SSC CHSL Tier 1 2022 English Comprehension Questions with Solutions

Explanation

In the given sentence, the pronoun "one" is used to refer to a singular, unspecified entity (such as an affair, matter, or thing) to complete the phrase "a simple one". It functions as a noun substitute following the article "a" and the adjective "simple", making the sentence grammatically complete and meaningful by describing the daily life of a plant as a simple matter.

Explanation

The blank is followed by the plural countable noun "things". The determiner "many" is used to modify plural countable nouns to indicate a large number of items or activities. In this context, it correctly expresses that plants are constantly engaged in performing numerous tasks and activities to survive.

Explanation

The sentence contrasts immediate daily survival with preparation for long-term survival. The verb planning is the most appropriate fit because it collocates naturally with the preposition for in the phrase planning for the future, indicating that the active processes of the plant are oriented toward preparing for future growth and sustenance.

Explanation

The sentence describes how plants are fixed in one place in the ground, preventing them from moving around to find food. The word rooted means established deeply and firmly in the ground by roots, which perfectly fits the botanical context of plants being physically anchored in the soil.

Explanation

The preposition through is used here to indicate the medium or pathway of entry. In the context of the sentence, water is taken into the plant from the soil by passing from the outside to the inside via the roots. Combining the preposition in with through to form in through accurately describes this process of absorption, where the roots serve as the channels through which water enters the plant.

Explanation

The phrase "the universe other objects" is grammatically incorrect because the noun "universe" requires a possessive form to modify the noun phrase "other objects". To show association or possession correctly, it should be written as "the universe's other objects" or rephrased using a preposition, such as "other objects in the universe".

Explanation

The word pacific means tending to make peace, peaceable, or appeasing in nature. Similarly, mollifying means soothing, placating, or reducing the anger or anxiety of someone. Both terms share the core meaning of pacifying or calming, making them synonyms.

Explanation

The word ferocious means savagely fierce, cruel, or violent. The word frightful means terrifying, shocking, or very unpleasant, which closely aligns with the intense, menacing, and fear-inducing nature denoted by ferocious. Both terms are used to describe something that inspires dread, extreme intensity, or alarm.

Explanation

According to the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the Pandavas spent twelve years in forest exile and one additional year in incognito exile after losing a game of dice to the Kauravas. Upon completing this total period of thirteen years of exile, they returned to Hastinapur to reclaim their kingdom.

Explanation

The word shield is correctly spelled as S-H-I-E-L-D. The spelling S-H-E-I-L-D is incorrect as it violates the standard English spelling rule of "i before e, except after c", meaning the letter i must precede the letter e in this word.

Explanation

The word interfere means to obstruct, hinder, or block the progress of an action or process. The antonym of interfere is advance, which means to make progress, move forward, or assist in development. While interfering halts or restricts movement and action, advancing facilitates progress and forward momentum.

Explanation

The sentence describes an action that took place in the past, as established by the past tense verb entered. To maintain grammatical parallelism and tense consistency across the coordinating conjunction and, the subsequent verb must also be in the simple past tense, which is decamped. Additionally, the noun valuable must be used in its plural form valuables to correctly refer to multiple precious items or personal possessions of high value.

Explanation

The word proud is an adjective describing the state of the subject, his father. To modify an adjective and express the intensity or degree of that state, an adverb of degree such as very is grammatically required. The phrase very proud correctly combines the intensifying adverb very with the adjective proud.

Explanation

The sentence contains no spelling errors. The word irresponsible is spelled correctly with a double r and an s, performing is the correct spelling of the present participle of perform, and duties is the correct plural spelling of duty. All other words in this sentence are also spelled and used correctly.

Explanation

The sentence structure flows logically when arranged in the sequence QPRS. Segment Q introduces the main subject, stating that the problems of collective action were popularized by the American political economist Mancur Olson, which is found in segment P. Segment P ends with the verb phrase who wrote in 1965, which is naturally completed by the noun clause starting with that in segment R, describing what he wrote. Finally, segment R ends with the phrase in order, which connects grammatically and semantically to segment S starting with for a group of individuals to act in their common interest. This forms a single coherent and grammatically correct sentence.

Explanation

The word lethargic means feeling sluggish, lazy, or lacking in energy. In the context of the sentence, a lack of blood would cause physical weakness and low energy, leading to a state of sluggishness and slow movement, which makes lethargic the most appropriate word to describe Ed's state.

Explanation

In the given sentence, the subject is the plural noun phrase "The skull bones of a woodpecker", where the head noun is "bones". According to the rules of subject-verb agreement, a plural subject must be paired with a plural verb. Therefore, the singular verb "has" is incorrect and must be replaced with the plural verb "have". This grammatical error occurs in the segment "woodpecker has a different".

