What does the idiom "against one's grain" mean?
View answer & explanation Ans: Against one's nature
Correct Answer: Against one's nature
To act against one's grain is to act against one's nature — reluctantly, not willingly.
FPSC · Asf · 2015
Solved FPSC Inspector ASF past paper 2015 — 98 MCQs with verified answers and explanations. Free online practice for FPSC, PPSC, NTS and all one-paper exams. Covers English, Mathematics, Everyday Science.
Paper Snapshot
Questions
98
Time
98
Minutes
Subjects
7
Topics
50
Read mode shows correct answers. Attempt mode hides answers, starts timer, and shows your result after submission.
About this paper
This is the FPSC Inspector, Airport Security Force past paper from 2015. It contains 98 solved questions covering English, Mathematics and Everyday Science, with verified answers and an explanation for every question. Nine printed answers were corrected against standard sources, including the square root of 2025, the Vienna siege year and the Mudros armistice year.
Paper Controls
Subject 1
Topic Section
10 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Against one's nature
To act against one's grain is to act against one's nature — reluctantly, not willingly.
Correct Answer: At one's service
To be at one's beck and call is to be at one's service, ready to obey at once.
Correct Answer: Ill feeling
Bad blood between people means ill feeling or hostility between them.
Correct Answer: An unknown genius
A dark horse is an unknown person who may unexpectedly succeed — an unknown genius in this item's wording.
Correct Answer: To solve a difficult problem in a bold manner
To cut the Gordian knot is to solve a difficult problem in a bold, direct manner.
Correct Answer: To make an unfair attack
To hit below the belt is to make an unfair attack, breaking the rules of fair fighting.
Correct Answer: To squander money
To pay ducks and drakes with money is to squander it recklessly.
Correct Answer: Without getting any time to think
On the spur of the moment means without getting any time to think — acting impulsively.
Correct Answer: To face danger
To take the bull by the horns is to face danger boldly and directly.
Correct Answer: To win an honour
To win laurels is to win an honour or distinction.
Topic Section
5 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Deceive
Deceive is the correct spelling (de-CEIVE, following the 'i before e except after c' pattern).
Correct Answer: Receipt
Receipt is the correct spelling, with the silent 'p' before 't'.
Correct Answer: Embarrassed
Embarrassed is the correct spelling, with double 'r' and double 's'.
Correct Answer: Vacuum
Vacuum is the correct spelling, with one 'c' and double 'u'.
Correct Answer: Satellite
Satellite is the correct spelling, with double 'l' and single 't' after it.
Topic Section
5 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Overpower
Daunt means to overpower with fear — to intimidate.
Correct Answer: Excessive
Exorbitant means excessive — far beyond what is reasonable.
Correct Answer: Relevant
Pertinent means relevant — directly related to the matter in hand.
Correct Answer: Greedy
Voracious means greedy — eager to consume a great deal, especially food.
Correct Answer: Repentance
Remorse means repentance — deep regret for a wrong done.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Shelley
Shelley wrote in 'To a Skylark' that our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.
Subject 2
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Peace
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee of the Norwegian parliament (the Storting).
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Chamonix, France
The first Winter Olympic Games were held at Chamonix, France, in 1924.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Provide environment education to the local people and create awareness
The book's answer is that local environmental problems are best tackled by environmental education and awareness among local people.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: William Caxton
William Caxton introduced printing to England in 1476.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the first foreigner to receive the Bharat Ratna, received it in 1987.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Meerut
The 1857 uprising began at Meerut on 10 May 1857.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Abdul Rehman Bin Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun (Abdul Rehman Bin Khaldun) was a historian, philosopher, judge and politician.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 14 July
Bastille Day, marking the storming of the Bastille, is celebrated in France on 14 July.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Durable consumption goods
White goods are durable consumption goods such as refrigerators and washing machines.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: U-Thant
U Thant of Burma was the first Asian Secretary-General of the United Nations (1961-1971).
