeking to persuade and accustom governments to combine injointly resisting aggression when it comes and in trying to remove its stimuli before hand may seem a circuitous andunheroic line of attack on the problem. Yet experience up to date indicates unmistakably, in the present writer’sopinion, that the second of these two hard roads is by far the more promising.

Q.3. Read the following text carefully and answer the questions below: (20)

Experience has quite definitely shown that some reasons for holding a belief are much more likely to be justified bythe event than others. It might naturally be supposed, for instance, that the best of all reasons for a belief was a strongconviction of certainty accompanying the belief. Experience, however, shows that this is not so, and that as a matter of
fact, conviction by itself is more likely to mislead than it is to guarantee truth. On the other hand, lack of assuranceand persistent hesitation to come to any belief whatever are an equally poor guarantee that the few beliefs which arearrived at are sound. Experience also shows that assertion, however long continued, although it is unfortunately withmany people an effective enough means of inducing belief, is not in any way a ground for holding it.
The method which has proved effective, as a matter of actual fact, in providing a firm foundation for belief wherever it
has been capable of application, is what is usually called the scientific method. I firmly believe that the scientificmethod, although slow and never claiming to lead to complete truth, is the only method which in the long run will givesatisfactory foundations for beliefs. It consists in demanding facts as the only basis for conclusions, and in consistentlyand continuously testing any conclusions which may have been reached, against the test of new facts and, wherever
possible, by the crucial test of experiment. It consists also in full publication of the evidence on which conclusions are based, so that other workers may be assisted in new researchers, or enabled to develop their own interpretations andarrive at possibly very different conclusions.
There are, however, all sorts of occasions on which the scientific method is not applicable. That method involves slowtesting, frequent suspension of judgment, restricted conclusions. The exigencies of everyday life, on the other hand,
often make it necessary to act on a hasty balancing of admittedly incomplete evidence, to take immediate action, andto draw conclusions in advance of the evidence. It is also true that such action will always be necessary, and necessaryin respect of ever larger issues; and this inspite of the fact that one of the most important trends of civilization is toremove sphere after sphere of life out of the domain of such intuitive judgment into the domain of rigid calculationbased on science. It is here that belief plays its most important role. When we cannot be certain, we must proceed inpart by faith—faith not only in the validity of our own capacity of making judgments, but also in the existence of
certain other realities, pre-eminently moral and spiritual realities. It has been said that faith consists in acting alwayson the nobler hypothesis; and though this definition is a trifle rhetorical, it embodies a seed of real truth.
Answer briefly in your own words the following questions:
1. Give the meaning of the underlined phrases as they are used in the passage. (04)
2. What justification does the author claim for his belief in the scientific method? (04)
3. Do you gather from the passage that conclusions reached by the scientific method should beconsidered final? Give reasons for your answer. (04)
4. In what circumstances, according to the author, is it necessary to abandon the scientific method? (04)
5. How does the basis of “intuitive judgment” differ from that of scientific decision? (04)

Q.4. Write a comprehensive note (250 – 300 words) on any ONE of the following topics: (20)

(i) Education should be for life, not for livelihood (ii) The art of being tactful
(iii) Human nature is seen at its best adversity (iv) Spare the rod and spoil the child
Q.5. (a) Use only Five of the following in sentences which illustrate their meaning (Extra attempt shall
not be considered). (05)
(i) Itching palm (ii) The primrose path (iii) Break one’s fall (iv) Wash one’s hands of
(v) To become reconcile to (vi) To militate against (vii) To be cognizant of (viii) Wages of sin
(b) Explain the difference between the following word pairs by defining each word. (Do only Five) (05)
(i) Plaintiff, plaintive (ii) valet, varlet (iii) monitor, mentor (iv) complacent, complaisant
(v) penitence, penance (vi) crevice, crevasse (vii) beneficent, beneficial
Q.6. (a) Correct only Five of the following sentences: (05)
(i) Have either of you seen my pen?
(ii) On attempting to restore the picture to its original condition, almost irreparable change was discovered. (iii) The child is the prettiest of the two.
(iv) I was annoyed arriving late, also his rather insolent manner put me out of temper.
(v) He is anxious not only to acquire knowledge, but also eager to display it.
(vi) If he was here now, we should have no difficulty.
(vii) Due to unforeseen environments, we shall have to leave early.
(viii) People have and still do disagree on this matter.
(b) Rewrite One of the following passages, converting what is in direct speech into indirect, and what is
in indirect speech into direct. (05)
(i) Just as we came in sight of the valley Jamil met us,--“yes, the valley is all very fine, but do you
know there is nothing to eat?”
“Nonsense; we can eat anything here.”
“Well, the brown bread’s two months old, and there’s nothing else but potatoes.”
“There must be milk anyhow.”
“Yes, there was milk’’, he supposed.
(ii) Miss Andleeb said she thought English food was lovely, and that she was preparing a
questionnaire to be circulated to the students of the university, with a view to finding out their
eating preferences.
“But the students won’t fill up questionnaires,” said Miriam.
“Won’t fill up questionnaire?” cried Miss Andleeb, taken aback.
“No”, said Miriam, “they won’t. As a nation we are not, questionnaire-conscious.”
“Well, that’s too bad,” said Miss Andaleeb.

