SSC CHSL Tier 1 2022 English Comprehension Questions with Solutions

Explanation

The pronoun 'its' is singular and incorrect because it refers to the plural noun 'organisms' (and 'Bacteria'). It should be replaced with the plural pronoun 'their' to be grammatically correct.

Explanation

The word chastise means to reprimand or criticize severely. Its opposite is extol, which means to praise enthusiastically or highly.

Explanation

Sentence S introduces the main topic, setting up the story of Julius Caesar, the conspirators, and the assassination plot. Sentence P logically follows S as it details the execution of this plot, where Brutus and the conspirators kill Caesar. Sentence R continues the narrative chronologically by describing the immediate aftermath of the assassination, in which Mark Antony drives the conspirators out of Rome to fight them. Finally, sentence Q provides the conclusion of the battle and the story, explaining how Brutus and Cassius lose and commit suicide, leaving Antony to rule.

Explanation

An archive is a collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people, and the physical place where these public records and documents are systematically preserved and stored for historical research and reference.

Explanation

The word obsolete refers to something that is no longer in use, active, or fashionable, typically because it has been replaced by something newer, more advanced, or more effective.

Explanation

The use of the coordinating conjunction but in the sentence sets up a contrast between the frequency of sudden changes in the gilts market and the severity of their impact when they do occur. Because gilts are government bonds that are traditionally highly stable and low-risk, sudden and volatile fluctuations in this market do not occur frequently. Therefore, rare is the contextually appropriate word to describe these uncommon occurrences, contrasting with the significant, disruptive problems they cause on the rare occasions when they do take place.

Explanation

The context of the passage describes a severe and disruptive event in the financial markets that forced pension providers to quickly liquidate holdings. In this scenario, the noun problems is best qualified by an adjective that denotes high severity or significance, making major the most appropriate fit to describe the serious difficulties faced by these pension schemes.

Explanation

The subject of the clause is UK pension savers, which is a plural noun. The adverb recently indicates an action that occurred in the past with relevance to the present, which requires the present perfect tense. Therefore, the plural auxiliary verb have followed by the past participle seen is the grammatically correct choice to complete the sentence.

Explanation

In the context of the passage, the severe market disruption following the mini-budget created an urgent liquidity crisis for pension funds, compelling them to sell off assets rapidly to meet margin calls. The verb forced precisely conveys this sense of being compelled by external circumstances, and it grammatically fits the structure forced someone to do something (forced many pension providers to quickly cash in).

Explanation

The word craven is an adjective used to describe someone who completely lacks courage or is contemptibly faint-hearted. Cowardly is the direct synonym as it also describes a person who shows a shameful lack of courage when facing danger, difficulty, or opposition.

Explanation

The word coarse describes something that is rough, harsh, or thick in texture. Its opposite is buttery, which describes a texture or quality that is smooth, soft, and creamy, representing a direct contrast to the rough and gritty nature of coarseness.

Explanation

The correct spelling of the word is Beneficial, which means resulting in good or having a favorable effect. In the exam question, this word was misspelled as Benefisial, where the letter c was incorrectly replaced with s, making it the wrongly spelt word.

Explanation

The sentence starts with the subject and verb phrase "Many retailers have invested", which naturally requires an object representing what has been invested. Part P provides this direct object with "time and money into understanding its".

The possessive pronoun "its" at the end of part P must modify a noun, which is provided by the word "complexity" at the start of part S. This connects P to S, reading "understanding its complexity, refitting shops, trialling which healthier".

The adjective "healthier" at the end of part S needs a noun to modify, which is found in "promotions" at the start of part R. This connects S to R, creating the phrase "trialling which healthier promotions work, and changing product ingredients to".

Finally, the preposition "to" at the end of part R introduces an infinitive verb phrase, which is fulfilled by "make" at the start of part Q. This connects R to Q, completing the sentence with "changing product ingredients to make them healthier so they can continue to be marketed".

Combining these parts in the sequence PSRQ forms a grammatically correct and coherent sentence.

Explanation

The word Camor is misspelled. The correct spelling is clamor (or clamour in British English), which refers to a loud and confused noise, especially that of people shouting vehemently.

Explanation

The word paper is an uncountable noun when it refers to the material used for writing, drawing, or folding. In English, to specify a single, individual unit of an uncountable noun, a partitive noun or classifier is required. The standard classifier used for paper is sheet, making the phrase "a sheet of paper" the grammatically correct and natural collocation in this context.

Explanation

The active voice sentence is in the simple past tense, as indicated by the verb "ate". To convert a simple past tense sentence into the passive voice, the structure used is: Subject (original object) + was/were + past participle (V3) of the verb + by + Agent (original subject). Since "all the pastries" is plural, the helping verb "were" is used along with the past participle "eaten", resulting in "All the pastries were eaten by the cat."

Explanation

The error lies in the part of the sentence containing the verb tense and preposition. Since the sentence expresses a general truth using the present tense throughout (is, does not, is), the modal verb must also be in the present tense. Therefore, the past/conditional form couldn't should be replaced with the present form cannot. Additionally, the phrase tied in greed is unidiomatic and should be written as bound by greed or tied by greed.

