CSS English (Précis & Composition) Paper 2026 | FPSC Past Papers

TIME ALLOWED: THREE HOURS PART-I (MCQs): MAXIMUM 30 MINUTES

PART-I (MCQs) MAXIMUM MARKS: 20 PART-II MAXIMUM MARKS: 80

PART-I (MCQs) (COMPULSORY)

Q.1. (i) Select the best option/answer and fill in the appropriate Box on the OMR Answer Sheet. (20×1=20)

(a) Choose the word that is nearly most similar in meaning to the capitalized words.

1. ENIGMA
   (A) Stature    (B) Axiom    (C) Adage    (D) Conundrum
2. HACKNEYED
   (A) Unplanned    (B) Intriguing    (C) Stubborn    (D) Clichéd
3. PANACEA
   (A) Elixir    (B) Destitution    (C) Deprivation    (D) Predicament
4. CAJOLE
   (A) Lure    (B) Intimidate    (C) Harass    (D) Tease
5. INSCRUTABLE:
   (A) Unattainable    (B) Mysterious    (C) Obstinate    (D) Vigilant
6. REVERIE:
   (A) Palimpsest    (B) Phantom    (C) Daydream    (D) Curio
7. SUMPTUOUS:
   (A) Delirious    (B) Gorgeous    (C) Perilous    (D) Luxurious
8. APPALL:
   (A) Delirious    (B) Covered    (C) Dismay    (D) Confuse
9. ABJECT:
   (A) Indigent    (B) Desire    (C) Despondent    (D) Extreme
10. BESPOKE:
    (A) Tailored    (B) Quiet    (C) Gentle    (D) Handsome

(b) Choose the word that is nearly most opposite in meaning to the capitalized words.

11. CANDOUR
    (A) Rebuttal    (B) Evasiveness    (C) Restraint    (D) Candidness
12. COLLOQUIAL
    (A) Vernacular    (B) Informal    (C) Literary    (D) Quarrelsome
13. EUPHORIA
    (A) Ecstasy    (B) Obnoxious    (C) Nostalgic    (D) Melancholy
14. SURROGATE
    (A) Proxy    (B) Soothing    (C) Forbidden    (D) Real
15. OBLIVIOUS
    (A) Ignorant    (B) Conscious    (C) Sober    (D) Flamboyant
16. AMELIORATE
    (A) Impair    (B) Rectify    (C) Precipitate    (D) Renew
17. BENIGN
    (A) Amiable    (B) Effective    (C) Boost    (D) Malicious
18. CACOPHONY
    (A) Noise    (B) Disaster    (C) Stillness    (D) Rattle
19. DOLEFUL
    (A) Witty    (B) Rich    (C) Empty    (D) Vivacious
20. ELAN
    (A) Inelegance    (B) Stupidity    (C) Obscure    (D) Despair

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PART-II

Q. 2. Write a précis (100 words) of the following passage and suggest a suitable title. (20)

One of the outstanding features of the century has been the improvement of living of working man, greater political power, more wealth and leisure, and better facilities for health, security and education. In early civilizations, most communities were sharply divided into two classes, those who labored and those who did not. The small number of rulers – kings, priests, military leaders – lived in great comfort, and did very little work. The vast majority of the population enjoyed very few comforts, did lot of work, and had scarcely any political power. In some societies, there was an even more wretched class, the slaves, who had no rights at all. The Industrial Revolution of Europe led to the production of vast quantities of goods, and workers began to be dissatisfied with their poverty. The factory owners needed skilled workers, and gradually they realized that they must show goodwill to their workforce, in order to stay in business. As in many other reforms, some enlightened slowly spread that workers were entitled to some consideration. Since men were free to work for any master they chose, good master soon had the pick of the workers and old-fashioned employers found themselves with a factory full of lower-grade workforce. Such a situation soon led to an all-round improvement in standards, and good employers tried to raise working conditions still higher. These improvements were speeded up by the increased organization of workers in Trade Union movements, particularly in low-standard factories, where the owner often had to deal with strike action by dissatisfied workers. Now that the working classes are getting better and better working conditions, the need to strike has lessened considerably; and employers and workers alike have come to realise that they depend on each other for their livelihood.

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

She was one of those pretty, charming women who are born, as if by an error of Fate, into a petty official’s family. She had no dowry, no hopes, nor the slightest chance of being loved and married by a rich man—so she slipped into marriage with a minor civil servant. Unable to afford jewels, she dressed simply: But she was wretched, for women have neither caste nor breeding—in them beauty, grace, and charm replace pride of birth. Innate refinement, instinctive elegance, and wit give them their place on the only scale that counts and these make humble girls the peers of the grandest ladies. She suffered, feeling that every luxury should rightly have been hers. The poverty of her rooms—the shabby walls, the worn furniture, the ugly upholstery caused her pain. All these things that another woman of her class would not even have noticed, made her angry. The very sight of the little Breton girl who cleaned for her awoke rueful thoughts and the wildest dreams in her mind. She dreamt of rooms with Oriental hangings, lighted by tall, bronze torches, and with two huge footmen in knee breeches made drowsy by the heat from the stove, asleep in the wide armchairs. She dreamt of great drawing rooms upholstered in old silks, with fragile little tables holding priceless knickknacks, and of enchanting little sitting rooms designed for tea-time chats with famous, sought-after men whose attentions all women longed for. She sat down to dinner at her round table with its three-day-old cloth, and watched her husband lift the lid of the soup tureen and delightedly exclaim: “Ah, a good homemade beef stew! There’s nothing better!” She visualized elegant dinners with gleaming silver and gorgeous china. She yearned for wall hangings peopled with knights and ladies and exotic birds in a fairy forest. She dreamt of eating the pink flesh of trout or the wings of grouse. She had no proper wardrobe, no jewels, nothing. And those were the only things that she loved—she felt she was made for them. She would have so loved to charm, to be envied, to be admired and sought after.

