English: previous-year questions

Answer: (D) Memories of objects collected because of their links with people or events

'Memorabilia' (from Latin memorabilis, 'worth remembering') means objects that are kept or collected because of their association with memorable people, places or events, such as autographs, match-worn jerseys, old concert tickets or wartime medals. Option D is the only choice that carries this 'objects linked to people or events' sense: A is too general, B wrongly restricts the word to war, and C describes memories instead of objects. Related words often tested: memento and souvenir (a single keepsake), relic (an object surviving from the past), memoir (a written account of one's own life) and memorandum (a written note).

Answer: (D) by

'Close by' is the fixed adverbial phrase meaning 'near, at a short distance', as in 'There is a book shop close by'. 'Close up' means to shut (a shop) or to move nearer together, 'close in' means to surround or approach (night closes in, the enemy closes in), and 'close now' is not a phrase of place at all. Remember the grammar point too: 'close to' must be followed by an object (close to the station), whereas 'close by' can end a sentence. Similar expressions of nearness are 'nearby', 'at hand' and 'round the corner'.

Answer: (B) He took up more work than he could handle.

'To bite off more than one can chew' means to take on a task or responsibility that is bigger than one can manage, which is exactly option B. Option A reads the idiom literally (eating and digestion), while C (explaining what one does not understand) and D (endurance) are unrelated to the idea of over-commitment. Idioms with a similar sense are 'to have too much on one's plate', 'to spread oneself too thin' and 'to be out of one's depth'; the opposite idea is expressed by 'to cut one's coat according to one's cloth'.

Answer: (C) conform

The blank is followed by the preposition 'to', and among the four verbs only 'conform' takes it: we conform to rules or standards. The other verbs need different prepositions: abide by (the rules), comply with (the rules) and concur with (a person) or concur in (an opinion), so they fail on collocation even though 'abide' and 'comply' fit the meaning. Fixed verb + preposition pairs are a regular WBCS item, so learn them together: adhere to, conform to, accede to, comply with, abide by, concur with, acquiesce in.

Answer: (D) unbelievable or unreasonable

'Preposterous' means utterly absurd, contrary to reason or common sense, so 'unbelievable or unreasonable' (D) is the right meaning. The word comes from Latin prae (before) + posterus (coming after), literally 'back to front'. 'Debatable' (B) only means open to argument, which is far weaker; 'unacceptable' (C) means not satisfactory and 'improper judgment' (A) is a misjudgment, and neither carries the sense of absurdity. Synonyms: absurd, ludicrous, outrageous, nonsensical. Antonyms: sensible, reasonable, rational.

Answer: (B) Politeness is a virtue that pays in long run.

The proverb sets the small 'cost' of being polite against the large 'yield' it brings, so its point is that courtesy is a cheap investment that pays off over time, which is option B. Option A (politeness is desirable) is true but misses the cost-benefit idea, C (politeness is powerful) overstates it, and D distorts the meaning altogether. Proverbs with the same message are 'Courtesy costs nothing', 'A soft answer turneth away wrath' and 'You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar'.

Answer: (A) although

Two full clauses with a contrast between them ('I want to go' and 'the weather is bad') must be joined by a concessive conjunction, and 'although' is the only one offered. 'In spite of' also expresses contrast but it is a preposition, so it must be followed by a noun or gerund (in spite of the bad weather) or by 'the fact that'. 'When' expresses time and 'as' expresses time or reason, which would make the sentence illogical. Note for error-spotting questions: 'although' or 'though' is paired with 'yet', never with 'but', and 'despite' is never followed by 'of'.

Answer: (B) The impossible was made possible by Napoleon.

The active sentence has the pattern subject + verb + object + object complement (Napoleon / made / the impossible / possible). In the passive the object becomes the subject, the verb becomes 'was made' in the same tense, and the complement stays next to the verb: 'The impossible was made possible by Napoleon' (B). Option D changes the tense from simple past to present perfect, and A and C mix up the subject, object and complement. Rule to remember: voice change never alters the tense; simple past active (made) always becomes was/were + past participle.

Answer: (D) makes arrangements for funerals.

An 'undertaker' is a person whose business is preparing the dead for burial or cremation and arranging funerals; the modern terms are 'funeral director' and (in American English) 'mortician'. The word looks like it should mean 'one who undertakes projects' (A), which is why it is a popular one-word-substitution trap. A person who hears confessions in a church (C) is a 'confessor', and there is no single common word for option B beyond 'bribe-taker'. Related vocabulary: pallbearer (carries the coffin), sexton (looks after a churchyard), coroner (officer who inquires into unnatural deaths), epitaph (words on a tomb) and obituary (death notice).

No option is correct as printed — this question is disputed. WBPSC awarded the mark to all candidates (final answer key No. 1104-PSC/CON(Q), 27.08.2026): the intended option C is misprinted as "wired or offbeat" instead of "weird or offbeat".

'Outlandish' means strange, bizarre or strikingly unconventional (originally 'from an outland', i.e. foreign-looking). The intended answer was clearly option C, but the booklet prints it as 'wired or offbeat' instead of 'weird or offbeat', and 'wired' (tense, or connected by wires) is not a meaning of outlandish. With no option strictly correct, PSC's final answer key marks this question '*' and awards 1 mark to every candidate irrespective of attempt. For revision: synonyms are eccentric, bizarre, freakish and offbeat; antonyms are ordinary and conventional. 'Antique' (A) means old and valuable, 'old school' (B) means traditional, and 'unavailable' (D) means not obtainable.

