SSC CHSL Tier 1 2021 English Comprehension Questions with Solutions

Explanation

The idiom movers and shakers refers to individuals who possess a significant amount of power, influence, and energy to make things happen, especially in business, politics, or other professional fields. These are the people who initiate changes, drive progress, and shape the direction of an organization or society through their active involvement and leadership.

Explanation

The correct spelling of the word is Appetite, which refers to a natural desire to satisfy a bodily need, especially for food. The spelling Appetight is incorrect.

Explanation

The term rural describes geographic areas that are located outside of cities and towns, typically characterized by low population density, open land, and agricultural activities. In India, these regions are traditionally referred to as the countryside or villages. Thus, using rural to modify areas in the first sentence perfectly aligns with the subsequent references to villages, agriculture, and the concept of rural India mentioned later in the passage.

Explanation

The term population density is a standard demographic measure that refers to the number of people living per unit of geographic area. Rural areas and villages are geographically characterized by widely dispersed settlements and a sparse distribution of inhabitants, resulting in a low population density.

Explanation

The term cottage industries is a standard collocation used to describe small-scale, decentralized manufacturing businesses that are operated out of homes, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas. In the context of the passage, which lists various rural sources of livelihood such as agriculture, fishing, and pottery, the plural noun industries fits grammatically and contextually to represent these traditional household-based economic activities.

Explanation

The word quest refers to a long or arduous search for something. In this sentence, it perfectly describes the earnest and ongoing journey or pursuit to uncover and understand the true essence of rural India. The phrase to discover the real rural India functions as the objective of this search, making quest the most contextually and grammatically fitting noun for the blank.

Explanation

The adverb almost modifies the determiner every to indicate nearly all members of a group. The noun agency is singular and countable, which matches the singular determiner every and the singular verb has that follows it, ensuring proper grammatical structure and subject-verb agreement.

Explanation

A maverick is defined as an unorthodox, independent-minded person who refuses to follow established rules, customs, or beliefs. In contrast, a conformist is someone who readily complies with and adapts to accepted behavior, established practices, and societal norms. Therefore, conformist represents the exact opposite meaning of maverick, making it the most appropriate antonym.

Explanation

The word mercenary refers to a person who is primarily motivated by or interested in making money or obtaining material gain, often at the expense of ethics or other values. This directly aligns with the underlined phrase describing someone whose sole focus in any situation is the amount of money they can extract from it.

Explanation

The idiom crocodile tears refers to an insincere or false display of grief, sorrow, or regret. It originates from the ancient myth that crocodiles weep while devouring their prey, simulating sadness or sympathy to lure or trick others. Thus, it is used to describe a pretended show of sorrow where someone feigns unhappiness or sympathy without actually feeling it.

Explanation

Acoustics is the branch of physics that deals with the scientific study of sound, including its production, transmission, reception, and effects, as well as the study of mechanical waves and vibrations in various mediums.

Explanation

The idiom to hold good means to remain true, valid, effective, or applicable under specific conditions or over a period of time. It is commonly used to describe rules, arguments, laws, or promises that continue to be in force and do not lose their relevance or truthfulness despite changes in circumstances.

Explanation

The word "allay" means to diminish, soothe, or put at rest, particularly in reference to negative emotions or physical discomforts such as fear, suspicion, worry, or pain. To relieve means to alleviate, ease, or mitigate a distressing feeling, tension, or pressure. Both terms share the core meaning of making a difficult, anxious, or painful situation less severe or intense.

Explanation

The idiom "it is all Greek to me" is used to express that something is completely unintelligible or impossible to comprehend. It historically originates from medieval Latin scribes who, when encountering Greek characters in manuscripts that they could not read or translate, would write "Graecum est, non legitur", meaning "It is Greek, it cannot be read." The phrase was later popularized in the English language by William Shakespeare in his play Julius Caesar. When someone uses this expression, they are indicating that the subject matter, language, or explanation is entirely foreign or incomprehensible to them, signifying that they cannot understand anything about it.

Explanation

The word "Picth" is incorrectly spelt, as the correct spelling is "Pitch". All the other words, "Stingy", "Culminate", and "Hasty", are spelt correctly.

Explanation

The word affront refers to an action or statement that is deliberately offensive, disrespectful, or outrageous to someone's pride or dignity. It is used as both a noun and a verb to describe an open provocation or intentional slight. The word insult is a direct synonym because it also means to speak to or treat someone with disrespect or abuse, causing them to feel offended or demeaned.

Explanation

The word Queu is spelt incorrectly. The correct spelling is Queue, which refers to a sequence of people or vehicles waiting their turn.

Explanation

The verb dig is an irregular verb. The correct past tense and past participle form of dig is dug, whereas digged is grammatically incorrect. Therefore, the sentence must use dug to describe the past action of the rabbit. Option B correctly uses the simple past tense form went for the first action and the correct past tense form dug for the second action to ensure grammatical correctness and consistency.

