SSC CGL Tier 1 2017 English Comprehension Questions with Solutions

Explanation

In English grammar, the verb focus is a phrasal verb that requires the preposition on to connect the action of concentration to its object. When directing attention or effort toward a specific subject or requirement, the standard idiomatic expression is focus on. In the context of the passage, the reader is being instructed to direct their mental energy specifically toward the needs of their body, making on the grammatically correct link between the verb and the following clause.

Explanation

The sentence follows a conditional structure where the conjunction 'if' is used to introduce the condition of being unsure. In English grammar, 'if' establishes a premise that, when true, leads to a specific instruction or result, which in this context is the suggestion to begin with just one asana. The clause 'if you aren't sure' sets up the situational uncertainty, making the subsequent imperative 'begin here' the logical course of action for the reader to take under those circumstances.

Explanation

The demonstrative pronoun that functions to point back to a singular noun or specific idea mentioned immediately before in the text. In this passage, it refers to the one asana that the reader is encouraged to start with. By using that, the sentence identifies that specific asana as the same one the instructor uses to lead every class. This creates logical and grammatical cohesion between the recommendation to start with a single pose and the subsequent description of its importance in the speaker's routine. While this is also singular, that is commonly used in such contexts to refer back to a previously introduced subject to provide further information about it.

Explanation

The sentence presents two distinct alternatives for how one might practice the asana: as a stand-alone piece or as a starting point at the gym. In English grammar, the coordinating conjunction or is used to connect two or more possibilities or choices. Since the sentence begins with the affirmative modal phrase You can, it establishes a selection between two positive actions, making or the appropriate word to link these two options.

Explanation

The passage directly identifies Mundakotukurussi as the writer's ancestral village in the opening sentence. The author mentions seeing a particular road years ago when their parents moved to Mundakotukurussi and explicitly qualifies the location as our ancestral village. Since the term ancestral refers to origins or property derived from one's ancestors or forefathers, the text confirms that this specific village is the place where the writer's forefathers lived.

Explanation

According to the passage, the writer suffered from a herniated disc ten years prior to the events described. Upon recovering from this condition, the author discovered that the injury had resulted in a useless left leg. This specific physical disability initially caused a limp and served as the primary motivation for the writer to undertake the challenging walk to Chalavara to prove their physical resilience.

Explanation

The narrator explicitly mentions in the text that they stored the unknown road in their head under the mental title One Day I Will. This phrase served as a personal placeholder for a future goal to explore that specific path, which the narrator had seen years earlier but never traversed. Following a recovery from a herniated disc and sciatica, the road became a symbol of personal challenge and physical resilience, representing the narrator's determination to prove they could still navigate difficult terrain despite their past injury.

Explanation

The passage explicitly identifies Chalavara as being of a superior grade compared to Munkadotukurussi based on its infrastructural developments and public facilities. The author highlights the presence of a high school, a well-equipped library, automated teller machines (ATMs), and various shops as the specific criteria that elevate its status over the writer's ancestral village.

Explanation

The error lies in the incorrect use of the preposition into in the third part of the sentence. In English grammar, the standard idiomatic expression used to indicate that something is true in various respects or aspects is in so many ways. The preposition into is typically reserved for expressing movement toward the inside of something or a change in state. Since the sentence is describing the multifaceted nature of a person's character rather than movement or transformation, the preposition in must be used to correctly link the qualities to the subject.

Explanation

The error lies in the second part of the sentence where the prepositional phrase underneath of is used. When underneath functions as a preposition indicating a position directly below something, it should be followed immediately by its object without the addition of of. The word of is redundant in this context, and the sentence should correctly read underneath his hat or under his hat.

Explanation

Intervention refers to the act of a state or an international organization interfering in the domestic or foreign affairs of another state, often through diplomatic, economic, or military means. In the context of international relations and geopolitical conflict, it describes a nation's deliberate entry into an ongoing war involving other parties. This choice logically completes the sentence because active involvement or interference in an external conflict is the specific action that would lead to a nation being further embroiled in a crisis.

Explanation

In this sentence, the blank follows the indefinite article a and the modifier fitness, indicating that a singular noun is required to define Deepti's identity or role. The word enthusiast is a noun that refers to a person who is highly interested in and devoted to a particular activity or subject. Therefore, the term fitness enthusiast correctly describes Deepti as someone passionate about physical exercise, providing the logical basis for her preaching to friends about the importance of working out.

Explanation

Phonetic relates to the sounds of human speech or the representation of these sounds. The term is derived from the Greek word phone, which means sound or voice. It specifically pertains to the physical production, transmission, and reception of vocal sounds used in oral communication. Consequently, phonetic is synonymous with things that are spoken, as both terms focus on the audible and vocalized aspects of language rather than written or non-verbal forms.