Questions: (4 marks each)

1. Which word best describes the actual living conditions of the couple and why?
2. Which line best demonstrates the couple’s true economic standing and why?
3. According to the passage, what can be stated about the marriage of this woman?
4. What can be inferred about the values of both husband and wife?
5. What is the main idea of the passage?

Q. 4. Re-write any FIVE sentences after correcting them. (10)

1. It is a fact that I almost drowned makes me very careful about water safety whenever I go swimming.
2. The amount they receive in wages is greater than twenty years ago.
3. Playing a game regularly is better than to read books always.
4. It is one of the best speeches that ever been made in the General Assembly.
5. Ever since they had heard about the burglaries in neighbourhood they kept on the light all the time and close all the doors and the windows very carefully.
6. When Susan realised that all of her bottles of the nail polish dries out she decides to keep them for decoration.
7. It was late in night and a boy rode his bike along the path when suddenly he stopped in shock as his head lamp was not working anymore.
8. The girl told the conductor that she lost her train ticket and knew not how she would get home.

Q. 5. (a) Punctuate the following paragraph. (05)

Scientists and philosophers of science tend to speak as if “scientific language” were intrinsically precise as if those who use it must understand one another’s meaning even if they disagree but in fact scientific language is not as different from ordinary language as is commonly believed it too is subject to imprecision and ambiguity and hence to imperfect understanding moreover new theories or arguments are rarely if ever constructed by way of clear-cut steps of induction deduction and verification or falsification neither are they defended rejected or accepted in so straightforward a manner in practice scientists combine the rules of scientific methodology with a generous admixture of intuition aesthetics and philosophical commitment the importance of what are sometimes called extra-rational or extra-logical components of thought in the discovery of a new principle or law is generally acknowledged

(b) Re-write the following sentences (ONLY FIVE) after filling in the blanks with appropriate Prepositions. (05)

1. Nobody is certain ____________ the future but some are convinced ____________ the past.
2. He was familiar ____________ the author but not knowledgeable in depth ____________ him.
3. After weighing ____________ all the options we decided to plump ____________ the first design.
4. The accused declared that he had no credible motive ____________ revenge and denied ____________ the charges.
5. The party’s withdrawal ____________ the elections was widely seen as an obstacle ____________ the success of the peace plan.
6. They agreed to cooperate ____________ police ____________ these matters.
7. I don’t advise ____________ anyone, I just listen ____________ their complaints.
8. The landscape ____________ the Pampas is in places similar ____________ the Dutch landscape.

Q. 6. Use only FIVE pairs of words in sentences clearly illustrating their meanings. (10)

(i) Dependant, Dependent	(ii) Funeral, Funereal
(iii) Fain, Feign	(iv) Gamble, Gambol
(v) Hoard, Horde	(vi) Ingenious, Ingenuous
(vii) Luxuriant, Luxurious	(viii) Moat, Mote

Q. 7. Translate the following into English by keeping in view figurative/idiomatic expressions. (10)

یہ امر واقع ہے کہ مسلم دنیا قدرت کے ودیعت کردہ وسائل سے بھی مالا مال ہے اور الحادی قوتوں کے مقابل اپنے دفاع کا ہر تقاضا نبھانے کی بھی مکمل صلاحیت رکھتی ہے۔ اگر مسلم دنیا کے تمام ممالک اجتماعی طور پر ایک دوسرے کے مفاد و دفاع کیلئے اپنی صلاحیتیں اور وسائل بروئے کار لائیں تو دنیا کی کوئی طاقت انکے آگے ٹھہر نہیں سکتی۔ اتحاد و یکجہتی کے ساتھ مسلم دنیا اقوام عالم میں ایک بڑی طاقت کے طور پر ابھر سکتی ہے۔ اسلام دشمن الحادی قوتوں کو یقیناً اس حقیقت کا مکمل ادراک ہے اس لئے وہ مسلم دنیا کا اتحاد توڑنے اور اسے انتشار کا شکار کرنے کی سازشوں میں ہمہ وقت مصروف رہتی ہیں۔ مختلف فروعی اختلافات کے باعث مسلم ممالک خود بھی باہم الجھے اور ایک دوسرے سے برسرپیکار رہتے ہیں۔