Explanation

The given sentence is in the passive voice of the present perfect tense, structured as "Subject + has/have + been + past participle". Because the actual doer of the action is not specified in the passive sentence, the indefinite pronoun "someone" is used as the subject in the active voice. The active voice formula for the present perfect tense is "Subject + has/have + past participle + Object". Applying this rule, the active subject "Someone" is followed by the singular auxiliary verb "has", the past participle "picked", and the direct object "my pocket", which yields "Someone has picked my pocket".

Explanation

In the given sentence, the context implies that the subject needs to run at the highest possible speed compared to all other competitors in order to win the race. To express this supreme or maximum level of speed, the superlative degree of the adverb "fast" is required. The superlative form of "fast" is "fastest," and it is preceded by the definite article "the." Therefore, "the fastest" is the grammatically correct substitution.

Explanation

The word ravenous is used to describe someone who is extremely hungry, voracious, or starving. The word esurient, which is derived from the Latin verb esurire meaning to desire to eat, similarly means hungry, greedy, or ravenous. Both terms directly refer to an intense craving or appetite.

Explanation

The idiom strain every nerve means to make the greatest possible effort or to exert oneself to the utmost limit to achieve a goal. It originates from the physical sensation of tensing every muscle and nerve in the body when performing an extremely demanding physical task, which figuratively translates to putting all of one's energy and resources into trying extremely hard to do something.

Explanation

The idiomatic expression "to get something out of one's mind" is used to describe the act of dismissing, forgetting, or removing a persistent thought or idea from one's consciousness. In this context, the speaker expresses that they were unable to completely rid themselves of the thought of pursuing teaching, even though they found satisfaction in their pastoral work. The prepositional phrase "out of" completes this idiom to convey the movement of the idea away from the mind.

Explanation

The word Repulcive is spelt incorrectly, as the correct spelling is Repulsive with an s instead of a c. All other options are spelt correctly.

Explanation

The word wiry is defined as being lean, tough, and sinewy, particularly when describing a person's physical build. It characterizes someone who is thin yet possesses strong, flexible muscles and physical resilience, making it the perfect single-word substitute for the quoted description in the sentence.

Explanation

The correct arrangement starts with sentence a, which introduces the subject, the English poet PB Shelley. This is logically followed by sentence d, which provides information about his background and birth into a wealthy, upper-class family. Sentence c flows naturally from his background, describing his personal ideology and his detestation of tyranny and institutionalised servitude. Finally, sentence b provides a major consequence of his rebellious beliefs, detailing his expulsion from Oxford for publishing 'The Necessity of Atheism', completing a coherent biographical paragraph.

Explanation

The sentence compares two movies, which requires the comparative form of the adjective "interesting". Multi-syllable adjectives form their comparative degree by adding "more" before the adjective. The adverb "much" is then used as a modifier to intensify this comparative form, making "much more interesting" the grammatically correct phrase.

Explanation

The correct spelling of the word is "fascinate", which means to attract the strong attention and interest of someone. The spelling "Fassinate" is incorrect as it replaces the "sc" with a double "s" (ss).

Explanation

Correct Answer: C

The idiom "read between the lines" means to understand or find a hidden meaning, feeling, or truth that is not directly or explicitly stated. In this context, the mentor understood the student's unspoken anguish without being directly informed about it, which perfectly fits the meaning of reading between the lines.

Explanation

The correct spelling of the word is "persistence". It is a noun derived from the verb "persist" by appending the noun-forming suffix "-ence", which denotes the state or quality of persisting. In English orthography, verbs that end in "-ist" typically form their corresponding nouns with "-ence" rather than "-ance", which gives the correct spelling of the word as p-e-r-s-i-s-t-e-n-c-e.

Explanation

The word outlandish refers to something that is bizarre, strange, or extremely unusual, particularly in appearance or sound. Historically, it originated from the Old English word utlendisc, which literally meant foreign or from an out-land. Over time, the meaning evolved from referring to things from foreign countries to describing anything that seems foreign, unfamiliar, or weirdly unconventional.

Explanation

The sentence contains the time adverbial a month ago, which refers to a specific, completed time in the past. In English grammar, when a definite past time marker is used, the simple past tense must be employed rather than the present perfect tense. Therefore, the simple past verb form returned is the correct substitution.

Explanation

The word tedious refers to something that is tiresome, monotonous, boring, or slow, often because of its length or dullness. The antonym of tedious is exciting, which means causing great enthusiasm and eagerness, or being highly interesting and stimulating.

Explanation

The idiom jump the gun originates from track and field athletics, where a competitor starts running before the starter's pistol has been fired. In general usage, it means to act prematurely, take action before the proper time, or do something too soon.

Explanation

A gourmet is a person with a refined taste in food and wine who possesses a deep appreciation and knowledge of the culinary arts, making them a connoisseur of food.

