MCS-015: COMMUNICATION SKILLS,DEC -2007

MCS-015 : COMMUNICATION SKILLS,JUNE 2007

MCS-015

MCA (Revised)
Term-End Examination
June, 2007

MCS-015 : COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Time: 2 hours ` Maximum Marks : 50

Note : Answer all questions.

1. Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it: 10

Grasses are a large family of flowering plants that grow all over the world. It is the most important family of plants because it includes the cereals which are one of the main basic foods, and it also provides food for man's domestic animals.

There are about 10,000 species of grasses. Some species, such as star grass, also known as Bermuda grass, are very short (about 10 cm), and others such as bamboo reach a height of 30 m. Most species of grasses are perennial (live for many years), and others, such as the cereals, are annual (live for one year). The roots of grasses help to bind the soil together and prevent soil erosion. Most species are herbaceous, that is their stems are green and contain little wood. Bamboo and a few other species have woody stems. Most species have hollow stems, but maize has a solid stem. The stems of sugar-cane contain sugar. The stems of bamboo are used for making furniture and houses. The stems of some species, such as esparto grass, are used for making paper.

The leaves of grasses are long and narrow. The bottom of the leaf forms a covering over the stem. The flowers of grasses are very small and are not brightly coloured. They grow in large groups called "spikelets".

The fruit contains a lot of starch, some protein, and traces of mineral salts and vitamins. We use the fruit of many cereals such as maize, rice, millet, sorghum, and wheat for our food.

Sedges are related to grasses. There are about 3,000 species which grow all over the world. Most of them are not useful economically, and some species, such as nut grass, which grows in Sudan, are very troublesome weeds. The most useful sedge is papyrus, which grows on the Upper Nile River, Ethiopia, Syria and southern

Europe. It is used for making roofs and fences and was used in ancient times for making paper and boats.

(i) Which group of grasses are most important to man ? 2

(ii) Mention the three types of grasses whose stems are of great use to human beings. 3

(iii) What is a "herbaceous" plant ? 1

(iv) What are sedges ? 1

(v) Why is papyrus the most useful sedge ? 2

(vi) Use `species' in a sentence of your own. 1

2. Fill in the blanks choosing the most suitable phrasal verb from those given below : 5

Make changes in the form of the verb, where necessary. (There are two extra phrasal verbs)

take on, takeafter, look up, look after, run into, take off, look upto

(i) He requested me to _________while she was away.

(ii) Why don't you _____ this word in the dictionary ?

(iii) I__________an old friend in London.

(iv) They always_________their parents for guidance.

(v) She___________her father.

3. Write down the text of a group discussion between four participants on the importance of the Right to Information Act (about 300 words). 10

4. You are R. Chand, Branch Manager of a reputed bank in New Delhi. Draft a memo to be sent to all the staff of the bank on how to conduct themselves while on duty and to adhere to lunch hours in order to improve the work culture of the office. 10

5. Write a letter of application, together with your Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) for the job of Programmers/Design Engineers with experience in design of software packages. Apply to Auto Service, New Delhi within 10 days. 10+5=15

MCS-015 : COMMUNICATION SKILLS,DEC 2006

MCS-015 : COMMUNICATION SKILLS,JUNE-2006

MCA (Revised)
Term-End Examination
June, 2006

MCS-015 : COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Time : 2 hours Maximum Marks : 50

Note : Answer all questions.

1. Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it :

Finally, a virus infects a worm and it has nothing to do with computers. But it does have a lot to do with humans. Courtney Wilkins, a microbiology and immunology student at the University of Arkansas, successfully infected the ... elegans earthworm with the mammalian vesicular stomatitis virus and had it replicate. Others had tried and failed before and Wilkins' breakthrough will let researchers learn more about how viruses move from one host to another, and what proteins they attach to jn humans. Some cells in C elegans, a microscopic earthworm commonly used in biomedical research, are similar to some human cells.

“There were a lot of labs interested in whether this could work, so it just seemed pretty exciting,”- she said Since January 2002, Wilkins began studying whether she
could infect the worms with a virus and have the virus spread. She usually worked with muscle or intestinal cells and eventually settled on using the vesicular stomatitis virus. The virus is related to rabies and similar to foot-and-mouth disease and mostly infects livestock. Wilkins said. It took three to four months to establish the cell cultures. Khaled Machaca, one of Wilkins' advisers and a professor of cell biology, said the experiment wasn't without its rough spots. He said that there were points when he had to remind Wilkins that her decision to undertake the research was a risky one, because it was
unknown whether it would work. And that meant Wilkins" degree was at stake, because her career could be stopped if nothing came of the research, he said. After two years, it was clear that Wilkins was successful in her experiment. Wilkins remembered discovering about 9 pm, one night in 2004 that the VSV had replicated inside the worm cell. She immediately called Marie Chow, a professor of virology and another advisor. "Courtney gets so excited that she starts to stutter, “. Chow said, "She couldn't get the words out, so we knew there was something to it,” she said.

