SSC CHSL Tier 1 2013 English Comprehension Questions with Solutions

Explanation

The word police is a collective noun that is always treated as plural. Therefore, it must be followed by a plural verb. The singular verb is should be replaced with the plural verb are to make the sentence grammatically correct. The corrected phrase is: The police are investigating.

Explanation

The verb aimed requires the preposition at when followed by a gerund to express purpose or direction. Therefore, the phrase not just providing is grammatically incorrect and should be corrected to not just at providing to establish the proper prepositional link with the gerund providing.

Explanation

The sentence is grammatically correct and contains no errors. The conditional conjunction unless, which means if not, is correctly used with the simple present tense verb apologizes in the conditional clause to express a condition. The main clause he should not be allowed to stay with us is also perfectly constructed, using the modal verb should in the negative passive voice followed by the infinitive to stay. The overall syntax, subject-verb agreement, and tense usage are entirely accurate.

Explanation

In standard English grammar, the phrase today morning is incorrect. The correct and natural expression to use when referring to the morning of the current day is this morning. Therefore, today morning must be replaced with this morning to make the sentence grammatically correct.

Explanation

The correct word to fill in the blank is untold, as "untold damage" is a common English collocation meaning damage that is too great or numerous to be measured or counted. In this context, it appropriately expresses the café owners' fear of incalculable harm to their business.

Explanation

The principal clause contains the verb "heard" in the simple past tense. According to the rules of sequence of tenses in indirect speech, when the main verb of a sentence is in the past tense, the verb in the subordinate clause must also be in a past tense. Since the shifting of the house is an action that was completed prior to the act of hearing about it, the past perfect tense "had shifted" is used to denote this earlier action.

Explanation

The verb remonstrate is paired with the preposition with when expressing a protest, complaint, or strong disapproval to someone. In this sentence, the action of presenting strong reasons against the referee's decision requires with to complete the idiomatic phrasal usage remonstrate with someone.

Explanation

The word setting in this sentence is a gerund, which is a verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun. In formal English grammar, a noun or pronoun that modifies a gerund must be in the possessive case. Since his is a possessive pronoun, it correctly modifies the gerund setting. This structure indicates that the teacher encouraged the action of setting the poem to music, which was performed by him.

Explanation

The phrase "but for" is a standard English idiom that means "except for" or "if it had not been for". In this third conditional sentence, "but for my help" introduces the condition that prevented the negative outcome from happening, meaning the subject would have failed if the help had not been provided. This structure is typically used with past conditional verbs like "would not have been" followed by a noun phrase.

Explanation

The noun admonition refers to a firm warning, caution, or reprimand given by someone in authority. It is an act of advising or counseling against a specific behavior or action to prevent a future mistake or error. Therefore, warning is the most accurate synonym that expresses its meaning.

Explanation

The word thrifty means using money and other resources carefully and not wasting them. It is synonymous with being economical, which refers to using minimum resources, time, or money to achieve the best results in a prudent and efficient manner. Both terms describe a person or practice characterized by careful management and frugality to avoid unnecessary spending.

Explanation

The word dynamic describes something that is characterized by constant change, activity, progress, or energy. Its direct antonym is static, which refers to a state of being stationary, stable, or showing no movement, action, or change.

Explanation

Stability refers to the state of being firm, steady, constant, and reliable over time, where conditions or behaviors remain unchanged and predictable. Inconsistency represents the exact opposite quality, denoting a lack of steadiness, irregularity, and a tendency to change unpredictably, making it the direct antonym.

Explanation

The word intermittently is an adverb that means at irregular intervals or not continuously. It is derived from the Latin verb intermittere, meaning to interrupt or leave off. The correct spelling follows the pattern of the prefix inter-, followed by the base word mit which doubles its final consonant t before the suffix -ent is added, and finally the adverbial suffix -ly, making it intermittently.

Explanation

The word colleague is correctly spelled as C-O-L-L-E-A-G-U-E. It refers to a co-worker or associate in a professional or business environment. The term originates from the Latin word collega, combining col- meaning with or together and legare meaning to choose.

Explanation

The phrasal verb "go about" means to travel, circulate, or move from place to place. In the given sentence, it describes the action of the young servant moving around or traveling in the company of the old master.

