PPSC Past Papers & Solved MCQs

This analogy establishes a relationship where air is the medium for flying, just as water is the primary medium for swimming.

"Urdu Adab Maholiati Tanazur" received the prestigious Baba-i-Urdu Molvi Abdul Haq Award for Urdu Prose in 2022, recognizing its literary merit.

اس سوال کا بنیادی تصور اردو ادب میں مضامین کی مختلف اقسام کی پہچان ہے۔

• مزاحیہ مضامیں درست جواب ہے کیونکہ یہ ایسے مضامین کو کہتے ہیں جن میں مزاح، طنز یا مسخرا پن پایا جائے۔ یہ قاری کو ہنسانے یا ہلکے پھلکے انداز میں کسی موضوع پر غور کرنے کی دعوت دیتے ہیں۔
• تنقیدی مضامیں غلط ہیں کیونکہ ان کا مقصد کسی ادبی یا غیر ادبی کام کا تجزیہ اور اس پر رائے دینا ہوتا ہے، نہ کہ مزاح پیدا کرنا۔
• اصلاحی مضامیں بھی غلط ہیں کیونکہ ان کا مقصد معاشرتی یا اخلاقی اصلاح کرنا ہوتا ہے۔
• علمی مضامین بھی غلط ہیں کیونکہ یہ کسی خاص علم یا تحقیق پر مبنی ہوتے ہیں اور ان میں مزاح کا عنصر نہیں ہوتا۔

لہٰذا، مزاح، طنز اور مسخرا پن والے مضامین کو مزاحیہ مضامیں کہا جاتا ہے۔

اس سوال کا بنیادی تصور اردو شاعری میں استعمال ہونے والی ادبی صنعتوں کی پہچان ہے۔

• تجنیس درست جواب ہے کیونکہ یہ ایک ایسی صنعت ہے جس میں دو یا دو سے زیادہ ایسے الفاظ استعمال کیے جاتے ہیں جن کی املاء ایک جیسی ہو لیکن معنی مختلف ہوں۔ یہ الفاظ شعر میں خوبصورتی اور گہرائی پیدا کرتے ہیں۔
• تضاد غلط ہے کیونکہ یہ دو متضاد یا مخالف معنی والے الفاظ کے استعمال کو کہتے ہیں۔
• حسن تعلیل بھی غلط ہے کیونکہ اس میں شاعر کسی چیز کی ایسی وجہ بیان کرتا ہے جو حقیقت میں نہ ہو لیکن شاعرانہ طور پر خوبصورت لگے۔
• لف و نشر بھی غلط ہے کیونکہ اس میں پہلے چند چیزوں کا ذکر کیا جاتا ہے اور پھر ان سے متعلقہ چیزوں کا ذکر اسی ترتیب سے کیا جاتا ہے۔

لہٰذا، ایک جیسی املاء مگر مختلف معنی والے الفاظ کا استعمال تجنیس کہلاتا ہے۔

This question tests the transformation of direct speech into indirect speech, specifically for optative sentences (expressing a wish or prayer).

• Correct Option B: "He wished me that I might be happy." This is accurate because when transforming an optative sentence, 'said to' changes to 'wished' or 'prayed'. The conjunction 'that' is used. 'May' changes to 'might', and the pronoun 'you' (referring to 'me') changes to 'I'.
• Option A: "He said to me that I may be happy." Incorrect because 'said to' should change to 'wished' and 'may' should change to 'might' in indirect speech.
• Option C: "He wished me that you might be happy." Incorrect because the pronoun 'you' should change to 'I' to reflect the person being wished upon (me).
• Option D: "He said to me that I might being happy." Incorrect due to 'said to' instead of 'wished' and the grammatical error 'might being happy' instead of 'might be happy'.

The foundational concept here is the history of military technology and the origins of the tank.

• Britain is the correct answer. The first operational military tanks were developed by Britain during World War I. The prototype, known as 'Little Willie,' was built in 1915, and the Mark I tank saw its first combat action in September 1916 at the Battle of the Somme.
• Germany developed tanks later in the war, but they were not the first to do so.
• The US and Russia also developed their own tank designs, but their initial efforts and deployments came after Britain's pioneering work in this field.

Therefore, Britain holds the distinction of being the first country to develop and deploy the military tank.

The foundational concept for this question is the history of significant inventions and their inventors.

• Johannes Gutenberg is the correct answer. This German goldsmith is widely credited with inventing the movable type printing press around 1440. His innovation dramatically increased the speed and affordability of printing, leading to a revolution in the spread of knowledge and literacy across Europe.
• Isaac Newton was a renowned physicist and mathematician, famous for his laws of motion and universal gravitation, not the printing press.
• Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance polymath, celebrated for his art and numerous inventions, but the printing press was not among them.
• Thomas Edison was an American inventor from a much later era, known for inventions like the phonograph, practical electric light bulb, and motion picture camera.

Gutenberg's printing press remains a pivotal invention in human history.

This question tests knowledge about prominent Pakistani diplomats and their international postings.