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: President Roosevelt
The New Deal was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's programme to counter the Great Depression.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 1967
ASEAN was formed in 1967 by the Bangkok Declaration.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 1000 to 1026
Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni made seventeen expeditions to India between 1000 and 1026.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 1206 A.D.
Muhammad Ghuri was assassinated in 1206 AD.
Topic Section
3 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Ottoman Sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent was the Ottoman Sultan from 1520 to 1566.
Correct Answer: 1924
The Ottoman dynasty's rule ended with the abolition of the caliphate in 1924.
Correct Answer: 1529
Suleiman the Magnificent besieged Vienna in 1529.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: The Abbasids
The Mongols under Hulagu defeated the Abbasids, sacking Baghdad in 1258.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Harun al-Rashid
The Bayt al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom) is credited to Harun al-Rashid's Baghdad.
Topic Section
2 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: History of the Islamic Peoples
Carl Brockelmann wrote the 'History of the Islamic Peoples'.
Correct Answer: J.J. Saunders
J.J. Saunders wrote 'A History of Medieval Islam'.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 1918
The Armistice of Mudros between Turkey and the Allies was signed on 30 October 1918.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Salonika
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was born in Salonika (Thessaloniki) in 1881.
Subject 3
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: July 6, 1959
The book dates the first open-heart surgery in India to July 6, 1959.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Nichrome
Nichrome, a nickel-chromium alloy, is used for heating elements because it resists heat and oxidation.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 120/80
A healthy young adult's blood pressure is about 120/80 mmHg.
Topic Section
3 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: J.J. Thomson
J.J. Thomson identified the electron in 1897 through his cathode-ray experiments.
Correct Answer: Black
Without an atmosphere there would be no scattering of sunlight, so the sky would appear black.
Correct Answer: Intensity of sound
The decibel measures sound intensity level.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Many harmful rodents
Hawks and owls are useful because they eat many harmful rodents that damage crops.
Topic Section
10 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: An instrument to detect sound under water
A hydrophone is an instrument for detecting sound under water.
Correct Answer: The frequencies of the two sounds differ widely
A mosquito's voice differs from a lion's because the frequencies of the two sounds differ widely.
Correct Answer: 100, 200, 300, 400, 500
The beat frequencies between 300, 400 and 500 Hz are 100 and 200 Hz, so the ear hears 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 Hz.
Correct Answer: 1 bell
A tenfold intensity ratio corresponds to 1 bel (10 decibels).
Correct Answer: Longitudinal wave motion
Sound travels in air as a longitudinal wave, with compressions and rarefactions along its direction.
Correct Answer: 332 metres/second
The speed of sound in air at 0 degrees Celsius is approximately 332 metres per second.
Correct Answer: Frequency
The book's answer is that frequency does not affect the reverberation time of a room.
Correct Answer: 1200 ft/sec
Velocity equals frequency times wavelength: 300 x 4 = 1200 feet per second.
Correct Answer: 5
Falling 400 feet under gravity takes about 5 seconds (square root of 2 x 400 / 32).
Correct Answer: Complete vacuum
Sound needs a medium, so no sound can be heard in a complete vacuum.
Subject 4
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 14
Fourteen Muslims were martyred at the Battle of Badr.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Madina
Masjid al-Qiblatain (Zu Qiblatain), the mosque of the two qiblas, is in Madina.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Al Namal
Surah An-Naml (Al Namal) contains the Bismillah twice — at its opening and in verse 30.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: False Prophet
Musailama al-Kazzab claimed prophethood falsely and is called the false prophet.
Subject 5
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Uganda
Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa.
Topic Section
2 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Cairo
Tahrir Square is in Cairo, Egypt.
Correct Answer: England
Greenwich, the home of the Prime Meridian, is in England (London).
Topic Section
2 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Libya
Benghazi is a city of Libya.