(i) How was the research mentioned in the passage a risky proposition ? 2
(ii) What was the outcome of the research ? 1
(iii) What was the researcher’s reaction to the outcome of the research ? Why was it so ? 2+2
(iv) Find out a word from the passage which has similar meaning as 'spread'. 1
(v) Use livestock' and 'rough spots' in a sentence each of your own to bring out their specific meanings. 2

2. Fill in the blanks choosing the most suitable word from the choices given : 5

(i) They moved ______ their new house two years back, (round/on/over/into)
(ii) Be careful. Your gun should not go _______ accidentally, (away/off/over/on)
(iii) The Government was determined to push the legislation __________ . (through/in/on/off)
(iv) I ran ________ an old friend in Amsterdam. (out/through/into/up)
(v) The flight could not take __________ in time because of the fog. (on/off/up/away)

3. Write down the text of a group discussion between four participants on the need for more strict quality control measures in India. (About 500 words) 10

4. You are Nihal Chand, Managing Director, Purifiers India Ltd. Write a Memo to all the three Managers (sales, Production and Finance) to hold a meeting with them, in a week’s time, for the yearly review of the Company. 10

5. Write a letter of application, together with your Curriculum Vitae (CV) for the job in response to the following advertisement:

“COBOL Programmers, with a minimum 2 years’ experience required by a well known Data Processing Company in Delhi. Apply within 10 days to Box 65, New Delhi-110068."

MCS-015: COMMUNICATION SKILLS,DEC-2005

MCS-015: COMMUNICATION SKILLS,JUNE-2005

MCA
Term-End Examination
June, 2005

MCS-015: COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Time: 2 hours Maximum Marks: 50
Note: Answer all questions
1. Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it:

If your desk is piled high with letters, faxes, forms, memos, reports, print-outs and sticky-backed message slips, you might believe all this paperwork is a sign of how busy you are. But according to Declan Treacy, cluttered desks lead to lost information, distractions, missed opportunities, high stress and not a little procrastination. He founded and runs the Clear Your Desk Organisation and organizes the annual International Clear Your Desk Day which this year is being held on April 24.

His argument for uncluttered desks are strong. “We pile between 300 and 500 pieces of paper on the desk at any time, a load equivalent to a 40-hour backlog of work. With 45 minutes a day wasted on frustrating searches for lost paperwork on and around the desk, it is unfortunate that the cluttered desk is the accepted norm in most organizations,” he says. Treacy holds seminars to help companies organize their own Clear Your Desk days, when everyone from the senior managers to secretaries learn how to tackle paperwork more effectively.

What you shouldn’t do is add to the pile of paper that’s already there, says Treacy: “Eighty per cent of all paperwork is eventually discarded, but it causes an awful lot of trouble before that happens. Unfortunately, most executives believe the myth that an empty desk is the sign of an unproductive mind. How wrong can you be? Companies cannot afford to let people work from cluttered desks. Hours of valuable time are wasted in searching for vital pieces of paper, and in being distracted by the constant steam of faxes, memos and reports which land in our in-trays when we should be devoting time to more important work.”

(i) A desk which is piled high with letters, reports, sticky-backed messages, etc. indicates how busy one is. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give reasons from the passage. 4

(ii) In most businesses a/an ____________ desk is considered perfectly acceptable.
1
(a) cluttered
(B) untidy
© tidy
(d) clean
(Select the right choice)

(iii) How does paperwork cause loss of time? 2
(iv) What is the fate of most paperwork? 1
(v) International Clear Your Desk Day is held every ___________ 1
(vi) Give a suitable title to the passage. 1
2. Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence, from the options following each: 5
(i) There has been a ____________ in the sales of new houses since home loans are more difficult to obtain.

(a) dive
(B) slump
© downfall
(d) crash
(ii) We can expect to treble our turnover once the July sales get into full ____________ .

(a) force
(B) flight
© speed
(d) swing
(iii) The government has spent Rs.1Crore on an advertising ________ to encourage energy conservation.
(a) campaign
(B) promotion
© operation
(d) enterprise
(iv) I advise you to take ____________ to ensure that all your property is adequately covered by insurance.

(a) means
(B) actions
© steps
(d) dealings
(v) Have you thought what the ___________ might be if you don’t win your case in court?

(a) applications
(B) bearings
© implications
(d) connotations
3. Complete the customer’s part in the following dialogue: 10
Shopkeeper : Good morning, Madam, may I help you?
Customer : ________________________________ .
Shopkeeper : I see, well, what exactly is the problem?
Customer : ________________________________ .
Shopkeeper : Well, how long ago did you buy it?
Customer : _________________________________ .
Shopkeeper : Could you let me see your receipt, please?
Customer : _________________________________ .
Shopkeeper : Well I’m afraid you’ll have to produce it.
Customer : _________________________________ .
4. Change the voice in the following sentences from active to passive, mentioning the agent only if necessary. 10

(i) He spends money for his children every month.
(ii) They inspect the factory every week.
(iii) The security man checks every visitor at the gate.
(iv) Droughts upset the economy of the country.
(v) She looked after the children well.
(vi) They are demolishing unauthorized buildings.
(vii) Will they declare Friday a holiday?
(viii) He has completed his assignments.
(ix) They are doing good work.
(x) Thieves broke into the house.

5. (a) You use 3,000 cellophane boxes a month and you need to order some more from your supplier. You can buy enough boxes for several months at once if she/he gives you a large enough discount. Find out what she/he is offering and attempt to negotiate a deal in a letter of about 200 words. 10

(B) Suppose you are applying for the job of a software engineer. Prepare your curriculum vitae. 5