WBPSC ASSISTANT MASTER/MISTRESS EXAMINATION  ENGLISH (IX-XII)

Prepare effectively with Notesfactory 2018 English Previous Year Questions. Includes grammar, vocabulary, figures of speech, idioms, and linguistic concepts—perfect for PSC English exam aspirants.

WBPSC ASSISTANT
MASTER/MISTRESS EXAMINATION
SUBJECT – ENGLISH (IX-XII)
Previous Year Question (2018)

1. Which biblical character does Keats refer to in “Ode to a Nightingale”?
A. Lethe
B. Flora
C. Bacchus
D. Ruth

2. How does Tennyson’s Ulysses describe his son?
A. Responsible and prudent
B. Adventurous and heroic
C. Clumsy and boring
D. Romantic and seafaring

3. In Tennyson’s poem where does Ulysses think he will meet Achilles?
A. The Underworld
B. Happy Isles
C. Olympus
D. Inferno

4. Who painted the portrait of the Duchess in Browning’s “My Last Duchess”?
A. Fra Pandolf
B. Fra Lippo Lippi
C. Fra Gandorf
D. Fra Calvins

5. In “My Last Duchess” the Duke points to a statue of Neptune. Who was the sculptor?
A. Jacques of Innsbruck
B. Leonardo
C. Claus of Innsbruck
D. Rodin

6. What are the food items that T.S. Eliot refers to in “Preludes”?
A. Steak and potatoes
B. Bread
C. Bread and Jam
D. Steak and Coffee

7. In “Pride and Prejudice” what is the name of the estate the Bingley’s move into?
A. Mansfield Park
B. Grosvenor Park
C. Twickenham
D. Netherfield Park

8. At the beginning of the play what is Macbeth’s title?
A. Thane of Cawdor
B. Cavalier
C. Thane of Glamis
D. Duke

9. Who was Alexander Pope’s muse in “The Rape of the Lock”?
A. Belinda
B. Caryll
C. Ariel
D. Monfaucon de Villiers

10. Who was the architect of Pandemonium in “Paradise Lost”?
A. Mammon
B. Mulciber
C. Moloch
D. Astarte

11. “Hailey’s first love is swimming” – here ‘swimming’ is an example of
A. Material Noun
B. Gerund
C. Connector
D. Grawlix

12. “I couldn’t face him today” – how could you categorise ‘face’ here?
A. Transitive Verb
B. Auxiliary verb
C. Proper Verb
D. None of the above

13. “O’clock” is the contraction of
A. On the clock
B. Over the clock
C. Of the clock
D. Off the clock

14. In a sentence if two adjectives modify a noun in the same way, what are they called?
A. Cooperative adjectives
B. Adjunct Adjectives
C. Combined adjectives
D. Coordinate Adjectives

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15. What is the meaning of ‘ligature’?
A. Two or more connected words to indicate a single sound
B. Two or more connected sounds to construct a single sound
C. Two syllables connected to make a single utterance
D. None of the above

16. “Ali had five hundred coins; Anand, six hundred” – What kind of clause use can you find in this sentence?
A. Exclusive Clause
B. Elliptical Clause
C. Independent Clause
D. Connector Clause

17. What is a ‘dangling modifiers’?
A. A clause that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence
B. A word that modifies another word not clearly stated in the context
C. A word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in that sentence
D. A word or phrase that negates a word not clearly stated in that sentence

18. Which one of the following is an example of the present participle?
A. We would be staying.
B. The enemy is anybody who is going to get you killed.
C. The boy taken to the nursing home has recovered.
D. She had played for hours.

19. How many principal parts of a verb does the English language have?
A. Three
B. Four
C. Five
D. Six

20. An “Appositive” is
A. A noun, noun phrase or noun clause which follows a noun or pronoun and renames or describes the noun or pronoun
B. A pronoun, pronoun phrase or clause which follows a pronoun and renames it.
C. A simple sentence which follows a noun Clause and describes it
D. None of the above

21. “He bought the car himself” – in this sentence ‘himself’ is an example of
A. Reflexive pronoun
B. Intensive pronoun
C. Interrogative Pronoun
D. None of the above

22. “I’ll have both the cheese cake and hot chocolate.” – in the quoted sentence the combination “both/and” functions as
A. Subordinate conjunction
B. Appended conjunction
C. Correlative conjunction
D. Coordinate conjunction

23. “Apply for” and “Add up” are examples of
A. Phrasal verb
B. Auxiliary clause
C. Conjunction
D. Particle

24. A ‘virgule’ is also known as
A. Dash
B. Double dash
C. Slash
D. Back slash

25. Which of the following is not an example of past progressive tense?
A. He was writing an email when the phone rang.
B. When the phone rang, he was writing an email.
C. While he was writing an email, the phone rang.
D. He bought an ice cream after finishing one.