Explanation

The word buddy refers to a close friend, companion, or partner. An associate is a person who is connected with another, often in a social, professional, or friendly capacity, making it the closest synonym to buddy among the choices provided.

Explanation

The word jejune is used to describe something that is dull, uninteresting, simplistic, or lacking in substance and significance. Similarly, drab is defined as being dull, lifeless, and completely lacking in brightness, excitement, or interest, making it a synonym for jejune.

Explanation

Correct Answer: B

Sentence S introduces the topic by defining the common cold as a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract. Sentence Q naturally follows S by using the pronoun "It" to refer back to the common cold, describing it as the most frequent infectious disease in humans. Sentence P then provides specific statistical details about this frequency, mentioning how many colds an average adult and child contract each year. Sentence R concludes the paragraph by using the pronoun "They" to refer back to the "colds" mentioned in sentence P, stating that they occur more commonly during the winter.

Explanation

The idiom "new kid on the block" refers to a newcomer who has recently joined a group, organization, or community. The phrase originates from the literal scenario of a child moving to a new neighborhood, or block, where they are unfamiliar with the existing residents. In a broader context, it is widely used to describe anyone who is inexperienced in a specific field, newly hired at a workplace, or a fresh addition to an established social circle.

Explanation

The idiom cast someone adrift means to leave someone without any support, direction, or purpose, similar to leaving a boat floating at sea without control. Option A accurately defines this meaning.

Explanation

The adjective moonless correctly completes the sentence by modifying the night, coordinating grammatically and semantically with the adjective dark. The other options do not fit grammatically or contextually.

Explanation

The segment "I was be groomed" contains a grammatical error because the auxiliary verb "was" cannot be followed by the base form "be". In English passive voice structures, "was" must either be followed by "being" to form the past continuous passive ("was being groomed") or followed directly by the past participle to form the simple past passive ("was groomed").

Explanation

A gourmand is a person who has a strong fondness for and enjoys consuming good food and drink, often in large quantities. Over time, the term has come to represent an enthusiastic lover of food and culinary experiences, capturing the essence of someone who appreciates and takes great pleasure in eating high-quality meals.

Explanation

When converting direct speech into indirect speech, the tense of the verb in the reported clause shifts back to match the past tense of the reporting verb. The simple present tense phrase "I'm not" (I am not) changes to the simple past tense "I was not". The reporting verb "said" is adapted to "told her" to indicate the listener, and the conjunction "that" is used to introduce the reported statement, while the first-person pronoun "I" remains unchanged because the speaker is referring to themselves.

Explanation

The verb found, which is the past tense of find, means to discover or recognize a fact through observation, study, or research. In the context of scientific inquiry, researchers analyze data or observe phenomena to draw conclusions. Using found in this sentence correctly indicates that the scientists discovered or established the fact that the chefs relied on a specific motion during their work.

Explanation

The original sentence uses the plural pronoun "their" in the clause "kept their romances to the end", which requires a plural subject and a plural verb to maintain pronoun-antecedent and subject-verb agreement.

The phrase "many old poets" acts as a plural subject, which correctly agrees with the plural verb "have" and the plural pronoun "their". Additionally, "such as" is the standard idiomatic expression used to introduce examples, properly introducing Tennyson and Browning. This substitution ensures perfect grammatical agreement throughout the sentence.

Explanation

The sentence discusses using our decisions and actions to reach or realize specific objectives. In standard English usage, the verb accomplish collocated perfectly with goals, meaning to successfully achieve, complete, or bring them to fruition.

Explanation

Correct Answer: D

The phrase commonly known as is a standard idiomatic expression in English used to introduce a name, nickname, or title by which a person or thing is widely recognized. In this context, it correctly links the full name Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro to the shorter, more popular name Cristiano Ronaldo.

Explanation

The passage is written in the present tense, as established by the verbs is and serves in the same sentence. To maintain grammatical consistency and parallel structure throughout the description, the relative clause requires the simple present tense verb plays to agree with the third-person singular subject pronoun who.

Explanation

The preposition of is used to denote association, relationship, or possession. In this context, it connects the noun captain with the organization or group he leads, which is the Portuguese national team. Thus, the phrase serves as captain of the Portuguese national team is grammatically correct and idiomatic.

Explanation

The preposition after is followed by a gerund to indicate an action that occurred in the past. To express an action that was completed before the time of the main verb, the perfect gerund structure having + past participle is used. In this sentence, having combines with the past participle transferred to form this perfect gerund structure, indicating that his transfer to Real Madrid occurred before he held the distinction of being the most expensive player.

Explanation

Cristiano Ronaldo is globally recognized as one of the greatest professional football players of all time. The entire passage focuses on his career, achievements, and transfers within the sport of football, specifically mentioning his role as a Portuguese footballer and his historic transfer in football history to Real Madrid. Therefore, the term football correctly identifies the sport he plays, making him the highest-paid football player in the world at the time of his contract.

