SSC CHSL Tier 1 2021 English Comprehension Questions with Solutions

Explanation

The idiom "have a long face" is a common English expression used to describe someone who looks sad, gloomy, or depressed. The phrase originates from the natural physical reaction of a person's facial muscles drooping when they are sad, which visually elongates or lengthens the appearance of the face. Therefore, it directly conveys the state of looking unhappy or disappointed.

Explanation

The standard spelling of the word in option A is curiosity, which refers to a strong desire to know or learn something. In the original exam question, this word was misspelled as curiocity.

Explanation

The word theist refers to a person who believes in the existence of a god, gods, or a creator of the universe. It originates from the Greek root word theos, which means god, combined with the suffix -ist, which denotes a person who practices, believes, or holds a specific doctrine. Thus, a theist is someone who maintains a belief in a divine power or supreme beings.

Explanation

The correct spelling of the word is imprudence, which is derived from the adjective imprudent and ends with the suffix -ence rather than -ance. It refers to the quality of lacking discretion, wisdom, or caution.

Explanation

The word marvellous is used to describe something that is extremely good, wonderful, or extraordinary. Its direct antonym must represent something that is extremely bad, unpleasant, or of very poor quality. The word terrible precisely means extremely bad or of very low quality, making it the most appropriate antonym.

Explanation

A cartographer is a professional who specializes in cartography, which is the science, art, and technology of mapmaking. This term refers specifically to someone who creates, designs, and draws maps, making it the correct one-word substitute for the underlined phrase.

Explanation

The paragraph begins with sentence b, which introduces the main topic of noise pollution and lists its primary sources, namely aircraft and heavy traffic. Sentence a logically follows by using the transitional word "Further" to introduce loud music as an additional cause of noise pollution. Sentence c begins with the relative pronoun "which", which refers back to noise pollution, thereby directly connecting to the end of sentence a. Sentence d completes the compound predicate started in sentence c, linking "affect people's hearing" with "give them severe headaches and high blood pressure" using the conjunction "and". This sequence creates a coherent flow of ideas and grammatically sound structures.

Explanation

The superlative degree of the adjective is used when comparing one person or thing with more than two others in a group. Since the comparison is made among all the basketball players in the entire team, the superlative adjective best must be used instead of the comparative better. Therefore, the phrase the best is grammatically correct.

Explanation

The nouns justice and impartiality refer to fundamental truths, moral rules, or guiding beliefs that govern a person's behavior and decisions. In the context of a judge making a legal ruling, these abstract values serve as the foundational principles that direct and control the decision-making process.

Explanation

The sentence is written in the passive voice, which requires the modal passive structure of "should + be + past participle". In the original sentence, "write" is in its base form, which is grammatically incorrect in this context. To maintain grammatical correctness and parallel structure with the coordinate past participle verb "printed", the verb must be in its past participle form "written". Changing "write" to "written" correctly completes the passive verbal construction "should not be written or printed".

Explanation

The word pleasing refers to something that gives pleasure, satisfaction, or enjoyment. Similarly, the word gratifying means giving pleasure, satisfaction, or a feeling of fulfillment to someone. Because both terms describe the quality of bringing satisfaction and delight, gratifying is the direct synonym of pleasing.

Explanation

The word ardent describes someone who is highly passionate, intense, or extremely enthusiastic about something. The word apathetic represents the exact opposite, describing a person who shows or feels a complete lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. This makes it the direct antonym of ardent.

Explanation

The idiomatic expression "turn up one's nose" means to express contempt, disdain, or disgust for something, or to reject it as being not good enough. In the given sentence, this idiom perfectly fits the context of politicians showing disdain or indifference toward the difficult lives of downtrodden people. Replacing the incorrect phrasing "turn up their face" with the correct idiom "turn up their nose" makes the sentence grammatically and idiomatically accurate.