Explanation

The idiom to give someone a piece of one's mind means to express one's anger or disapproval directly and forcefully. It involves scolding, reprimanding, or speaking sharply to someone because of their behavior or actions. In the given sentence, the mother is reprimanding her daughter, which aligns with the meaning of speaking sharply.

Explanation

The idiom get down to business means to start focusing on and directing one's attention to the serious or important work that needs to be done. In the given sentence, Raghu's mother scolded him, which prompted him to stop wasting time, become serious, and begin working on his tasks with focus and dedication.

Explanation

The word congregation refers to a gathering or assembly of people, especially for religious worship. Derived from the Latin verb congregare, which means to gather together, it is the standard collective noun used to describe a group of worshippers assembled in a church, temple, mosque, or other place of worship.

Explanation

A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary solitude or seclusion, completely isolated from society and other people. The word originates from the Latin reclusus, which means shut up or enclosed, describing someone who chooses to live entirely by themselves and avoid social interaction.

Explanation

An antidote is a medicine or substance administered to counteract, neutralize, or nullify the physiological effects of a specific poison, toxin, or drug overdose in the body. It acts by chemically binding to the toxic agent, blocking its receptor sites, or speeding up its metabolic clearance.

Explanation

The noun registration requires the preposition for when referring to enrolling or signing up to participate in an event, course, or workshop. The original phrasing, registration of the workshop, incorrectly implies registering the workshop itself as an entity. To accurately express the action of an attendee completing the administrative requirements to join the workshop, the preposition for must be used, making formalities of registration for the correct phrasing.

Explanation

The phrase "the beginning" refers to a specific point in the past when the action or task started. To maintain grammatical and temporal consistency, the simple past tense "he was" must be used to describe the state at that past starting point. This correctly contrasts the initial state in the past with the ongoing or future state of remaining careful.

Explanation

The given sentence is in the passive voice of the simple past tense, which follows the structure: Subject + was/were + past participle (V3) + by + Object. When converting this sentence to the active voice, the structure changes to: Subject + past tense verb (V2) + Object. The object of the passive sentence (the farmer's wife) becomes the subject of the active sentence, the past participle "collected" changes to its simple past verb form "collected", and the subject of the passive sentence (a fresh batch of eggs) becomes the active sentence's object. This yields the sentence "The farmer's wife collected a fresh batch of eggs".

Explanation

The given sentence is in the Future Perfect Tense in the active voice. The active voice structure for the Future Perfect Tense is: Subject + shall/will + have + past participle (V3) + Object.

To convert a sentence in this tense into the passive voice, the structure used is: Object + will/shall + have been + past participle (V3) + by + Subject.

Applying this rule, the object of the active sentence, "the letter", becomes the subject of the passive sentence. Because "the letter" is a third-person singular noun, it takes the auxiliary "will" instead of "shall". The subject "I" changes to its objective form "me". Following the structure, the sentence converts to: "The letter will have been written by me."

Explanation

The given sentence is in the passive voice, using the simple past tense structure of was followed by the past participle bowed. The implied agent of the action is she, as indicated by the possessive determiner her in her face. To convert this sentence into the active voice, the implied agent she becomes the subject, the passive verb was bowed is changed to the active simple past form bowed, and her face becomes the direct object. The introductory adverb Then is retained at the beginning of the sentence to preserve the original meaning. This successfully reconstructs the sentence into the active voice.

Explanation

The given sentence is in the passive voice in the past perfect tense, as indicated by the auxiliary structure "had not been" followed by the past participle verb "decorated".

To convert a past perfect passive sentence into the active voice, the structure "had + been + past participle (V3)" is changed to "had + past participle (V3)". The agent of the action "by us" is converted into the active subject "We", while the receiver of the action "the walls" becomes the active object. This transformation results in "We had not decorated the walls".

Explanation

When converting the active voice sentence "We must endure what we cannot cure" into the passive voice, both the main clause and the subordinate clause are changed to the passive form:

The clause "what we cannot cure" changes to "what cannot be cured" by converting the active modal verb "cannot cure" into the passive form "cannot be cured". The main clause "We must endure" changes to "must be endured" by converting the active modal verb "must endure" into the passive form "must be endured" and omitting the general agent "we".