Explanation

The sentence begins with the introductory phrase "As global", which must be followed by a noun phrase serving as the subject of the subordinate clause. This is provided by P, "electricity generation is expected to". The preposition "to" in P requires a base form verb to complete the infinitive structure, which is "double" in R ("double over the next three decades, nuclear power"). The noun phrase ending in "nuclear power" in R acts as a modifier for "generating capacity" in S, creating the main clause subject "nuclear power generating capacity would need to expand". Finally, the adverb "significantly" in Q naturally modifies the verb "expand" in S, completing the coherent sentence: "As global electricity generation is expected to double over the next three decades, nuclear power generating capacity would need to expand significantly to maintain its current share of the mix."

Explanation

The active sentence is in the simple past tense, which follows the structure: Subject + second form of the verb (V2) + Object. To convert a simple past tense sentence into passive voice, the structure used is: Subject (originally the object) + was/were + past participle (V3) of the verb + by + Object (originally the subject). Since "the computer" is singular, it takes the auxiliary verb "was" followed by the past participle "fixed", resulting in the correct passive construction.

Explanation

The idiom to take the veil refers to a woman entering a religious order to become a nun. This expression originates from the practice of Christian nuns wearing a distinctive veil as part of their habit, symbolizing their devotion and commitment to a religious life, separated from the secular world.

Explanation

Gregarious is correctly spelt as G-r-e-g-a-r-i-o-u-s. It is an adjective derived from the Latin word gregis, meaning flock or herd, and is used to describe an individual who is fond of company, sociable, or tending to associate with others of one's kind.

Explanation

The word absolute means complete, total, perfect, or whole. The most appropriate antonym is incomplete, which refers to something that is not full, finished, or whole.

Explanation

The error lies in the use of the verb form been after the modal verb can. In English grammar, modal verbs like can must be followed by the base form of the verb. In the passive voice construction, can should be followed by the base verb be and the past participle made. Therefore, the phrase also been made should be corrected to also be made to maintain grammatical accuracy.

Explanation

The noun deed refers to an intentional action or act, often one that is helpful, kind, or significant. In the context of the sentence, the phrase doing it and the person receiving it indicates that the missing word must represent an action performed by one person that directly affects another. Thus, deed fits both grammatically and semantically, conveying that a single positive action can have a meaningful effect on both the doer and the recipient.

Explanation

The word DEBUCHERY is spelt incorrectly. The correct spelling is DEBAUCHERY, which includes the letter a after the letter u. It refers to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures, such as alcohol, drugs, or sex.

Explanation

The word wallow means to roll about, lie, or struggle clumsily and helplessly in water or mud. Similarly, flounder means to struggle or stagger clumsily, especially in mud or water, making it the closest synonym.

Explanation

Sentence C naturally follows the opening statement about the carts by describing the overall structure, specifically the wood and copper-sheet chassis of the two carts. Sentence B then focuses on the wheels of these carts, introducing the copper triangles decorating them. Sentence A directly elaborates on these copper triangles, explaining their distribution in three concentric circles. Finally, sentence D completes the description by detailing how the wheels rotated and specifying where the concentric circles begin on the wheel hub flange. This progression from the overall cart structure to the specific wheel decorations and their mechanical details creates a logical and cohesive paragraph.

Explanation

Famine refers to an extreme and widespread scarcity of food, which leads to starvation and severe nutritional deprivation. A drought is a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall that results in a severe shortage of water, directly causing crop failure and agricultural collapse. Because drought is the primary environmental catalyst that leads directly to famine conditions, the two terms are closely linked in meaning as periods of extreme natural scarcity and deprivation.

Explanation

The verb set means to adjust, program, or configure a device or machine to perform a specific function or operate in a particular manner. In this context, configuring the machine to dispense a specific quantity of coins is the grammatically correct and contextually appropriate choice.

Explanation

Physiology is the branch of biology that deals with the normal functions of living organisms and their parts. It focuses on how organs, tissues, cells, and body systems work together to maintain life and support physical activities, encompassing all chemical and physical processes that occur within a living body.

Explanation

The verb rise is the standard collocated term used in English to describe the daily appearance of the sun above the horizon. Because of the Earth's rotation on its axis from west to east, the sun appears to rise in the eastern sky and set in the western sky. This natural phenomenon is always expressed using the pair of verbs rise and set to describe the sun's daily path.

Explanation

The sequence PQRS forms a logical and chronological narrative. Sentence P introduces the topic by defining the Spanish flu. Sentence Q follows by specifying the exact timeframe of its worldwide spread. Sentence R provides detail on the scale of infection, noting that the virus infected 500 million people. Sentence S completes the sequence by detailing the ultimate impact of the pandemic through its death toll and concluding that it was the severest pandemic in human history. This progression flows naturally from introduction to geographic and temporal spread, to infection statistics, and finally to mortality consequences.

Explanation

The grammatical error lies in the phrase "And so for the sakes". The standard English idiom is "for the sake of", which uses the singular noun "sake" when used as a prepositional phrase meaning "for the benefit of" or "out of consideration for". Since the sentence refers to a single individual ("of his son"), the plural form "sakes" is grammatically incorrect and must be replaced with the singular "sake".