Explanation

The subject of the sentence, "All the panel members", is plural because it refers to multiple individuals. According to the rules of subject-verb agreement, a plural subject must be paired with a plural auxiliary verb. The verb "have" is the plural form required to agree with "members", making "have been invited" grammatically correct in the present perfect passive voice.

Explanation

An introvert is a person characterized by a preference for solitary activities, quiet environments, and self-reflection. Such individuals tend to be reserved, shy, and feel more energized and comfortable spending time alone or in small groups rather than engaging in large social gatherings.

Explanation

The idiom "the best of both worlds" refers to a situation where an individual can enjoy the benefits of two entirely different opportunities or circumstances simultaneously, without having to make a compromise or choose one over the other. It describes a highly favorable state of affairs where one gains maximum advantage from two distinct scenarios at the same time.

Explanation

In the active-to-passive voice conversion of a negative sentence in the simple present tense containing an object with an any-compound like anybody, the combination of the negation not and anybody is replaced by the negative pronoun nobody as the subject of the passive sentence. The structural formula for passive voice in the simple present tense is Subject + is/am/are + past participle (V3) + by + agent. Accordingly, the active object anybody with negation becomes the passive subject Nobody, which takes the singular auxiliary verb is, followed by the past participle trusted, and finally the agent by him.

Explanation

The sentence is completely free of any spelling mistakes. Every word, including the adjective magnificent (spelled m-a-g-n-i-f-i-c-e-n-t), the plural noun churches, the proper noun Goa, and the other functional words, is spelled perfectly in accordance with standard English orthography.

Explanation

The word "stymie" means to prevent, obstruct, or impede the progress of an action, plan, or person. Therefore, "hinder," which means to create difficulties for someone or something, resulting in delay or obstruction, is its closest synonym.

Explanation

The grammatical error lies in the phrase "to fought bravely to the last". In English grammar, the infinitive particle "to" must be followed by the base form of the verb. Therefore, the past tense verb "fought" must be replaced with its base form "fight" to form the grammatically correct infinitive construction "to fight".

Explanation

The blank requires an adjective that can modify the plural countable noun phrase unethical acts. The word various means of different kinds or several, which perfectly fits the context to describe the multiple distinct wrongdoings mentioned in the subsequent sentences, such as wasting food, underpaying suppliers, and contributing to plastic waste.

Explanation

The auxiliary verb are requires a present participle to form the present continuous tense, which represents an ongoing change or action. Using starting grammatically completes the construction are starting to sit up, where the continuous verb is followed by a to-infinitive to show that supermarkets and grocers are beginning to pay attention to the issue.

Explanation

The word growing is the most appropriate choice to fill blank 3 as it functions as a participle adjective that describes the increasing scale, intensity, or strength of the consumer backlash. In English, a growing backlash is a standard collocation used to indicate that the negative reaction from consumers is steadily expanding and becoming more powerful over time, thereby compelling the supermarkets to change their packaging policies.

Explanation

The blank requires a past participle verb form to follow the auxiliary verb "have" in the present perfect tense. The phrasal verb "sign up" means to formally agree to participate in or commit to something. Therefore, "signed up" is the correct expression to describe the supermarkets formally agreeing to and endorsing a pact to reduce plastic wastage.

Explanation

The noun responsibility in this context is uncountable. The determiner some is used with uncountable nouns to indicate an indefinite quantity or degree. Therefore, in the phrase take some responsibility, some correctly conveys that the supermarkets are beginning to accept a certain degree of accountability for their impact on the environment, aligning perfectly with the passage description of their pledges and initiatives to reduce plastic waste.

Explanation

The phrasal verb pull through means to survive or recover from a serious illness, injury, or difficult situation. In the context of the sentence, which discusses a very serious disease, pull through correctly expresses the meaning that the patient will recover and survive the illness.

Explanation

The word mercenary is misspelled as mercenery in the original sentence. The correct spelling is mercenary, ending with -ary instead of -ery. It refers to being primarily concerned with making money at the expense of ethics.