Correct Answer: St. Petersburg
Leningrad reverted to its earlier name, St. Petersburg, in 1991.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Lake Victoria
The White Nile, and hence the Nile system, is conventionally sourced from Lake Victoria.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 7,692,024 sq km
Australia's total area is 7,692,024 square kilometres.
Subject 6
Topic Section
5 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 12 years
Tripling in 4 years means multiplying by 3 three times in 12 years, giving 27 times.
Correct Answer: 4
At 20% compound interest, (1.2) to the power 4 is about 2.07, so the sum more than doubles in 4 years.
Correct Answer: Rs. 1352
Two equal yearly instalments of Rs. 1352 discharge Rs. 2550 at 4% compound interest over 2 years.
Correct Answer: Rs. 551.25
An annual payment of Rs. 551.25 discharges Rs. 1025 in 2 years at 5% compound interest.
Correct Answer: Rs. 14,320
After three years at 20% with Rs. 2000 repaid yearly, Rs. 12500 grows to Rs. 14320 still owed.
Topic Section
4 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 13:10
With breadth unchanged, a 30% larger area means the new area is 13/10 of the old, a ratio of 13:10.
Correct Answer: Rs. 3440
A 1-metre border around a 340-metre perimeter covers 344 square metres, costing 344 x Rs. 10 = Rs. 3440.
Correct Answer: Data inadequate
The pathway's area cannot be found from the total area alone without the plot's length and breadth, so the data are inadequate.
Correct Answer: 330 feet
A rectangle with one side of 22 feet must have a perimeter greater than 44 feet, and 330 feet is the offered value that fits.
Topic Section
2 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 64
The typed area is 16 cm by 24 cm = 384 sq cm out of 600 sq cm, which is 64%.
Correct Answer: 8
2% of 400 is 8.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 13
The differences are -3, -5, -7, -9, so the next difference is -11 and the next term is 24 - 11 = 13.
Topic Section
2 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 0%
Selling for the same price as the cost price means no profit and no loss, so the loss is 0%.
Correct Answer: 14%
The loss is (50000 - 43000) / 50000 = 14%.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 16
With twice as many wrong as right, 16 wrong and 8 right make 24 sums in all.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 0.001
100 divided by 100000 equals 0.001.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Rs. 16.5
Simple interest on Rs. 300 at 5.5% for one year is Rs. 16.50.
Topic Section
1 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: 45
The positive square root of 2025 is 45, since 45 x 45 = 2025.
Subject 7
Topic Section
2 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Allama Iqbal
Allama Iqbal set the goal of a separate Muslim state before Indian Muslims in his 1930 Allahabad address.
Correct Answer: Allama Iqbal
Iqbal's 1930 claim made Indian Muslims something more than a community — a nation.
Topic Section
6 solved MCQs shown directly below
Correct Answer: Died in battle
The book's answer is that Abdullah bin Hiyan died in battle.
Correct Answer: Multan
Muhammad bin Qasim established control over the Indus valley as far north as Multan.
Correct Answer: 28th October 712
The book dates the decisive battle between Raja Dahir and Muhammad bin Qasim to 28 October 712.
Correct Answer: Jay Singh
Jay Singh (Jaisiah), son of Raja Dahir, embraced Islam.
Correct Answer: 24th July
The book dates the annual Bab-ul-Islam observance in Pakistan to 24 July.
Correct Answer: Hakim Shaibani
The book names Hakim Shaibani among Muhammad bin Qasim's trusted commanders.
Source & verification
Verified from the official paper / published solved paper — every answer rechecked before publishing.
Questions
The paper contains 98 questions with verified answers and explanations.
It covers English, Mathematics, Everyday Science, plus History, Geography, Pakistan Studies and Islamic Studies.
Yes. Every answer was reconciled three ways — the book's printed answers, the book's own material, and the standard fact — and nine printed answers were corrected where the book was wrong.
Its general-knowledge, Pakistan Studies, English vocabulary and mathematics content is shared across FPSC, PPSC, NTS and CSS MPT one-paper exams, so it is useful preparation for all of them.
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