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Digital monitoring deserves support

EDITORIAL: The government’s decision to accelerate the digital transformation of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) deserves broad support. For far too long, regulation of Pakistan’s downstream petroleum sector has relied on periodic inspections, manual reporting and enforcement actions that often came after market distortions had already occurred.

A technology-driven monitoring system that tracks petroleum products from ports and refineries to storage depots and retail outlets promises to fundamentally alter that equation.

The rationale is straightforward. A sector handling billions of rupees worth of petroleum products every month cannot continue to be regulated through fragmented information and delayed interventions.

Real-time visibility across the supply chain offers regulators an opportunity to identify hoarding, artificial shortages, unexplained inventory movements and supply disruptions before they evolve into full-blown crises. If implemented effectively, digital oversight can improve both market discipline and consumer confidence.

Pakistan has learnt this lesson the hard way. The findings of the Oil Inquiry Commission, constituted in the wake of the 2020 petroleum crisis, exposed deep structural weaknesses in the downstream petroleum market. Weak oversight, inadequate data, poor coordination among institutions and regulatory lapses allowed market manipulation to flourish, ultimately leaving consumers to bear the consequences. Several of the commission’s recommendations centred on strengthening monitoring, improving transparency, and embracing technology to make regulatory oversight more proactive than reactive.

Progress since then has been gradual, but the latest initiative suggests that at least some of those lessons are finally being translated into policy.

Be that as it may, digitalisation should be viewed as an enabler rather than a destination. Technology can identify anomalies; it cannot substitute for sound governance. The effectiveness of any monitoring platform will ultimately depend on the regulator’s willingness to act promptly, consistently and without fear or favour. Data has little value if enforcement remains selective or delayed.

The encouraging aspect is that the initiative appears to extend beyond simple vehicle tracking. Integrating depot telemetry, tanker tracking, digital sales reporting and centralised monitoring has the potential to create an end-to-end view of the petroleum supply chain. Such systems are commonplace in mature energy markets and significantly reduce opportunities for leakages, undocumented movements and inventory manipulation.

Yet digital monitoring should form only one pillar of a broader reform agenda.

Pakistan has already taken important steps towards liberalising the downstream petroleum market, including the recent move towards daily petroleum price adjustments. That reform better aligns domestic prices with international market movements and reduces the abrupt price shocks associated with fortnightly revisions.

The logical progression is towards a fully deregulated petroleum market where competition, rather than administrative intervention, increasingly determines commercial outcomes.

Such liberalisation, however, requires stronger—not weaker—regulation. Markets function efficiently only when participants compete on equal terms. Robust digital oversight can therefore complement deregulation by ensuring compliance, preventing collusion and identifying anti-competitive behaviour without unnecessarily interfering in commercial decisions.

There is also unfinished business elsewhere in the sector. The Inland-Freight Equalisation Margin (IFEM), originally designed to ensure uniform petroleum prices across the country, has frequently attracted criticism over its administration and utilisation.

Greater transparency in its operation, supported by digital data on product movement and freight costs, would help reinforce confidence that the mechanism serves consumers rather than creating unintended distortions.

Similarly, Pakistan continues to underutilise one of its most efficient transportation assets. White oil pipelines remain significantly cheaper, safer and environmentally preferable to road transport, yet a substantial share of petroleum products continues to move by tanker.

Encouraging greater pipeline utilisation where capacity exists would lower logistics costs, reduce road congestion, improve safety and minimise carbon emissions. A digitally monitored supply chain should also provide policymakers with better information to optimise transport choices across the network.

The proposed restructuring of OGRA itself is equally important. Modern regulatory systems require specialised expertise in data analytics, digital compliance, market surveillance and competition economics alongside traditional engineering and technical skills. Building institutional capacity will determine whether technological investments translate into better regulation or merely better reporting.