Explanation

The word hoarding refers to the act of collecting, accumulating, and storing away large quantities of goods, food, or other valuables, often secretly or excessively to safeguard for future use or to create artificial scarcity. In the context of the sentence, black marketers are accumulating groceries in massive quantities. The phrase piling up denotes the gathering or accumulating of things into a large amount or heap, which is the exact literal meaning of hoarding in this context.

Explanation

Cupidity refers to an intense, inordinate desire for wealth or possessions, making it a direct synonym of greed. In the context of corrupt officials collecting money illegally, their desire for material wealth increases, which is accurately captured by the word cupidity.

Explanation

The segment contains a grammatical error because the word loving is incorrectly used to modify the verb looked. To modify a verb, an adverb is required rather than an adjective or a participle. Therefore, the adjective loving must be replaced with the adverb lovingly to make the sentence grammatically correct, so that it reads: The mother lovingly looked.

Explanation

The passage describes the physical and demographic growth of Bengaluru. The verb flex fits the first blank as it metaphorically conveys how the city is expanding, stretching, and adapting to accommodate its increasing size. Bengaluru is a prominent IT hub that attracts a large migrant population from across the country in search of employment. Furthermore, the city is widely celebrated for its moderate and pleasant weather, which is a key attraction for people moving there. These three words contextually and grammatically complete the passage.

Explanation

The word laconic refers to a style of speaking or writing that uses very few words to express a point. It originates from Laconia, the ancient Greek region where the Spartans resided, who were renowned for their brief and blunt manner of speech. Similarly, concise describes something that provides a large amount of information clearly and in a minimum number of words. Both terms share the central meaning of being brief and succinct, making them direct synonyms.

Explanation

Anarchy is defined as a state of disorder, chaos, or lack of organization and control resulting from the absence, failure, or non-recognition of an authority or governing body. It directly matches the description of a situation characterized by a total lack of effective governmental control and regulation.

Explanation

The word annoy means to irritate, vex, or make someone feel impatient or angry. Its antonym must be a word that represents bringing ease, peace, or solace. Comfort means to soothe, console, or alleviate someone's distress, making it the direct opposite in meaning.

Explanation

The idiom "make one's flesh crawl" or "make one's flesh creep" means to cause someone to feel a strong sensation of fear, dread, disgust, or horror. It refers to the physical reaction of goosebumps or a shivering sensation on the skin when encountering something deeply disturbing, terrifying, or repulsive. In this context, the memory of blood causes an intense reaction of fear and repulsion, making the meaning of being frightened the most appropriate.

Explanation

The verb raining requires an adverb to describe the manner or intensity of the action. The adverb heavily correctly modifies raining to indicate that the rain was intense or falling in large amounts when they arrived at the hill station. Using heavily ensures proper grammatical agreement and conveys the intended meaning clearly.

Explanation

The word penchant refers to a strong or habitual liking for something or a tendency to do something. It originates from the French word pencher, which means to lean or bend, indicating a natural inclination or strong preference toward a particular interest or activity.

Explanation

The idiom "start from scratch" means to begin a task, project, or process entirely from the very beginning, without using any prior preparation, existing work, or pre-made components. This expression originally comes from sports, where a line was literally scratched in the dirt to mark the starting point, and competitors had to start exactly from that line without any head start or advantage.

Explanation

The word vain describes someone who has an excessively high opinion of their own appearance, abilities, or achievements, displaying conceit or arrogance. The antonym of vain is modest, which refers to someone who is humble, moderate, and does not boast about their own merits or accomplishments.

Explanation

The given sentence is in the active voice and is an interrogative sentence containing the modal verb "can". To convert an active voice question with a modal verb into the passive voice, the structural formula is: [Interrogative word] + [Modal verb] + [New Subject (which was the object in active voice)] + be + [Past participle of the main verb] + [by + Agent].

