SSC CHSL Tier 1 2016 English Comprehension Questions with Solutions

Explanation

To reform means to make changes in something, typically a social, political, or economic institution or practice, in order to improve it. The direct opposite of improving or making something better is to make it worse, which is the definition of worsen. Therefore, worsen is the correct antonym.

Explanation

The word contrast is used as a transitive verb in the imperative mood in this sentence. When contrast functions as a verb to compare two things in order to highlight their differences, it is grammatically correct to use the preposition with. The standard idiomatic construction is contrast A with B. Therefore, replacing the preposition to with with makes the sentence grammatically correct.

Explanation

In the context of conflict resolution and diplomacy, dialogue refers to a formal discussion between opposing groups or warring factions aimed at resolving a dispute, finding a peaceful settlement, or reaching a mutual agreement.

Explanation

The word liberty refers to the state of being free, having independence, and possessing the personal freedom to act, think, or speak without external restraint or oppressive restrictions. In contrast, incarceration refers to the state of being confined, imprisoned, or locked up, which represents the complete deprivation of physical freedom and personal liberty. This makes incarceration the direct antonym of liberty.

Explanation

The word predilection is defined as a preference or a special liking for something, which represents a bias or predisposition in favour of it. This term originates from the Latin praediligere, meaning to prefer before others, making it the most accurate substitute for a bias in favour of something.

Explanation

In the clause "India is not visualized," the word "visualized" is a past participle functioning as part of the passive voice. To form the simple present tense passive voice for the singular subject "India," the auxiliary verb "is" is grammatically correct.

This selection maintains tense consistency with the parenthetical clause that follows, "nor does India see itself," which uses the present tense auxiliary verb "does" to express a parallel negative idea.

Explanation

The adverb prominently means in a way that is easily seen, highly noticeable, or of major importance. In the context of the passage, India does not see itself as a net provider of security in West Asia, which means it does not occupy a significant or leading position in the strategic frameworks of those nations. The phrase does not figure prominently accurately conveys that India lacks a conspicuous or major role in the security and strategic plans of West Asian countries.

Explanation

The word certain is used as an adjective qualifying the plural noun limits. In this context, certain means definite but unspecified, indicating that there are specific, distinct boundaries to the intelligence and cooperation between India and West Asian countries due to differing views on terrorism. This usage is grammatically correct and fits the analytical tone of the passage perfectly.

Explanation

The passage highlights that there are limits to intelligence and counter-terrorism cooperation between India and West Asian countries. This indicates that the disagreements regarding the definition of terrorism and who is classified as a terrorist are substantial and grave. The adjective serious correctly describes these significant and deep-seated differences that prevent seamless security cooperation.

Explanation

In the given sentence, the blank requires a relative pronoun to introduce a noun clause that functions as the object of the preposition "on". Since the clause refers to the definition of a non-human concept, "terrorism", and serves as the subject of the verb "constitutes", the pronoun "what" is the grammatically correct choice to refer to things, actions, or concepts. This also creates a parallel structure with the subsequent clause "who can be described as a terrorist", where "what" is used for the concept and "who" is used for the person.

Explanation

The idiom tie the knot is a colloquial expression that means to get married. The phrase is believed to have originated from ancient handfasting ceremonies where the hands of the bride and groom were literally tied together with a cord or ribbon to symbolize their union, commitment, and the binding of two lives.

Explanation

The word carnal is derived from the Latin word carnis, meaning flesh, and refers to physical, bodily, or worldly appetites, particularly those of a sexual nature. The word sensual similarly relates to the physical senses and bodily pleasures rather than spiritual or intellectual aspects, making it a direct synonym.

Explanation

The word intrinsic refers to qualities or characteristics that are essential, inherent, and naturally occurring within an individual or object from the very beginning. In contrast, the word acquired describes characteristics or skills that are not born with but are instead gained, learned, or developed through external experience or effort over time, making it the direct antonym.

Explanation

The phrasal verb smile upon (or smile on) is an idiomatic expression that means to favor, bless, or look with approval on someone. When referring to abstract entities like providence, fortune, or fate bringing good luck and favor to individuals, the preposition upon is traditionally and grammatically appropriate.

Explanation

The word toxicity is spelled correctly. It refers to the quality, state, or relative degree of being toxic or poisonous, and it is derived from the adjective toxic with the addition of the noun-forming suffix -ity.

Explanation

The sentence describes an action that was actively in progress at a specific moment in the past, which is marked by the time clause "When I last saw Ravi". The past continuous tense is used to denote an ongoing background action that was happening at a particular point of time in the past. Therefore, the past continuous form "was running" correctly represents that Ravi was in the middle of the act of running to catch his bus at the precise moment the speaker saw him.

Explanation

The grammatical error lies in part A of the sentence. The plural noun gears must be replaced with the singular noun gear. Since a vehicle can only be engaged in one specific gear at any given point in time, the use of the plural form is grammatically incorrect in this context.

