OPEN COMPETITION EPSO/C/l1/03

English-language Secretaries (C5/C4)

Test a)

Test comprising a series of multiple-choice questions to assess:

i. your knowledge of basic secretarial skills
ii. your mastery of the English language

Questions numbered from 1 to 40

This test will be marked out of 40 :

section (i) (questions 1-20) out of 20 (pass mark: 10) ;
section (ii) (questions 21-40) out of 20 (pass mark: 10)

Test b)

Test comprising a series of multiple-choice questions on the main

developments in European integration and Community policies

Questions numbered from 41 to 80

This test will be marked out of 20 (pass mark: 10)

Time allowed for tests a) and b) : 1 hour

Reminder:

. You may only choose one answer per question.

. No corrections can be made on the optical reader form (do not use an eraser, correction
fluid or similar) .
. No new optical reader forms will be distributed.
. Wrong answers will not be penalised.
. You may use the question paper as a draft.
DO NOT TURN THIS PAGE UNTIL INSTRUCTED TO DO SO
 OPEN COMPETITION EPSO/C/ll/03 English-language- Secretaries (C5/C4)

Test a)

Test comprising a series of multiple-choice questions to assess your

knowledge of basic secretarial skills and your mastery of the English
language

Questions numbered from 1 to 40

1. Which of the following is correct?

a) I was taught to think nice thoughts.

b) I was tought to think nice thoughts.
c) I was taut to think nice toughts.
d) I was thought to think nice thoughts.

2. Which of the following is correct?

a) You are responsable for booking the accommodation.

b) You are responsible for booking the acommodation.
c) You are responsable for booking the accomodation.
d) You are responsible for booking the accommodation.

3. Which of the following is correct?

a) Neither Mary or John is available.

b) Neither Mary nor John are available.
c) Neither Mary nor John is available.
d) Neither Mary or John are available.

4. Which of the following is correct?

a) It is the principle point on the agenda..

b) He has the principal role in the play.
c) He is the school principle.
d) The principal is what matters.

5. Which of the following is correct?

a) There books are on the table.

b) The books are left over their.
c) Were are there books?
d) The books are there on the table.
6. Which word below has a similar meaning to "waffle"?

a) blather
b) prevaricate
c) confront
d) stutter

7. Which word below means "easily upset by criticism"?

a) sensory
b) sentient
c) sensitive
d) sensible

8. Which word below means "appoint to office"?

a) associate
b) designate
c) demote
d) sublimate

9. Which word below means "having more than one meaning"?

a) ambiguous
b) ambivalent
c) unequivocal
d) incongruous

10. Which word below means "liable to happen soon"?

a) eminent
b) immanent
c) imminent
d) incumbent

11. Complete the following phrase:

The doctor. . . . . . . . .. medicine from his medical. . . . . . . . .. .

a) practices, practice
b) practises, practise
c) practices, practise
d) practises, practice

12. Complete the following phrase:

A stitch in time saves. . . . . . . . ..

a) two
b) four
 c) five
d) nine

13. Complete the following phrase:

He who pays the piper. . . . . . . . .. the tune.

a) calls
b) chooses
c) selects
d) picks

14. Complete the following phrase:

Newsgroups are Internet..........for discussing specific subjects.

a) forum
b) fori
c) fora
d) forae

15. What is the plural or rostrum?

a) rostas
b) rosters
c) rostra
d) rostres

16. What is the plural of hero?

a) heros
b) heroes
c) heroses
d) hereos

17. What is the plural of hoof?

a) hoofs
b) hooves
c) hoofes
d) hoofses

18. What is the plural of dwarf?

a) dwarfs
b) dwarfes
c) dwarves
d) dwarvese
19. What is the plural of louse?

a) lice
b) louses
c) louces
d) lices

20. What is the plural of "Secretary-General"?

a) Secretary's-General
b) Secretaries-General
c) Secretary-Generals
d) Secretaries-Generals

21. Which of the following commonly used software programmes is not part of the Microsoft
Office package?

a) Windows
b) Word
c) Excel
d) Outlook

22. What do you do in order to insert a tab inside a table cell in Word?

a) You press the Tab key

b) You press both Ctrl and Tab keys
c ) You click the Increase Indent icon on the Formatting toolbar
d) You click the Dashes icon on the Formatting toolbar

23. What does the shortcut Ctr1+V do in Office applications?

a) It lets you view formatting marks

b) It verifies spelling
c) It copies a selection into the Clipboard
d) It pastes the last item put on the Clipboard

24. An A4 page is...........of an A2 page.

a) a quarter
b) a half
c) double
d) one and a half
25. In a secretarial context what does the abbreviation “cif” mean?

a) cost, insurance and freight

b) coming into focus
c) coming into force
d) change initial figure

26. What would you use the following toolbar for?

a) formatting a document
b) creating a database
c) inserting headers and footers
d) reviewing a document

27. Starting from right to left what is the 11th icon used for?

a) insert table
b) split cells
c) insert shading
d) merge columns

28. You are authorised to sign a letter on someone else's behalf. After your signature, but
before their name, you would add?

a) p.p.
b) p.o.
c) p.q.
d) p.s.

29. Which is the correct way of writing five o´clock in the evening using a 12-hour clock?

a) 17h00
b) 5p.m.
c) 5 a.m.
d) 5 o'clock

30. How do you create a hard space in a Word document?

a) CTRL + ALT + spacebar

b) CTRL + SHIFT + spacebar
c) ALT + SHIFT + spacebar
d) ALT + INSERT + spacebar
31. You are in the middle of a Word document containing several pages. What is the
quickest way of going back to the beginning of the document?

a) HOME + PAGE UP
b) CTRL+ PAGE UP
c) ALT + HOME
d) CTRL + HOME

32. In an application, what is a macro?

a) a calculator
b) a special effect, such as underline
c) a series of instructions to accomplish a task automatically
d) a close-up view of your document

33. What does the following typographical instruction mean ?

a) start a new line

b) transpose the words
c) create an indent
d) start a new paragraph

34. You are correcting a revised document. What would you do with the following sentence?
methods
"As well as having a thorough knowledge of office systems and procedures secretaries need
to be excellent communicators and organisers."

a) keep the word "procedures" as it is

b) underline the word "procedures"
c) delete the word "procedures" and insert the word "methods"
d) delete the word "procedures" and insert the word "methods" with a dotted
underline

35. What application would be best suited to create a presentation?

a) PowerPoint
b) Excel
c) Word
d) Access

36. In a Word table, which command(s) would you use to move between cells?

a) TAB
b) ALT + TAB
c) CTRL+TAB
d) SHIFT + TAB
37. Which icon would you use to see the hidden text in a document?

a b c d

a) a
b) b
c) c
d) d

38. What is the conventional closing phrase to a letter beginning "Dear Madam”?

a) Yours truly
b) Yours sincerely
c ) Yours faithfully
d) Sincerely yours

39. Which of the following records the decisions at a meeting?

a) agenda
b) minutes
c) review
d) summary

40. On an agenda for a meeting, what does the abbreviation "aob" stand for?

a) all on board
b) any other business
c) act of business
d) any observations