Answer: (C) compliment

'Compliment' (with an i) is an expression of praise, respect or admiration, so a book written in honour of one's teacher is 'a compliment to' the teacher. 'Complement' (with an e) is something that completes or goes well with another thing, 'supplement' is something added to make up a deficiency, and 'debt' does not fit the pattern 'is a ... to'. The same pair gives two more confusables: 'complimentary' (given free, or praising) and 'complementary' (completing each other, as in complementary angles that add up to $90^\circ$). Memory aid: I give a compliment; an e completes a complement.

Answer: (C) If people are curious beyond a point, they may invite trouble.

The proverb warns that being too inquisitive about things that do not concern you can land you in trouble, which is what option C says. Option A is only a phrase, not a meaning; B takes the cat literally; and D exaggerates the idea into something 'deadly' and 'beyond any man's reach'. The saying began in the 16th century as 'Care killed the cat' (care meaning worry), used by Ben Jonson and Shakespeare, and today it is often capped with the reply 'but satisfaction brought it back'. A proverb with a similar warning is 'Let sleeping dogs lie'.

Answer: (C) can

'Can' is the modal auxiliary that expresses ability or capacity, exactly what the hint [Ability] asks for; its past form is 'could' and its near-equivalent is 'be able to'. 'Should' expresses advice or duty, 'must' expresses necessity or strong obligation, and 'don't' is the negative of the auxiliary 'do', not a modal. Quick chart of modal functions for the exam: can/could = ability, may/might = permission or possibility, must = compulsion or logical certainty, should/ought to = advice, will/would = willingness or habit, need not = absence of necessity.

Answer: (A) Could

A question beginning with 'Could you ...?' is the standard polite request form, so 'Could' matches the hint [Request]. 'Should you be more careful?' asks about advisability, 'Must you ...?' expresses compulsion or irritation, and 'Have you be ...' is ungrammatical because 'have' needs a past participle (been). The usual request modals are can, could, will and would, with 'could' and 'would' sounding more polite than 'can' and 'will'; 'may' and 'might' are used when asking permission for oneself (May I come in?).

Answer: (A) near

'Round (or around) the corner' means very near, either in place (the shop is just round the corner) or in time (the Pujas are round the corner). It has nothing to do with leaving, hiding or falling. Expressions with the same sense are 'at hand', 'in the offing' and 'on the horizon'. Do not confuse it with other 'corner' idioms: 'to cut corners' is to do something cheaply or carelessly, 'to drive someone into a corner' is to put them in a difficult position, and 'to turn the corner' is to pass the worst point of a crisis.

Answer: (B) though

The two clauses stand in contrast (a holiday is planned, yet the destination is not fixed), so the concessive conjunction 'though' is required. 'While' can show contrast but mainly means 'during the time that', 'when' expresses time, and 'which' is a relative pronoun, not a conjunction, so it cannot join these clauses. 'Though', 'although' and 'even though' are interchangeable here; 'though' is the only one that can also be placed at the end of a sentence in informal use (They haven't decided, though).

Answer: (B) filial

'Filial' (Latin filius, son; filia, daughter) describes the duty, love or respect that children owe to their parents, so 'filial duty' is the fixed phrase. 'Parental' would mean the duty parents owe to children, 'fraternal' (frater, brother) relates to brothers, and 'ancestral' relates to forefathers or inherited property. Other relationship adjectives asked in exams: maternal and paternal (mother's and father's side), sororal (of a sister), avuncular (like an uncle), conjugal (of marriage) and sibling (brother or sister).

Answer: (B) Anthology

An 'anthology' is a collection of selected poems, stories or other writings, usually by different authors, published in one volume; the word comes from Greek anthos (flower) + legein (to gather), literally 'a gathering of flowers'. An 'epilogue' is the closing section of a book or play (opposite: prologue), a 'manuscript' is a handwritten or unpublished text, and a 'lexicon' is a dictionary or the vocabulary of a language. Related one-word substitutions: omnibus (several works of one author in a volume), compendium (a concise collection of information), glossary (list of difficult terms) and bibliography (list of books consulted).

Answer: (D) The person who takes the earliest opportunity to do something will gain advantage over others.

The proverb teaches that whoever acts first or seizes an opportunity earliest gains an advantage over those who delay, which option D states completely. Option A shifts the idea to 'good habits', B takes the bird and worm literally, and C narrows it to standing first in a queue. Proverbs on the same theme of timely action are 'Strike while the iron is hot', 'Make hay while the sun shines', 'A stitch in time saves nine' and 'First come, first served'; the humorous counter-saying is 'The second mouse gets the cheese'.

Answer: (D) continuous

'Afoot' means in progress, under way, going on. 'The game is afoot' therefore says that something has begun and is currently happening, and among the options this is best matched by 'continuous', the answer in PSC's final key. Option A is the tempting distractor because Sherlock Holmes uses the line when a new case starts, but the word 'afoot' itself does not mean a case or an investigation; B and C are unrelated. The expression is from Shakespeare (Henry V), where 'game' is the hunted animal, and Conan Doyle later made it famous. Similar adverbs: under way, in motion, astir.