Could You Pass a Civil Service Test?

By: Susan McDonald
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
Could You Pass a Civil Service Test?
Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

A civil service test is an exam used by federal, state, and local governments to determine an applicant's worthiness for a position. Individuals who work at City Hall, at the Post Office, and in the nation's courts all had to take and pass a civil service test before they were hired. The test is used not only as a way to ensure that only the highest caliber individuals are hired to fill open positions, but the test also serves to weed out unqualified applicants. The test covers basic knowledge such as reading, writing, and arithmetic, but it also tests the applicant's knowledge of the basics of the position he or she is applying for. So, although there may be some similarities between exams, they are also formulated to be specific for each area of employment. The types of tests that civil service applicants may encounter include typing tests, computer aided exams, oral examinations, and a rating of your personal experience and qualifications. 

Have you taken a civil service test before? If not, do you think you could pass one? Take this quiz to see of you can pass this simple civil service test!

Food is to hunger as sleep is to:
Night
Dream
Weariness
Food is something that satisfies hunger. In the same way, sleep satisfies weariness.
Rest

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Which of these words is spelled correctly?
Descendant
Descendant is the correct spelling. It comes from the word descend.
Descendent
Decendent
Desendent

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Which of these words most closely related to the word versatile?
Broad-minded
Well-known
Up-to-date
Many-sided
The correct answer is many-sided. If something is versatile, it is many-faceted or adaptable.

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83 - 4=
83
79
The correct answer is 79.
82
81

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You are filing a folder for Margenroth, Alvin. Where does it go?
Before Margeroth, Albert
The first three letters are the same, but N comes before R, so the file goes before Margeroth.
Before Margestein, Dan
Before Margestein, David
Before Margue, Edgar

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Which of these words is most closely related to the word requisition?
Payment
Written order
In this case, a requisition is a formal request for an item, so it is the opposite of cancellation. The correct response is written order.
Formality
Cancellation

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You are filing something by number and the file is labelled 59233362. Where does it go?
Before 58146020
Before 59233162
Before 59233262
Before 59236662
The correct answer is before 59236662. The order would be 58146020, 59233162, 59233262, 59233362, and 59266662.

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You have been asked to make a sign for your office door telling visitors what time office hours begin. Which of the following is correct?
8:30 a.m.
The correct response is 8:30 a.m. There should be a colon between the hour and the minutes, followed by small case letters, each of which is followed by a period.
8;30 a.m.
8,30 AM
8:30 AM

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Choose the correct answer: He left _______ at noon.
They're
There
The answer refers to a physical location, so the correct response is there. They're means they are, their is possessive, and thier is just a misspelling.
Their
Thier

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If each employee in your office files 487 index cards in one hour, how many cards do 26 employees file in an hour?
10,662
12,175
12,662
This is a multiplication problem. 487 cards x 26 employees = 12,662
11,266

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Which of these is spelled correctly?
Specifically
This comes from the word specific, so the correct answer is specifically.
Spesificcally
Speccifically
None of the above

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In the following sentence, choose the word that most closely compares with the word rescinded: The offer was rescinded within a week.
Revised
Cancelled
Rescind means to revoke or reverse something, so the correct answer is cancelled.
Misinterpreted
Confirmed

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Part of your job is to count and record licensing fees that come into your office. One day, you get 40 checks for $6 each, 80 checks for $4 each, 45 $20 bills, 3 $10 bills, 42 $5 bills, and 186 $1 bills. How much money did you collect?
$2,406
$2,706
$1,886
The answer is $1,886. That includes $240 in $6 checks, $320 in $4 checks, $900 in $20 bills, $30 in $10, $210 in $5, and $186 in $1 bills for a total of $1,886.
$2,356

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You have been assigned to develop a safety program for your department. Which of these would not be among your potential suggestions?
Eliminate high shelves.
Prohibit smoking at work.
Tape down cables and wires.
Encourage employees to continue their education.
Eliminating high shelves and smoking, as well as securing loose cables and wires, could reduce workplace accidents. Employee education would have no impact.

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Respiration means most nearly:
Recovery
Breathing
Respiration is another word for breathing, so the other three answers are incorrect.
Pulsation
Sweating

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In writing a formal letter or report, which of these would be most correct?
I think that they will promote whoever is most qualified.
The correct response is the first one. The others have grammatical errors and are simply too complicated to be clear.
The department would have liked to have promoted all the employees who are qualified.
Such of them that have the highest qualifications have good prospects of promotion.
I feel sure that they will give the promotion to whomever is most qualified.

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Which of these is spelled correctly?
Sanctionned
Sanktioned
Sancttioned
None of the above
The correct spelling is sanctioned, so none of the options are correct.

