44th BCS

Ans: c) mostly
[ ‘By and large’ is used to indicate that a statement is mostly but not completely true.
Example: By and large, it went well (সব মিলিয়ে ভালোভাবেই কেটেছিল).
Synonyms: on the whole, generally, mostly, in general ]

Ans: d) a conjunction
[ He could not win but learnt a lot =সে জিততে পারেনি কিন্তু (সে) শিখেছিল অনেক। এখানে ‘but’ দুটি clause কে যুক্ত করায় এটি conjunction হিসেবে ব্যবহৃত হয়েছে। ]

Ans: a) at
[ “at the weekend” or “on the weekend”?
Both are correct. The British use “at the weekend”. The Americans use “on the weekends”.

➜ I play football at the weekend. – British English
➜ I play football on the weekend. – American English

Since, we follow British English in our writing, therefore, “at the weekend” will be the correct answer.]

Ans: b) sheep
[ The plural of ‘sheep’ is sheep.
➜ The farmer has six hundred sheep.
➜ A flock of sheep was grazing on the hill.

There are some other nouns which are same in both singular and plural. Example: aircraft, cod (কডমাছ), deer, fish, cattle, series, species etc.]

Ans: a) scenic
[ panoramic = দৃশ্য বা চিত্র সংক্রান্ত; a wide unbroken view of surrounding that is pleasing to eye.
scenic = মনোরম দৃশ্যসংবলিত;
narrow = সংকীর্ণ, সরু;
limited = সীমিত;
restricted = সীমাবদ্ধ ]

Ans: c) energetic
[ slothful = অলস, কুঁড়ে;
playful = হাসিঠাট্টাপূর্ণ;
sluggish = অলস, মন্থর;
energetic = সক্রিয়, কর্মশক্তিপূর্ণ;
quarrelsome = ঝগড়াটে ]

Ans: c) enable
[ ability = সক্ষমতা (noun);
capable = সক্ষম (adj.);
inability = অসক্ষমতা (noun; antonym of ability);
enable = সক্ষম করা (verb);
unable = অসক্ষম (adj. – antonym of capable)]

Ans: c) authoritative
[ authoritative = পাণ্ডিত্যপূর্ণ, কর্তৃত্বপূর্ণ
If you are authoritative, it indicates that  you are confident, in control, and expect to be respected and obeyed.
➜ He has a commanding presence and deep, authoritative voice.
➜ She has such an authoritative manner that at times it seems arrogance.]

Ans: a) Who can save our country?
[ By whom যুক্ত Passive form কে Active করার বেলায়-
➜ By whom এর পরিবর্তে Who আসবে।
➜ auxiliary verb একটি ভ্যানিশ হবে। একাধিক auxiliary verb থাকলে শেষের auxiliary verb টি ভ্যানিশ হবে। প্রথম auxiliary verb অনুযায়ী main verb বসবে।
➜ object বসবে + extension (যদি থাকে)]

Ans: b) subordinate clause
[ Noun clause = A noun clause functions as a noun (containing both a subject and a verb) in a sentence. Examples: I know that he is a good person. I don’t know what his name is.

Independent clause = Independent clause means regular sentence in English grammar. Example: I will give you a nice gift.

Subordinate clause = This clause is also known as dependent clause. It can not act alone. Example: I will give you a nice gift if you make a good result. Here, “if you make a good result” – is an incomplete sentence. It is meaningless without the first clause (principal clause).

Coordinate clause = A coordinate clause is made when we connect two independent clauses that are of equal importance. These clauses are connected by coordinating conjunctions – ‘and’ , ‘but’, ‘or’.
Example: I will give you a nice gift but you have to make a good result.]

Ans: d) Common
[ A common noun is the general, non-specific term for a person, place, or thing in a class or group. Examples: Man, flower, girl, bird, fish, river etc.

A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, organization, or thing. Examples: Mr. Rahim, Dr. Morgan. September, Argentina, Titanic, Himalayas etc.

Common noun এবং Proper noun এর মধ্যে পার্থক্য ধরার সহজ একটি উপায় হলো- Proper noun- বাক্যের যেখানেই বসুক এর প্রথম অক্ষর (first letter) সাধারণত বড় হাতের (Capital letter) হয়।
Example:
➜ There are many rivers in our country. (Common noun)
➜ Among them the Meghna is the widest in Bangladesh. (Proper noun)

Collective noun refers to a group of things. Examples: A herd of deer (এক পাল হরিণ), A hive of bees (এক চাক মৌমাছি), A flock of birds, (এক ঝাঁক পাখি), A murder of crows (এক ঝাঁক কাক), a pack of wolves (এক দল নেকড়ে) etc.