Combining these passive elements gives the correct passive sentence: "What cannot be cured must be endured."

Explanation

Correct Answer: D

The direct speech transformation of the given indirect sentence requires reversing the standard grammatical changes of tense, pronouns, and time expressions. The reporting verb asked in indirect speech is converted to said to in the direct speech of an interrogative sentence. The conjunction whether indicates a yes/no question, which starts with the auxiliary verb did in the simple past tense. The past perfect tense had watched in indirect speech changes back to the simple past tense form did watch in direct speech. The third-person pronoun he shifts to the second-person pronoun you to directly address Prasad. Finally, the time expression the previous night converts to last night in direct speech.

Explanation

When converting direct speech into indirect speech, several grammatical transformations are applied. First, the reporting verb "said to" followed by an object is changed to "told". Second, the conjunction "that" is introduced to connect the reporting clause with the reported clause, and the quotation marks are removed. Third, the second-person pronouns "you" and "your" are changed to correspond with the object of the reporting verb "me", thus becoming "I" and "my" respectively. Finally, because the reporting verb is in the past tense, the tense in the reported speech is shifted from the present continuous "are idling" to the past continuous "was idling".

Explanation

When converting an imperative sentence from direct to indirect speech, the reporting verb is changed into a verb representing an order, command, request, or advice based on the context. Since a military captain addresses his men with an official command, the reporting verb is changed to commanded. Additionally, the imperative verb in direct speech is converted into an infinitive form, transforming "Fall into line" into "to fall into line". This completes the standard structure of reporting a command.

Explanation

When converting an optative sentence expressing a prayer from direct to indirect speech, the reporting verb said is changed to prayed. The conjunction that is introduced to link the clauses. The sentence structure is changed from optative to assertive, meaning the modal verb may is shifted after the subject God and is changed to its past tense form might because the reporting verb is in the past tense. Additionally, the demonstrative adjective this is changed to that to denote distance. This results in the correct indirect speech where the priest prayed that God might pardon that sinner.

Explanation

When transforming indirect speech containing the reporting verb advised followed by an infinitive into direct speech, the advice is typically expressed using the modal verb should to convey a recommendation. The reporting verb advised is replaced by said. Therefore, the direct speech version of the advice given to the speaker is naturally expressed as You should go and see a doctor, said Ashmita.

Explanation

The passage is arranged in a logical chronological order of the narrator reading a medical book. Sentence 1 introduces the first illness as cholera. Sentence R directly connects to this by mentioning the symptoms of cholera and the narrator's suspicion of having it. Sentence P describes the narrator's reaction of being too frightened to move after reading about cholera. Sentence S details how the narrator, recovering from the fright, starts turning the pages again. Sentence Q states that the narrator then came to malaria, which seamlessly transitions into Sentence 6, where the narrator concludes that he has malaria too. Therefore, the logical flow of the narrative is RPSQ.

Explanation

The opening sentence establishes that Lata is caught in a traffic jam. Sentence R immediately explains why this situation is highly problematic for her by stating she has an interview in less than half-an-hour. Sentence S naturally follows R by describing her emotional response to the time crunch, as she frets about not being able to afford to be late. Sentence Q shifts the focus back to the physical reality of the traffic jam, noting that the vehicles on either side looked stuck forever, which heightens her despair. This despair leads to the rhetorical question in sentence P about missing the interview entirely. Finally, sentence 6 seamlessly completes this thought with a parallel rhetorical question, offering an alternative undesirable outcome introduced by the coordinating conjunction or.

Explanation

The sentence begins with the subject, 1. The enzymes in washing powder, which requires a verb to complete the main statement. Segment Q, come from bacteria, provides this verb. The noun bacteria is then described by the relative clause in segment S, that have evolved, which is followed by the infinitive in segment R, to live in hot springs. This description leads to segment P, making them able to survive, which connects directly to the final part, 6. the rigours of the hot cycle. Arranging these parts in the order of Q-S-R-P creates a grammatically complete and logical sentence.