Explanation

The word "general" means affecting or concerning all or most people, places, or things, as opposed to being limited to a specific case, class, or region. It denotes something that is widespread, common, or applicable to a whole main body rather than to its individual parts.

Explanation

The active voice sentence is in the present perfect tense, which follows the structure: Subject + has/have + past participle (V3) + Object.

To convert this structure into the passive voice, the formula is: New Subject (the bushes) + has/have + been + past participle (V3) + by + New Object (the gardener).

Since the new subject "the bushes" is plural, it requires the plural auxiliary verb "have" rather than "has". Combining these elements results in the grammatically correct passive construction: "The bushes have been watered by the gardener."

Explanation

The idiom "once in a blue moon" refers to an event that occurs very infrequently or rarely. It derives from the astronomical phenomenon where a second full moon appears within a single calendar month, which is an uncommon occurrence happening approximately once every two and a half years. Due to the scarcity of this event, the phrase is commonly used in English to describe something that happens very seldom.

Explanation

Pedantic is used to describe a person who is excessively concerned with minor details, rules, or formalisms, often making an unnecessary show of academic learning. It refers to someone who focuses too much on precision and literal accuracy, sometimes at the expense of the overall meaning or practical context.

Explanation

The singular noun phrase "a name" is the antecedent for the relative pronoun "that", which requires a singular verb. The past tense verb "knew" in the segment "that knew" correctly matches the singular subject and completes the clause grammatically, establishing a meaningful description of the resilient nature of the name.

Explanation

When converting direct speech into indirect speech, if the reporting verb is in the past tense (said), the tense of the verb in the reported speech changes from simple present to simple past. Here, the simple present verb "is" changes to the simple past verb "was". Additionally, the second-person pronoun "Your" changes to the first-person pronoun "my" to refer to the listener, and the conjunction "that" is introduced to connect the reporting clause with the reported clause. This results in the correct indirect statement: "The lawyer said that my case was very complicated."

Explanation

The word wager means to risk a sum of money or something of value on the outcome of an unpredictable event, such as a race or a game. This is synonymous with the word gamble, which also refers to taking risky action in the hope of a desired result, typically involving betting money.

Explanation

The idiom apropos of nothing is used to describe a remark or subject that is introduced suddenly and has no connection or relevance to the preceding conversation, topic, or situation. It is derived from the French phrase à propos, meaning to the purpose or regarding. Thus, apropos of nothing literally translates to concerning nothing, indicating that the statement is completely random or unrelated to any prior context.

Explanation

The comparative adverb earlier is grammatically correct because it is modified by the intensifier much to compare the existence of deserts during former geological periods to the present day. In English grammar, much is used with comparative degree adjectives or adverbs to express a significant difference in time or degree.

Explanation

The passage discusses the formation of deserts in the lee of mountain ranges, which refers to the rain shadow effect. Mountain barriers block moisture-laden winds, sheltering the leeward side from rain and creating arid conditions. Therefore, rain is the logically correct word to complete the description of this geographical phenomenon.

Explanation

In this context, the passage discusses the evolutionary nature of angiosperms. The term "characterised" means to describe the distinctive features or essential quality of something. Angiosperms are defined and distinguished by their seed-producing nature, making "characterised" the most semantically fitting word to describe how these plants are identified in botanical classification.

Explanation

The sentence discusses primitive plants that were constituents or members of the ancient desert vegetation and still survive in modern deserts. The noun "part" fits naturally in this context to complete the phrase "part of the ancient desert vegetation", indicating that these plants belonged to or constituted a portion of that historical plant community.

Explanation

The sentence introduces "tumboa", a unique conifer relative found in the Namib Desert, to illustrate the general point made in the preceding sentence about primitive plants surviving from ancient desert vegetation. The word "example" is the grammatically and contextually appropriate noun to refer to an individual case that represents a general rule or class.

Explanation

The word invulnerable is derived from the Latin prefix in- meaning not and vulnerare meaning to wound. It is used to describe someone or something that is impossible to damage, hurt, or wound.

Explanation

The sentence "Your employees also have access to this data" is grammatically and orthographically correct. Every word in this sentence is spelled properly according to standard English rules: "employees" is the correct spelling for the plural of employee, "access" correctly uses a double c and a double s, and "data" is the standard spelling for the collective noun.

Explanation

The given active voice sentence is in the simple past tense, which follows the structure: Subject + past tense verb (V2) + Object. To convert this into the passive voice, the structure is changed to: Object (now functioning as the subject) + was/were + past participle verb (V3) + by + Subject (now functioning as the agent).