Explanation

A siege is a military blockade or the act of surrounding and restricting access to a place, representing confinement, obstruction, and blockage. Its antonym is clearance, which refers to the act of removing obstacles, clearing away obstructions, or freeing up space, thereby directly representing the opposite of a blockade or restriction.

Explanation

The word destitute means extremely poor and lacking the means to provide for oneself. The word indigent is a direct synonym, meaning needy, impoverished, or lacking the basic necessities of life. Both words describe a state of severe poverty, making indigent the most appropriate word to fill the blank.

Explanation

The context of the passage emphasizes the critical importance of planting trees to ensure a sufficient supply of oxygen and improve the overall quality of life. To reflect this high level of importance and urgency, the noun attention requires an intensifying adjective that denotes a large scale or great degree. The word massive correctly conveys that a very large, significant, and serious amount of attention and effort must be directed toward tree plantation to achieve these vital environmental benefits.

Explanation

The blank requires a noun that explains the reason why trees are being cut down to make way for buildings. The creation of new buildings is referred to as construction, which often requires clearing land and cutting down existing trees. Therefore, construction logically completes the sentence.

Explanation

The sentence describes the direct consequence of cutting down trees. Since trees are the primary source of oxygen through photosynthesis, cutting them down will definitely and directly result in a decrease in the oxygen levels of the environment. The adverb certainly is the most appropriate fit because it expresses absolute certainty and emphasizes this direct, scientifically proven cause-and-effect relationship.

Explanation

The context of the passage emphasizes the importance of planting trees to increase the supply of oxygen in the environment. The sentence immediately following blank 5 states that growing more trees would result in a better quality of life. Therefore, the preceding sentence must logically establish that planting a larger quantity of trees leads to an increased availability of oxygen. Placing more in both parts of blank 5 creates the coherent statement that growing more trees results in more oxygen, directly supporting the conclusion about improving life quality.

Explanation

The word ambiguous refers to something that is unclear, vague, or open to multiple interpretations, which creates uncertainty. Conversely, the word certain means established beyond doubt, definite, clear, and known for sure. This makes certain the most appropriate antonym as it directly represents clarity and absolute assurance, which is the exact opposite of ambiguity.

Explanation

The word quaint refers to something that is unusual, peculiar, or old-fashioned in an interesting or pleasing way. The word queer means strange, odd, or peculiar. Both words share the core meaning of being out of the ordinary, unusual, or eccentric, making queer the most appropriate synonym.

Explanation

The sentence is a famous quote from Nikola Tesla's autobiography, My Inventions: "As I review the events of my past life I realize how subtle are the influences that shape our destinies."

In this context, the adjective subtle means delicate, understated, or not immediately obvious. The sentence reflects on how the various factors, decisions, and forces that guide our life path are often quiet, intricate, and difficult to perceive while they are happening, only becoming clear upon looking back and reflecting on the past.

Explanation

To convert a direct speech question beginning with a question word into indirect speech, the reporting verb asked is retained. The interrogative word when is used to connect the reporting clause with the reported clause, making conjunctions like that or whether unnecessary. The pronoun you refers to the object of the reporting verb us, and thus changes to the first person plural pronoun we. Since the reporting verb is in the past tense, the tense of the reported verb changes from present continuous (are reaching) to past continuous (were reaching). Finally, the sentence structure of the reported speech is converted from interrogative to assertive, placing the subject before the verb.

Explanation

The active voice sentence "We will not remind you again" is in the simple future tense, which follows the structure: Subject + will not + base verb + Object.

To convert this structure into the passive voice, the object (you) becomes the new subject, the auxiliary "will not" is followed by "be" and the past participle of the main verb (reminded), and the active subject (We) is introduced as the agent (by us). This results in the structure: Subject + will not be + past participle + agent + adverb, giving the correct passive sentence.

Explanation

The segment contains multiple grammatical errors. First, the objective pronoun "him" is incorrectly used as the subject of the verb "know" in the inversion structure "little did...". It must be replaced with the subjective pronoun "he" to make it "little did he know". Second, because the main sentence is set in the past tense ("asked", "did"), the future-in-the-past modal "would" should be used instead of "will", changing "will come" to "would come". Thus, the correct phrasing of the segment is "little did he know that the results would come out worse than expected".

Explanation

The word pudgy is an adjective used to describe someone or a part of the body that is short, plump, and slightly fat or chubby. When describing a physical structure like shoulders, thick-bodied is the most appropriate synonym because it refers to having a stout, heavy, or thick-set build, which directly corresponds to the meaning of being pudgy.

Explanation

The phrasal verb rip off means to tear or strip something away from a surface or structure with force. In the context of an aircraft cabin roof being torn away mid-flight, the past participle form ripped off is used to describe how the roof was forcefully detached from the fuselage.

Explanation

The spelling of the word Harrass is incorrect. The correct spelling is harass, which is spelled with a single r and a double s. It means to subject someone to aggressive pressure or intimidation.