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417 x 7=
4,219
2,919
417 multiplied by 7 is 2,919.
3,336
3,219

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Where would the file for Matheson, J. John go?
Before Mathers, Doris
After Matherson, Judy
The order would be Mathers, Doris, then Matherson, Jerome, then Matherson, Judy, then Matheson, J. John, and finally Matthews, J.R.
Before Matthews, J.R.
After Matherson, Jerome

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Your job includes answering phones for your department. Which of these is NOT an example of proper phone etiquette?
Know who you're speaking to.
Put aside your other work until you've gotten the information the caller wants.
You should always identify yourself, learn to whom you're speaking, and give the caller your full attention. However, sometimes getting the information the caller wants takes time and involves waiting for information from others. In those cases, it's acceptable to take a number and call the person back when you have the answer, meanwhile continuing your other tasks.
Give the caller your undivided attention.
Identify yourself to the caller.

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For the following sentence, choose the word that most nearly corresponds with the word routine: Filing is a routine office task.
Proper
Regular
Routine means something that happens on a repeating basis. In that context, the correct response is regular.
Simple
Difficult

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Which of these sentences is most correct and appropriate for a letter or report?
This letter, together with the reports, are to be sent to the director.
The reports, together with this letter, is to be sent to the director.
This letter, together with the reports, is to be sent to the director.
The phrase "together with the reports" can be separated from the rest of the sentence. That would make the sentence read "This letter is to be sent to the director." If you remove the phrase in the other examples, the subject and verb do not agree.
The reports and this letter is to be sent to the director.

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Which of these sentences contains a grammatical error?
The court officer does not have the authority to make exceptions.
Usually violations are the result of illegal and dangerous driving behavior.
If the dispatcher files a complaint, the safety division is required to investigate.
None of the above.
All three sentences are correct, so the answer is "None of the above."

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Which of the following would be filed first?
Martha Hunt Morgan
After organizing all four under Morgan, the correct order would be Martha Hunt, Martin Hunt, Martine H. and Mary H.
Martin Hunt Morgan
Mary H. Morgan
Martine H. Morgan

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37 x 3=
121
101
133
None of the above
The correct answer is 111, so none of the responses are correct.

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Your department orders 14 staplers at a total cost of $30.20. If each stapler cost the same amount, the cost of each is most nearly:
$1.02
$1.61
$2.16
Divide the total cost of $30.20 by 14 -- the number of staplers you bought -- and the answer is $2.157, which would be rounded up to $2.16.
$2.26

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Part of your job is to open the mail, read it, and direct each piece to the appropriate person. You accidentally open one marked "personal" that is addressed to a co-worker. What should you do?
Tell your supervisor that your co-worker is receiving personal mail at work.
Take the letter to your co-worker and explain what happened.
Rather than trying to get a co-worker into trouble or trying to hide what you did, it's best to be honest about it. Take the letter to your co-worker and explain that you opened it by accident.
Destroy the letter so no one will know what happened.
Reseal the letter and put it on your co-worker's desk.

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153 ÷ 3=
51
153 ÷ 3=51, so the first answer is correct.
49
48
53

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Which of these sentences contains an error?
A victim of assault might want to take revenge.
The result of the trial was in doubt because the prosecuter produced a surprise witness.
The second response is correct. The word prosecutor is misspelled.
The court officer must maintain order and decorum in the courtroom.
None of the above.

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Which word is spelled correctly?
Obblitorate
Oblitterat
Obliterate
The correct spelling is obliterate, so the third choice is the right one.
None of the above

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4,022 - 709=
3,303
3,203
3,313
4,022 - 709= 3,313, so the correct choice is the third one.
3,333

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Which of these is most similar to the word credible?
Believable
Something that is credible is convincing or believable, so the first choice is correct.
Correct
Intelligent
Gullible

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Police officer is to order as doctor is to _______.
Physician
Hospital
Sickness
Health
The correct answer is health. The job of a police officer is to preserve and protect order, and the job of a doctor is to preserve and protect the health of his or her patients.

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Which of the following sentences contains no errors?
The supervisors reprimanded the typists, whom she believed had made careless errors.
The typists would have corrected the errors had they of known that the supervisor would see the report.
Many errors were found in the reports which they typed and could not disregard them.
The errors in the typed reports were so numerous that they could not be overlooked.
The fourth response has no mistakes. In the first one, "supervisors" and "she" do not agree. In the second one, the word "of" does not belong. In the third, the pronoun "they" does not refer to anyone.

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Which of these word does not belong with the others?
Obvious
Apparent
Evident
Concealed
Obvious, apparent, and evident are synonyms, so they mean the same thing. Concealed means the opposite of those words.

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You Got:
/35
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