Explanation

The verb to astound means to shock or greatly surprise someone, often leaving them in a state of sudden wonder or amazement. To bewilder is similar in meaning as it refers to the state of being confused, perplexed, or dazed by something overwhelming or unexpected. Both terms describe a strong psychological impact where an individual is stunned or mentally overcome by a particular event or piece of information.

Explanation

Disdain is defined as the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one's consideration or respect, often manifesting as contempt or intense dislike. Admiration represents the direct opposite of this sentiment, as it refers to a feeling of deep respect, warm approval, or pleasant surprise. While disdain involves devaluing or looking down upon a subject, admiration involves holding a subject in high regard and recognizing its value or excellence.

Explanation

The word canonical describes something that follows established rules, standards, or principles, especially within a religious, legal, or literary context. It refers to what is considered authoritative, official, and traditional. The word unorthodox is its direct opposite because it refers to ideas, methods, or behaviors that do not conform to established doctrines or conventional standards. While canonical implies strict adherence to a recognized norm, unorthodox signifies a deviation from it.

Explanation

The idiom it goes without saying is used to describe a fact or situation that is so clear, well-known, or self-evident that it does not need to be explicitly stated or explained. It indicates that the information being discussed is naturally understood by everyone involved or is a logical certainty based on the circumstances. For instance, saying it goes without saying that safety is a priority implies that the importance of safety is obvious to all and requires no further justification.

Explanation

The idiom to let someone off means to excuse someone from a punishment or a duty, or to release them from blame. Option C accurately reflects this meaning of providing a pardon or light sentence for a mistake.

Explanation

The subject of the sentence is the plural pronoun they, which requires a plural verb form to maintain subject-verb agreement. The past continuous construction were having uses the plural auxiliary verb were followed by the present participle having to indicate an ongoing action or state in the past. This structure correctly matches the plural subject and provides a coherent grammatical framework for the speculation regarding a past event.

Explanation

The subordinate clause following the verb think requires a finite verb phrase to function as its predicate. The original participle doing cannot act as a main verb without an auxiliary. Since the subject of this clause is the plural pronoun we, it requires the plural auxiliary verb were to form the past continuous tense. The phrase were doing correctly provides subject-verb agreement and completes the grammatical structure of the clause within the conditional context established by wouldn't want.

Explanation

Verbiage refers to the use of an excessive number of words, especially when fewer would suffice, or a style of speech and writing that is needlessly wordy. It denotes a profusion of words that often obscures the intended meaning or adds unnecessary length to a discourse, making it the precise term for an excessively lengthy speech.

Explanation

A sceptre is an ornamental staff or wand held by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. It serves as a visual representation of the ruler's power, authority, and sovereignty during formal ceremonies and state occasions. Traditionally made from precious metals and often encrusted with jewels, the sceptre has been used since antiquity across various civilizations to denote the supreme rank of the person wielding it.

Explanation

The word contusion is the standard English spelling for a medical injury commonly known as a bruise, characterized by the rupture of blood capillaries beneath the skin without breaking the surface. It originates from the Latin word contusio, which is derived from the verb contundere, meaning to thump, pound, or beat. The spelling follows established linguistic patterns for nouns of Latin origin, utilizing the prefix con- and the suffix -usion to denote the state or result of a physical impact.

Explanation

Scimitars is the correct spelling for the plural form of the noun scimitar, which refers to a curved, single-edged sword originally used in various Middle Eastern, South Asian, and North African cultures. The word is derived from the Middle French cimeterre and the Italian scimitarra, which likely share roots with the Persian term shamshir. The orthography of the word requires the initial digraph sc followed by the vowel i, the consonant m, another i, and the suffix tars. This specific sequence of vowels and consonants is the standard accepted spelling in English.

Explanation

The opening phrase "Three times this was" requires a past participle to complete the passive voice construction, which is provided by the word "repeated" at the start of segment Z. Segment Z concludes with the subject "the earth," which naturally leads into the verb "shook" found at the beginning of segment Y to describe the physical reaction to the repetition. Segment Y ends with the relative pronoun "that," setting up a comparison for the "noise." This comparison is completed by segment X, which begins with "only be compared" and describes the sound as being like "the deepest notes of thunder." The sequence Z-Y-X creates a grammatically sound and logically progressive narrative: "Three times this was repeated, and each time the earth shook with the noise, that can only be compared to the deepest notes of thunder."

Explanation

The sentence begins with the phrase "The causes and their", which necessitates a noun to follow the possessive adjective "their". Segment Z provides the noun "effects", completing the subject "The causes and their effects". This subject is followed by the verb phrase "belong to the", which requires a noun phrase as an object. Segment Y begins with "one order", logically completing this phrase as "belong to the one order". The remaining segment X, "in the same series", follows the verb "stand" in segment Y to describe the position or arrangement of the causes and effects. Thus, the sequence ZYX forms the grammatically sound and logical sentence: "The causes and their effects belong to the one order, they stand in the same series."