Material noun refers to a material or substance from which things are made. Examples: gold, silver, air, brick, cement, milk, butter, petrol, diesel, oil, rubber, salt, sand, clay, coffee, tea, cheese, cotton, copper, iron, glass etc.]

Ans: c) had left
[ My father had left before I came = আমি আসার আগে বাবা বের হয়ে গিয়েছিল।

অতীতের দুটি ঘটনার উল্লেখ থাকলে oldest past event টি Past Perfect Tense- এ হয় এবং nearest past event টি Past Indefinite Tense- এ হয়। মনে রাখার সুবিধার জন্য ‘before’ এর পূর্বে past perfect এবং পরে past indefinite হয়। ‘after’ এর পূর্বে past indefinite পরে past perfect হয়।

➜ Structure: sub + had + v3 + before + sub + v2.
Example: She had sent the email before the manager asked.
➜ Structure: sub + v2 + after + sub + had + v3.
Example: She sent the letter after the manager had asked.]

Ans: b) Let not the door be closed.
[ Imperative sentence কে passive করতে Do not এর পরিবর্তে Let not + sub + be + v3. 

Let not the door be closed = দরজাটি বন্ধ করা না হোক ]

Ans: a) reminescence
[ reminiscence = স্মৃতিচারণ, পূর্বস্মৃতি স্মরণ;
glycerin = গ্লিসারিন, চর্বি বা তেল জাতীয় পদার্থ;
idiosyncrasy = মেজাজ, মানসিক গঠন;
lexicography =  অভিধান রচনা, অভিধান-সংকলন বিদ্যা ]

Ans: b) Zaman is more industrious than most other boys.
[ Very few boys are as industrious as Zaman = খুব কম ছেলেই জামানের মতো এত পরিশ্রমী।
এই বাক্যটির comparative form বা তুলনাবাচক রুপ হবে- জামান অন্য বেশীরভাগ ছেলের চেয়ে পরিশ্রমী। এই বাক্যটিকে ইংরেজি করলে পাই – Zaman is more industrious than most other boys.

Structure এর দিক থেকে,
Positive degree তে plural অর্থাৎ Very few থাকলে comparative form হবে, Sub + Verb + comparative form of the positive form + than most other + extension.

অন্যদিকে, Positive degree তে singular অর্থাৎ No other থাকলে comparative form হবে, Sub + Verb + comparative form of the positive form + than any other + extension.

‘No other boy is as industrious as Zaman’ – বাক্যটির comparative form হবে – Zaman is more industrious than any other boy. ]

Ans: c) with
[ Your opinion is identical with mine = তোমার মতামত আমার মতো একই।

‘identical with‘ or ‘identical to‘ ?
According to The American Heritage Dictionary (AHD) both are acceptable. However, ‘identical to‘ is found more common. This latter construction is modern compared to the older construction – ‘identical with‘.]

Ans: c) adjective
[ vital (adj.) = অত্যাবশ্যক (absolutely necessary; essential)]

Ans: d) topic sentence
[ A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph. Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence. Topic sentences help keep one’s writing focused and guide the reader through one’s argument.]

Ans: b) two contradictory things in the same statement
[ equivocation = a way of speaking that is intentionally not clear and is confusing to other people, especially to hide the truth. Example: He answered openly and honestly without hesitation or equivocation.]

Ans: c) justify the ways of God to man.
[ Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674).

The story of Paradise Lost is Biblical (বাইবেলসংক্রান্ত) and theme falls into three parts- 1) disobedience, 2) Eternal Providence, and 3) justification of God to men. Frequently, discussions of Paradise Lost center on the latter of these three to the exclusion of the first two.]

Ans: d) S.T. Coleridge
[  S.T. Coleridge or Samuel Taylor Coleridge is an English poet (1772 – 1834) who wrote this in his poem- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. His most famous works include ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, ‘Kubla Khan’ and ‘Christabel’.

The quotation ‘He prayeth best, who loveth best’- tells us that the best prayer to God is by loving others. Man has the capacity to love and serve others. Love makes man divine. He must love all things in the universe because they are created by God. ]

Ans: b) Easter 1916
[ Easter, 1916 is a poem by W. B. Yeats describing the poet’s torn emotions regarding the events of the Easter Rising staged in Ireland against British rule on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916. The uprising was unsuccessful, and most of the Irish republican leaders involved were executed for treason.]

Ans: c) T.S. Eliot
[ Murder in the Cathedral is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot, first performed in 1935, that portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral during the reign of Henry II in 1170.]

Ans: a) John Dryden
[ “All for Love” is a 1677 heroic drama by John Dryden (1631-1700) which is his best-known and most performed play.
His other works include- The Wild Gallant, The Rival Ladies, The Indian Queen, The Indian Emperor, Secret Love, The Tempest etc.]

