SSC CHSL Tier 1 2016 English Comprehension Questions with Solutions

Explanation

The idiom "too many cooks spoil the broth" is a traditional proverb signifying that when too many people try to direct, manage, or work on the same project or task simultaneously, the quality of the final outcome is ruined. This figurative expression uses the literal scenario of multiple chefs interfering with the preparation of a single pot of soup to illustrate how excessive participation and conflicting ideas lead to confusion, lack of coordination, and a poorly executed result.

Explanation

The word litigate is spelled correctly. It is a verb that means to take a claim or dispute to a court of law, or to be a party to a lawsuit. It originates from the Latin word litigare, meaning to dispute or go to law.

Explanation

The word malignant refers to something that is actively malevolent, harmful, or life-threatening, such as a cancerous growth that tends to invade and destroy nearby tissue. The word benign acts as its direct antonym, denoting a condition or disposition that is gentle, kind, harmless, or non-cancerous in a medical context.

Explanation

The error lies in part A of the sentence. The phrase "was being hard" is grammatically incorrect because "hard" describes a state of being, not an ongoing action or temporary behavior. Stative descriptions do not typically take the continuous form. Therefore, the simple past tense "was" should be used instead of the past continuous "was being". The correct phrasing is "It was hard to believe".

Explanation

The idiom easy come, easy go is used to express that something, particularly money or possessions, which is acquired easily and without much effort, is often lost, spent, or wasted just as quickly and without any sense of regret or concern.

Explanation

The verb to thrash means to beat someone or something repeatedly and violently, typically with a whip or a stick. It is also used in informal contexts to mean inflicting a severe beating on someone. This aligns directly with the meaning of to beat up, which is to strike or assault someone repeatedly, causing physical harm.

Explanation

In the context of cyber security and warfare, the conflict between attackers and the defender is characterized as asymmetric. An asymmetric battle is one where the resources, capabilities, and tactics of the opposing sides differ significantly, typically allowing a small, resource-poor attacker to inflict disproportionate damage on a larger, well-funded state or organization. This makes the term contextually and terminologically accurate for describing modern cyber threats where individual hackers or small groups can threaten the national and economic security of an entire nation.

Explanation

The passage is extracted from an article titled The cyberthreat is very real published in The Hindu. In the original text, the sentence reads: Faced with potentially new cyber onslaughts, the danger to India's economic and national security is going up in geometrical progression.

The noun onslaughts, which means fierce or destructive attacks, correctly fits the context of digital warfare and cyber threats while aligning grammatically with the plural context of the surrounding sentence.

Explanation

The phrase going up in is grammatically and contextually correct. In this context, going up indicates that the threat or danger to national and economic security is increasing. The preposition in correctly introduces the phrase of manner geometrical progression, which describes the rapid, exponential rate at which this danger is multiplying.

Explanation

The sentence joins two distinct, complementary strategies using the conjunction and: offensive cyber operations and cyber security. The word both functions as a predeterminer that pairs with and to form a correlative construction. This construction emphasizes that both of the specified components are simultaneously necessary for India to be fully forearmed against cyber threats.

Explanation

In the given passage, the blank precedes the noun phrase "cyber security" and requires a modifying adjective. The past participle form "strengthened" functions as an adjective meaning made stronger, more secure, or more effective. It correctly describes the type of cyber security required to protect national and economic interests from cyber threats.

Explanation

The word crockery is spelled correctly. It refers to plates, dishes, cups, and other tableware or vessels made of baked clay or earthenware.

Explanation

The idiom "to spill the beans" refers to the act of revealing confidential, secret, or private information, often inadvertently or prematurely. It is commonly used when someone lets out a secret that was meant to be kept hidden, thereby spoiling a surprise or a plan.

Explanation

The sentence describes two past events. The state of the pool being dry is expressed in the simple past tense (was), whereas the draining of the water occurred even further in the past (as indicated by the adverbial phrase "the day before"). To represent an action that was completed before another past action, the past perfect passive tense (had been + past participle) is grammatically required. Additionally, the phrasal verb "drain off" is correct as it means to draw off or remove liquid gradually. Therefore, the original phrasing is perfectly accurate.

Explanation

The verb cosset means to care for or protect in an overindulgent way, pampering or coddling someone with excessive attention and affection. Its antonym must denote a complete lack of attention, care, or concern. The word ignore means to refuse to take notice of or pay attention to, making it the direct opposite of cosseting someone.

Explanation

The preposition about requires an object, which is provided by the noun clause what its title says (Q). The adverb namely (P) is then used to introduce the specific clarification or definition of the title, which is the enemies of intellectual liberty (R). Combining these parts in the order Q-P-R forms a grammatically correct and coherent sentence: The essay is about what its title says, namely, the enemies of intellectual liberty.

Explanation

The verb acquire means to learn or develop a skill, habit, or quality over time through effort or experience. In the context of learning, skills are typically acquired, making this the most appropriate and idiomatic word choice to describe the process of gaining and mastering new abilities.