Explanation

The idiom "the ball is in your court" originates from racket sports such as tennis, where a player must hit the ball back once it enters their side of the court. In common usage, it means that the responsibility for taking the next action or making a decision rests entirely on a specific person.

Explanation

The verb "avail" is reflexive and is idiomatic when used with a reflexive pronoun followed by the preposition "of". Therefore, "to avail myself of" is the grammatically correct and appropriate phrase to replace the bracketed part.

Explanation

The given sentence is in the past continuous tense in the active voice, which follows the structure: Subject + was/were + present participle (V-ing) + Object.

To convert a past continuous active sentence into the passive voice, the structure is: Object + was/were + being + past participle (V3) + by + Subject.

Applying this rule to the sentence: The object "A note" becomes the new subject. The singular verb "was" is followed by "being" and the past participle "written". The original subject "Mariam" becomes the agent introduced by "by".

This yields the passive sentence: A note was being written by Mariam to her boss.

Explanation

Incinerate means to destroy something by burning or reducing it to ashes. Ignite means to set on fire or cause to catch fire. Both words share a core meaning associated with the process of burning and fire, making them closely related synonyms.

Explanation

The word ogle means to look or stare at someone with amorous or suggestive interest, paying them close, visual attention. The antonym of this action is ignore, which means to deliberately refuse to take notice of or pay attention to someone or something.

Explanation

The word snatched is the correct spelling of the past tense and past participle form of the verb snatch, which means to quickly seize or grasp something in a rude, eager, or sudden way. It follows the standard English spelling rule where the suffix -ed is added directly to the base verb ending in the digraph -ch.

Explanation

The verb importune means to press, urge, or harass someone persistently and pressingly to do something, or to make persistent and annoying requests.

Explanation

The phrasal verb look at is used when someone directs their eyes toward someone or something in order to see it. In this sentence, the baby is directing its gaze toward the toffee, making at the appropriate preposition to complete the sentence.

Explanation

A maxim is a short, concise statement that expresses a general truth, fundamental principle, or rule of conduct. It serves as a guiding rule for behavior and is widely recognized for its wisdom and practical value in instructing or directing human action.

Explanation

This sentence is the famous opening line of Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice. The complete sentence reads: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. Therefore, the correct logical and grammatical sequence of the parts is P, followed by Q, and then R.

Explanation

The sentence is a famous line from the poem Separation by the American poet W.S. Merwin. The complete sentence reads: Your absence has gone through me like thread through a needle. Therefore, the correct arrangement of the parts begins with part P (gone through me), followed by part R (like thread), and concludes with part Q (through a needle), resulting in the sequence PRQ.

Explanation

The relative pronoun whom in part B is incorrect and should be replaced with who. In this clause, the pronoun acts as the subject of the verb phrase has won. The phrase I think functions as a parenthetical insertion and does not affect the grammatical case of the relative pronoun. Since a subject pronoun is required to perform the action of the verb, the nominative case who must be used instead of the objective case whom.

Explanation

When converting an interrogative sentence in direct speech into indirect speech, specific grammatical rules are applied. The reporting verb said to is changed to asked because a question is being posed. For yes/no questions, the conjunction if is used to connect the reporting verb to the reported clause. The second-person pronoun you changes to she to refer to Veena, who is the object of the reporting verb. The interrogative structure is converted into an assertive structure, placing the subject before the auxiliary verb. Additionally, the present continuous tense are coming is changed to the past continuous tense was coming to match the past tense reporting verb. Applying these rules yields the correct indirect form: Abhay asked Veena if she was coming to the Reception.

Explanation

The term erratic is the most appropriate and formally accepted adjective to collocate with weather conditions in this context. It describes unpredictable, highly variable, and inconsistent weather patterns, which are typical factors that influence the seasonal activation and spread of viruses like H1N1.

Explanation

The plural subject "the health department officials" matches the plural form "are expecting". This present continuous tense accurately depicts an ongoing state of anticipation regarding the upcoming peak of the virus by the end of January, based on the currently prevailing weather conditions.

Explanation

The correct name of the public health initiative represented by the acronym IDSP is the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme. Launched in November 2004 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, this decentralized, state-based program is designed to strengthen and maintain a nationwide surveillance system for epidemic-prone diseases. It facilitates the collection, analysis, and dissemination of real-time data to detect early warning signals of outbreaks and enable timely public health responses. Therefore, the word surveillance correctly completes the name of the programme.

Explanation

The word vigilant means being alert, watchful, and prepared to detect and respond to danger or difficulties. In this context, health department officials expect the H1N1 virus to become more active and present a challenge in the coming months. Therefore, they must remain highly alert and proactive to manage any potential outbreak. Using vigilant perfectly completes the sentence by conveying this state of continuous monitoring and readiness to face the upcoming health challenge.

Explanation

The word "pose" is the correct fit because it forms a standard English collocation with "challenge". To "pose a challenge" means to present, create, or constitute a difficulty or problem that needs to be dealt with. In the context of the health department's warnings about the H1N1 virus becoming more active, the upcoming months are anticipated to present difficult situations for the health officials, making "pose" the most appropriate and natural verb to use before "a challenge".

