SSC CHSL Tier 1 2022 English Comprehension Questions with Solutions

Explanation

The phrase "have in common" is a standard English idiomatic expression meaning to share the same features, characteristics, or traits. In this context, the author is asking what shared characteristic links the fresh pineapple, chilled watermelon, and icy cold soft drink, which is then explained as the sweetness provided by sugar.

Explanation

Granules is the most appropriate word because commercial white table sugar is chemically and physically processed into small, crystalline grains known as granulated sugar. The term granules accurately describes these tiny, free-flowing particles of sugar that are commonly measured and added to cookies, coffee, or cereal.

Explanation

The context of the sentence describes the action of putting sugar onto cereal. Since sugar is composed of small, fine grains, the most appropriate verb to describe scattering or dispersing it lightly over the surface of food like cereal is sprinkle.

Explanation

In the context of the passage, sucrose is a natural substance that is physically or chemically obtained from plant sources like sugar cane or sugar beets. The term "extracted" means to remove or obtain a component from a larger raw material through a processing method such as crushing, refining, or purifying, which perfectly describes how sugar is produced from these crops.

Explanation

The adverb naturally is the most appropriate fit for the blank because sugar is an organic compound produced inherently by plants through photosynthesis. Therefore, it is a substance that exists in nature without human intervention, meaning it occurs naturally in every fruit and vegetable.

Explanation

The word restricted refers to something that is limited, confined, or kept within strict bounds. The word copious means abundant in supply, plentiful, or existing in large quantities. Since restricted denotes limitation and constraint, copious represents the opposite concept of abundance and lack of limitation in quantity.

Explanation

When converting an imperative sentence expressing a request (indicated by the word please) from direct to indirect speech, the reporting verb said to is changed to requested. The polite word please is omitted, and the imperative verb is joined using the infinitive structure to + verb. Consequently, the clause please pay attention becomes to pay attention, making the complete indirect statement She requested her to pay attention to the details.

Explanation

Efficacy refers to the power or capacity to produce a desired effect or intended result. Efficiency shares a similar meaning as it denotes the state or quality of being effective, competent, and capable of producing the desired outcome with optimal use of resources. Both terms convey the core concept of effectiveness and productivity in achieving a goal.

Explanation

The idiom "all and sundry" means everyone collectively and individually, without making any distinction or exception. The term "all" refers to the entire group, while "sundry" refers to various separate individuals, combining to mean each and every person.

Explanation

The correct arrangement of the parts to form a coherent sentence is Q-P-R-S.

The sentence begins with the subject and verb "Corruption is", which is logically followed by part Q, "typified by dishonesty, exploitation or the", describing the nature of corruption. Part Q ends with the definite article "the", which naturally connects to the noun phrase "misuse and abuse of public office" in part P. The phrase "either directly" at the end of part P is grammatically completed by "or indirectly" at the beginning of part R. Part S then provides the concluding adverbial phrase "in negation of due process or established protocol" to complete the definition, ensuring a grammatically correct and logically flowing sentence.

Explanation

The segment "Fashion might not be first" is grammatically incorrect because ordinal numbers like "first", "second", and "third" when used to identify a specific noun must be preceded by the definite article "the". To correct the error, "the" should be added before "first" so that the phrase reads "Fashion might not be the first thing".

Explanation

An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who specializes in eye and vision care. They are specially trained to diagnose, prevent, and treat all eye diseases and conditions, as well as perform complex eye surgeries and prescribe corrective lenses. The term is derived from the Greek words ophthalmos, meaning eye, and logos, meaning study.

Explanation

The term malcontent is formed by combining the prefix mal-, which means bad or ill, with content, which means satisfied or pleased. A malcontent is defined as a person who is chronically dissatisfied, rebellious, or never happy with their current circumstances, possessions, or the state of affairs.

Explanation

The correct spelling of the word is BENEDICTION, which is derived from the Latin roots bene meaning well or good, and dicere meaning to speak. It refers to the utterance of a blessing, especially at the end of a religious service. The spelling in the option incorrectly uses an i instead of an e after the letter n.

Explanation

The word precision is correctly spelled as P-R-E-C-I-S-I-O-N. It is a noun that refers to the quality, condition, or fact of being exact and accurate. It is derived from the adjective precise, which comes from the Latin word praecidere, meaning to cut off or shorten.

Explanation

The idiom "green light" is derived from traffic signals, where a green light indicates that drivers are allowed to proceed. Figuratively, giving or getting the green light means receiving formal permission or approval to start or continue a project, plan, or action.

Explanation

The opening phrase "Our twelve years in the forest were" naturally connects to the verb "ending" in part B, forming "were ending". Part B concludes with "according to the wager", which is qualified by part A with "Ram had lost, we would have to". The modal verb phrase "would have to" in part A requires a base form verb to follow, which is provided by "spend" at the beginning of part D. Lastly, part D sets up a conditional clause ending with the subject "Mohan", which connects directly to the past tense verb "discovered" in part C to complete the conditional sentence. This establishes the logical and grammatically correct sequence as BADC.