Explanation

The paragraph begins with Statement 1, which describes the historical wide distribution of lions in Africa and Asia. Sentence R immediately follows by contrasting this past state with the present situation, noting that they are now a relatively rare species. Sentence Q explains the reason for this decline, pointing to indiscriminate killing as the cause of their falling numbers. Sentence S introduces the survival prospects of the species, suggesting that they may only survive in national parks. Sentence P expands on this concept by mentioning that special forest zones are set aside for wildlife in various countries. Sentence 6 logically completes the paragraph by stating that hunting is prohibited in such reserved areas, which directly links back to the forest zones described in P.

Explanation

The correct arrangement must establish a logical and grammatical sequence of events following the opening statement. The opening statement introduces the arrival of the tornado in the coastal areas. The initial impact is described by parallel clauses that detail the immediate losses: first, the loss of shelter (P), followed by the destruction of crops (R), and finally the loss of animals (S). The conjunction "and" at the end of S links these cumulative losses to their ultimate consequence, which is becoming a pauper overnight (Q). This overall state of ruin then sets up a natural contrast with the final sentence (6) introduced by "though", which points out that the neighbor's house was left completely undamaged. Thus, the sequence PRSQ creates a coherent and grammatically seamless narrative.

Explanation

The phrasal verb look round means to inspect a place or to direct one's eyes in different directions to see what is there. In the context of entering a stranger's library, the narrator naturally directs their gaze to examine the books on the shelves to understand the owner's personality and intellect.

Explanation

In this context, the passage describes how browsing a stranger's books helps the narrator understand their personality and thoughts. The noun key is idiomatic when used with the preposition to to represent a means of access, understanding, or clarification. The phrase key to his mind is a standard metaphorical collocation meaning the essential element that unlocks or explains the stranger's inner thoughts and intellect.

Explanation

The passage is adapted from the essay On Buying Books, included in Many Furrows, written by A. G. Gardiner under the pen name Alpha of the Plough. In the original text, the author emphasizes the importance of literature in a home by stating that a house without books is a characterless house. While expensive rugs or carpets show only financial wealth, books indicate the presence of an intellectual mind, giving the home its unique personality and character.

Explanation

The subject in the clause is the third-person singular pronoun he, which requires a singular verb. Since the entire passage is written in the present tense as indicated by verbs like go, is, tell, and has, the simple present tense form has is grammatically correct to complete the sentence.

Explanation

The phrase "a question of" is a standard idiomatic English expression meaning "a matter of" or "about". In this sentence, it indicates that money is not the underlying issue or determining factor that prevents people from buying books.

Explanation

According to the passage, the bee hummingbird is the world's smallest and lightest bird and is barely visible when it is in flight. The phrase barely visible indicates that it is extremely difficult to spot or see clearly while flying, which means it escapes our sight when it is in flight.

Explanation

According to the passage, nectar serves as an ideal food source for hummingbirds because they require an incredible amount of energy to sustain their body metabolism.

Explanation

Hummingbirds possess a unique shoulder joint and wing structure that allows them to rotate their wings in a figure-eight motion, generating lift on both the forward and backward strokes. This anatomical adaptation enables them to be the only birds capable of active, sustained flight in a backward direction.

Explanation

The word "incredible" is derived from the Latin prefix "in-" (not) and the root "credibilis" (worthy of belief), which directly translates to "unbelievable" or "difficult to believe." In the context of the passage, which describes the extraordinary physical feats of the hummingbird—such as its wings flapping 80 times per second and its heart beating more than 1000 times per minute—the term is used to emphasize that the amount of energy required to sustain such a rapid metabolism is so extreme that it seems virtually unbelievable.

Explanation

The passage states that while humans often believe large creatures will emerge victorious in the struggle for survival, nature teaches the opposite lesson. It explicitly highlights that the smallest species are frequently the toughest and most adaptable, pointing to the hummingbird as a prime example of this resilience.

Explanation

The causative verb "make" when used in the active voice is followed by an object and a bare infinitive, which is an infinitive without the word "to". In this sentence, the use of "to" after "the servant" is grammatically incorrect, and it should be omitted to read "the servant complete the work" for proper sentence structure.

Explanation

The indefinite article a is incorrectly used before the abbreviation M.A. The choice between the articles a and an is determined by the initial sound of the following word, rather than its starting letter. When pronounced, M.A. begins with a vowel sound, em-ay. Therefore, it must be preceded by the article an, making the grammatically correct phrase an M.A. degree.