Explanation

The error lies in part C of the sentence. The reflexive pronoun myself is incorrectly used here. A reflexive pronoun is used only when the subject and the object of the sentence refer to the same person or thing. Since the subject of this sentence is my twin, the reflexive pronoun myself has no referent to reflect. Therefore, myself must be replaced with the personal pronoun I or me to make the comparison grammatically correct.

Explanation

The sentence starts with the main clause Tensing Norgay created history. Part R, which begins with on May 29, 1953, when he and Sir Edmund Hillary, naturally follows to establish the time and the other individual involved in the historical event. Since the subject he and Sir Edmund Hillary is plural, it must connect to a plural verb, which is provided in part Q, became the first men. Finally, part P, to conquer Mount Everest, is an infinitive phrase that completes the sentence by describing what they became the first men to achieve. This produces a grammatically complete and logically coherent sentence.

Explanation

The idiom "a piece of cake" is a common English colloquial expression used to describe a task or activity that is incredibly easy, simple, or straightforward to perform. It implies that completing the task requires very little effort or skill, much like the easy and enjoyable act of eating a piece of cake. Thus, the phrase directly translates to something that is easily achieved.

Explanation

The term judgmental describes a person who has or displays an overly critical point of view, frequently making swift, harsh, and subjective moral assessments about the actions, behavior, or character of others instead of remaining objective.

Explanation

The phrasal verb fall out with means to have a quarrel or disagreement with someone, which often results in a break in the relationship. In this sentence, the present perfect tense has fallen out with is grammatically correct and contextually fitting, as it indicates a recent disagreement with her fiancé that has ongoing consequences. Since the original sentence is perfectly correct and natural, no improvement is required.

Explanation

The verb extort means to obtain something, such as money, information, or a concession, from a person by using coercion, violence, threats, or other unfair means.

Explanation

The sentence uses a third conditional structure, which describes a hypothetical past situation and its imaginary result. The standard grammatical formula for a third conditional sentence is:

If + Subject + Past Perfect (had + past participle), Subject + would have + Past Participle

Because the main clause contains "would have been", the conditional clause must be in the past perfect tense. Changing "was any brighter" to "had been brighter" provides the correct past perfect form to complete this conditional structure.

Explanation

The word dorsally is spelled correctly. It is an adverb used in anatomy and biology to describe a position, direction, or orientation toward the back or upper surface of an organism, organ, or appendage. It is derived from the adjective dorsal, which comes from the Latin word dorsum, meaning the back.

Explanation

The introductory clause All tyrants realize that is logically followed by the adverbial phrase of time and prepositional phrase one day, amongst their many in part R.

The adjective many in part R modifies the plural noun victims at the start of part P, creating the logical phrase amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who.

Part P ends with the relative pronoun who, which acts as the subject for the verbs rises and strikes back in part Q. Connecting these parts in the order R-P-Q forms the grammatically correct and complete sentence: All tyrants realize that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back!

Explanation

The given sentence is in the passive voice, using the present perfect passive form "has been hacked". When a passive sentence does not specify the agent of the action, an indefinite pronoun such as "someone" is introduced as the subject to convert it into the active voice. The active voice of the present perfect tense uses the structure: Subject + has/have + past participle + Object. Since "someone" is a singular subject, it takes the singular auxiliary verb "has", followed by the past participle "hacked" and the direct object "the manager's bank account", making this the grammatically correct active construction.

Explanation

The word deceased is spelled correctly. It functions as both an adjective meaning dead or no longer living, and a noun referring to a person who has recently died. It is derived from the Latin word decedere, which translates to depart or die.

Explanation

The word nutritious refers to food or substances that are highly efficient in providing the essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals required for growth, health, and physical well-being. Similarly, the term nourishing describes anything that contains substances necessary for sustaining life, fostering growth, and maintaining a healthy condition. Because both words share the exact same definition of providing life-supporting sustenance, nourishing is the direct synonym of nutritious.

Explanation

The idiom "a picture paints a thousand words" means that a single visual image can convey a complex idea or a large amount of information more effectively and quickly than a long, detailed written or spoken description. It highlights the power of visual communication, where a photograph, drawing, or diagram can instantly express the essence, emotion, and details of a situation without needing extensive verbal explanation.

Explanation

The noun restoration refers to the process of repairing, conserving, and returning something, such as an ancient building, monument, or work of art, to its original or former undamaged condition. In the context of heritage conservation, it is the standard and most appropriate term used to describe the physical preservation and maintenance of historical structures.

Explanation

The sentence is grammatically correct and free from any error. The reporting verb "says" in the present tense is correctly followed by the present perfect tense "has done" to indicate a completed life experience. The preposition "besides" is used accurately to mean "in addition to", and the indefinite article "an" correctly precedes the abbreviation "MBA" because it begins with a vowel sound /ɛm/.