The profound challenge before policymakers is to ensure that digital transformation becomes part of a comprehensive modernisation of the petroleum sector rather than another standalone initiative.

Pakistan’s energy reforms have gathered welcome momentum in recent years, from refinery upgradation to downstream liberalisation. Strengthening regulatory capability through technology should reinforce that trajectory.

Consumers ultimately care little about the sophistication of regulatory platforms. They, actually, care about uninterrupted supplies, fair prices and competitive markets free from manipulation. If digital monitoring helps deliver those outcomes, it will represent far more than a technological upgrade. It will mark another important step towards building a petroleum sector that is transparent, efficient and increasingly governed by market principles rather than administrative discretion.

The terror challenge

EDITORIAL: The latest security assessment by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) paints a deeply disturbing picture of the country’s security landscape.

July 2026 was the deadliest month of the year, claiming 205 lives, including 112 security personnel, while 401 terrorists were killed in counter-terrorism operations.

Before the nation could even absorb these grim statistics, another horrific tragedy unfolded in Swat on August 2, where a suicide bomber targeted a public gathering near Kabal police station, killing at least 24 people during a peaceful protest against lawlessness. These back-to-back tragedies underscore a painful reality: terrorism remains one of Pakistan’s gravest national security challenges.

The sharp rise in violence, particularly in Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, points to a worrying resurgence of militant networks.

The increase in suicide bombings, vehicle-borne attacks, IED explosions, and kidnappings suggests that terrorist organisations retain both operational capability and logistical support despite years of sustained military pressure.

While the elimination of 401 terrorists in a single month demonstrates the effectiveness of security operations, it also reflects the scale and persistence of the threat confronting the state.

Success cannot be measured solely by the number of militants neutralised when the country continues to suffer such heavy losses among soldiers and civilians alike.

The sacrifice of 112 security personnel in one month deserves more than ceremonial tributes. These soldiers are defending the country under extraordinarily difficult circumstances and against an enemy that has repeatedly adapted its tactics. Their courage must be matched by a comprehensive national strategy that strengthens intelligence gathering, enhances inter-agency coordination, equips law enforcement with modern technology and ensures timely operational responses.

The deaths of civilians and peace committee members are an equally painful reminder that ordinary Pakistanis continue to bear the brunt of extremist violence.

Security experts have rightly pointed out that while militant groups continue to exploit sanctuaries across the border in Afghanistan, the success of their operations also depends on support networks, facilitators and recruitment channels inside Pakistan.

Cross-border safe havens undoubtedly remain a critical part of the problem, but disrupting domestic logistical networks and strengthening intelligence penetration are equally essential if such attacks are to be prevented rather than merely responded to.

Pakistan’s counter-terrorism strategy must therefore become increasingly proactive rather than reactive. Intelligence-led operations, rigorous analysis of threat assessments, tighter border management and closer coordination among military, police and civilian intelligence agencies should be the cornerstone of national security policy.

Equally important is ensuring the effective implementation of the National Action Plan and insulating counter-terrorism from political divisions that undermine institutional coherence.

Pakistan has repeatedly demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of terrorism. But resilience alone cannot defeat an enemy that continues to evolve.

The grim statistics of July and the tragedy in Swat should serve as a reminder that the fight against terrorism is entering a more complex phase. The country’s security forces have shown extraordinary resolve. It is now imperative that the state complements their sacrifices with sharper intelligence, greater institutional coordination and a strategy that stays one step ahead of those determined to spread fear and instability.

ENGLISH (Précis & Composition)

TIME ALLOWED:
THREE HOURS
(PART-I MCQs) 30 MINUTES MAXIMUM MARKS: 20(PART-II) 2 HOURS & 30 MINUTES MAXIMUM MARKS: 80

                                                                                         PART-II

NOTE: (i) PART-II is to be attempted on separate Answer Book.
(ii) Attempt all questions from PART-II.
(iii) Extra attempt of any question or any part of the attempted question will not be considered.
(iv) Candidate must write Q. No. in the Answer Book in accordance with Q. No. in the Question Paper.
(v) No page/space should be left blank between the answers. All the blank pages of Answer Book must be
crossed.