Explanation

When converting an imperative sentence from direct to indirect speech, the reporting verb said to is changed to a verb like asked, requested, or ordered depending on the context. The reported speech is introduced by using the infinitive to before the base form of the verb, converting bring to to bring. Additionally, the first-person pronoun me refers to Nita and is changed to the third-person pronoun her. This makes the correct conversion: Nita asked her mother to bring her a cup of coffee.

Explanation

The phrase keep a vigil or keep vigil is a standard English collocation that means to stay awake, watch, or guard a place or person carefully, especially during the night. In this context, keeping a vigil perfectly fits the sentence to indicate that the bank's security staff was actively guarding and watching over the treasury boxes when the theft occurred.

Explanation

The given sentence is in the Active Voice and is a wh-question in the simple past tense, following the structure: Why + did + subject + base verb + object + ?

To convert a simple past interrogative sentence into the Passive Voice, the structure becomes: Why + was/were + object + past participle (V3) + by + agent + ?

The object of the active sentence is "the vase", which is singular, requiring the auxiliary verb "was". The past participle of "break" is "broken", and the subject pronoun "he" changes to its objective form "him" when acting as the agent. Applying these rules, the sentence transforms into: Why was the vase broken by him?

Explanation

Privation denotes a state of extreme poverty, deprivation, or the lack of basic necessities essential for human well-being, such as food, warmth, and shelter. This state of lack and suffering is synonymous with hardship, which represents a condition of severe suffering or adversity.

Explanation

Carnage is defined as the killing of a large number of people, especially in war, which is characterized by mass slaughter or bloodbath. The word butchery refers directly to the brutal, indiscriminate killing or slaughter of people, making it a precise synonym for carnage.

Explanation

The idiom to spin one's wheels means to expend a great deal of effort and energy without making any real progress or achieving any practical results. The phrase is derived from the imagery of a vehicle stuck in mud or snow, where the wheels rotate rapidly but fail to move the vehicle forward, leading to a complete waste of time and energy.

Explanation

The subject of the sentence is the singular noun phrase "The average age". According to the rules of subject-verb agreement, a singular subject must be paired with a singular verb. Therefore, the plural verb "are" in part (C) must be replaced with the singular verb "is" to make the sentence grammatically correct.

Explanation

To smother means to kill someone by covering their nose and mouth to prevent them from breathing, leading to death by suffocation. This term specifically refers to the act of obstructing the external airway passages, typically using an object like a pillow, blanket, or hands, to cut off the intake of oxygen.

Explanation

The word alveolar is spelled correctly. It is an adjective used in anatomy to describe structures relating to the alveoli of the lungs or the sockets of the teeth. In linguistics, it refers to consonant sounds, such as t, d, s, or z, produced by placing the tongue against or near the alveolar ridge behind the upper front teeth.

Explanation

The sentence is grammatically correct and free of any errors. The correlative conjunction hardly is correctly paired with when to describe two events that occurred in quick succession in the past. Additionally, when a sentence begins with a negative adverb or adverbial phrase like hardly, the subject-verb inversion is required. The inversion had I stepped is correctly constructed with the auxiliary verb had placed before the subject I. The tense sequence is also appropriate, using the past perfect tense had stepped for the earlier action and the simple past tense saw for the subsequent action.

Explanation

To disintegrate means to break apart, decompose, or separate into small parts or fragments, typically as a result of impact, decay, or wear. The word is formed by combining the prefix dis-, which denotes reversal, with the verb integrate, which means to combine into a whole, making it the precise term for the breaking down of a unified structure.

Explanation

The word hollow refers to something that has an empty space, cavity, or hole inside, lacking solid substance throughout. Its direct antonym is solid, which describes an object that is completely filled with matter, firm, and compact, having no interior cavities or empty spaces.

Explanation

The sentence starts with the introductory clause "It was never meant", which is naturally followed by the infinitive phrase "to become a tool" (Q) to express the intended role. This is logically followed by another infinitive clause specifying the purpose of the tool, "to broaden the scope of restrictions" (R). Finally, the prepositional phrase "upon fundamental rights" (P) completes the meaning by qualifying "restrictions", since "restrictions upon" is the standard grammatical construction. This creates the grammatically correct and coherent sentence: "It was never meant to become a tool to broaden the scope of restrictions upon fundamental rights."

Explanation

In English grammar, the word all functions as a predeterminer. When used with a possessive adjective like her to modify a noun, all must either precede the possessive adjective directly (as in all her answers) or be followed by the preposition of (as in all of her answers). It is grammatically incorrect to place the possessive adjective before all, which makes her all answers incorrect. Substituting All of her rectifies this word order, resulting in the grammatically correct sentence: All of her answers were incorrect.

Explanation

The word protracted means lasting for a long time or longer than expected, and is the standard legal collocation used to describe lengthy, drawn-out lawsuits. In the context of the passage, imposing costs on one of the parties at the end of a prolonged and tedious legal battle is common to deter litigants from abusing the court system.