Explanation

The original sentence is in the simple future tense, following the structure subject + will + base verb + object. To convert this into passive voice, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. The verb form changes from will bake to will be baked, following the rule for future simple passive construction: will + be + past participle. The original subject Sunita is placed at the end of the clause preceded by the preposition by. The prepositional phrase for the bake sale acts as an adverbial modifier, which can be placed at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis without changing the grammatical correctness or the fundamental meaning of the transformation.

Explanation

When converting direct speech into indirect speech, several transformations are required based on the rules of narration. The reporting verb "said to" changes to "told" because it is followed by an object (my father). The first-person pronoun "I" within the quotation marks must change to "she" to correspond with the subject of the reporting verb, which is "My mother". Because the reporting verb is in the past tense, the verb "am" in the reported clause undergoes backshifting to the past tense "was". Additionally, the adverb of time "now" is converted to "then" to reflect the shift in the time of the report. Combining these changes, the sentence becomes: My mother told my father that she was very busy then.

Explanation

The sentence structure follows the standard idiomatic pattern of enough for someone to do something. In this construction, the preposition for is used to introduce the person or entity for whom a certain condition is sufficient. Here, for connects the adjective enough to the librarian Husain, indicating that the preceding information provided sufficient grounds or capability for him to perform the action of assessing the contents of the book.

Explanation

The sentence requires a verb that agrees with the plural subject painters. In English subject-verb agreement, a plural noun in the present tense must be followed by the plural form of the verb. The word have is the standard plural present tense form of the verb to have, making it the grammatically correct choice to indicate that the painters possess technical knowledge.

Explanation

The sentence establishes a cause-and-effect relationship between the painters' lack of understanding of nature and their subsequent inability to create a masterpiece. The word hence is a conjunctive adverb used to indicate a logical consequence or result of what has just been stated. By using hence, the passage clarifies that the failure to produce a masterpiece is the direct outcome of the specific deficiency in the painters' knowledge mentioned in the preceding clause.

Explanation

The word learned is the past participle form of the verb learn and is used in this context to represent the sum total of knowledge or things Husain has acquired. In the sentence, the phrase all learned functions as the subject, where the participle modifies the pronoun all to mean everything that has been learned. This usage effectively conveys that his entire body of knowledge and the wisdom he has gathered throughout his life are centered on and derived from books. The past participle is appropriate here as it refers to the completed state of his intellectual acquisition.

Explanation

The preposition at is used to indicate a specific location, position, or point in space. In the given sentence, the grand library at the palace specifies the location of the library relative to the palace complex. It establishes the palace as the site or landmark where the library is situated. This usage follows standard English grammar rules for identifying the position of an object or establishment within a larger identified area or facility.

Explanation

The error lies in part 3 because the possessive adjective your cannot function as a pronoun on its own. A possessive adjective must always be followed by a noun, such as your phone. To refer to the noun implicitly and complete the comparison, the possessive pronoun yours should be used instead. Additionally, in standard formal English, the adjective different is traditionally followed by the preposition from rather than than. Thus, the segment should correctly read different from yours.

Explanation

The sentence is grammatically correct as it follows the standard rule for future time clauses. When a sentence refers to two actions that will happen in the future, the subordinate clause introduced by time conjunctions such as as soon as, when, before, or until must be in the Simple Present tense, while the main clause remains in the Simple Future tense. In this instance, I reach my office correctly uses the Simple Present to indicate the condition that must occur first, and I will mail you the files correctly uses the Simple Future for the subsequent action. The syntax, tense usage, and punctuation are all accurate, leaving the sentence free of error.

Explanation

The sentence employs the subordinating conjunction because to establish a logical cause-and-effect relationship between the subject's demeanour and her status as a desirable friend. A desirable friend is someone who possesses positive, likable, and attractive qualities. The word pleasant means giving a sense of happy satisfaction or enjoyment and describes a person who is friendly and easy to be with. Therefore, having a pleasant demeanour provides the necessary positive justification for being considered a desirable companion, making the sentence logically sound and semantically coherent.

Explanation

The term compulsory describes an action or requirement that is mandated by law or a specific set of rules. In the provided sentence, the condition that a child will not be allowed to attend public school unless vaccination requirements are met establishes that these requirements are mandatory. When an obligation must be fulfilled to avoid a specific consequence or to gain access to a public service, it is defined as being compulsory.