Q.2. Make a précis of the following passage and suggest a suitable heading. (20+2=22)

Probably the only protection for contemporary man is to discover how to use his intelligence in theservice of love and kindness. The training of human intelligence must include the simultaneous
development of the empathic capacity. Only in this way can intelligence be made an instrument of
social morality and responsibility – and thereby increase the chances of survival.
The need to produce human beings with trained morally sensitive intelligence is essentially achallenge to educators and educational institutions. Traditionally, the realm of social morality was left
to religion and the churches as guardians or custodians. But their failure to fulfil this responsibility andtheir yielding to the seductive lures of the men of wealth and pomp and power are documented byhistory of the last two thousand years and have now resulted in the irrelevant “God Is Dead”theological rhetoric. The more pragmatic men of power have had no time or inclination to deal withthe fundamental problems of social morality. For them simplistic Machiavellianism must remain theguiding principle of their decisions – power is morality, morality is power. This over-simplificationincreases the chances of nuclear devastation. We must therefore hope that educators and educational
institutions have the capacity, the commitment and the time to in-still moral sensitivity as an integral
part of the complex pattern of functional human intelligence. Some way must be found in the trainingof human beings to give them the assurance to love, the security to be kind, and the integrity requiredfor a functional empathy.

Q.3. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Use your own language. (20)

In the height of the Enlightenment, men influenced by the new political theories of the era launchedtwo of the largest revolutions in history. These two conflicts, on two separate continents, were bothinitially successful in forming new forms of government. And yet, the two conflicts, though merely adecade apart, had radically different conclusions. How do two wars inspired by more or less the sameideals end up so completely different? Why was the American Revolution largely a success and theFrench Revolution largely a failure?
Historians have pointed to myriad reasons—far too various to be listed here. However, the most
frequently cited are worth mentioning. For one, the American Revolution was far removed from theOld World; that is, since it was on a different continent, other European nations did not attempt tointerfere with it. However, in the French Revolution, there were immediate cries for war fromneighboring nations. Early on, for instance, the ousted king attempted to flee to neighboring Austriaand the army waiting there. The newly formed French Republic also warred with Belgium, and aconflict with Britain loomed. Thus, the French had the burden not only of winning a revolution but
also defending it from outside. The Americans simply had to win a revolution.Secondly, the American Revolution seemed to have a better chance for success from the get-go, due tothe fact that Americans already saw themselves as something other than British subjects. Thus, therewas already a uniquely American character, so, there was not as loud a cry to preserve the British wayof life. In France, several thousands of people still supported the king, largely because the king was
seen as an essential part of French life. And when the king was first ousted and then killed, somebelieved that character itself was corrupted. Remember, the Americans did not oust a king or kill
him—they merely separated from him.
Finally, there is a general agreement that the French were not as unified as the Americans, who, for themost part, put aside their political differences until after they had already formed a new nation. TheFrench, despite their Tennis Court Oath, could not do so. Infighting led to inner turmoil, civil war, andeventually the Reign of Terror, in which political dissidents were executed in large numbers.
Additionally, the French people themselves were not unified. The nation had so much stratificationthat it was impossible to unite all of them—the workers, the peasants, the middle-class, the nobles, theclergy—into one cause. And the attempts to do so under a new religion, the Divine Cult of Reason,
certainly did not help. The Americans, remember, never attempted to change the society at large;
rather, they merely attempted to change the government.
(1) Why and how did the Reign of Terror happen?
(2) In what ways does the author suggest that the American Revolution was easier to
complete than the French Revolution?
(3) Of the challenges mentioned facing the French revolutionaries, which do you think hadthe greatest impact on their inability to complete a successful revolution? Why?
(4) Of the strengths mentioned aiding the American revolutionaries, which do you think hadthe greatest impact on their ability to complete a successful revolution? Why?

Q.4. Write a comprehensive note (250 – 300 words) on any ONE of the following: (20)

(i) Actions speak louder than words.
(ii) Girls are more intelligent than boys.
(iii) First deserve, then desire.
(iv) Nothing is certain unless it is achieved.

Q.5. Use ONLY FIVE of the following in sentences which illustrate their meanings: (Extra attempt shall not be
considered). (10)

(i) To bring grist to the mill (ii) To keep one’s fingers crossed
(iii) With one’s tongue in one’s cheek (iv) A storm in the tea cup
(v) To talk through one’s hat (vi) Hum and Haw
(vii) To let the grass grow under one’s feet (viii) Penny wise and pound foolish.

Q.6. Correct ONLY FOUR of the following: Extra attempt shall not be considered. (08)

(i) Each furniture in this display is on sale for half price.
(ii) He is abusing the money of his father.
(iii) The duties of the new secretary are to answer the telephone, to type letters and bookkeeping.
(iv) The new models are not only less expensive but more efficient also.
(v) He complied with the requirement that all graduate students in education should write a thesis.
(vi) No sooner we left the shop it began to rain.
(vii) The population of Karachi is greater than any other city in Pakistan.

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