EXAMINATION NUMBER___________________________

DOMASI COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

ENTRANCE EXAMINATION

PAPER I: COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Date: Time allowed:

INSTRUCTIONS:

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COMMUNICATION SKILLS DRAFT (PAPER 2)

For questions 1-12, fill in each of the gaps with the best option that completes the
sentence.

1. Peter _____________study at Domasi College of Education if he passes the

entrance examinations.

A can
B would
C will
D may

2. Lessons begin at 3:30 p.m. and John came at 3:30 p.m. He arrived _______ time
for the lesson.

A in
B on
C within
D about

3. No sooner had we arrived___________ the match started.

A when
B than
C as
D and

4. The doctor dissuaded him ______________ traveling.

A against
B from
C into
D for

5. She made good impression ________her teachers last year.

A into
B to
C over
D on

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6. She said that she _______ their goods even if the whole world crumbled before
her.

A would rather die poor than rob others of

B had better die poor than rob others of
C would rather die poor than steal people of
D had better die than steal people from

7. You would have asked him if you had been around, wouldn’t you? ________.

A Yes, I wouldn’t
B Yes, I would have
C Yes, I had
D Yes, I would

8. The inhabitants of the island were often _________ the main land by the weather.

A cut off from

B cut out from
C closed in from
D closed up from

9. The fainted athlete ___________ after some first aid.

A came around
B came back
C came again
D came out

10. As blind as a ____________.

A bat
B dear
C lamb
D snail

11. As proud as a ___________.

A hare
B peacock
C rat
D owl

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12. Peter’s many offers of employment force him to _____________ with the
decision of which job to accept.

A interact
B grapple
C gratify
D delay

In questions 13-15, choose the option that means the same as the underlined word or
words.

13. That’s a blue joke. I can’t withstand it.

A a lie
B that makes all laugh
C truth
D an insult

14. I can’t figure out what he is saying. The underlined words mean

A understand.
B draw.
C see.
D hear.

15. I greeted her twice but she didn’t respond. She might have been woolgathering.

A day dreaming
B rude
C dumb
D sleeping

In questions 16- 20, choose the letter that represents the statement that is written
correctly.

16. A It was a new white Japanese sports car.

B It was a new Japanese white sports car.
C It was a new sports white Japanese car.
D It was a new white sports Japanese car.

17. A We saw a beautiful young Malawian lady.

B We saw a young beautiful Malawian lady.
C We saw a Malawian young beautiful lady.
D We saw a beautiful Malawian young lady.

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18. A Domasi College is a famous new Malawian education college.
B Domasi College is a Malawian famous new education college.
C Domasi College is a new education Malawian famous college.
D Domasi College is a new education famous Malawian college.

19. A “What is the matter”? Said Tadala.

B “What is the matter?” Said Tadala.
C “What is the matter” said Tadala?
D “What is the matter? Said Tadala.”

20. A Her father -in-laws’ name is Norman.

B Her father in law’s name is Norman.
C Her father-in-law’s name is Norman.
D Her father’s-in-law name is Norman.

21. “I study French every evening,” he said.

A He said that he studied French every evening.

B He said that had studied French every evening.
C He said that I studied French every evening.
D He said that I was studying French every evening

For questions 21 - 27, fill each of the gaps with the best option that completes the
sentence.

22. She ______ her daughter who was the army captain for two weeks.

A grieved
B bereaved
C mourned
D deceased

23. The ________ the foreign pathologists made on Abacha’s body showed he had
died of natural causes.

A examination
B test
C post-morten
D diagnosis

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24. The first-aider advised us to put some _____ in the wound before bandaging the
leg.

A sling
B splint
C suture
D lint

25. The _______ of cholera was reported but the inhabitant and not take proper
measures and so, it later spread and killed a lot of people.

A outbreak
B epidemic
C plague
D pestilence

26. A bee _________.

A hums
B growls
C drones
D purrs

27. A rabbit ________.

A howls
B chatter
C squeals
D hoots

28. A hyena ______ in the night.

A screams
B pipes
C caws
D fackles

29. I saw ________________ the Queen of England.

A Her Excellency
B Her Majesty
C the First Lady
D the Honourable lady

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30. The _________________ has served the university for four years now.

A lecturer
B tutor
C rector
D teacher

For questions 31-40, fill in each of the blank spaces with the most suitable word.

I always remind myself that investing is a process and that there is no secret formula.
There is no get-rich-quick pill you can take. You don’t get to bed one (31)
_______________ and wake up wealthy in the morning. There may be (32)
_______________out there who promised these things but I have yet to see one that last
for a long-term.

It’s no different than loosing (33) ___________. If you want to loose weight (34)
__________________ keep it off, then there is process you go through. You exercise
regularly. You make some changes to your (35) _____________ and over time you start
to see the results. It doesn’t happen (36) ______________ unless you have liposuction.
Nevertheless you still have to adjust (37) _______________life style to make it last.

In the process of becoming investors, we (38) ________________. We get some hands-

on experience. We (39) _____________ and learn from our mistakes. We get more
experience, and in this (40) _______________ our knowledge, our confidence, and our
abilities grow. Not to mention our bank accounts. However, the key is this – the process
we go through is even more important than the end goal itself.