In the active sentence, "I" is the subject, "find" is the transitive verb, and "the way to the library" is the direct object. When transformed into the passive voice, the object "the way to the library" becomes the new subject, and the active verb phrase "can find" is converted to the passive form "can be found". Applying this structure results in: "Where can the way to the library be found?".

Explanation

In standard English grammar, the auxiliary verb "did" (or its negative contraction "didn't") is already in the past tense. When forming negative sentences in the simple past tense, "didn't" must always be followed by the base form of the main verb, which is the infinitive without "to". Therefore, the past tense form "ate" is incorrect in this position and must be substituted with the base form "eat" to prevent double-marking the past tense in the verb phrase. This makes "didn't eat" the grammatically correct structure.

Explanation

The given sentence is in the simple past tense, which follows the active voice structure of subject + second form of verb (V2) + object. To convert a sentence in the simple past tense into passive voice, the structure used is object + was/were + past participle (V3) + by + subject.

Since the object "this novel" is singular, it is paired with the auxiliary verb "was" followed by the past participle "written" and the prepositional phrase "by Premchand". This gives the grammatically correct passive sentence: "This novel was written by Premchand."

Explanation

Sentence A serves as the introductory statement of the paragraph, defining the festival of Holi and its global celebration. Sentence D follows sentence A seamlessly by using the pronoun "It" to refer back to Holi and expanding on its social significance as a festival of unity. Sentence C initiates the chronological sequence of the celebration by describing the rituals of the first day, which is Holika Dahan. Sentence B logically concludes the paragraph by detailing the events of the subsequent day, using the transitional phrase "Then on the next day" to connect directly with the first-day activities mentioned in sentence C. This creates a coherent flow from a general introduction to specific chronological events.

Explanation

The word resplendent describes something that is attractive and impressive through being richly colorful, shining, or splendid. Magnificent serves as a direct synonym because it also refers to something that is strikingly beautiful, grand, or impressive in appearance.

Explanation

The context of the passage describes a gathering where people are taking turns to read aloud. Before a formal reading begins, guests typically engage in informal conversation. The word chatter refers to this continuous, rapid, or informal talk among a group of people. When the host began reading, this social talking stopped so that the gathering could listen attentively, making chatter the most contextually fitting word.

Explanation

The word silence fits the context of the passage best because it describes a quiet and respectful atmosphere while people were reading, which is further supported by the next sentence stating that people did not even cough. Options like chaos, din, and noise are antonyms that contradict the peaceful description of the scene.

Explanation

In the context of the passage, the narrator is describing a quiet, highly attentive, and slightly tense atmosphere where people are listening to readings in sequence. The word fidget, which means to make small, restless movements due to nervousness or impatience, pairs naturally with cough to describe the typical minor physical distractions or noises that audience members try to avoid making in a silent, formal gathering.

Explanation

The passage describes a scenario where people are taking turns reading aloud in a quiet, attentive gathering. The narrator mentions feeling increasingly self-conscious as their turn approached. In a state of anxiety and self-consciousness, a person is highly likely to speak in a quiet, indistinct, and hesitant manner. The word mumbled means to speak or utter words in a low, indistinct way, which directly explains why the narrator felt they read without making any sense to the listeners.

Explanation

The passage describes a gathering where individuals are taking turns reading aloud, as indicated by phrases like "each person read" and "as the readings came closer to me". Poetry refers to a form of written literature composed of words that is meant to be read, recited, or spoken. Other artistic mediums like music, dance, and pottery do not consist of written text to be read aloud in a circle. Therefore, poetry is the only word that logically completes the sentence to describe what was being read.

Explanation

The grammatical error in the original sentence lies in the incorrect usage of the verb forms of the word choose.

The preposition to requires the infinitive or base form of the verb, which is choose, making the correct phrase to choose.

The second part of the sentence refers to a completed past action, as indicated by the past tense verb was in the opening clause. Therefore, the simple past tense form of the verb, which is chose, must be used instead of the present tense choose.

Adjusting both verb forms to match these rules yields the grammatically correct sentence.