Explanation

The word stymie means to prevent or hinder the progress of an action or person. It is often used to describe a situation where someone is thwarted or blocked by an obstacle. Similarly, the word impede means to delay or prevent someone or something by obstructing them. Both terms are used in contexts where progress is made difficult or is stopped entirely by an external force or condition.

Explanation

A suffix is a linguistic element, specifically an affix, that is appended to the end of a stem or root word to create a new word or to alter the grammatical function of the original word. Because it involves the process of appending or attaching a supplementary part to an existing base, it is fundamentally an addition to the word structure. In morphology, suffixes serve as additions that can change a word's category or tense, such as adding -ed to a verb to form the past tense or -ly to an adjective to form an adverb.

Explanation

Sultry refers to atmospheric conditions that are uncomfortably hot and humid, characterized by a lack of breeze and an oppressive sense of warmth. It is typically used to describe weather that is both sweltering and moist. Frigid signifies an extreme lack of heat, describing temperatures that are intensely cold or frozen. Because sultry conveys a state of high heat and frigid conveys a state of intense cold, they represent opposite ends of the temperature spectrum, making frigid the appropriate antonym.

Explanation

The word supple describes something that is flexible, limber, and easily bent or manipulated without breaking. Brittle is its opposite because it refers to a state where a material is hard and rigid, lacking any elasticity or flexibility, and is prone to snapping or shattering easily when subjected to force. While a supple object yields to pressure by bending, a brittle object resists bending and instead breaks apart.

Explanation

The idiom barking up the wrong tree originates from the practice of raccoon hunting, where hunting dogs would bark at the base of a tree believing the prey was still there, even if the animal had already escaped to another tree. In a figurative sense, it describes a situation where someone is following a mistaken line of thought or misdirecting their efforts. It signifies that an individual is looking in the wrong place for a solution or is pursuing a course of action that will not lead to the desired result because their fundamental assumptions or targets are incorrect.

Explanation

The idiom call it a day is used to signify the decision to stop working on something, typically because the person feels they have accomplished enough for the time being or are too exhausted to continue. It essentially means to declare the end of a task or a period of activity. This expression often appears in professional or personal contexts when a group or individual decides that further effort for the current session is unnecessary or unproductive. By using this phrase, the speaker indicates that the work is finished for the remainder of the day.

Explanation

The verb mind is categorized as a verb that must be followed by a gerund, which is the -ing form of a verb acting as a noun. When used in a polite request such as would you mind, the structure requires the gerund carrying to complete the phrase correctly. This grammatical rule dictates that the infinitive form or a combination of to and a gerund is incorrect in this context. Using the gerund carrying makes the request grammatically accurate and idiomatic in English.

Explanation

The sentence describes a completed, factual action that took place in the past upon a specific event. The phrase on seeing the joker establishes the timing of the reaction, indicating a direct cause-and-effect relationship in a real situation. Therefore, the simple past tense jumped is the most appropriate form to express a definite action that occurred at a specific point in time.

Explanation

Vulnerability refers to the state of being susceptible to physical or emotional injury, damage, or attack. Derived from the Latin word vulnerabilis, meaning wounding, it specifically describes a condition where an individual, group, or system lacks adequate protection or defense mechanisms against external threats. This exposure makes the subject liable to being harmed, compromised, or influenced by negative forces.

Explanation

A pledge is a formal and serious commitment, promise, or agreement to perform a specific action or adhere to a certain duty. It represents a binding undertaking made by an individual or a group, often involving a sense of honor or legal obligation, which aligns perfectly with the definition of a solemn promise.

Explanation

The word consensus is derived from the Latin term consensus, which is the past participle of the verb consentire, meaning to feel together. The correct spelling follows its etymological root sensus, which signifies feeling or perception. It is characterized by having the letter s after the first n and another s before the final vowel, mirroring the construction of related words like sense and sensation. This spelling accurately reflects the combination of the prefix con, meaning together, and the root relating to a shared sense or agreement.

Explanation

The word presents is the correctly spelled term used to denote either the plural form of the noun meaning a gift or the third-person singular present tense of the verb meaning to show, give, or introduce. It is derived from the Latin praesentare, which means to place before. The spelling follows standard English orthographical rules where the suffix s is added to the root word present to indicate plurality or verb conjugation, and it contains no double consonants or silent letters outside of the standard root structure.

Explanation

The sentence follows a logical and grammatical progression starting from the introductory phrase. The idiom thrown upon one's own exertions means being forced to rely on one's own efforts, making X the natural continuation of the opening clause. The phrase ends with the indefinite article an, which necessitates a following word starting with a vowel sound, provided by early at the beginning of Z. Finally, the adjective hard at the end of Z requires a noun to modify, which is battle at the start of Y. The complete coherent sentence is: They had been thrown upon their own exertions at an early age, and had a hard battle to fight with poverty and ignorance.