Explanation

The correct phrase is fully grown. In this context, the noun Chihuahua requires an adjective to describe its state of development. The past participle grown functions as an adjective, which is modified by the adverb fully. Together, they form a compound modifier meaning completely mature or developed.

Explanation

The correlative conjunction neither is always paired with nor to connect two negative alternatives. In this sentence, the correct parallel structure is neither as funny nor as disturbing, which indicates that the play lacked both qualities to the degree that Shivang had described.

Explanation

Blasphemous means showing a lack of respect for God, religion, or sacred things. Disrespectful is a direct synonym because it describes behavior that is irreverent, rude, or lacking in respect toward someone or something sacred.

Explanation

The active sentence is in the simple present tense, indicated by the verb writes. To convert a simple present active sentence into the passive voice, the rule is to use the structure: Object + is/am/are + past participle of the verb + by + subject.

Applying this rule, the singular object a paper takes the helping verb is, the verb writes becomes its past participle form written, and the subject pronoun he changes to its objective form him, resulting in: A paper is written by him every weekend.

Explanation

The word contaminated means to make something impure, unclean, or unfit for use by introducing a harmful, toxic, or polluting substance. In the context of water safety and public health, drinking water becomes contaminated when dangerous substances like heavy metals or chemicals are introduced into it, making it unsafe for human consumption.

Explanation

The segment contains a grammatical error due to a lack of parallel structure. In English, correlative conjunctions like "either... or" must connect grammatically parallel elements. Since "either" is followed by the singular noun phrase "a swift backlash" which contains the indefinite article "a", the coordinating conjunction "or" must also be followed by a matching structure, which is "a deafening silence". The omission of the article "a" before "deafening silence" breaks this grammatical parallelism.

Explanation

The word jarred means to clash, conflict, or have a harshly disagreeable effect, often associated with disagreement or discord. The word altercated means to dispute angrily, wrangle, or clash in verbal conflict. Both words carry the meaning of being in strong disagreement or conflict.

Explanation

The word biased means having or showing an unfair prejudice or partiality. In English grammar and usage, biased against is a standard collocation used to describe a system, law, or attitude that is prejudiced against a specific group of people, which in this case refers to women and the poor.

Explanation

The preposition about is used to mean on the subject of or concerning. In this context, the phrase stories about Krishna correctly indicates that the narratives and tales concern the life, events, and legends of Krishna.

Explanation

The narrative is framed in the past tense, as established by the introductory phrase "There were other stories". The events being described in the stories occurred prior to this past time frame, which requires the use of the past perfect tense. The past perfect passive structure is formed using "had + been + past participle". Therefore, "he had" is the grammatically correct choice to complete the clause "How he had been born", which also aligns consistently with the past perfect tense used in the subsequent clause "where his uncle Kamsa had imprisoned his parents".

Explanation

The phrasal verb spirit away means to carry someone or something off secretly, rapidly, or mysteriously. In the context of the passage, the infant Krishna was secretly and miraculously taken from the prison dungeon to the safety of Gokul to escape his uncle Kamsa. Therefore, the word away correctly completes the phrasal verb spirited away in this sentence.

Explanation

The pronoun her in the phrase who tried to poison him with her breast milk indicates that the missing word must be a female noun. In Hindu mythology, the figure who attempted to kill infant Krishna with poisoned breast milk was Putana, a female demon. The term demoness specifically denotes a female demon, making it the grammatically and contextively correct choice for the blank.

Explanation

The word deluge refers to a severe flood or a torrential downpour of rain. In the context of the mythological story, Krishna lifted Mount Govardhan to protect the people of Vrindavan from devastating torrential rains and floods sent by Indra. The subsequent phrase "that would have drowned them" directly points to a water-related calamity, making deluge the grammatically and contextually correct choice.

Explanation

The correct spelling of the word is category, which refers to a class or division of people or things sharing common characteristics. The spelling in the option incorrectly transposes the letters o and g.

Explanation

Hostility refers to a state of deep-seated ill-will, antagonism, or active opposition towards someone or something. Enmity (typographed as Emity in the options) is a direct synonym that shares this exact meaning, representing a state or feeling of active opposition, hatred, or ill-will.

Explanation

Oblivious means not aware of or concerned about what is happening around oneself, describing someone who is completely unmindful or unconscious of their surroundings or a particular fact. Ignorant refers to lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something, making it the closest synonym as both terms denote a state of being unaware or uninformed.

Explanation

The grammatical error lies in the incorrect verb form in the phrase "has lead". The auxiliary verb "has" is used to form the present perfect tense, which requires the past participle of the main verb. The past participle of "lead" is "led". Therefore, the correct phrasing must be "has led" instead of "has lead".