Explanation

In the context of the passage, the blank requires a word that means a discouragement or a preventive measure. Imposing costs on a party at the end of litigation is a punitive measure designed to discourage and prevent litigants from abusing the legal process and system. The noun deterrent specifically refers to something that discourages or deters a person from doing something through fear of the consequences, which perfectly fits the structure of acting as a deterrent against abuse.

Explanation

In legal and official administrative contexts, scheduling or allocating specific time slots for court proceedings is described as granting a hearing or a date. The passage criticizes the practice of prioritizing certain cases by officially allocating earlier schedules to wealthier litigants, making granting the most appropriate and idiomatic word to fill the blank.

Explanation

The word sums is the grammatically correct and idiomatic choice in this context, as sums of money is a standard English collocation used to refer to quantities or amounts of currency. In the context of legal fees or pre-deposits, litigants are required to pay large or specific amounts, making the plural noun sums the most appropriate fit to complete the phrase.

Explanation

The idiomatic expression let alone is used after a negative statement to emphasize that something is even more unlikely or inappropriate than the thing previously mentioned. In this sentence, the author states that classism should have no place in any court of law, and uses let alone to highlight that it is especially unacceptable in the apex court of the land.

Explanation

The word "accesses" is the correctly spelled third-person singular present indicative form of the verb "access," as well as the plural form of the noun "access." It means to gain entry to, make use of, or obtain files or data from a computer system.

Explanation

The given sentence is in the passive voice of the present continuous tense, which follows the structure: Subject + is/am/are + being + past participle (V3) + by + Object.

To convert this sentence into the active voice, the active present continuous tense structure is used: Subject + is/am/are + present participle (verb-ing) + Object.

The passive agent pronoun "us" becomes the active subject pronoun "We", which takes the plural helping verb "are". The main verb "fed" in its present participle form becomes "feeding", and the passive subject "the dog" becomes the active object. Applying this conversion yields the sentence: We are feeding the dog.

Explanation

The word gimmicks is spelled correctly. It is the plural form of the noun gimmick, which refers to a trick, device, or novel strategy designed to attract attention, publicity, or business.

Explanation

The verb dither means to be indecisive, to hesitate, or to waver between different options rather than making a clear and firm decision. It directly describes a state of hesitation or agitation caused by indecision.

Explanation

The sentence is written in the passive voice. In passive voice constructions, the auxiliary verb (was) must be followed by the past participle form of the main verb. The verb "send" is in its base form, and its past participle form is "sent". Therefore, "send" must be replaced with "sent" to make the sentence grammatically correct.

Explanation

An elf is traditionally described in folklore and mythology as a tiny, delicate, and often mischievous supernatural being of very small stature. In contrast, a giant is a mythical creature of immense scale, colossal size, and vast physical strength, making it the direct antonym in terms of physical proportions and characteristics.

Explanation

The sentence uses the correlative structure "not just... too" to connect two parallel actions that occurred in the past. Since the first part of the sentence uses the simple past tense ("did not just throw"), the second part must also use the simple past tense ("broke it too") to maintain grammatical parallelism and logical consistency.

Explanation

The participle phrase "Being a sunny day" lacks a proper subject, which creates a dangling participle. In English grammar, when a participle clause is placed at the beginning of a sentence, its implied subject must be the same as the subject of the main clause. In this sentence, the subject of the main clause is "I". This grammatically implies that "I" was "a sunny day", which is illogical. To correct this error, the dummy pronoun "It" must be placed before "being" to form "It being a sunny day", giving the participle clause its own subject and making the sentence grammatically sound.

Explanation

The verb distort is defined as pulling, bending, or twisting something out of its natural, original, or intended shape. It can also refer to misrepresenting facts or ideas to give a false or misleading impression.

Explanation

To batter means to strike repeatedly with hard, heavy blows, or to subject someone or something to a series of heavy impacts. The word bash means to strike violently or hit hard. Both terms share the common meaning of hitting or striking forcefully, making them synonyms.

Explanation

The clause "but you did" indicates that the action of going took place in the past. To express criticism or regret about a past action that should not have occurred but actually did, the modal verb "ought to" must be followed by the perfect infinitive "have + past participle". Therefore, "ought not to have gone" is the grammatically correct structure to show that the person went there in the past contrary to what was advisable.

Explanation

The adverb markedly means to a very obvious, noticeable, or significant degree. When comparing Keynesian economic theory, which advocates for state intervention to manage demand and stabilize capitalism, with Marxian economic theory, which critiques the capitalist system and calls for its dismantling, their core principles, methodologies, and conclusions are highly distinct. Therefore, the two theories differ to a highly noticeable and significant extent.

Explanation

The word imminent refers to an event, typically a threat or danger, that is impending, inevitable, or about to occur at any moment. Because an imminent event is bound to happen and cannot be avoided, its antonym is escapable, which describes something that can be avoided, evaded, or prevented from happening.

Explanation

The idiom "no horse in this race" is used to indicate that one has no personal stake, investment, or vested interest in the outcome of a particular situation, contest, or dispute. It originates from the practice of horse racing, where a spectator who has not placed a bet on any of the participating horses has no reason to prefer one winner over another and remains entirely neutral.