Read the comprehension passage below and answer the questions that follow by
circling the letter that represents the correct answer.

What I hated most when I was doing engineering research was to forget how I had
previously solved a difficult problem which recurs when I cannot remember the
solution I used the last time I solved the problem. I am sure that you too face
such instances where you did something that you need again in
5 order to solve an immediate problem but you simply cannot remember what
exactly it is that you did.

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 What we all need is a learning log, a tool that can help us to record all key
learning points as they occur for future reference. There is nothing complicated
about a learning log. Even a computer, although very useful is
10 not necessary to have a learning log. You simply need to draw a basic table
comprising four columns; date, the learning event, the lesson learnt and
application of the lesson.

The date is simply the day when you learnt the lesson being recorded. This is
complemented by the second column which describes the event where you
15 learnt something new being recorded. This could be a conference speech, a
workshop discussion, training course, a project at work, a job secondment, or
from your coach or mentor. This could even be from a book you read or from the
internet or indeed from observing others do something effectively and efficiently.

20 In the third column, you need to record the actual lesson learnt. This could be a
new method for planning projects or a new tool for developing a budget for your
company or indeed a new method of treating some disease, a clever way of selling
technology products to those who need the technology among others. A key type
of lesson that needs to be recorded is a solution you
25 struggled to arrive at when solving a problem. You are very likely to face that
problem again and probability is that you will have forgotten the solution you
struggled so much to find. Record that solution.

The fourth column is very important, application. You will only rise and shine if
you focus on delivery, practical application of knowledge and if you have
30 the drive to achieve and excel. The learning log too is effective only if it takes
you to application. Record in the fourth column how you will apply the lesson in
practice and how the lesson will drive value for your company or those around
you.

Start with drafting your template for the learning log. If you have computing
35 tools, use either Microsoft Word or an Excel Sheet to develop the learning log.
This will enable you to easily make changes if you need to. Most importantly, a
computer based learning log will allow you to quickly search a lesson that you
want to refer to in the future.

The challenge you will face with using a learning log is to sustain usage of it.
40 The first few days, you are excited and driven to develop the tool and to use it.
But as days pass by, you begin to lose esteem and start to forget about the
learning log. Later, you completely forget about even the existence of a learning
log. Put in effort to evergreen the learning log. Four years ago, I had a friend
who was good user of the learning log. He would scribble lessons on
45 a pad as the day went by and at the end of each day, he would spare some 10 to 15
minutes to update his learning log. I found that practice very impressive and
worth emulating.

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 A learning log will take you far and high. Develop your basic table of lessons
learnt. Enter the date, event, lesson learnt and how you will apply the lesson.
50 If you do this continuously, you will be on your road to continuous personal
learning professional development.

(Source: Nation Newspaper dated 27th May, 2010)

41. According to the passage one thing that the writer has in common with other
people is ______________________.

A forgetting certain things

B ability to write
C hating to solve problems
D over dependence on computers

42. Which component of the basic table would help to solve financial issues in
certain places of work?

A The application table

B The lesson learnt table
C The date column
D The event column

43. In what way is the writer accommodating the computer illiterate in the
development of a learning log?

A He is talking about a computer learning log.

B He is mentioning a computer in some parts of his story.
C He says a computer is necessary for the development of a learning log.
D He says a learning log can be developed in absence of a computer.

44. The word “efficiently” as used in line 19 in the passage means ___________.

A working very hard

B producing the desired results
C doing things with little effort
D doing things at the fastest pace

45. The word “template” as used in line 34 in the passage means ___________.

A the basic table

B the Microsoft word
C the Data column
D the log

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46 The words “job secondment” as used in line 16 in the passage means
___________.

A a temporary job apart from a regular one

B a job obtained after retiring the first one
C having two jobs within the same period
D a job that is not very important

47. Which computing tools can be used to develop the table specified in the passage?

A Excel sheets and the lesson column.

B Application column and internet.
C Date column and the other columns.
D Microsoft word and Excel.

48. After reading the story very carefully, it may be argued that the problem that the
writer is trying to address can not always be addressed because _______.

A the problem tackled is also faced with the means used to solve it
B not all have computers which can be used to address the problem
C not all persons are professionals
D the learning log seems not to exist

49. Which of the following statements is wrong about the writer?

A He would spare 10 to 15 minutes to update his learning log.

B He is willing to share knowledge.
C He studied engineering.
D He thinks that a computer may not be needed to perform certain tasks.

50. The right heading for the passage is_____________.

A Using a Learning Log to Overcome Forgetting.

B Learning Log for Personal Development
C The Importance of a Basic Table
D Tips for Personal and Professional Development

END OF QUESTION PAPER

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ANSWERS TO COMMUNICATION SKILLS PAPER 2

1C
2B
3B
4B
5D
6A
7D
8A
9A
10 A
11 B
12 B
13 A
14 A
15 A
16 A
17 A
18 A
19 B
20 C
21 A
22 C
23 C
24 D
25 A
26 A
27 C
28 A
29 B
30 A
31 night
32 people
33weight
34 and
35 diet
36 overnight
37 your
38 learn
39 make
40 process
41 A
42 B
43 D
44 B

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45 A
46 A
47 D
48 A
49 A
50 A

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