Explanation

The subject "Forest planning rules" is plural, which requires the plural verb "were updated" in part S to form a grammatically correct opening. Part S ends with "the new rule explicitly", where the singular noun phrase "the new rule" matches with the singular verb "recognizes" in part P. The adjective "national" at the end of part P then naturally connects to the noun "forests" in part Q. Finally, the verb "expands" in part Q connects to its direct object "opportunities" in part R, completing a coherent and grammatically correct sentence.

Explanation

When converting direct speech into indirect speech, several grammatical adjustments are made. The reporting verb "said" is followed by the conjunction "that". The pronoun "You" changes to "I" to match the implied first-person perspective of the listener. The modal verb "must" expressing obligation changes to "had to" in past indirect speech. Additionally, the demonstrative adjective "these" is replaced by "those" to indicate a shift in distance. This results in the grammatically correct indirect sentence: "The professor said that I had to learn those words regularly."

Explanation

The word incendiary is used to describe a device, weapon, or substance that is designed to cause fires. In the context of weaponry and explosives, an incendiary bomb is a standard term for a bomb engineered to ignite fires upon detonation. Therefore, incendiary is the most suitable adjective to describe the bombs being triggered by the crude electronic devices.

Explanation

The active voice sentence is in the simple past tense, following the structure of subject + past tense verb (V2) + object. To convert a simple past tense sentence into the passive voice, the structure changes to: object + was/were + past participle (V3) + by + subject.

Here, the object is the singular noun "that lady", which takes the auxiliary verb "was". The past participle of "loved" is "loved", and the subject "the president" becomes the agent introduced by "by", resulting in "That lady was loved by the president."

Explanation

The phrase holding steady is a common idiomatic expression in English that means remaining firm, stable, balanced, or unchanged. In this context, it describes the tray remaining balanced and still on the speaker's palm while they attempt to retrieve the note from their pocket.

Explanation

In English grammar, when both ordinal adjectives (such as first, second, third) and cardinal adjectives (such as one, two, three) are used together to modify a noun, the ordinal adjective must always precede the cardinal adjective. Therefore, the phrase "the five first girls" is grammatically incorrect and must be written as "the first five girls" to maintain the proper order of adjectives.

Explanation

The word famish means to suffer severely from hunger or to starve. The antonym of this action is to consume food or satisfy hunger, which is defined by the word eat.

Explanation

The idiom armed to the teeth means to be fully and heavily armed with many weapons, or to be extremely well-equipped for a specific task or confrontation. It originally referred to knights who were fully encased in armor from head to toe, or pirates who carried so many weapons that they had to hold one in their teeth.

Explanation

A fugitive is defined as a person who has escaped from captivity, is fleeing from custody, or is in hiding to avoid arrest, prosecution, or persecution by law enforcement authorities. The term is derived from the Latin word fugere, which means to flee.

Explanation

The subject of the sentence is the weather, which is an uncountable singular noun. According to the rules of subject-verb agreement, a singular subject requires a singular verb. The singular auxiliary verb is correctly agrees with the singular subject weather, making is supposed the grammatically correct choice to express an expectation or prediction.

Explanation

The sentence "Motivational quotes will not help you" is completely free of spelling errors. Every word in this sentence is spelled correctly according to standard English orthography: "motivational" (derived from motivation, meaning providing incentive or inspiration), "quotes" (plural of quote, meaning to repeat a passage or phrase), "will", "not", "help", and "you".

Explanation

The sentence structure flows logically from the subject to its action and location, followed by a parallel second clause.

Part Q introduces the subject, a severe three-year drought in the late 16th century probably, which requires a verb to complete its meaning.

Part P provides this verb phrase, contributed to the destruction of Sir Walter Raleigh's "Lost Colony", explaining the direct consequence of the drought.

Part R specifies the geographic location of this colony, at Roanoke Island in what is now North Carolina, and introduces a secondary event with the coordinating conjunction and a subsequent.

Part S completes the parallel structure by defining the second event and its outcome, seven-year drought led to high mortality at the Jamestown Colony in Virginia.

Combining these parts in the sequence Q-P-R-S creates a grammatically correct and coherent sentence.

Explanation

A saboteur is someone who engages in sabotage, which involves the deliberate destruction, damage, or obstruction of property, machinery, or systems, typically for political or military advantage. Similarly, a vandal is a person who deliberately destroys or damages public or private property. Both words share the core meaning of an individual who causes intentional damage or destruction.

Explanation

The idiom to sleep like a dog means to sleep very heavily and peacefully, without being easily disturbed or awakened. It refers to a state of deep, restful, and uninterrupted sleep.

Explanation

A pessimist is defined as a person who habitually anticipates or dwells on the worst possible outcomes of situations, reflecting a negative or gloomy outlook. This directly corresponds to the phrase "one who looks at the dark side of life".

Explanation

The word illegible directly describes handwriting or print that is impossible or extremely difficult to read due to being messy, faint, or badly written. It is formed by combining the prefix il-, meaning not, with legible, which means clear enough to be read.