Ans: c) Ode to the West Wind
[ “Ode to the west wind” is a poem that shows us the power of the wind which brings a change in the natural world. Similarly, the poet wishes for reform in society. Moreover, the poem has underlying themes of optimism and hope for a better future.

Some extracts from the poem:

The comrade of thy wanderings over Heaven,
As then, when to outstrip thy skiey speed
Scarce seemed a vision; I would ne’er have striven
As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need.
Oh! lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!
I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed! ]

Ans: b) W. Somerset Maugham
[ W. Somerset Maugham, in full William Somerset Maugham, (1874 — 1965), is an English novelist, playwright, and short-story writer. His major works are- Liza of Lambeth, Of Human Bondage, The Painted Veil, Cakes and Ale, The Moon and Sixpence and The Razor’s Edge ]

Ans: d) poem
[ The Essay on Man is a philosophical poem, written, characteristically, in heroic couplets (দ্বিপদী শ্লোক), and published between 1732 and 1734. Alexander Pope intended it as the centerpiece of a proposed system of ethics to be put forth in poetic form: it is in fact a fragment of a larger work which Pope planned but did not live to complete.]

Ans: a) essayist
[ Francis Bacon was a famous Essayist of the 16th century and also known as the father of English prose. His essays have an evergreen freshness and an intellectual power. “Of Plantations” is his famous essay published in 1625.]

Ans: d) As you like it
[ “Sweet are the uses of adversity” উক্তিটির ভাবার্থ: দুঃখের প্রয়োজনীয়তা মধুর। অথবা, বিপর্যয় অভিশাপ নয়, আশির্বাদ।
লক্ষণীয় বিষয়, উক্তিটিতে Sweet subject নয়। কারণ sweet শব্দটি adjective, আর শুধু adjective একাকি subject হয় না। Subject হয় noun বা noun equivalent। জোর প্রদানের জন্য এই বাক্যে inversion হয়েছে। মানে subject এর আগে verb বসেছে। “The uses (of adversity)” হচ্ছে subject। স্বাভাবিকভাবে বাক্যটি লিখলে এমন হবে, The uses of adversity are sweet। কিন্তু জোর প্রদানের জন্য inversion করা হয়েছে। এমন inversion হওয়া বাক্যগুলোতে verb এর পরের noun/pronoun অনুসারে verb বসবে। noun/pronoun টি singular হলে verb singular আর noun/pronoun টি plural হলে verb plural হবে। ]

Ans: d) Macbeth
[ Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power.
When Lady Macbeth kills herself, Macbeth (her husband) states, “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more” (V.V. 19-28). In other words, Macbeth is saying that life is nothing other than an illusion. Life is like a poor actor who struts (ভাররক্ষা করা) and worries for his time on the stage and then, he is gone.]

Ans: a) The Tempest
[ The Tempest is unlike any other play in Shakespeare’s works. It is filled with magic and spirits. Caliban is the main antagonist (opponent/enemy character) of this play. He is seen as a monster and portrayed on the stage as something inhuman.]

Ans: c) a play by Bernard Shaw
[ Caesar and Cleopatra is a play written in 1898 by George Bernard Shaw that depicts a fictionalized account of the relationship between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. The pair’s need of one another was mutual. Cleopatra required the might of Caesar’s armies to install her as ruler of Egypt, while Caesar was in need of Cleopatra’s vast wealth. She is believed to have been the world’s richest woman at the time and able to finance Caesar’s return to power in Rome. One of the famous line of this play is by Caesar -I came, I saw, I conquered.

Caesar was assassinated but Cleopatra stayed in Rome in the vain hope of having Caesarion (son of Cleopatra) recognized as Caesar’s heir (উত্তরাধিকারী). ]

Ans: c) Henry Fielding
[ Picaresque novels are normally comedic or satirical (ব্যঙ্গধর্মী) in their tone, offering a humorous look at the corrupt world around them. The stories are usually told in the first person from the ‘hero’s’ point of view.

Tom Jones is a comic novel by English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding (1707 – 1754). It was first published on 28 February 1749 in London. Beside “Tom Jones (1749)”, “Joseph Andrews (1742)” is Fielding’s another famous novel.]

Ans: b) a whale
[ “Moby Dick” is a novel by Herman Melville, published in London in October 1851 as ‘The Whale’ and a month later in New York City as ‘Moby-Dick’. Moby Dick is generally regarded as Melville’s magnum opus (best work of an artist) and one of the greatest American novels.

Born in 1819, author Herman Melville grew up during the peak of American dominance of the whaling industry. Influenced by the industry, he tells the story in the sailor Ishmael’s narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that on the ship’s previous voyage bit off Ahab’s leg at the knee.

Beside “Moby Dick”, “Bartleby the Scrivener,” and “Billy Budd” are Melville’s best known works. ]