26. What is the origin of the name ‘England’?
A. Comes from the tribe called the ‘Angles’.
B. Comes from the French name ‘Angleterre’
C. Evolved from the word ‘Angel’.
D. None of the above

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27. What is the origin of the word ‘theatre’?
A. Sanskrit “Tattva”
B. Latin “Terra”
C. Greek “Theatron”
D. None of the above

28. The amalgamation as attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures or schools of thought is called
A. Hybridity
B. Metaculture
C. Dislocation
D. Syncretism

29. Language which is used to discuss language is called
A. Post-language
B. Meta-language
C. Un-language
D. Uber-language

30. The diachronic approach to linguistic study considers
A. Evolution of language as significant
B. The locations of language at the present moment as supreme
C. Denies the history of that concerned language
D. Judges the language only in comparison with other present languages

31. “Foolish wisdom”, “Open secret”, and “Clearly misunderstood” are examples of
A. Ambivalence
B. Hyperbole
C. Litotes
D. Oxymoron

32. “My sister is my Guardian Angel” – Identify the figure of speech used
A. Metonymy
B. Metalepsis
C. Metaphor
D. Exaggeration

33. “This is a free gift” – Which among the following is the figure of speech used here?
A. Cataphora
B. Tautology
C. Paradox
D. Negation

34. What is the repetition of same word or phrase at the beginning of successive Clauses or verses called?
A. Anaphora
B. Amphora
C. Emphasis
D. Anti-climax

35. The repetition of vowel sounds used as a figure of speech is called
A. Onomatopoeia
B. Alliteration
C. Assonance
D. Pun

36. Which among the following is an example of antithesis?
A. Humble Humber richly flows
B. The beggar’s bowl breathed badly
C. Man Proposes, God Disposes
D. Love thy neighbour

37. “And lined the train with faces grimly gay” – “grimly gay” is an example of
A. Paradox
B. Antithesis
C. Climax
D. Hyperbole

38. “The trees scream at the naturalist” – Identify the figure of speech used here.
A. Metonymy
B. Synecdoche
C. Personification
D. Zeugma

39. Exobiology is the science of
A. Life on other planets
B. Life on exotic islands
C. Life in the tropics
D. Study of animals with exoskeletons

40. A person’s refined and urbane wit is often signified by the phrase
A. Caustic humour
B. Attic Salt
C. Sarcasm
D. Polyphonic

Here is the transcribed text from the fourth image:

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41. A person who buys or sells books, particularly one rare, is called
A. A bibliographer
B. A bibliophile
C. Bibliopole
D. Bibliocheque

42. “Many of the earliest _____ into the West fought great diseases”.
A. Immigrants
B. Entrants
C. Pioneers
D. Okersees

43. What among the following is the nearest antonym of ‘aperture’?
A. Blockage
B. Departure
C. Rapture
D. Delege

44. What is the study of secret codes called?
A. Cytology
B. Semantics
C. Espiology
D. Cryptology

45. “The politician brought ____ a reconciliation between the brother”.
A. In
B. Up
C. On
D. About

46. Which of the following comes closest to the meaning of the word ‘Perfunctory’?
A. Useless
B. Disinterested
C. Faulty
D. Smelling

47. What is the meaning of ‘Rectitude’?
A. Endurance
B. Correction
C. Righteousness
D. Attitude

48. The idiom “To carry coal to New Castle” means
A. To work hard
B. To do something ineffective
C. To work in the railway
D. To achieve the impossible

49. Select the correct one word substitution for the phrase “A new word coined or used by an author”.
A. Nomenclature
B. Logoism
C. Neologism
D. Jargon

50. What is the antonym of ‘modern’?
A. Ancient
B. Recent
C. Geriatric
D. Aged

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✅ Answers (Q1–Q50):

1. D. Ruth
2. A. Responsible and prudent
3. B. Happy Isles
4. A. Fra Pandolf
5. C. Claus of Innsbruck
6. C. Bread and Jam
7. D. Netherfield Park
8. C. Thane of Glamis
9. A. Belinda
10. B. Mulciber
11. B. Gerund
12. A. Transitive Verb
13. C. Of the clock
14. D. Coordinate Adjectives
15. A. Two or more connected words to indicate a single sound
16. B. Elliptical Clause
17. C. A word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in that sentence
18. C. Nursing home
19. C. Five
20. A. A noun, noun phrase or noun clause which follows a noun or pronoun and renames or describes the noun or pronoun
21. B. Intensive pronoun
22. C. Correlative conjunction
23. A. Phrasal verb
24. C. Slash
25. D. He bought an ice cream after finishing one.
26. A. Comes from the tribe called the ‘Angles’.
27. C. Greek “Theatron”
28. D. Syncretism
29. B. Meta-language
30. A. Evolution of language as significant
31. D. Oxymoron
32. C. Metaphor
33. B. Tautology
34. A. Anaphora
35. C. Assonance
36. C. Man Proposes, God Disposes
37. A. Paradox
38. C. Personification
39. A. Life on other planets
40. B. Attic Salt
41. C. Bibliopole
42. A. Immigrants
43. A. Blockage
44. D. Cryptology
45. D. About
46. B. Disinterested
47. C. Righteousness
48. B. To do something ineffective
49. C. Neologism
50. B. Recent