• All of these is the correct answer. Maleeha Lodhi is a highly distinguished Pakistani diplomat and journalist who has served in multiple key ambassadorial roles. She has represented Pakistan as its Ambassador to the United States (US) on two separate occasions, as the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK), and as Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN).
• Options A, B, and C are individually correct postings for Maleeha Lodhi, but they are incomplete as she has served in all three capacities.

Her extensive diplomatic career highlights her significant contributions to Pakistan's foreign relations across various crucial international platforms.

The foundational concept here is knowledge of future major international sporting events, specifically the World Aquatics Championships.

• Singapore is the correct answer. The World Aquatics Championships in 2025 are officially scheduled to be held in Singapore. This will be a significant event for the nation, showcasing its capabilities to host a major global sports competition.
• Hungary (specifically Budapest) has hosted previous World Aquatics Championships in 2017 and 2022, but not 2025.
• Japan (Fukuoka) hosted the championships in 2023.
• Qatar (Doha) hosted the championships in 2024.

Therefore, Singapore is the designated host for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, continuing the tradition of global aquatic excellence.

The Sassanid Empire, the last pre-Islamic Persian empire, was decisively defeated and ultimately dismantled by the Rashidun Caliphate during the Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century CE. This marked a significant turning point in history, leading to the Islamization of Persia.

• Rashidun Caliphate (Correct): The Rashidun Caliphate launched a series of successful military campaigns that led to the collapse of the Sassanid Empire.
• Roman Empire (False): The Roman Empire (and later Byzantine Empire) was a long-standing rival of the Sassanids, but it did not dismantle them.
• Mongol Empire (False): The Mongol Empire emerged much later, in the 13th century, and conquered the Abbasid Caliphate, not the Sassanids.
• Ottoman Empire (False): The Ottoman Empire also arose much later, in the 14th century, and was a successor to various Turkic states, not involved in the Sassanid collapse.

Pakistan shares its longest land border with Afghanistan, known as the Durand Line. This border stretches approximately 2,430 kilometers (1,510 miles) and has historically been a point of geopolitical significance.

• Afghanistan (Correct): The Durand Line forms the extensive border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, making it the longest.
• China (False): Pakistan shares a border with China in the north, but it is significantly shorter than the border with Afghanistan.
• Iran (False): The border with Iran is also substantial but not as long as the one with Afghanistan.
• Tajikistan (False): Pakistan does not share a direct border with Tajikistan; the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan separates them.

In programming, a loop placed inside the body of another loop is fundamentally known as a nested loop. This structure is commonly used when iterating over multi-dimensional data structures or performing operations that require repeated iterations for each iteration of an outer loop.

• Nested Loop (Correct): This term precisely describes the concept of one loop being contained within another.
• Infinite Loop (False): An infinite loop is one that runs indefinitely because its termination condition is never met, not a structural description.
• Recursive Loop (False): While recursion involves a function calling itself, it's a different concept from a loop containing another loop.
• Inner Loop (False): "Inner loop" refers to the loop inside, but "nested loop" is the comprehensive term for the entire structure.

Animation is the process of creating the illusion of motion and change by rapidly displaying a sequence of static images or frames. Each image is slightly different from the last, and when viewed in quick succession, the human brain perceives continuous movement.

• Accelerating static images (Correct): This option best describes the core principle of animation: displaying a series of slightly varied static images quickly to create movement.
• Printing out (False): Printing is the process of producing hard copies of digital content, unrelated to creating motion.
• Changing the pictures in the graph (False): While graphs can be animated, "changing pictures in a graph" is too specific and doesn't define animation broadly.
• To make a picture (False): Making a picture is part of the animation process, but it doesn't define animation itself, which is about creating motion from those pictures.

This question tests the correct use of auxiliary verbs in a contrasting statement. The first clause uses "hasn't finished" (present perfect), so the contrasting clause should also use a present perfect auxiliary verb. The subject "we" requires "have."

• have (Correct): "We have" correctly completes the sentence, maintaining the present perfect tense and agreeing with the plural subject "we." It implies "we have finished our work."
• has (False): "Has" is used with singular subjects (he, she, it), not with "we."
• did (False): "Did" is the auxiliary verb for the simple past tense, which doesn't match the present perfect tense of the first clause.
• haven’t too (False): This is grammatically incorrect. "Haven't" would imply "we haven't finished," which contradicts the "but" conjunction suggesting a contrast.

The word "Calamity" refers to an event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster. Therefore, "Disaster" is its closest synonym, describing a sudden event that causes great damage or suffering.

• Disaster (Correct): "Disaster" perfectly aligns with the meaning of "Calamity," both referring to a catastrophic event.
• Fortune (False): "Fortune" refers to luck or a large amount of money, which is the opposite of a calamity.
• Windfall (False): A "windfall" is a piece of unexpected good fortune, again, the opposite of a calamity.
• Prosperity (False): "Prosperity" means the state of being successful, especially financially, which is contrary to the meaning of calamity.