Graduate Trainee Verbal Reasoning Dangote Cements Job

‘Expand’ means to increase in size, volume, or scope. Its opposite would therefore be a term that means to make smaller or reduce. The word ‘contract’ means to become smaller or shrink, which is the direct opposite of ‘expand’. The other options — ‘enlarge’, ‘increase’, and ‘spread’ — all suggest growth or extension, which are similar in meaning to ‘expand’. Hence, ‘contract’ best expresses the antonym.

The correct spelling is ‘Receive’. The common spelling rule ‘i before e except after c’ applies here. ‘Receive’ follows this rule because the ‘c’ comes before ‘ei’. The other spellings — ‘Recieve’, ‘Receeve’, and ‘Recive’ — violate English orthographic conventions and are incorrect.

In the present simple tense, when using ‘does’ or ‘doesn’t’, the main verb must take its base form. Therefore, ‘She doesn’t like reading’ is correct because ‘doesn’t’ (does not) already carries the third-person singular marker, making the base form ‘like’ appropriate. The other options have subject-verb agreement errors or omit the auxiliary verb.

‘Courageous’ describes someone who shows bravery or fearlessness in facing danger or difficulties. The word ‘Fearless’ shares this meaning, both implying boldness and bravery. In contrast, ‘Weak’ and ‘Timid’ convey a lack of courage, while ‘Careful’ suggests caution rather than bravery. Thus, ‘Fearless’ is the synonym.

‘Scarce’ means something that is insufficient in quantity or availability. Its opposite would mean something abundant or easily available. ‘Plenty’ expresses abundance and sufficiency, directly contrasting scarcity. The other options — ‘Rare’, ‘Empty’, and ‘Insufficient’ — all imply lack or limitation, not abundance.

In the sentence ‘She is beautiful’, the word ‘beautiful’ describes the quality of the noun ‘She’. Words that describe or modify nouns are called adjectives. Therefore, ‘beautiful’ functions as an adjective, describing the subject’s appearance or quality.

The preposition ‘at’ is used to indicate a specific time. Since ‘10 a.m.’ is a precise time, the correct form is ‘The meeting will start at 10 a.m.’. The preposition ‘on’ is used with days and dates, ‘by’ implies a deadline, and ‘in’ refers to periods of time. Hence, ‘at’ fits appropriately.

When ‘neither...nor’ connects subjects of different numbers, the verb agrees with the nearer subject. Here, the subject nearest to the verb is ‘assistants’, which is plural, so the verb should be plural as well — ‘are’. Therefore, the correct sentence is ‘Neither the chairman nor his assistants are present.’

‘Since’ is used with a specific point in time to indicate when an action began and continues up to the present. The sentence refers to the year 2010 as a starting point, making ‘since’ correct. ‘For’ is used with duration (e.g., ‘for five years’), while ‘by’ and ‘from’ do not fit this time expression.

When reporting indirect speech in the past, verb tenses are usually shifted back. The direct speech likely was, “I will come tomorrow.” In reported speech, ‘will’ becomes ‘would’. Therefore, the correct sentence is ‘She told me she would come tomorrow.’ The other options do not follow proper tense sequence for reported speech.