Monday 29 July 2013

English for Army, Bank, MBA, Clerks and other Exams - Sample English Test

Improve Your English – Take a test
It is very important to read, write and speak correct English. Most of us while speaking or writing make many mistakes. These are very common and you may end up getting bad marks in English Test. English has an important role to play in your job so when you are applying for a job and appearing for an entrance test or interview you may go through a test. So while preparing for English test please make sure that you also prepare and check the simple and common English.
Below are some of the important questions and you will get a fair idea about how you can prepare for it and which are the mistakes you need to avoid while writing your English Exam.
In the first section of this exercise have find the error/s (if any) in the following sentences and rewrite them. The answers are given in the second section of this article
  1. This CD- ROM disk contains all the information you have asked for.
  2. My Speakeasy lessons are conducted every alternative Sunday.
  3. The end result of the Speakeasy course is that we speak more confidently.
  4. A year has lapsed since we last met.
  5. ATM machines have made many banking transactions quick and easy.
  6. She is an alumni of St. Andrews High School, New Delhi.
  7. Shaila and her team do quality work in the creative department.
  8. "Anyways, I had told Shaila that her assistant was a lazy dumbbell even before she hired him."
  9. He has tested negative for the HIV virus.
  10. There were between 15 to 20 people at the party on Wednesday.
  11. Aren't you aware that the exam date has been preponed by a day?
  12. The size of the population in India has taken a quantum leap in the last fifty years.
  13. My love for computers is born out of my interest in technology.
  14. When you compare and contrast India and China, we see that China has far surpassed India.
  15. Each of the girls were awarded a certificate for their participation.
  16. It is difficult to predict which party will win the next general elections at this point in time.

  1. Correct sentence: This CD- ROM contains all the information you have asked for.
    Explanation: "CD-ROM" is an abbreviation for "compact disc, read-only memory." Hence do not add 'disc' or 'disk' to CD-ROM. The same goes for "DVD". Don't say "give me that DVD disk," just "give me that DVD."
  2. Correct sentence: My Speakeasy lessons are conducted on alternate Sundays.
    Explanation: 'every alternative Sunday' has no meaning. 'every alternate Sunday' will also be meaningless. 'Alternate' means 'every other'
  3. Correct sentence: The result of the Speakeasy course is that we speak more confidently.
    Explanation: "End result' is saying the same thing twice. "an added bonus" (as a bonus), "preplan" (plan), and "free gift". "and plus" (plus) are some other redundancies of this type.
  4. Correct sentence: A year has elapsed since we last met.
    Explanation: "Lapse" usually refers to a change of state, as in lapsing from consciousness into unconsciousness. Here are examples of the correct uses of these words: "Six months have elapsed since your appointment" and "You have allowed your subscription to the Magazine to lapse."
  5. Correct sentence: ATMs have made many banking transactions quick and easy.
    Explanation: "ATM" means "Automated Teller Machine," so if you say "ATM machine" you are really saying, "Automated Teller Machine."
  6. Correct sentence: She is an alumnus/alumna of …
    Explanation: "alumnus" (male singular), "alumni" (male plural),"alumna" (female singular) and "alumnae" (female plural); however, the first two terms are now unisex. It is still necessary to distinguish between one alumnus and many alumni. However, in spoken language you may avoid the problem by using the short form "alum".
  7. Correct sentence: Shaila and her team do high quality work in the creative department.
    Explanation: "Quality" is not by itself a synonym for "good." Quality may be high or low. 'Quality work' has no meaning.
  8. Correct sentence: No error.
    Explanation: "Anyways" at the beginning of a sentence usually indicates that the speaker has resumed a narrative thread, as in the above sentence. It may also occur at the end meaning "in any case": "He wasn't all that good-looking anyways." 'Anyway' is slightly more formal than 'anyways'. Both are good in the spoken form, but avoid both in strictly formal contexts.
  9. Correct sentence: He has tested HIV-negative.
    Explanation: "HIV" stands for "human immunodeficiency virus," so adding the word "virus" to the acronym creates a redundancy.
  10. Correct sentence: There were between 15 and 20 people at the party on Wednesday.
    Explanation: when you use 'between' follow it up with an 'and' and not 'to'. Or you may say 'there were 15 - 20 people…' 'There were 15 to 20 people at the party' may sound correct. But it is better expressed as 'around 15… ' or 'around 20…' etc. 'He worked from 9 to 9' is correct.
  11. Correct sentence: Aren't you aware that the exam date has been advanced by a day?
    Explanation: Prepone (to move forward in time) is a word the South Asians have coined to mean the opposite of the word 'postpone'. It's a useful word, but people unfamiliar with this word will be puzzled by it.
  12. Correct sentence: The size of the population in India has increased dramatically in the last fifty years.
    Explanation: 'quantum leaps' mean an abrupt change from one state to a distinctly different one, with no in-between transitional states being possible; but they are not large. In physics a quantum leap is one of smallest sorts of changes worth talking about. Leave "quantum leap" to the subatomic physicists unless you know what you're talking about.
  13. Correct sentence: My love for computers is born of my interest in technology.
    Explanation: The only correct (though out dated) use of "born out of" is in the phrase "born out of wedlock."
  14. Correct sentence: When you compare India and China, we see that China has far surpassed India.
    Explanation: Here, you can even beat the English teacher (in redundancy). To compare two things is to note their similarities and their differences. There's no need to add "and contrast." In fact the dictionary will tell you that compare and contrast are synonyms.
  15. Correct sentence: Each of the girls was awarded a certificate for her participation.
    Explanation: 'Each' is singular. Hence 'each' will be followed by a singular verb. The subject of the sentence is 'each' and not 'girls'.
  16. Correct sentence: It is difficult to predict which party will win the next general elections at this point.
    Explanation: The redundancy - 'at this point in time' for 'at this time' became popular because it was used by astronauts seeking to distinguish precisely between a point in time and a point in space. "at this point" or "at this time." is good enough.

Sunday 28 July 2013

MBA Specialization - HRM

What is MBA HRM, Human Resource Management

HRM is all about helping a company reach its goals by focusing on people management. Two broad categories of HRM could be named as follows:
  1. Plant (Factory) Personnel
    The Plant Personnel function of HRD deals with maintaining healthy and positive industrial relations. The activities here include recruitment, payrolls, appraisals, administration, and all matters concerned with the Workers' Union. A stint in Plant Personnel offers exposure to handling highly sensitive issues such as discipline and union negotiation.
    Top firms like ITC, HLL, Coke specifically recruit candidates for the personnel management function.
  2. Corporate Personnel
    Corporate Personnel deals with HR activities in the corporate set-up that includes all managerial and supervisory staff. It covers all aspects from an employee's entry to exit, such as recruitment, attendance, leaves, pay, appraisals, audit and exit interviews. A lot of modern HR practices such as ESOP, 360-degree feedback and flexible timings, etc, have been path-breaking initiatives by some bright HR manager.
    You should possess good communication and inter-personal skills and present yourself as accessible, competent and charismatic.
    The best HR firms are William Mercer, Noble & Hewitt, Ernst & Young, Accenture. Apart from these all the top firms need HR professionals as it is one of the basic service functions in every company.