Applying this rule, the object "him" becomes the subject "He", the simple past verb "persuaded" becomes "was persuaded", the subject "She" becomes "by her", and the prepositional phrase "for over a year" remains unchanged. This results in the grammatically correct passive sentence: "He was persuaded by her for over a year."

Explanation

The sentence begins with the subject in S, which introduces the main topic, a full understanding of glacial-interglacial carbon dynamics. This singular subject is followed by the singular verb in P, requires, establishing the main predicate. The preposition among at the end of P demands a plural list of factors, which begins with Q, chemistry and circulation, ecology of marine and terrestrial. The adjective terrestrial at the end of Q directly modifies the noun organisms at the start of R, completing the compound object of the preposition among with organisms, ice sheet dynamics, and atmospheric chemistry and circulation. This makes SPQR the only grammatically correct and coherent sequence.

Explanation

The infinitive of purpose, which uses the structure "to + base form of the verb", is required here to explain why they hired a maid. The base form of the verb is "clean", making "to clean" the grammatically correct choice to express the purpose of the action.

Explanation

The word vacillate means to waver between different opinions or actions, or to be indecisive. Hesitate similarly refers to pausing or showing indecision before making a choice or taking action, making it the correct synonym for vacillate.

Explanation

Google frequently celebrates special occasions, holidays, and the start of seasons such as spring in the northern hemisphere through specialized, interactive versions of its logo known as Google Doodles. These doodles often feature moving digital illustrations, which are referred to as animated graphics, to engage users and visually depict the theme of the celebration.

Explanation

Reprove means to express disapproval, criticize, or reprimand someone gently or formally. Eulogize means to praise highly in speech or writing, representing the exact opposite action of expressing disapproval.

Explanation

The word abeyance refers to a state of temporary inactivity, suspension, or dormant condition. Its opposite must denote the act of carrying on or keeping something in progress without interruption. Continuation perfectly represents this opposite meaning, as it refers to the state of remaining in existence, operating, or persisting over time.

Explanation

The grammatical error lies in the incorrect prepositional use in the phrase stumble to. The correct phrasal verb meaning to meet with or find something by chance is stumble upon or stumble on. Therefore, the preposition to must be replaced with upon or on to make the sentence grammatically correct.

Explanation

The word every is a determiner and cannot function as a pronoun on its own. Therefore, it cannot be followed directly by the preposition of. Additionally, every is typically used for a group of three or more, whereas each is used for two or more. To refer to individual members of a group of two, the pronoun each must be used, making Each of the two the grammatically correct phrase.

Explanation

When converting direct speech into indirect speech, the tense of the verb in the reported speech does not change if it is already in the past perfect tense. The reporting verb said is in the past tense, so the past perfect verb had gone remains unchanged in the indirect form. The first-person pronoun I changes to the third-person pronoun he to align with the subject of the reporting verb, and the conjunction that is used to link the reporting clause with the reported speech, resulting in the form: He said that he had gone to Shimla.

Explanation

The verb "seemed" is the past tense of "seem", which means to give the impression of having a particular quality or appearance. In this context, it correctly describes the changing visual appearance of the water as it transitioned from appearing blue to appearing grey.

Explanation

The word quilted refers to material, such as leather or fabric, that has been stitched in a decorative pattern with padding underneath to create a cushioned, raised effect. In the context of furniture design, quilted leather chairs are a common type of comfortable and styled seating, making it the only appropriate adjective to describe a chair in an office setting.

Explanation

The sentence structure uses the coordinating conjunction or to present two contrasting possibilities. The noun futility refers to the state of being useless or pointless, making it the exact antonym of usefulness. Therefore, asking to reflect on the usefulness or futility of an action creates a logical and balanced contrast.

Explanation

The word sinister means giving the impression that something harmful or evil is happening or will happen, carrying a threatening, ominous, or unfavorable connotation. Its antonym must denote something favorable, promising, or indicating a good chance of success. Propitious precisely means giving or indicating a good chance of success, or being favorable and auspicious, making it the direct opposite in meaning to sinister.

Explanation

The word is misspelled because it is missing a second letter g. The correct spelling of the word is suggest, which means to put forward an idea, plan, or proposal for consideration.

Explanation

The term patricide is derived from the Latin word pater, meaning father, combined with the suffix -cide, which denotes the act of killing. Therefore, patricide is the precise term used to describe the act of killing one's own father.

Explanation

The idiom lion's mouth refers to a situation of extreme danger, risk, or vulnerability. It is derived from the literal danger of putting oneself close to a wild predator's jaws, symbolizing placing oneself in a highly hazardous position or facing a formidable threat.

Explanation

The idiom a bolt from the blue refers to a sudden and completely unexpected event or piece of news. It is derived from the imagery of a lightning bolt striking from a clear, cloudless blue sky, which is highly surprising and unforeseen.